Kiss ~ Hot In The Shade (album review) ... Bad title, but good album!

Style: hard rock, pop rock
Label: Mercury
Year: 1989
Home: New York City, New York

Members: Paul Stanley ~ vocals/rhythm guitar/EBow
Gene Simmons ~ vocals/bass/rhythm guitar
Eric Carr ~ drums/b. vocals/bass
Bruce Kulick ~ guitars/bass/b. vocals

Additional: Phil Ashley ~ keyboards
Pat Regan ~ horns
Charlotte Crossley, Valerie Pinkston, Kim Edwards-Brown ~ b. vocals
Kevin Valentine, Eric Singer ~ drums
Tommy Thayer ~ electroacoustic guitar

Besides having my least favorite Kiss album cover, a bad album title, & none of the venom of early Kiss ... not to mention that the sphinx is certainly hot, but where is the shade, or should it be 'hot in the shades' ... I actually really enjoy this album start to finish. Or, most of it, as there are a few clunkers that should have been left as demos, such as the horribly titled "The Street Giveth And The Street Taketh Away" & "You Love Me To Hate You". Though, having said I really like this album, I actually consider it Kiss firmly doing their best AOR. The growling beastly early years are now absolute history, never to return. The chance to reclaim them deliberately ignored too many times. This is Kiss light rock, Kiss' pop explosion, Kiss power ballad plus, Kiss not really hot nor really Kiss. Its even hard to call this Kiss at times. Even when the bass growls, its only Kiss-like. Michael Bolton shows up co-writing the album's big single "Forever", which would never have been given to '70's Kiss but for '80's Kiss nobody likely blinked. That says it all about this era of Kiss. Yet, for their AOR flavor, the songs are actually really well crafted. I can't help but sing along to "Betrayed", "Forever", "Hide Your Heart", "Love's A Slap In The Face," & many others. They are hard to hate. They are the perfect AOR made for radio songs, which too many bands would die for. Actually, just to have one of these songs in a repertoire would be enough for many groups. They might not be the Kiss I want, but they are great. I've long said Kiss should not have brought in the outside songwriters & given them so much control, as they steered the band away from their roots & to something not-Kiss, but it all comes together here really well. The songs may not rock hard, but they have great lyrics & its hard to forget these melodies, while most I consider really well crafted. There's a few backing choirs I'd dump, & the above songs I don't like that feel like unnecessary padding that don't add much. I also might call this some of Gene's best singing in awhile, who was phoning in his performances for awhile. This would be Eric Carr's last album. I've said it before that he was a great drummer who was the perfect choice. He pounds the skins harder than Criss ever did. I credit him with giving this album the hard edge that it does. Sadly, Bruce Kulick is a good guitarist who can do anything, but also their least distinctive lead guitarist. I've heard many outings of his & not once have I been able to recognize his style, or even say he has one. Due to this, I believe the guitars on this album tend to be more subdued than I wish they were. They feel play-by-the-numbers, focusing on melodies over anything else. There's no guitarist here forcing his stamp on it. Imagine if Vinnie Vincent or Mark St. John was told to play "Forever", & you know they'd rebel & give the producer a headache ... but the riffs would be huge as a result, not tucked in the mix. Kulick is a soldier for me, not a force to be reckoned with. Talented, yes, but he doesn't have the ego. I wish they had someone with a bigger ego in the guitar chair, as I believe it would have kept the band from going too pop. But, they went there. At least they did it with good songs.

ESP (aka Eric Singer Project) ~ ESP (aka self-titled) (album review)

Style: covers, tribute, hard rock, classic rock
Label: n/a
Year: 1999
Home: n/a

Members: Eric Singer ~ drums/vocals
Bruce Kulick ~ guitar/bass/b. vocals
John Corabi ~ vocals/guitar/bass/piano
Karl Cochran ~ vocals/guitar/bass

Guest: Ace Frehley ~ lead guitar

Additional: Nicky Lemmons ~ keyboards
Roberta Freeman ~ b. vocals

I'll be honest. I've heard numerous albums by Bruce Kulick, both by Kiss & not, yet I wouldn't know it was him if you didn't tell me. There's nothing that makes me recognize his playing from any other playing. There's no riffing blues like Slash, or weird playing like Steve Vai & Allan Holdsworth, or even super melodic playing by Al Pitrelli. He's a good riffer who can pretty much play anything, & was great in Kiss, but I can't find anything about him that carries across all his work. As for Eric Singer, I've never been able to recognize drummers. Even when I took a jazz class in college where the test was to hear a series of drummers. Based on the sound of their hi-hat or a snare or playing style we had to name who it was in 4 bars. I couldn't. As for guitarist & vocalist Karl Cochran on this album, I don't know him. Well, that's not true. He's on a lot of albums by Joe Lynn Turner, many of which I own, but I can't remember anything about him or the songs. I actually got the albums for Al Pitrelli, who does have a recognizable style. While John Corabi I of course know, but wouldn't recognize & have no opinion about him. So, coming into this I hesitate. Its a supergroup with musicians who I do not consider to have a distinctive sounds ... doing covers of classic rock songs. So, having said all that, the outcome is a group of non-distinct players who end up not having a distinct sound knocking down distinctive songs by a few notches. This album feels like a pub band doing covers. Nothing more. The songs don't feel like they've really been given a completely different or unique feel, or anything other than being generic hard rock playing. Or, I should say, they feel like a typical bar band cranking out the tunes trying to rock, but not necessarily trying to sound like the originals or anything beyond what is possible for them to do. Not to mention covering Johnny Winter, Hendrix & Deep Purple with play-by-the-numbers blues solos doesn't exactly capture the feel of those musicians or songs. While "S.O.S. (Too Bad)" sounds nothing like Aerosmith. I guess, I should give them credit for interpreting a song completely different from the original ... but in this case they not just sound nothing like the original, but took out the stomp & groove. I can't compliment turning a deep cut into a boring rock song. Congrats on knocking the original down a few notches? While whoever is playing guitar on "Won't Get Fooled Again" is far too stiff to properly imitate the loose wristed Pete Townshend. This is the School Of Rock version. I can't see any reason to listen to this album. I mean, a version of Kiss' "Goin' Blind" that sounds like Kiss, but with a rougher sounder singer? I'll just listen to the original! The most interesting thing was hearing Eric Singer sing on songs by Little Feat, Humble Pie, Kiss & Montrose. He's got a rasp that makes me feel he likely did justice to performing "Beth" with Kiss. Also, the R&B take on Hendrix's "Changes" was interesting.

Kiss ~ Crazy Nights (album review) ... Not so crazy nights on what might be mistaken for a Paul solo album!

Style: hard rock, heavy metal
Label: Mercury
Year: 1987
Home: New York

Members: Paul Stanley ~ vocals/rhythm guitar/keyboards
Gene Simmons ~ vocals/bass
Eric Carr ~ drums/b. vocals
Bruce Kulick ~ guitars/keyboards/bass/b. vocals

Additional: Phil Ashley ~ keyboards

Adam Mitchell ~ guitar
Tom Kelly ~ b. vocals 

Here are my immediate thoughts, from the notes I took as listening to Crazy Nights over multiple spins & days: I don't want keyboards on a Kiss album; this has to have outside songwriters; Kiss has lost their balls; no, Gene, no, no; I'm so sorry, Bruce, you are in this drek; is this a Paul Stanley solo album in disguise with his backing band being Kiss? I shall elaborate a bit, though you are likely either nodding in agreement or say I'm being too harsh. That's what the comment space is for. I read everything & respond. "Here's a little song for everybody out there," Paul states to open the album. That should be a hint that this is not going to be Kiss as we know them & love them & want them, but instead a continuance on their self-destructive path to make music for the masses, but not for their fans, while even then the masses can do better with other big hair bands. Its such diminishing returns for Kiss in the '80's.  They started with a misstep in Unmasked in 1980, yet were musically if not commercially strong with Music From "The Elder", Creatures Of The Night, & Lick It Up, then there is a fast decline to the pits of Hell with Animalize, Asylum & 1987's Crazy Nights. So, 4 out of 7 albums in my book I can't honestly recommend outside of a track here or there. Essentially, there's Kiss in the '70's & then Kiss after Lick It Up. These are different beasts. One should be rejoiced in. The other should be handled cautiously. I imagine a level of Dante's inferno where you are stuck wearing covid-19 masks, its always windy & rainy, & you constantly hear post-Lick It Up Kiss with non-Ace Frehley tracks from Unmasked for quasi-relief. I have elsewhere called late '80's Kiss a neutered Kiss. No balls. No guts. No growl. No beast. Kiss light. If Kiss had been done on the Donny & Marie Osmond show, i.e. wholesome family entertainment. Crazy Nights keeps the trend going. I seriously can't believe Kiss thought this was a good album, or that to continue on the path of playing bland '80's rock was the way to keep going. Not to mention pushing the keyboards high in the mix just makes me ask about their sanity even more. What were they thinking? Keep keyboards in the background, as Kiss is a guitar/bass strong band. End of story. Its thus ironic when Paul sings "Nobody is going to change me / cause that's who I am / these are crazy crazy nights" in "Crazy Crazy Nights", cause change is exactly what this album is about. Changing into something even farther from the Kiss mold. This is thus the most meaningless phrase ever sung by Paul in his dire rush to sound relevant ... rush into a brick wall. How far can you go with this sound? How did Kiss even make it through these years without falling apart? Too big to fail is likely the cause. The only thing I can say good about this album is Paul sings really really well & few songs I thought were catchy. But, you shouldn't describe Kiss as catchy. That's like describing Barry Manilow as headbanging or Nirvana as heavy metal. Speaking of Barry Manilow, is it just me, or does "Crazy Crazy Nights" have a melody line that sounds like a Broadway musical? Only Barry Manilow gets to do Broadway songs in my book. Sorry, Paul.Gene Simmons's "No, No, No" is not one of his strongest moments on record. Actually, he doesn't have any strong moments on this album, to the point where I had to look up if it was really him singing. Yet, I do want to give kudos to Bruce Kulick who goes crazy on this track. The song sounds perfect for the stage with an extended solo & flashing lights. Yet, it would be perfect with different vocals. Stop singing it weakly, Gene, like you're trying to be Barry Manilow. Give this a growl. This album badly needs some growling! Gene's "Thief In The Night" has an interesting riff and lead guitar part, & it sounds like its trying to growl ... but we need a better bass line & less of the backing vocals & a less tinny guitar. This is an interesting song & I mention it because it was recorded by Wendy O. Williams, produced & with bass by Gene, on her 1984 debut solo album WOW. Guests on the album included Paul, Ace, & Eric Carr. Her version will clobber you with throaty vocals, powerful drums that would make Eric blush, & a thick ass guitar. Gene then he did this version. Its amazing how one can turn a dirty ass song into something that might be sung in church. A Mormon Church, no less. Gene, oh, Gene, no, no, no. Just so many no's for Gene on this album. Of note, the lead guitarist on Wendy's version is Michael Race, who played on Creatures Of The Night on 4 songs instead of Ace, including the title track. Ah, but that was back when Kiss kicked ass! This album and others of the era by Kiss, which I remember being promoted when I was young, are the reasons I never got into Kiss as a boy. "Reason To Live" was the big MTV hit. Big as in, I guess, MTV had nothing else to play of value. If I heard this at the time I would have passed on it. I likely did & doing the same in my 40's.

Kiss ~ Asylum (album review) ... Not the worst Kiss album ever!

Style: hard rock
Label: Mercury
Year: 1985
Home: New York

Members: Paul Stanley ~ vocals/guitar/bass
Gene Simmons ~ bass/vocals
Bruce Kulick ~ lead guitar/b. vocals
Eric Carr ~ drums/b. vocals

Additional: Jean Beauvoir ~ bass/b. vocals
Allan Schwartzberg ~ drum overdubs

Asylum is often called the worst Kiss album, or at least competing for bottom place. I put Unmasked on the bottom, by far, which for me doesn't even sound like Kiss outside of a few tracks by Ace Frehley. Though, Asylum does not climb very high on my ladder of Kiss studio albums, even if you exclude their classic '70's output. The criticisms around this album usually call out Kiss for joining the '80's hair metal bandwagon with a bad sound & weak songs. Essentially, not being Kiss. Unmasked had them trying for some strange '70's pop rock that was even farther from Kiss than anything before or after. By the time Asylum came out Kiss had already moved into the '80's mold so there should be no surprise with this musical transition. If anything it has weak songs, but they'd already stacked up their share of weak songs. Perhaps Asylum gets worse ratings by some because it came after some good albums like Creatures Of The Night, Lick It Up & the under-rated Music From "The Elder", while 1980's Unmasked came in a transitional moment in the music industry & thus might be forgiven a bit for its musical flavor. This is the first album to feature guitarist Bruce Kulick as an official member, having already covered for Mark St. John on both the previous album & tour. While in the drum seat continues to be the powerhouse Eric Carr. Kulick contributes some songs, but doesn't really throw the band for a loop as a new presence. What does throw the band for a loop is the presence of outside songwriter Desmond Child. Child would become known for helping launch comebacks for Alice Cooper, Aerosmith, & essentially mold the '80's big hair sound by writing one chart topping hit after another for a whose who of the scene. He's also known for writing songs that sound more like him & less like their respective artists, where one can mix & match a Child song between artists without much worrying about losing the band's personality. Child has written great songs & continues to do so to the present day, but just because one is a hit songwriter doesn't mean they fit for every band. Jewel is a hit songwriter, but I can't imagine her handing over "Who Will Save Your Soul" to Kiss. While Kiss themselves are hit songwriters, but I can't see them offering Barry Manilow Gene's "Dance All Over Your Face." Child doesn't know the classic Kiss sound & is steering them elsewhere, somewhere better suited for Bon Jovi who when working with Child didn't have a distinctive sound that had changed heavy metal. He's the wrong fit. If only they'd had Bob Rock or Rick Rubin. Even when Child tries to write a Kiss-like song, he doesn't quite get it right. Child is a far superior writer than anyone in Kiss, but Kiss is who they are for lyrics that are a bit rough. This is not a band of slick wordplay or poetry or Jim Morrison laments or Bob Dylan rambles. Child tries, but he's not heavy metal. More so, he's not dangerous. He's sexy & sly with tons of innuendoes, but never dangerous. His music is for mass consumption with things that walk the line, like Aerosmith's "Dude (Looks Like A Lady)", not to make parents cringe via anal sex which Kiss did in "Nothin' To Lose" from their debut. "Plaster Caster" from 1977's Love Gun about having a plaster cast made of one's male genitalia could never come from Child's pen, but we expect something like this from Gene. What we expect isn't being found here. That's the problem. What Kiss does, he can't do. Thus, the problem with Asylum is Kiss neutered of their power. Gone is the beast on stage & in the music. On first listen the album isn't bad, but on repeated listens its obvious Kiss isn't singing with their plaster castered cocks anymore. Though, there are moments, which for me makes this not their worst album ever. "King Of The Mountain" is a big & bold song that might not be one of their great hits of the post-70's, worth putting in your shuffled playlist. "Who Wants To Be Lonely" is a good ballad. Paul also needs credit for good singing. Its ironic that this would be called Asylum, given fans were not crazy about it, or it drove fans crazy with frustration. To play on another pun, if your lover reaches over for this Kiss, turn away. Its going to be a sloppy kiss.

Kiss ~ Animalize (album review) ... No animals were harmed in the making of this album!

Style: heavy metal, glam metal
Label: Mercury
Year: 1984
Home: New York

Members: Paul Stanley ~ lead vocals/rhythm guitar/bass
Gene Simmons ~ lead vocals/bass
Eric Carr ~ drums/b. vocals
Mark St. John ~ lead guitar

Additional: Bruce Kulick ~ guitar solo
Jean Beauvoir ~ bass
Desmond Child ~ b. vocals
Allan Schwartzberg ~ drums
Mitch Weissman ~ guitar

I like this album. Yet, it leaves me not quite shaken to core like other Kiss albums. Its not their worst album, but its also not their best. It doesn't hit me in the gut like I expect Kiss will. I enjoy listening to it, but aren't rockin' in my chair. It feels like Kiss. It sounds like Kiss. It rocks hard like I want Kiss to rock, but yet I feel left wanting in a strange way. My first thought: the drums need to be louder. A band can't rock if the drums are tucked into the mix as just a rhythm instrument. Eric Carr was a great drummer, better than Peter Criss, & dropping him in the mix muzzles the power of the album. That brings me to the problem of Animalize. It rocks, but doesn't have power. Kiss is a band that makes up for all of its weaknesses with a power that other bands try to achieve but can only dream of. Its like their oversized egos come through the music. That doesn't happen here. The album feels glossy & like Kiss trying to be Kiss, but they've left their egos at home & just want to play nice. Kiss without egos is like Gene not boasting about his life ... something just isn't right. All the pieces are here, but not the passion, or in Gene's case the growl, that weaves through everything Kiss does. This is the only Kiss album with Mark St. John, replacing Vinnie Vincent, & he's a great guitar slinger. "While The City Sleeps" has a lightening guitar solo that Ace Frehley could never play, even in his dreams, that almost is too much as it leaves no bodies standing. St. John, Vincent & later Bruce Kulick & Tommy Thayer are all highly competent guitarists. In technical ways they might all be better than Ace, but all share one problem that weakens them all in Ace's looming shadow: he was a sloppy guitarist at times & a composer with a strange inner music that poured out, yet always recognizable because somehow he straddled the bridge of genius vs madman, great guitarist vs train wreck. St. John & company are all superb players, but none are distinct, none ever play a bad note, none ever put their neck on the line, none ever look bad. None are the Spaceman floating in space. None are madmen. They are too perfect & Kiss is not perfect. Kiss is rough around the edges. Kiss is four madmen all competing for the same spotlight. This is where Animalize fails. Its good music, but its not mad. Its not an inspired madman looking to create some wild concoction, but a very un-mad scientists playing it safe, following the rules, being nice, not wanting to make waves. Essentially, not wanting to be an animal. Mentioning St. John is not meant to list him as the problem, as he's not. He is simply the symptom of the larger problem that Gene & Paul are letting Igor run the experiments & he's playing it safe to not get caught. Kiss are criticized for an output in '80's that suffers from trying to sound like every other hair metal band. When commercial success wavered they didn't keep doing what had worked, but tried to play the game according to the rules of the bands on the scene, the irony is many of those bands were inspired by Kiss breaking the rules. There are no rules broken by Kiss on Animalize. Its a safe moment in their catalog with some songs that are not embarrassments, but imagine them being played by the unsafe '70's Kiss & this would be an album that lives up to its name. It doesn't sound inspired, nor am I inspired listening. This is what happens when you follow the rules. The outcome is an animal in name only & Igor is not quite as mad as his boss.

Michael Bolton ~ Everybody's Crazy (album review) ... Everybody making this album was crazy!

Style: hard rock
Label: Sony
Year: 1985
Home: n/a

Members: Michael Bolton ~ vocals/guitar

Larry Fast ~ synthesizer programming
Randy Goodrum ~ keyboards/synthesizer programming/b. vocals

Bruce Kulick ~ lead guitar

Kevin Dukes, Paul Pesco ~ guitar

Mark Mangold, Neil Kernon, Lloyd Landesman, Mark Radice, Allan St. John, Jan Mullaney, Doug Katsaros ~ keyboards

Dennis Felman ~ bass/b. vocals

Schuyler Deale ~ bass
Chuck Burgi ~ drums

Mark Rivera ~ sax

Joe Cerisano, Terry Brock, Peppy Castro ~ b. vocals

I often tell folks I like the early rocker Michael Bolton, when he played guitar, wore leather pants, was known as a songwriter who did anonymous jingles on the side, versus the smooth suited R&B crooner. Yes, you read all those things & the pictures here verify its true. I also highly recommend reading his autobiography that goes into details on his homeless pot-smoking hippie youth where he couldn't make a music career happen for the life of him. He jokes in the book that his early solo albums, now out of print, sold amazingly well ... among family members & a few friends. That's likely less of a joke than not, as it actually took over a decade before his name was recognized beyond a small circle of peers. His first solo albums in the 1970's, under the name Michael Bolotin, are light-weight forgettable pop affairs. Throughout the 70's he would focus on being an in-house on-the-clock songwriter for other performers, recording jingles anonymously to pay the rent, & fronting the hard rock band Blackjack. Yup, you read that again: hard rock band. The band went nowhere fast, but has since become famous for its membership, which included former Meat Loaf guitarist Bruce Kulick before he joined Kiss, Cyndi Lauper's future drummer, & the future bassist of the Yellowjackets jazz group. Entering the 1980's Bolton tried again at a solo career, with former band mate Kulick trading guitar parts with Bolton. If you are reading this in disbelief, I really do recommend checking out his book. I already knew this history, but I came away having more of a respect for him & the long journey he's had in music. His first solo album in the new decade, self-titled & under the the name Bolton, had the minor hit "Fool's Game" along with a bunch of over-stuffed forgettable hard rock songs of variable quality. You'll likely forget most of the songs soon after you hear them. I've reviewed it on this blog. Everybody's Crazy was the follow-up in 1985, with the title track getting in a soundtrack but no other hits. It sold just as wildly among family members & friends & soon dropped off the edge of the earth. The limited success of the first album should have made the label want to try something different ... but, that's not how the music business works. Thus, one must assume the title of this second outing is a reflection of the players involved. Everybody's Crazy goes for the same generic non-distinct rock sound. To its credit there is more variation & chances taken, but to counter that the guitar solos are cranked up. Bolton comes off as a minor player on his own album, fighting to be heard under a synthesizer & guitar onslaught. One wonders if the producers were competing for the Aldo Nova or future Joe Satriani & Eric Johnson crowd. This feels more like Blackjack might sound if they reunited. It sounds like a band, not an album for a singing known for strong pipes & a distinct tone. Actually, I should rephrase this. At times you wonder if this is a Bruce Kulick solo album as the guitar parts have such a strong & prominent stamp on all the songs. I don't even want to know who mixed this album. The lyrics are actually not bad, & with different arrangements or a mix it might actually have been successful. Turn the guitars down & turn Bolton up, & dump the backing choir that makes it feel like Bolton doesn't have the pipes to do it on his own. Bolton shouldn't be backed up by new wave-esque pumping synthesizers & slashing rock guitars leading to wild solos better suited for Kiss. That's a cardinal sin, all of it. The effects on his voice on the title track don't help. Yes, synthesizing Bolton's voice .... cardinal sins doth multiplieth. What is really interesting is the fourth track "Call My Name" which slows things down, the guitars are delegated to a rhythmic role & there is a couple soaring sax solos. It easily could have been heard on the next album The Hunger, which had the chart-topping hit "(Sittin' On The) Dock Of The Bay" approved by Otis Redding's widow, & no one would have known it was from a different session. "Call My Name" has hit written all over it, even more than "Fool's Game" from the earlier album, but is lost on an album trying to push away listeners. Do nobody think: this is the sound we want, let's scrap the rest of the album & re-record it? Likely, no, because that's how the music business works where everybody is crazy. "Everytime" & "Stop Breaking My Heart" are also really really good, & with a different less guitar-oriented mix would be great to revisit. For the record, the follow-up re-invention album The Hunger features even more musicians, but the arrangements are allowed to breath & Bolton is allowed to be the focus, finally. For those that want to know what came next, it was luck. According to his book, Bolton would record his demos for other songwriters with just his vocals & acoustic guitar. The tapes were traded around the label's office with adoration, until they landed in the right hands. After Everybody's Crazy Bolton would move to a new label & with it would come a complete change of looks & sound. Kulick was also off to Kiss, so he wouldn't be around, which might be a good thing as it allowed his former band mate to properly move on. Bolton had no reputation & nothing to lose, so nobody would criticize him for selling out. The irony is that his first hit, "(Sittin' On The) Dock Of The Bay)", was criticized not for selling out but for stealing & desecrating Otis' music. Soon after Bolton would be sitting at the top of the charts & the the rest is love ballad history.

One Way Street: A Tribute To Aerosmith (album review) ... Aerosmith should be worried about competition!

Style: hard rock, heavy metal, classic rock, tribute
Label: Shrapnel
Year: 2001
Home: n/a

Members: Joe Lynn Turner, Tim "Ripper" Owens, Jeff Scott Soto, Whitfield Crane, Glenn Hughes, Bobby Kimball, Jack Russell, Doug Pinnick, Robin McAuley, John Corabi, Fee Waybill ~ vocals
Doug Aldrich, Al Pitrelli, Reb Beach, Steve Lukather, Blues Saraceno, Bruce Kulick, Stevie Salas, Craig Goldy, Richie Kotzen, Elliot Easton, Waddy Wachtel ~ guitars
Jeff Pilson, Tony Franklin, Carmine Rojas, Michael Porcaro, Tim Bogert, Jason Scheff, John Alderete, Jimmy Haslip, Marco Mendoza, Jimmy Bain, Phil Sousson ~ bass
Carmine Appice, Eric Singer, Frankie Banali, Pat Torpey, Rick Morotta, Tony Thompson, Aynsley Dunbar, Brian Tichy, Vinnie Colaiuta, Gregg Bissonette, Vinny Appice ~ drums
Derek Sherinian, Paul Taylor ~ keyboards

Additional: David Glen Eisley, Alex Ligertwood ~ b. vocals
Bob Kulick, Bruce Bouillet ~ guitars
Scott Walton ~ keyboards

With guitarist Bob Kulick producing & former Yes member Billy Sherwood doing some engineering, this is an all-star tribute album in every way. As for the musical way ... some tribute albums call upon bands to submit tracks by a particular artist or to submit songs that come under a theme. Other tribute albums, quite often with Kulick in the production chair well by choice or label favorite, take the different & more exciting approach of bringing together musicians & randomly pairing them up to record a single track. The unpredictability factor is exponentially increased, as while we may know how a certain musician, such as a recognizable singer or guitarist, is with a certain backing band or producing their own music, the question now is how are they with musicians they may or may not know, with someone else producing & with someone else's material that may or may not be a good fit? The outcome isn't always pretty, but certainly interesting. In this case the album on the whole has as many highs & lows as any other tribute album - tribute albums generally being like concept albums in that the idea is often better than the uneven output - but at least here you can never predict what will come next & more than once the outcome is shocking & sometimes on par with the original songs. That being said, should a tribute album aim to be better than the originals it is copying or is that even a silly question to ask, let alone egotistical? Or, should it aim for duplication of known songs but with different musicians in an attempt to recreate the original song? Or, should it aim for reinvention of old songs & brave bold new directions? Or, should a musician try to be like who they are copying, dulling down their own style, versus putting their own style on the song molding it to them instead of them to it? It's hard to answer any of these questions. Sometimes a song is copied so well one believes imitation is the best approach, other times reinvention creates startling effects & makes that approach the winner. Should one aim for better? That's probably never the goal, but let's be honest that Marilyn Manson improved upon "Tainted Love" with his own stamp on the Soft Cell electro-pop version, which greatly improved upon the now forgotten disco original. This is certainly a case for reinvention & for remolding the song to one's style. Though, the real answer probably comes down to how good the song is. Did the musicians, whatever their approach, create a good song worthy of a few listens? That's ultimately the goal of music & if achieved then all is well. Sometimes a project like this is laced with the goal of duplication, but here with Kulick there's no such requirement or at least while there is some imitation Kulick is as open to experimentation, making sure only that the style of music remains hard rock or heavy metal. The best songs on this album are those where imitation is second to taking the song as one's own. The differences rate higher than the imitation in this setting ... which, to note, is not always the case with tribute albums where a band that's not very good plays other people's songs not very good. The forgotten early 80's hit, originally recorded by the Joe Perry Project, "Let The Music Do The Talking" features dueling guitars all courtesy of Al Pitrelli of Trans-Siberian Orchestra/Savatage in one of his rare recordings playing slide guitar, with regular musical partner Joe Lynn Turner of Rainbow on vocals. JLT is nothing like Aerosmith's Steven Tyler & that might be what makes this a strong track as comes off as a bluesy rock romp far different than it's original. A third guitar even gets overdubbed in one of Al's more under-rated recording moments. A highlight of the album. The obscure "Round & Round" features a thick guitar solo by Reb Beach of Winger & now Whitesnake that's heavier & more technically challenging than Aerosmith have ever been. He is a little experimental like Joe Perry tends to be, but with a more unified sound. Perry often gets lost in the world of overdubs & guitars cascading against each other losing sight of where the solo is going. Beach keeps it in focus & between him & Pitrelli create two standout tracks. Tim "Ripper" Owens puts in some slightly distorted vocals for a raunchy take on that end of the song, but not raunchy in the way Aerosmith is. Eric Singer contributes a strong drum part, but bad mixing sadly put the emphasis on the high-hat when it would be better to hear more low-end. "Cryin" features Jeff Scott Soto who might be the most close in vocal match to Steven Tyler with all the little nuances found in the original vocal line. It's a spooky vocal interpretation & others I've played this track for agree. Move over Steven, we have a successor for your weary voice. Though on guitar it's all the trademark Bob Kulick overindulgent thick guitar rhythms that don't always work well. "Kings & Queens" is completely transformed by Glenn Hughes' tenor vocals that give it almost a Genesis a la Peter Gabriel feeling against Paul Taylor's piano lines & Steve Lukather's restrained guitar. Another must hear. "One Way Street" with vocalist Doug Pinnick, like "Kings & Queens", is given a surprisingly new life & one that is very funky. It sounds nothing like Aerosmith & worth hearing. Non-essential listening includes "Eat The Rich", which is a bit of a tongue-in-cheek song but here done seriously & ends up sounding like an imitation but heavier with bassist Jeff Pilson & current Whitesnake guitarist Doug Aldrich. But, tongue-in-cheek turned into heavy wannabe raunchiness falls on its face for so many reasons. The classic "Rats In The Cellar" sounds like an undistinctive garage band doing a cover in their garage, while "Living On The Edge" is a bit of a psychedelic rock take on a pop song that doesn't go anywhere & probably is another garage band trying to be something they're not. Dream Theater's Derek Sherinian on keyboards does little for the imitative "What It Takes", while under-rated guitarist Blues Saraceno turns in some smooth lines on "Angel" by it's all by the book for the rest of the song. "Lord Of The Thighs" sounds like a wannabe black metal song with vocalist Whitfield Crane, but all is weighed down by the obligatory appearance of producer Kulick's brother Bruce on guitar but his riffs don't match the heaviness that the song is reaching for. In the end this is a better tribute than average. The guitarists & vocalists to no surprise dominate & the Kulick trademark guitar sound is laced all over the place, to its detriment & cluttering. The diversity of old & new, familiar & not so much, songs is a nice bonus. Of note Kulick has also done tributes to Queen, Kiss, Alice Cooper, Cher, Shania Twain, Iron Maiden, Beatles, Christmas & Frank Sinatra. This Aerosmith tribute might be one of his best.

Bruce Kulick & John Corabi's The Union ~ The Blue Room (album review) ... When Kiss gets Motley!

Style: hard rock
Label: Spitfire
Year: 2000
Home: Los Angeles, California

Members: Bruce Kulick ~ guitar/vocals
John Corabi ~ vocals
Jamie Hunting ~ bass
Brent Fitz ~ drums

 

This is one of those albums you may spot in a discount rack & pick it up because of whose in it. Guitarist Bruce Kulick formerly of Kiss & vocalist John Corabi formerly of Motley Crue are undoubtedly drawing on their respective rock pasts & the less showy end of it no less in their collaboration as Union. Obviously Kulick was continuing to stay away from putting on make-up & a floor show with this new & relatively short-lived band. That's the key to Union, no pretentious floor show - either on their self-titled debut, a live album, this second release or their follow-up swan song after this. Union rocks hard & while not always unique or too gutsy & some of the choruses are a bit too predictably radio friendly or distant cousins of Creed or Stone Temple Pilots, the whole makes up for the individual with a decent album that will bring repeated listens. You'll be listening repeatedly even when you're saying you're not going to because it's not gutsy enough. The music creeps up on you. You'll feel like you've heard the songs or the flavor of them before, but you haven't & thus you stay listening. They walk that type of musical line. Check out "Dead" & "Hypnotized" for big radio friendly choruses that have the potential to fail as they play things a bit too safe, a general rule of thumb for the whole album, but are so laid back with good steady riffs not too cluttered or chunky & with just enough changes to make them standout tracks & vibrantly catchy. Great songwriting & composing for its genre keeps the album floating, though don't expect anything that sounds like Kiss meets Motley Crue. While Corabi might have joined the bad boys following their legacy making Dr. Feelgood he saw the Crue go for a more alt rock/grunge influenced sound before outstaying his welcome with fans, while Kulick's time in Kiss was like Corabi under the shadow of previous band members & also during a less than memorable era. It's very common to start drooling over a band because of the line-up ... it's supergroup time so let's knock the walls down with magic! But, does it really mean anything to say x y & z members are from a b & c bands? It sets the listener up with expectations that there will be a fusion of a b & c bands. Not here, but you probably won't be disappointed, even when Kulick sings on "Dear Friend" with his less than interesting voice. It goes by too quickly to be noticeable. The problem here is not so much that x & y were in a & b bands, or that said bands had a low point with said members, but that said members don't really have distinctive sounds. Can you tell a Kulick solo if nobody told you? We're not talking Van Halen or Steve Vai or Yngwie Malmsteen here, we're talking guys whose magic is blending in. That's really why this album doesn't fly. They've made blend in music. It's good, but not unique. It bites, but not with much pressure from the teeth. Ironically, Corabi would later unite with another ex-Kiss player in drummer Eric Singer plus Karl Cochran of Ace Frehley's band to release an album under the name ESP.

Northern Light Orchestra ~ The Spirit Of Christmas (album review) ... TSO for the Christian crowd!

Style: holiday, heavy metal
Label: VSR Music Group
Year: 2009
Home: n/a

Members: Lanny Cordola ~ rhythm guitars
Chuck Wright ~ bass
Ken Mary ~ drums/b. vocals
Phillip Bardowell ~ vocals

Guests: Dave Ellefson, Krys Van Slyke ~ bass
George Lynch, Bruce Kulick, Doug Aldrich, Chris Sanders, Bill Leverty, Elliot Randall, Steve Conley, Jason Hook, John Davis ~ lead guitar
Shane Gibson, Kendall Bechtel ~ guitars
Dizzy Reed, Brian Stewart ~ keyboards
Kip Winger, Alan Gregson ~ strings
Rose Stone, Jon Gibson, Robin McAuley ~ vocals
Danny Vaughn ~ b. vocals
Debbie Sledge, Eddie James, Bob Carlisle ~ lead vocals

They've named themeselves an orchestra, only tour at Christmas, have a rotating door of guest musicians & a modifed line-up appearing on stage, have an album of Christmas songs which are all rocked up versions of Christian hymns ... no, it's not Trans-Siberian Orchestra, it's the NLO. It's hard not to call NLO an imitation. It's hard not to figure that the creators of the group saw the success of TSO & with their own careers stuttering in obscurity along wanted to do something bigger. Certainly, the array of guest musicians on NLO's one album is a step to get noticed. The big difference between the two bands is that there's no instrumental classical songs getting a rock treatment here, which TSO often likes to do to the point of nauseum. There's also no story, while all but two songs of the seventeen (i.e. "Celebrate Christmas", "I Feel The Warmth") have to do with the baby Jesus. One might say this is a super safe TSO for the Christian crowd, great to play at holiday worship services. TSO has always walked a fine line of discussing Christian morals, angels included, but without directly touching on anything Christian. The other difference is where TSO is operatic, over-the-top, classically influenced & with an array of musical styles, this is primarily a guitar riffing affair. There's not much soul or world beat or jazz, no violin solos or piano only ballads & certainly no childrens' choirs. It's a rock'n'roll Christmas party. No one can deny that TSO has pushed what can be done with rock & Christmas music to new levels, while bands like Glenn Kaiser & Rez Band, Larry Norman, Phil Keaggy, Randy Stonehill & countless others have pushed rock & Christian music in wide & varied directions, thus Christian songs with lots of guitar solos is ultimately less than exciting. Individually there's some fun upbeat songs, but rock musicians release every year countless Christmas albums doing the same thing. However good the individuals, the big picture suffers from a lack of inspiration. Actually, the Kings Of Christmas debut release in 2012, featuring former members of TSO, sounds nothing like TSO & shows just how far one can go away from that dominating influence. I commend NLO for taking a overtly Christian approach, which opens the door to criticism by anti-Christians. Youth oriented worship groups everywhere will greatly enjoy this album. While, it doesn't rock harder than any other Christian group, like Rez Band, so its not lacking in drive. As for the creativity of the project ... personally, I'll go to TSO. Even where they are maudlin they are the litmus test. While I get tired of TSO's classically influenced songs, I also like my Christian music a little less direct than Jesus this & Jesus that ... think Larry Norman. Though, "Child Of Abraham" is a standout with Bruce Kulick of Kiss & & vocalist Phillip Bardowell at his best. A great voice you've probably never heard. What truly makes this project stand out is the names involved in it, most prominently bassist Dave Ellefson of Megadeth, on hiatus from Megadeth at the time, who became a spokesman for the group & performed live with them. Sadly, on the five tracks he's on, of course, the bass is just another instrument in the mix, lost behind the guitars. The core band is actually all of the supergroup Magdallan, with drummer Ken Mary & guitarist Larry Cordola appearing on all the tracks & bassist Chuck Wright & singer Bardowell on most in either lead or backing roles. It should be mentioned that all but Bardowell are also former members of House Of Lords. Bardowell & Cordola are also Beach Boys alum. Bassist Wright is mostly known for his work with Quiet Riot, while drummer Mary has been a part of the Alice Cooper band & Impellitteri. As for the rest of the album, the big selling point no doubt, the guests include: guitarists Chris Sanders of Knight Fury & Lizzy Borden, Jason Hook of Alice Cooper & Five Finger Death Punch, Bill Leverty of Firehouse, Doug Aldrich of Whitesnake, Steve Conley of F5 with Dave Ellefson, Kendall Bechtel of Fifth Angel, Shane Gibson of Korn, John Davis of Superdrag, session man Elliot Randall of Asia & Steely Dan, George Lynch of Lynch Mob & Dokken, Kip Winger of Winger; keyboardists Dizzy Reed of Guns N Roses, Brian Stewart of Backstreet Boys & Evermore; vocalists Danny Vaughn of Tyketto, Rose Stone of Sly & the Family Stone, Debbie Sledge of Sister Sledge, Eddie James of London/D'Priest, Robin McAuley of Survivor & McAuley Schenker Group; Christian singers Bob Carlisle & Jon Gibson; producer Alan Gregson.

Michael Bolton ~ Michael Bolton (aka self-titled) (album review) ... The music business is a fool's game!

Style: hard rock
Label: Columbia
Year: 1983
Home: New York

Members: Michael Bolton ~ vocals/lead guitar
Bob Kulick ~ rhythm guitar
Bruce Kulick ~ guitar
Scott Zito, Craig Brooks ~ guitar/b. vocals
Michael Braun, Chuck Burgi ~ drums
Mark Clarke, Scott Zito ~ bass
Mark Mangold ~ keyboards/b. vocals
Jan Mullaney, Scott Zito, Doug Katsaros ~ keyboards
Lloyd Landesman ~ b. vocals

Guests: Aldo Nova ~ lead guitar/keyboards
George Clinton ~ keyboards/b. vocals

For fans of Journey & Foreigner ... for fans of fringe or early 80's hard rock where guitars & keyboards rule & hairspray has yet to become the sixth member of the band ... for fans of seeing where an artist was musically before they became famous ... for fans of guitarist Aldo Nova, if there are any ... for 80's era Kiss fans or those interested in brother guitarists Bob & Bruce Kulick ... & lastly for fans of liking to hear an artist they're familiar with do something entirely different. If any of the above fits then you will probably get a lot of delight out of the now forgotten, deliberately helped to be forgotten by the artist himself, third solo album by MB ... the first under the name MB having previously released two albums as Michael Bolotin & two albums with his now truly forgotten hard rock band Blackjack with Bruce Kulick. For those that only know MB as the blue-eyed soul crooner this early release should come as a shock. There's no crooner here but instead a leather pants, Jim Morrison-esque blouse wearing hard rocker who sings & plays rock guitar solos. Yes, MB once was a quite competent rock guitarist who was trying for a adaptation of a guitar wielding Robert Plant not Ray Charles or Englebert Humperdinck. It was an image that didn't last long as it found little success on its own or with Blackjack. The tour for this album, supporting the minor single "Fool's Game", only lasted a literal handful of shows before being cancelled, though it did include future stars Bruce Kulick, who left to join Kiss, Bruno Ravel of Danger Danger, keyboardist/songwriter Mark Mangold & future Megadeth/Trans-Siberian Orchestra guitarist Al Pitrelli. Another hard rock album would be released before MB changed labels & was given one of the most extensive musical & physical facelifts one could image with the rest history. Oddly, I can't recall anyone ever calling MB a fake though he's as much a label creation as the Monkees or Britney Spears. "Fool's Game" is a guitar light rock song that's so far from what would eventually come from MB's lips & pen it's an enjoyable surprise. It's really a bit too polished, cliched & tame to be a real long-lasting rocker, compared to what else was coming out at the time, but its faults are made exciting by hindsight of what would later follow from MB. It's almost a shock that MB would become as big as he did after listening to this album, not to mention his work with Blackjack & as Michael Bolotin. There are only a few clues of what he was capable of once he traded in the leather for a suit. The closest might be in closer "I Almost Believed You" which is a mix of Todd Rundgren-era Meat Loaf & future MB that comes out of nowhere. Though MB does cover of the Supremes "Back In My Arms Again" which hearkens a bit of the same spirit he'd draw more fully from in the decade ahead, but it's still in a rock mold. MB has got the voice, no doubt, but its undeveloped as he stays far away from the Ray Charles ballads that push him vocally, instead going for a Journey or Foreigner-esque pop rock ballad feel(for example "Carrie") that is more about the feel than the voice. Once the image changed he'd put down the guitar, while Kiss would pull Bruce Kulick away within a few albums, so that element got toned down if not largely removed. Before the tides turn one can enjoy three guitar solos by MB (i.e. "Fool's Game", "Hometown Hero", "Fighting For My Life") with the rest of the guitar parts taken up by Bruce Kulick (i.e. "She Did The Same Thing", "Can't Hold On, Can't Let Go"), the now forgotten chart topper Aldo Nova (i.e. "Can't Hold On, Can't Let Go", "Back In My Arms Again"), with five songs featuring 1970's Kiss co-composer & under-rated session man/producer & Bruce's brother Bob Kulick on rhythm guitar. The album is a high energy rock'n'roll affair & it's almost too bad the songs have been, deliberately, removed from the Bolton repertoire. They're not bad & certainly not embarrassing, albeit largely cliched love songs, & some of them could even be successfully reworked with the later MB sound to find renewed life. This is far from an album to shy away from. There's certainly an addicting appeal to it because the songs are so unheard, whereas the later MB catalog has been ingrained into anyone's soul who grew up in the 80's/90's that they've become stale. This is fresh, naive & genuinely fun. That's what rock'n'roll is all about.

Graham Bonnet ~ The Day I Went Mad (album review) ... The day I became a Graham Bonnet fan!

Style: hard rock, heavy metal, power metal
Label: Escape Music
Year: 2001
Home: Los Angeles

Members: Graham Bonnet ~ vocals
Kevin Valentine ~ drums

Additional: Mark Eric ~ guitar
Michael Alemania, Teddy Andreass ~ keyboards
Jamie Carter, Tim Bogert, Matt Boyd ~ bass

Guests: Slash, Vivian Campbell, Danny Johnson, Bruce Kulick, Mario Parga ~ guitars
John Thomas ~ guitars/keyboards
Tony Franklin ~ bass

Maybe I listen to too much music that sounds alike cause I swear a lot of it I forget as soon as the headphones come off. Or, maybe a lot of it is just not that memorable regardless of how good the musicians are. Then, occasionally, I hear something & I can't get it out of my head & I realize how really bland everything I've been listening to is in comparison. I originally started this review months ago but the album has been going around in my head so much I didn't want to let it out of my thoughts by finishing the review. I've felt like a parent having a kid leave home. Will I ever listen to the album again once it leaves me? Will I listen to the next album by this artist sooner than later? It's an album like The Day I Went Mad where I realize my problem is an overdose of bland music & I'm frightened to return to it ... I might go mad. This is a wake up album. I even wrote an e-mail to someone about how good this album was & I was only on the 3rd song. Brit Graham Bonnet is one of the lesser names of 80's singers, though it's not because he hasn't been prolific nor because he has an incredibly recognizable & it's not because he doesn't talented set of vocal cords somewhat in the style of Rob Halford. While his trademark James Dean-esque greaser look in an era of hair metal, though recently he's also been known to show up in a suit, has given him lots of coverage. Further, he fronted Rainbow after Dio left along with the Michael Schenker group & was in Alcatrazz with Satriani & Vai respectively. But, like many musicians the chart-topping hit has eluded him & thus his legacy/name recognition isn't reflective of what it should be. This album is cornucopia of alt-rock, Queen-esque operatic choir, 80's rock & power metal & maybe even a little grunge by way of Alice In Chains. The band is great but it's Bonnet's voice that is the key moving it all to a new level. As good as Halford, Dio, Ozzy or any other famed singer with a voice that can scream or get down to a grinding snarl. The Day I Went Mad is full of incredibly memorable riffs spanning a musical spectrum where each song is like a mini-musical world of its own with none of them sounding alike & not a bit of filler & every song, more importantly, rocks out. You actually begin to wonder what the band sounds like if they just let loose & rock out in a jam session. Some bands you know need the studio, but these guys sound like they could make magic anywhere. But, while this cornucopia approach can make for a difficult listen, & has been the weak spot of many albums, Bonnet's voice is the rope that keeps it all together. I didn't know Bonnet before I came across this & picked it up because I like the name of the album, it reminded me of the Queen song "I'm Going Slightly Mad", but this is one of the most spectacular releases I've accidentally took a chance on. If you can't tell - I've been made a fan. Highly recommended for everyone who likes to rock! Further, this is an album that actually sounds original in a world where nothing is original anymore. Featured in guest spots are Slash, Def Leppard's Vivian Campbell, KISS's Bruce Kulick, The Firm's Tony Franklin & members of Firefly.