Tag Archives: Vinnie Vincent

Screwy For Sure or: A Reliance of Tears

24 Wednesday Jun 2020

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Salutations™!!

So, I’m backdating this for yesterday, but full disclosure, I am writing this on Thursday. The internet in our house was out yesterday from around 245p and didn’t come back on until around 10p. Yeah, that’s time to get a blog post in but I had everything else I had to get to that I missed while the ‘net was down. Anywhat! I am still drawing from Thursday for this post because, frankly, there wasn’t anything I wanted to talk about from Wednesday. So, “tomorrow” will be the 38th anniversary of Peter Criss’ second true solo album, Let Me Rock You. I will be completely honest with you, here… I’ve never heard anything from this album. But, it has a lot of guest writers (duh) and guest players. I mean Gene wrote a song for this – and Peter had been gone for a few years at this point. Vini Poncia produced it, but he did Peter’s 1978 KISS “solo album,” Dynasty and Unmasked. That’s important because Vini had a bit to do with Peter leaving the band because his playing wasn’t up to par and Vini kind of pushed him out and had Anton Fig in his place. This song is performed by the man (one of them) that actually wrote the song and it’s a bit different from what is on the album. And, yes, that is Vincent Cusano, aka Vinnie Vincent. Enjoy!

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“A master of the beat, you got my number in your hands. A killer on the streets. you got your, your action plan. But somewhere in your heart, there must be a place for me, ’cause, sweetheart, I think I see.” – “Tears” (Cusano/Mitchell)

Where They Stand or: Many KISSes? (part II)

12 Wednesday Dec 2018

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Salutations™!!

Have you recovered from the first half of the list? Are you torn up about it? That’s okay. I’m used to that. So, here we go into the top 15 KISS albums in my preferred order. Let’s go!

Crazy_nights_album_cover

Crazy Nights

#15 — Crazy Nights (1987). Yeah, this gets a lot of flack for being bubble gum, sugary rubbish, but not with me. I loved this album and I still like it. Is it as good an album as Destroyer or KISS or Rock and Roll Over? Nah, but I enjoyed it. I was almost 17 when the album came out and it was still KISS to me. It didn’t matter how sugary it was, I couldn’t hear enough of it. But, then again, I like that pop-rock stuff. So, there.

#14 — Destroyer (1976). Yeah, what is widely called their best album isn’t even in the top 10 for me; barely does it crack the top 15. Yes, it has classic tunes, including one of my top ever, “God of Thunder,” but overall, it just isn’t my bag. Now, it could be that I never had this as a kid on record and didn’t spend all my pubescent years listening to it. I got what I could when I could and it was never gifted or given to me as a present and I didn’t buy it myself. So, it just doesn’t hold the same nostalgia as the following albums did. Now, I agree it is great, I just don’t get excited about it.

#13 — Lick It Up (1983). I talked about this album on its 35th birthday, which is September 18. You can go back and read more if you want. It was heavy and “metal” and that’s some of what made this a great album. It wasn’t about sex, it was about serious rock stuff. It was a great album and I dig it.

Dynasty_(album)_cover

Dynasty

#12 — Dynasty (1979). The disco craze had just hit and this is where KISS decided they needed to be trendy over their roots and hit up Vini Poncia to produce an overly-slick album that reeked with disco flavor, and I liked it. I talked about the album earlier this year on May 23, its anniversary. I talked about how I really didn’t notice that it was different until much later. I did notice that “2000 Man” sounded unlike KISS, but the rest of it wasn’t really different. I couldn’t pick out the differences back then, I was 8 years old.

 

#11 — Creatures of the Night (1982). The “lost” album. It wasn’t lost, it wasn’t hidden away, it was where many KISS fans were just looking over KISS after their disco/pop/art rock debacles from 1979-1981. As with the previous album, though it was a departure, I didn’t notice the difference. The last true “makeup” album it was KISS trying to get their feet back under them. So, until they went back and listened, most KISS fans didn’t know what they were missing. I will say, it is the coolest of any KISS cover.

#10 — Paul Stanley (1978). So, that means that two solo albums cracked my Top 10. This is very KISS-like, but there was something about it that also wasn’t KISS. It was a little less hard as the KISS stuff. Well-written songs and a bevy of great studio musicians helped make this a fun album to listen to. I could see these being KISS songs and not just KISS throw-aways. To me, probably the best of the solo albums. But…

#9 — Gene Simmons (1978). Gene’s album was what I felt the solo albums should be and my favorite of the four. It was the most experimental, had the widest range of styles, the biggest guest list of any of them and still pulled off a great album that was a lot of softer Beatles-esque tunes, groove rock, horror film feels, and Disney tunes. I mean, c’mon! That’s amazing. Way to go, Demon!

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Alive!

#8 — Unmasked (1980). Unofficially the first album after Peter’s “departure.” But, realistically, it was. Dynasty held that last thread with a Peter tune, but this was not Peter and although I could tell the drumming was different (I was 9) I didn’t know it wasn’t actually Peter until several years later. Some pan this record, a lot. But, as I’ve had to tell one person and probably a few others, don’t think of it as a hard KISS record because it certainly isn’t. Think of it as a good pop record. It has a lot of cool tunes on it if you’ll give them the chance. I always loved the cover, too.

#7 — Alive! (1975). What really broke KISS out was this album. The live version of “Rock and Roll All Nite” kicked it up that notch. It is certainly a Klassic with the whole album a non-stop punch in the face. It’s energetic and KISS was still hungry. The cracks hadn’t started to form, yet. While it is probably their best live album…

#6 — Alive II (1977). This one is my favorite and yes, I know to call this a “live” album is probably a misnomer, it’s the time/era of KISS that is my favorite. I wish they would have filled the five studio songs with more live stuff, but the song selections that I grew up with was spot on. Most of it was overdubbed and recreated in the studio, but it’s still the live album I go to first.

#5 — Rock and Roll Over (1976). So, here we are in the Top 5. This album was the follow-up to Destroyer and I think it surpassed it. I wrote a review about this just two weeks ago. It was given to me by my Uncle Ricky, as was my first copy of Double Platinum. He was my first grownup KISS fan. I didn’t have older brothers or even cousins that were into or aware of KISS. He helped me. Starting slow, ramping up and just having a great mixture of song styles, this album has it all. It was well represented on Alive II, as well.

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Hotter Than Hell

#4 — Hotter Than Hell (1974). the band’s sophomore effort was a great followup to the debut album. This was one of the first albums I was able to get my hands on and my mother put up a fight because it said “hell.” As I wrote just a few weeks back, it sounds like it was recorded in an old porcelain bathroom, but I think that also adds to the charm. Some of my favorite KISS songs are on there.

 

#3 — KISS (1974). The one that started it all. The KISS debut album is the Klassic-est of Klassics when it comes to KISS. From the opening drum intro of “Strutter” to the tape drag of the bombs at the end of “Black Diamond” it really never gives up except for “Love Theme from KISS.” It’s a great album, all the way through.

#2 — Love Gun (1977). The first KISS album I ever owned. The bombastic opening of “I Stole Your Love” to Ace’s debut vocal performance on “Shock Me,” to the bizarre penis references in “Plaster Caster” to the gender-altering cover of the Crystals’ tune “And Then She Kissed Me,” the album has many highlights and five of the first six songs are represented on Alive II. Also, a great album cover, one in which I spent a lot of time staring at when I was 7. And…

The_elder_album_cover

Music from ‘The Elder’

#1 — Music from ‘The Elder’ (1981). I have said many times that this was my favorite KISS album and I still maintain that. Though, really, any of the top 15 could probably sit on the top of this list. They’re like kids, my favorite one is the one in front of me at that moment. But, this album was KISS trying to be artistic and gain critics’ approval. They didn’t need either one but they thought they did. To most KISS fans and critics alike this was the ultimate KISS “mistake.” A beautiful mistake in my opinion. While Love Gun was the first KISS album I owned, this was the first CD I bought (along with Hotter Than Hell) after Bad English’ debut. At the age of 10, I was only really familiar with “The Oath,” “A World Without Heroes” and “I” and I just knew those tunes were rocking. It wasn’t until much later that I realized it was what it was, or attempted to be. I think it’s gravely overlooked and deserves a second or twelfth listen if you didn’t like it the first time you listened. But, keep an open mind. Like with Unmasked, you have to be prepared to put aside the KISS aspect and listen to the album as a whole. I love it and while I know it’s not the best KISS album, it currently sits at the top of my faves.

So, there you have it, Dear Reader. I know many of you will disagree with just about all of this list and I’m prepared for that. Send me your comments, but keep it cordial. Again, this is my opinion and isn’t supposed to represent how “good” any album is. What is your top 5? I’d like to hear that. Or heck, do the full list.

I did leave off 19 greatest hits albums and other inconsequential recordings, including the box set and You Wanted the Best You Got the Best with two new “live” tracks. I just felt that the three greatest hits albums that I included were enough. Most of them were repetitive anyway. So, yeah, let me know your thoughts, not like you wouldn’t anyway.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“Once I was a fool dreamin’ my life away, and then yesterday I found you lookin’ for me, draggin’ your heart around at the lost and found. I love you, you’re the only one who could make me feel love was smart. I feel you deep inside of me, beatin’ up against my heart. And I found out, I found out, what makes the world go ’round. Oh I found out, really found out, what makes the world go ’round.” – “What Makes the World Go Round” (Stanley/Poncia)

Where They Stand or: Many KISSes?

11 Tuesday Dec 2018

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Salutations™!!

I threatened this a while back. I threatened that I would do my own ranking list of KISS albums, and here it is. There are a few criteria to this list and I will give some details as to why on some of them. This is my opinion and not based on anything other than my preferences with the albums. This doesn’t even represent what I think are the better albums and which are the worse as far as the overall substance, it’s where I prefer them.

I know there will be controversy and I know that there will be screaming and yelling at me over some of them, especially one pretty low on the list. We’ll hit it fairly soon. But first, let’s go over the criteria. To begin, these are the first 20 studio albums, the four solo albums, Alive I-IV, Unplugged, and the three “greatest hits” albums that I felt qualified (read: that I consider worth a crap). I am going from #32 and counting down backward. According to how long-winded I get, I may break this down into two posts, we’ll see when we get there. Okay, ready? Here we go:

Hot_in_the_shade_cover

Hot in the Shade

#32 — Sonic Boom (2009) and #31 Monster (2012). As I said in my post about these two last month, I think Monster is the better of the two, but both are pretty much non-existent to me. There are some hits and misses on each but, more misses than hits.

#30 — Hot in the Shade (1989). This was the long-reigning worst KISS album until the previous two came along. It was half-arsed, lacking substance, about five songs too long and, with the exception of about four songs, I didn’t care about any of it.

Dressed_to_Kill_(album)_cover

Dressed to Kill

#29 — Dressed to Kill (1975). Yeah, this is the one that will probably get the most attention and get me screamed at by my KISS-lovin’ friends and “purists” alike. While this album has three of my favorite songs overall (top 15 probably), it also has that song on it. It has “Rock and Roll All Nite” on it. It also has “Getaway” and “Room Service” on it. Neither of those is awful, I just think they’re quite cheesy. The album, to me, sounds thin, and I just don’t like to listen to it. So, there’s the first surprise.

#28 — KISS Symphony: Alive IV (2003). To really even call this a KISS Alive is kind of pushing it, to me, anyway. Yes, it is live and some of it is done with the Melbourne Symphony, but it’s thrown together and while I like to listen to it, it just doesn’t move me as a KISS album.

#27 — KISS Killers (1982). This was originally a Japanese-only release and then was re-released here in the US later. It’s kind of shoddy production and while there are four new songs on this album, outside of “Nowhere to Run,” I don’t really care for the others. The new songs were recorded because Phonogram, the international label at the time, pretty much made them after the disappointing sales of 1981’s Music from ‘The Elder.’ The makeup and costumes are of that same period.

#26 — KISS: MTV Unplugged (1996). This has some great version and I have the full uncut show on VHS somewhere, and it got the “band back together.” I like to listen to it, but it’s not something I listen to often, so it isn’t dislike but disinterest that puts it this low on the list. Not a bad album.

#25 — Alive III (1993). I did like this album. I saw the tour it was on and I loved hearing “I Was Made for Lovin’ You” and later KISS tunes live. The sound is pretty good on this, too. It’s starting to get into albums that I just had to place them somewhere, not because I disliked them, same as the one previous.

#24 — Carnival of Souls: The Final Sessions (1997). I wrote a review of this last month, too. It was a big

Carnival_of_Souls_KISS

Carnival of Souls

departure from even the heaviest (to that point) KISS albums like Revenge and Creatures of the Night. I don’t know that they could have toured in support of this album, though, as I don’t think Gene could even play half of the bass lines on the album. Nor, do I think they’d want to. I liked it, though. I just don’t listen as much as its predecessors. You can search the blog for the review if you missed it. Just type in Carnival of Souls.

#23 — Psycho Circus (1998).  Again, reviewed just recently. I do think while it attempted to capture the old-makeup days’ glory, it missed a lot of its spirit. I do really like the album, but not better than the next 22.

#22 — Ace Frehley (1978). Yeah, here’s the second yelling spot. In September, I wrote about the four and stated that Ace’s album was my least favorite. To me, the solo albums were a chance to experiment and Ace experimented the least. While Paul’s was also KISS-like, Ace’s was just plain KISS.

#21 — Smashes Thrashes & Hits (1988). A good representation of KISS from 1974-1988 (including the two new originals). I talked a bit about this album last month, too.

Peter_criss_solo_album_cover

Peter Criss

#20 — Peter Criss (1978). It was a lot of disco, country & western, boogie rock and ballads. But, I liked it. And, I liked it better than Ace’s.

#19 — Double Platinum (1978). The KISS greatest hits album that started it all. Two records, four sides, each loaded with KISS Klassics. Some remixes, most notably “Strutter ’78” which added a little disco hi-hat overdubs in to jazz it up a bit. Some tunes had parts removed and some remixed and rearranged. I wore that record out.

#18 — Animalize (1984). I don’t know that I’ll ever really understand the title or cover, but that’s okay. It was 1984 and that was the going thing. “Heavens on Fire” is still one of my favorite non-makeup songs and “I’ve Had Enough (Into the Fire),” “Under the Gun,” “Thrills in the Night” were pretty cool, too. There were some Gene clunkers but there was a lot of energy on the album.

#17 — Asylum (1985). The only reason this album gets higher than Animalize is that this album has “Tears are Falling” and “Who Wants to be Lonely” which are two of my favorite KISS songs overall, not just non-makeup. Again, a lot of energy on this album and it’s fun to listen to.

Kiss_revenge_cover

Revenge

#16 — Revenge (1992). Released after Eric Carr’s passing, KISS went into “heavy mode” to right the wrongs that their direction had taken. The did the same in 1982, yes, 10 years earlier. It’s like they had started to veer and needed to correct. The album is a monster (more so than the one actually titled that) and while there are heavy tunes, there are also some Paul cheese. Paul cheese generally isn’t a bad thing. It’s just that, cheese. The album that the Alive III tour was recorded for, I saw this tour and it was great!

I think I am going to stop here and break it up. I’ve given you enough to stare at your screen agape already. I’ll get back to the rest later this week, maybe tomorrow.

So, just from this, go ahead, Dear Reader and all you KISS fans, give it to me. I can handle it. Again, this is my opinion, not based on anything else. I’m pretty outspoken about a lot of the albums, but I’ve tried to keep my verbosity to a minimum on this. Be on the lookout for Part 2.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“Open yourself to me. Let me show you what it can be like. Baby, giving it all that you’ve got. Nothing can hold you back. Some things can stand alone. A mountain can feel no desire. But a heart isn’t made out of stone. Wake up in the middle of the night. Nobody’s gonna make it alright.” – “Who Wants to Be Lonely” (Stanley/Child/Beauvoir)

Carnival of Dark Souls or: Many KISSes

31 Wednesday Oct 2018

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Salutations™!!

Happy Halloween, first of all. And, now, let’s talk about an album that was the last before the makeup came back for KISS. Almost as polarizing as Music from ‘The Elder’ was but for slightly different reasons. True Long-Time KISS fans have always been on the fence about it, some think it’s a great departure while others feel it had nothing to do with KISS. KISS fans who kind of kept themselves in the perimeter mostly gave it nary a thought and newer KISS fans thought that it was groovy but probably didn’t get that it was KISS. This album, of course, is Carnival of Souls.

Carnival_of_Souls_KISS

©Mercury

Gene, Paul, Eric and Bruce went back to the studio in 1995 after their successful release from 1991, Revenge. KISS started off as a trend-setter but after Dynasty and on, really, they were really followers. They did show some folks how to still party whilst creepin’ on their turf, though. Grunge and heavier rock was the thing at the time, so KISS decided it was their turn to do that, too. Really, Gene was already there with “Unholy” and “Spit” from Revenge. (which included some Vinnie Vincent songwriting).

I’ll be honest, here. I like this album, a lot, but I really don’t know much about it. I have listened to it only slightly more than Sonic Boom and Monster. I am listening to it as I write this to refresh my memory.

I’d say first, that there are a lot of “drop D” tunings on this album, even further if you consider that KISS (except on Dynasty and Unmasked) did almost everything a half-step down. It’s heavy, the heaviest they ever did. It certainly is the darkest-themed they have ever done; almost Black Sabbath-like. It also has a lot of odd time signatures. It’s “grown-up” songs, too. Not a lot of sex and party. It’s probably their most intellectually advanced album. Does that make for a good album? Probably not to most KISS fans. Someone once said, “where’s the f—ing!?” So, again, probably not to most KISS fans.

There were rumors of this album right after it started. This was right when everyday folks were starting to get and get onto the internet. BBSs were dedicated to KISS. Online chat boards were, too. I was part of a few of those. It was also about this time that I got hooked up with David and Bobby from Heavens Sake. David was a collector of KISS bootlegs and when the “leaked” bootlegs of this album dropped, David and I sat in my office above where the band rehearsed and listened to it. We weren’t quite sure what to make of it. But, I don’t think either of us disliked it. I don’t remember what Bobby thought when he showed up as we listened. The bootlegs didn’t really sound all that great and there was stuff missed with some of the songs misnamed.

The album starts with “Hate,” a Gene song. So, that makes three KISS albums (this being the last) where he gets to go first. I don’t know why I’m so hung up about that. Anyway, it was co-written by Gene with Bruce and Scott Van Zen, a commercial songwriter. Gene uses his “Unholy” voice here. A great, heavy groove sets this song on fire.

The only thing I don’t like about “Rain” is the lack of any effect on Paul’s voice. The whole thing is really dry which, I am not sure that it brings it out as dark as they wanted. But, it could be that it highlights the songs, but the vocals part is dry. Bruce played bass on this.

“Tell Me” is next. That’s not true. It’s actually called “Master and Slave” but the internet folks called it “Tell Me” probably because it sounds like it would be in the chorus. Oddly enough, this is the only non-Gene song on which Gene plays bass. I don’t know if he and Paul were having a spat or if he just didn’t do a good job (he’s not the most prolific bassist alive) or was he off doing something else? Who knows, I just find it interesting.

The next two are more melodic and ballad-like. “Childhood’s End” is named after a book by Arthur C. Clarke. It’s not autobiographical as many folks have said. The song is basically talking about when we’re born we don’t know hate; we haven’t killed anything or know a lot of bad. We grow into it and are taught those things. The subject matter, according to the box set’s liner notes, is “Two friends, one of whom died before his time, and the other one who lived and reminisced about his missing friend.” It was co-written by Tommy Thayer (who is now Spaceman in the band) and songwriter Curtis Cuomo who collaborates with Paul and Gene throughout the album.

“I Will Be There” is an acoustical ballad with heavy orchestration and allows Bruce to show off some serious acoustic guitar/classical-riffed solos. It’s dedicated to Paul’s son, Evan.

The only song to really be considered a single was “Jungle.” It did reach #8 on the Billboard US Mainstream Rock charts (not to be confused with the Hot 200 where the Top 40 comes from) beating the previous best, which was “Heavens on Fire.” That’s a heavy-hitter, too. It also won Metal Edge Readers’ Choice Award for Song of the Year for 1997. It’s probably one of my least favorite tunes on the album but I still like it.

Gene recruited help from Van Zen and Black ‘N Blue’s Jaime St. James for “In My Head.” It’s heavy and mean. It’s weird but I feel that fits the scene for Gene’s head, indeed.

“It Never Goes Away” is Paul’s dragging tune. I like it but it drags on at like 4 beats a minute. Not really, but it seems like it. It’s more around 88 BPM. Continuing on the “kind of crazy train” that this album’s lyrical content provides, in, from what I can tell was a podcast called KISSaholics (#13), Paul says “(“It Never Goes Away”) Is a pretty cool song that says basically there’s all kinds of evil stuff that goes on and misery in the world but there’s really not a whole lot I can do about it. It never changes.” Well, okay, then. Bottom of the list for me.

I love the exotic beat happening in “Seduction of the Innocent.” It’s one of the more laid back Gene songs on the album and I dig it. Gene had announced this was being worked on as a follow up to Revenge. Co-written by Van Zen, who co-wrote seven of the tunes (out of 12) on the album.

My favorite tune on the album is “I Confess” which was co-written by Sammy Hagar’s cousin and Christian songwriter (how’s that for contrast?), Ken Tamplin. I love the deep darkness that the song puts forward, both musically and lyrically. The reverse swells and orchestration, along with the melody are amazing. I love this song.

“In the Mirror” is still grungy but still is kind of previous-KISS-like. Another thing this and other songs from COS have going on are some great vocal harmonies. That’s really all I have for this song.

Bruce finally gets his vocal moment. He sings the closing track, “I Walk Alone.” I think it’s interesting that both he and Eric Carr were in the band for a long time and both of them finally got their vocal debuts on their last album with the band. Now, I don’t think Bruce has a great voice, but I think Bruce’s voice was great on this song. It fit perfectly, in my opinion. This song is also the second longest song on the album, over six minutes. I’m a fan of this song, too.

So, the recording of this whole album, as I said, started in 1995. It was also in 1995 that KISS did MTV Unplugged and that led to the original lineup getting back together. That roller coaster hit a crest and was on its way, which we’re still experiencing. The monster (no pun intended) that thing became put COS on hold. It was released on October 28, 1997 which means it turned 19 this past Monday. Next year… wow, 20 years! Jeez.

Overall, I think it’s a great album. I just don’t think it is a great KISS album. Just like ‘The Elder,’ and Unmasked before it, if you take it out of the KISS context or at least what you expect from a KISS album, it can stand on its own. Okay, I’ll admit it, maybe I’m wrong. Maybe it’s not a great album, but I think it’s a really good album. It has many fantastic songs. Songs that I feel Gene outdid Paul on. These songs fit Gene’s voice and musical mindset better than it did Paul’s. If you listen to Gene’s solo album, Asshole, you’ll hear more evidence of his heavier styles.

If you decide to give COS a listen, again, keep in mind that it’s not what you’d think a KISS album would be, but it’s experimental and I think worth listening to, more than once. I’ve listened to it three times whilst writing this post. Happy listening!

Until tomorrow, Keep KISSin’…
Scorp out!

—
“When I look into the mirror, just can’t believe, what do I see. There’s no wakin’ from this nightmare and you’re lost in your reality. So you tell me all your secrets. And you tell me that you’re innocent. There’s something in your eyes I can see and my face keeps looking back at me. You Confess. You can’t help yourself. This living lie that you can’t go on. You’re possessed. You can’t fool yourself. You’re the crime and you can’t go on.” – “I Confess” (Simmons/Tamplin)

Creatures Alive, Too? or: Many KISSes

14 Sunday Oct 2018

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Salutations™!!

My Saturday was awesomely fun, but it didn’t include Underdog Records, so instead of a haul for today, we’re going to talk about (as promised yesterday) two major KISS records that have anniversaries this weekend.

COTN_album_cover

©Casablanca Records

Yesterday was the 36th anniversary of the “comeback” album from KISS, Creatures of the Night. After the publicly-admonished “disaster” that was Music from ‘The Elder,’ KISS realized that had a lot to atone for.

The guise was that Ace was still part of the group. He took pictures for the cover, did a video for “I Love It Loud,” and did some appearances, but the truth was, he was nowhere near the album, at all. He had had enough with being outvoted and really, he absolutely knew that The Elder was a mistake. Take those factors with the fact that he was a slave to substances (just listen to “Rock Soldiers” from the debut Frehley’s Comet album) and he was either done on his own or done from Gene’s and Paul’s perspective.

Also, removed from the mix was long-time manager Bill Aucoin. Bill had basically hyped Gene and Paul to make The Elder and really, the Unmasked album, too. Paul, in his book, has called them both “disasters.” I disagree, but, I can see where they alienated the fan base or “KISS Army.” Bill was dismissed.

Here they were, three main components of their history, their success, all gone. First Peter, then Ace, then Bill. So, what next? Paul says he wanted to take the makeup off and Gene wouldn’t have it. Paul suggests that he wanted to make a clean sweep, a whole new beginning. Truth be told, while I don’t believe everything Paul wrote in his book, I have to agree with him that it was probably time to remove the disguise at that point. However, if they had, we’d not have one of the most iconic album covers in KISStory (or to me, even ever – across all albums).

So, here they were in search of yet another replacement member. They held auditions in the industry but the public didn’t know. Again, Ace was still “officially” in the band. So, in essence, the auditions for a new guitarist was executed by the players actually playing on the album.

With that, they got Steve Farris, who went on to found and play with Mr. Mister. He did the solo on the title track, “Creatures of the Night.” They got Robben Ford, a well-known blues guitarist doing the solos on “Rock and Roll Hell” and “I Still Love You.” Adam Mitchell, who was best known for writing poppier songs and who ended up co-writing “Creatures,” “Keep Me Comin'” and “Danger” with Paul on the album doing some guitar work on “Creatures.” Bob Kulick, from Paul’s solo album, did guitar overdubs across the album, which I figure includes a good bit of rhythm guitar. And, the one that got most of the solo work on the album was a mostly-unknown smoker on the axe, Vincent Cusano. He played the solos on “Saint and Sinner,” “Keep Me Comin’,” “Danger,” “I Love It Loud,” “Killer” and “War Machine.” At one time, was the staff writer for both Happy Days and Joanie Loves Chachi.

Cusano also got the gig with the band. As Mick Fury! No, not really. That’s what he wanted to go by but Paul nixed that idea (according to him). They decided on Vinnie Vincent and Paul designed the Ankh Warrior makeup. No one knew what the Ankh was all about. Not Vinnie, not the fans, not even Paul who designed it. That should have been more an indicator to the band that the makeup needed to go.

The songs, though, they were really fantastic. They made it heavy; the heaviest they had done to that point. They needed to let the fans know that they were back! They were ready to rock and rock. They were ready to rock and roll hard! They were ready! THEY WERE READY!

The problem was, the fans didn’t care. They weren’t ready. They weren’t ready to let KISS back in. They had a hard time letting go or forgiving KISS for the Dynasty, Unmasked and especially The Elder. I wasn’t one of those, though. I still loved it. I didn’t realize (I was 11) that Ace wasn’t there. I did, however, know that this was a heavy album. It was booming, even on my crapola cabinet record player (but I wish I still had that).

At the time, there were a few songs that I didn’t like. I didn’t care for “Danger,” “Keep Me Comin’,” or “War Machine.” I loved the title track, “Saint and Sinner,” “Rock and Roll Hell,” “I Love It Loud” and “I Still Love You.” “Rock and Roll Hell” and “War Machine” were written by Gene along with Jim Vallance and Bryan Adams. The album was produced by Michael James Jackson who had done some poppier things and co-produced by Gene and Paul.

More indicative of the fact that the fans had given up was the tour that followed. The same stadiums and arenas that KISS had been selling out, ones that held 18,000 people or more, were now only selling 1,000 tickets or so. Paul said in his book you could tell by how loud the opening bands were or the announcements were how empty the arenas were. Also, Paul would flick his pick and it would sail over the heads of the audience and land on the floor. Sad, really. They canceled the rest of their North American tour.

That was in North America. In South America, they played to record (for them) crowds. They played at Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with over 250,000 people in the audience. Still, they knew their home fans (US) were giving up. They had to change something and that something was the makeup. Get back to music. It worked.

Mercury Records, who had bought out Casablanca Records, had some weird notion that they wanted to upgrade the awesome Creatures cover to something more “indicative” of current KISS in 1985. They changed it to a group photo of the 85 lineup with Bruce Kulick. So, both covers featured members that weren’t on the album. At least Ace was still technically part of the band. The closest Bruce was to being in the band was his brother Bob’s overdubs.

Now, I love this album and think it’s one of their best of the 80s. One of the best of the catalog, really. And, the tables turned. I went from not liking the songs mentioned earlier to really liking them and, now, “I Love It Loud” is one of the “big three” that I wish I never had to hear again (along with “Detroit Rock City” and “Rock and Roll All Nite” even though DRC has re-grown on me). The album was just a victim of circumstance, I think.

Today, however, is the 41st anniversary of my favorite of the “Alive” albums, KISS Alive II. Do I think it’s the best of them? Not really. I just love that era. The costumes, the feel, etc. The songs from Alive II were all from Destroyer, Rock and Roll Over and Love Gun.

As far as live albums go, it’s hard to even call it a “live” album. A lot of it was live, recorded at the Los Angeles Forum. Then a few of the songs were recorded from soundchecks at those shows. Notably, “Hard Luck Woman” and “Tomorrow and Tonight” were both soundcheck recordings and weren’t actually played on that tour. But, also, “I Stole Your Love,” which was the opener of the shows. Eddie Kramer just went in afterward and put in canned crowd noise.

The energy was up but it seems they weren’t as hungry as they had been on Ailve! The sound on the album wasn’t as full. It seemed a little thinner. I’m still confused as to why they started the album with “Detroit Rock City” when it was “I Stole Your Love” that started them actual shows. I know it was “Detroit Rock City” that went into “King of the Nighttime World” on Destroyer and perhaps they wanted to recreate that. That’s all I can figure.

Another odd thing to me was the fourth side of the album. It was five studio songs, including a cover of the Dave Clark Five tune, “Any Way You Want It.” It was claimed that it was all the original members, but in reality, it was Bob Kulick playing Ace’s parts except for “Rocket Ride,” which he played all guitars and bass. That was the beginning of the end for Ace. I love “Larger Than Life” which I just think sounds bad arse. I also dig “Rockin’ in the U.S.A.” that I kind of “borrowed” from to write “She’s Got What It Takes” on Heavens Sake’s debut album. “All American Man” is also a good song.

Don’t get me wrong, I actually like the side four songs but why not give us more live songs? Perhaps they could have done some more in soundcheck? With that, though, three songs (that I know of) were soundcheck songs, the five studio songs, if they knew they didn’t have enough to do a full live album, why not strategize the setlists better?

Couldn’t they have done “Do You Love Me?” or left “Take Me” in there? If they were going to do soundcheck recordings anyway, why not “Mr. Speed” or “Almost Human?” “Hooligan” was in the set for the “Love Gun Tour,” they could have left that in. I don’t know. There seemed to be more options that they didn’t take advantage of. Then again, when I was 8-years old, I loved the album. I really didn’t listen to the fourth side much but as I got older, I appreciated it more and more.

So, happy anniversary to Creatures of the Night and KISS Alive II. I love ya both.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“Wanna bite the hand that feeds me, wanna turn the tides. Set the demons free and watch ’em fly. Strike down the one who leads me, I’m gonna take his place. Gonna vindicate the human race. Better watch out ’cause I’m a war machine.” – “War Machine” (Simmons/Adams/Vallance)

Crazy Licks or: Many Kisses (Part 3)

18 Tuesday Sep 2018

Posted by in Movie Review, Records

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Salutations™!!

Here’s the second post today! And yes, this is verbose as was the last.

The month of September is a huge month for KISS fans, even if they don’t know it. Why you may ask? Because the month of September is the anniversary month for the releases of TEN KISS albums. I’ve talked about Alive!, Animalize and Asylum. But, like I said in the last post, September 18 is a doozie and talked about the four solo albums that were released 40 years ago, today.

Lick_it_up_cover

©Mercury Records

In 1983, Lick It Up was released on this day and also that night Gene, Paul, Eric and Vinnie Vincent showed up on MTV and showed their faces publicly, at least as KISS, without the makeup. It was a weird transition for them, even if they say it wasn’t. Look at that interview and tell me that Gene doesn’t look uncomfortable as he says through his big white grill that it feels good… Uh huh. I think Vinnie looks uncomfortable all the time. Paul seemed the most natural. Eric was just there. Then look at the video for “Lick It Up” and tell me they look comfortable. Gene can’t figure out how to act. His professional career had always been under some kind of disguise. He’s not the most handsome man, truthfully, but really, were any of them? Nah.

Lick It Up, though, was a big breakthrough for the band. It was their chance to bring the people back into the KISS Army coming off the heels of Creatures of the Night, which saw the departure of Ace, even though he was on the cover, he played nary a note on the album. Several guitarists played in his stead on that album and one of those was Vinnie Vincent. Creatures was the rebirth KISS was looking for. It wasn’t quite KISS, but a harder rock version of KISS. I think Creatures is one of their heaviest albums in the entire KISS Katalog. But, they did that under the hidden comfort of their makeup-laden personas.

Truly, the band incognito had run its course. It was time for a new approach. Gene said in his book Kiss and Make-Up that Paul had talked him into unmasking. He was still apprehensive but Paul explained that the makeup had become a stigma and more people knew the characters than they did the musicians and the music, whether people want to admit it or not, was judged more on the makeup than on the merits of the music and songs. I was only 12 when this came out and I was aware of that fact. And, I’m ALL about the show. So, what to do? New direction with the music on the album before, let’s try a new direction in image, as well. I think it worked.

This album was pretty heavy and at times, mean. From the harmonics-driven intro of “Exciter” on to the fade of “And on the Eighth Day,” the album was a non-stop auditory assault. Paul also showed a whole new vocal style starting with this album. He started singing a little different on Creatures but from Lick It Up on, he sang higher, as did Gene, with more power and with more confidence. In fact, I think this album has Paul’s most powerful tone and timbre.

Gene really changed up his singing from just gruff to high and gruff. I can’t sing most of his non-makeup songs and I sing pretty high. The band also started aiming for the “metal” crowd instead of the “kids and rock-n-rollers.” Eric’s drumming was more volatile as well. He pounded the crap out of the drums. I found I was at the same time longing for and also glad they dismissed the drum sound employed on Creatures. It was an awesome sound but it was also overpowering.

Much of what made this album heavier was Vinnie’s playing. He was all about flash and speed and less about feel. But, I think that bled over onto Paul’s style, as well. Paul’s parts were heavier than the KISS we knew. There were no ballads or slower songs on this album. Speaking of songwriting, this marked the first time that there were no outside writers on a KISS album.  People have a hard time believing that, but from the first album (which had a cover – and yes I know the original didn’t have that cover), the second and third rehashed Wicked Lester songs, and so on. Plus, people forget that Vinnie was “in the band” at one time.

This is one of my favorite KISS albums, although it didn’t start that way. I never really noticed it being a “different KISS” until much later. KISS was KISS was KISS to me. I get it now, but I was blinded at the time. As tired of the title track I am, I still love it. We used to do it in Busted Uncle. It was fun. The only song I really don’t care for is “Gimme More” and even that is a pretty good song. The one that all my friends hate is one of my favorites on this album, “Dance All Over Your Face.” I don’t know why but I just dig the heck out of it.

This was the first album that I got on cassette and not on vinyl. So, the copy I have now (180g brand new) is the first time I’ve ever had it on vinyl.

Crazy_nights_album_cover

©Mercury Records

Now, 31 years ago today KISS released Crazy Nights. It is perhaps the most polarizing of the 80s-era KISS albums. I know a lot of critics, fans and even my friends have labeled it as poppy sugary drivel but I am not one of those. Yes, it is poppier. It’s not quite “hair band” material, but not far from it. Their heavy sound had softened a bit, even though they were on their second album with one of their best guitarists, Bruce Kulick who showed up on the tour for Animalize and played on Asylum. I don’t mind sugary pop, though, as you have read me talking about often, Dear Reader.

I believe part of the deal with the overall tone was that Paul and Gene gave up production duties and just recorded music. But, they were also using outside writers and not the likes of ex-Plasmatics members but with genuine pop music writing heavyweights, Adam Mitchell, Desmond Child, Bruce Turgon, Davitt Sigerson and legend Dianne Warren. On top of that it was produced by Ron Nevison who took over duties from David Foster on Chicago albums, Heart’s Heart and Bad Animals, Europe, Damn Yankees, Survivor and my favorite Ozzy Osbourne album, The Ultimate Sin. What absolutely didn’t help was the incorporation of keyboards (played by Phil Ashley).

I remember buying this album on cassette at Peaches. I knew it was coming out but hadn’t heard anything from it. I put it in the car stereo (in my ’74 Chevelle Malibu Classic’s Craig audio system) and waited. It seemed the leader tape was a bit long, so I turned it up thinking it was low. The opening notes of “whew!” for “Crazy Crazy Nights” scared the bejeezus out of me and I nearly wrecked my car. I loved it, though. That followed by “I’ll Fight Hell to Hold You” and “Bang Bang You,” gave Paul a good three-song start. Nice and poppy.

Then Bruce got to do his thing. He schools us on tapping techniques flawlessly and  Eric joins in with a little double-bass flash. This is “No No No” from Gene. The whole thing is a little hard to follow on the beat because it’s about being fast, I think. The only song that I don’t care for is “My Way” which I think single-handedly shows off the overly-poppy nature that many people see the entire album for. Also, as with Lick It Up, one of my faves on there is the one my friends say they dislike the most on the album, which is “Thief in the Night.” It was covered by Wendy O. Williams (also of Plasmatics fame) on an album that Gene produced which could have actually have been a KISS album.

Is this their best album 80s-era or otherwise? No. It is, however, the 80s-era KISS album that I listened to the most. It was the last original studio album that I actually had a love for and enjoyed without bias. The next album, Hot in the Shade, had plenty of letdowns for me. I don’t mean that I don’t love post-Crazy Nights albums, but up to this point, they could do no wrong. I realized on HITS that they could. Between the two came Smashes, Thrashes & Hits, a greatest hits album. I liked it.

This album also had a lot of unreleased things make it to other artists and box sets and such. The original title of the album was Who Dares Wins. I’m glad they changed that.

What are your thoughts on these two albums, Dear Reader? Are they up your alley or not? If you’re not familiar, why not give them a shot? Let me know what you think.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“Baby, now that you’ve made up your mind, I’m gonna let you go, if that’s what it takes to show love is blind. I gave you the best love you ever had, but it wasn’t enough. So, if you think you’re so smart, go and play with your heart. When you walk out the door, you’ll realize what you never did before. A million to one – that’s what it will be. A million to one – there’s someone better than me. A million to one – no, you never will find. A million to one – another love like mine.” – “A Million to One” (Stanley/Vincent)

 

Heavens on Fire or: Animal Eyes?

13 Thursday Sep 2018

Posted by in Music Review

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Salutations™!!

34 years ago today, one of KISS’ best-selling 80s albums was released. That would be Animalize. It’s not my favorite of that era, but it isn’t my least favorite, either. It has some good songs that carried over to the live concert video they put out on this tour.

By the time KISS was putting this out, Gene was pretty much a ghost in the band. He was still very much a member because, hey, it’s Gene Simmons. But, he had gotten really into other projects that he was afforded both because he now had money and he wasn’t restricted by keeping his identity cloaked. During the recording of this album, he was starring in Runaway (1984) and producing or managing bands like House of Lords and Black N Blue (which, incidentally had future KISS member, Tommy Thayer). So, being the loyalist, perhaps sometimes to a fault, that he is to the KISS brand, Paul Stanley took over the whole deal and produced this album. I think he did a pretty good job.

Animalize.jpg

©Mercury Records

It had been two years since an album was released as a “makeup” album and only a year (almost to the day) of the unmasking of the band on MTV, which also was the release date for Lick It Up. KISS fans were still riding the high that was the return of the hard rock KISS that they had loved as a kid before the disco-ing down and artification of the band. Don’t hear me wrong, I loved that stuff, too. But, they lost a big part of their “Army” with those things. I recognize that. This album came out and it was still punchy, still heavy and still cool.

The song “Heavens on Fire” was a huge hit for the band and was on heavy rotation on MTV. For anyone under the age of 30, MTV was a channel that played music videos 24/7. I don’t know if you’ve heard of it or not. There’s some other channel now that calls itself MTV but it’s nothing like that MTV. Anywhat! They debuted new videos at 5-minutes past each hour. The “world-wide” debut of “Heavens on Fire” was at 1:05am on a Saturday night. In 1984, I lived in WV and we had 7 channels, MTV wasn’t one of them. However, for whatever reason, I was staying at my grandmother’s house in a larger town that did have REAL cable television and had MTV. I fought dozing off and once the video came on, I was jarred up and ready to fight someone. I loved it. One of the funniest parts is when Eric Carr runs up behind Paul and sings a line with him. That wasn’t planned and Paul’s reaction was genuine. It’s cool.

This was the only album that “featured” Mark St. John on guitar. He replaced Vinnie Vincent who had replaced Ace Frehley. Mark was a talented player but really unreMARKable (see what I did there?). I remember looking at the album cover (on LP) and thinking who the heck is that guy? Of course, because I read all the rags and stuff, I knew his name but he looked like a big block of a guy, broad-shouldered and stiff. Looking at it now, it looks like he took Peter Criss’ Dynasty costume, painted it all black from the green it was and was wearing that. He wasn’t really, but he seemed like a piece of stone. And, in the video, he looked uncomfortable. He also used Rockman gear to record the album, which we know is the invention of Boston guitarist, Tom Sholtz. Paul had to do a lot of EQing to get that Boston out of it. St. John left the band just after the tour started because of Reiter’s syndrome, now called reactive arthritis. He was replaced by Bruce Kulick. Who you’ll hear about in a few days and next week.

Eric Carr’s drumming on this album was great! I loved it. Solid and heavy.

Paul’s songs were the best on the album, bar none. Three of the songs, “I’ve Had Enough (Into the Fire),” “Under the Gun” (co-written with Eric Carr), and “Heavens on Fire” were co-written with recurring collaborator, Desmond Child. “Thrills in the Night” was co-written by ex-Plasmatics bassist, Jean Beauvoir who also played bass on this album for “Get All You Can Take”, “Thrills In The Night” and “Under the Gun.”

Gene, while mostly absent, was there for some of it. He wrote “Burn Bitch Burn” and “Lonely is the Hunter” solo and co-wrote “While the City Sleeps” and “Murder in High Heels” with Paul McCartney look-alike Mitch Weissman, who co-wrote “Get All You Can Take” with Paul. Gene’s songs are cool for the fact that he’s a little tongue-in-cheek but Paul wins this album.

The story I always tell about this album is this: In 1984, the PMRC and its ridiculousness were in full-force (and no, I don’t mean Lisa-Lisa & Cult Jam with…) and Ma Mère fell for it hook, line, and sinker. She didn’t want me listening to “that rock and roll devil’s music.” Which, she herself did when she was younger. Anti-authority, satan, drugs, alcohol, etc. That’s what we kids were getting too much of. Anyhow, I wanted this album, really, really badly. I stood in front of the cassette case, you know, the old kind with holes in the plexiglass so you could hold the tapes and look at them but couldn’t get them out and steal them?  I stood there and begged to get both this album and Prince’s Purple Rain. She made me promise that I wouldn’t worship the devil if I got them. It didn’t help that one of the songs was called “Heavens on Fire” and another one “Burn Bitch Burn.” I promised. I did her one better. Not only do I not believe in or worship the devil, I don’t go the other way either. I’m non-Prophet when it comes to my religion. But, I got them and wore them both out!

I still love the album to this day. Both, of them, as I’ve mentioned before.

I do want to also wish my two great pals, Clay Howard and Jon Lowder a very happy birthday. I love you guys! You mean a lot to me and my family.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“My eggs in one basket, but she threw me a bone. She was dealt a full deck, but she likes to live alone. Ain’t just talkin’ to myself, need a reason to stop (oh yeah). With a flower in her teeth, she drained the last drop. I said girls love money like bees the honey. But lonely is the hunter, you’re my one and only, and lonely is the hunter.” – “Lonely is the Hunter” (Simmons)