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.

Peter Criss ~ Out Of Control (album review) ... The cat meows!

Style: pop rock, adult alternative, blues-rock
Label: Mercury
Year: 1980
Home: New York

Members: Peter Criss ~ vocals/drums/percussion
Stan Penridge ~ guitars/b. vocals
David Wolfert ~ guitars/synthesizer
Tony Mercandante ~ bass/b. vocals
Stu Woods ~ bass
Benny Harrison ~ keyboards/b. vocals
Ed Walsh, Greg Zanthus Winter ~ synthesizer
David Buskin ~ b. vocals
George Young ~ saxophone

This, Peter's second solo album, has its collection of lovers & fierce haters. Comparing it to what came before I think this album shows an increase in Peter's confidence as a musician & singer. Its like he found his legs after doing his first solo album. This is a much stronger album, & the one I would recommend to hear first. He sings with more confidence. Peter often belts out like a blues rocker here to great effect. He lets his voice fly like a bird like he's auditioning to take over from Paul as Kiss' frontman. The album also holds up & gels better musically to me than his debut, which had good moments but felt unfocused in his drive to explore new musical avenues. Though, really, I find Peter's solo career more unfocused than not, with one good album not meaning what will follow will be in the same mold. I feel he has never founds himself solo-wise, with age & changing music styles not helping, just as long as he is known as something more than just the guy who sang "Beth" & played drums. He wants to do more, & particularly do things Kiss would never dream of doing. Or, at least, softer songs, more emotional & contemplative songs, songs that groove or pop over being full of pomp & roar. Yet, the problem is that his singing career really revolves around "Beth." One should note that his solo career focuses on his singing, not his drumming. "By Myself" doesn't even have any drums. There's also no drum solos to be found. Too often it feels like he's aiming for "Beth Part II" or The-It-Sounds-Like-Beth-But-Really-Isn't-Song. That was a great song, but it was a one time only moment. So what do you do when your one hit was a near fluke in sound? Well, I'm guessing Peter has crowned himself a sort a crooner, even if "Beth" was faux-crooning. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. He tries his best, but the material isn't always right for him. When he does hit a groove it becomes apparent what works for him, & what doesn't. The end result might have been stronger if it was more focused on one style, versus experimenting with different flavors. It should be noted this is really a pop album, not a rock album, though it has rock songs & elements. For some it may be a bit shocking if they are expecting Kiss. This follows more with what he was going for on his solo debut, while moving from hard rock to pop rock & back again. "In Trouble Again" sounds like it is going for an Ace Frehley groove & might be the closest thing to Kiss. The title track, "Words", "By Myself" & "Where Will They Run" is '70's pop with all the musical cliches that sound incredibly dated & a bit weak instrumentation-wise all these decades later. Think heavy on the keyboards with disco beats. They will hit or miss likely depending on how you like the classic 70's groove sound. I do like "I Found Love," which has all the keyboards but pops & rocks making it sound like a 70's hit in the making if only it came a few years earlier, & with nothing in common with "Beth." This is a highlight of the album. "There's Nothing Better" mixes things up with some Chicago blues, wailing guitars, shuffle groove & horns included. This is another highlight of the album for me, if for no other reason than its different than Kiss & really works for Peter's raspy voice. This bluesy approach is carried over for a second success in his cover of the Rascals' "You Better Run." Its raw, rough, & perfect. Though, perhaps it succeeds better than the more polished pop songs because it doesn't try to take itself too seriously. Though, "I Feel Like Letting Go" is one I struggle to recommend. It feels far too much like "Beth", but without the good lyrics. Its about as generically bland as rock lyrics come. It literally feels like he grabbed random song titles & put them together. The one thing that redeems this, or makes it a struggle to recommend, is he tears it up vocally putting his heart into it like no other song here. Its just too bad he has nothing to say. I see many Kiss fans proclaim the wonders of this album, but I really don't know if it was due to the fact it was not Kiss, over how well it actually holds up. Its not bad, but its not great. I feel like letting it just go.

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.

Mark St. John ~ Magic Bullet Theory (album review) ... Breathtaking but exhausting from the former Kiss man!

Style: hard rock, instrumental, acoustic, power metal, heavy metal
Label: Loss Ness Monster Recordings
Year: 2003
Home: n/a

Members: Mark St. John ~ guitars/mandolin/banjo/bazooka/balalaika
Michael Norton ~ Bass
Dave Goode ~ drums

I really liked St. John's playing with Kiss on Animalize. Its a shame he was not able to continue with them. After Kiss he would move through a few bands, do some live recordings & demos, but never have any commercial break through before his untimely death. Magic Bullet Theory was an instrumental album which became his unintended final album. This was produced & completely composed by Mark, with Michael Norton on bass & Dave Goode on drums. Mark also plays the mandolin, banjo, bazooka, balalaika, which says this might get spicy. "AWOL" had previously appeared on the 1999 self-titled EP by the Mark St. John Project featuring Talas vocalist Phil Naro. I reviewed the Vinnie Vincent Invasion saying that I wish he had dumped the singing & just done an instrumental album along the lines of Eric Johnson, Joe Satriani & many of his shredder peers. I found his playing often didn't mesh with the music, & the singing, while at times good, was distracting. Mark turns in exactly what I called for Vinnie to make - guitars, more guitars, one foot in song structure & the other in noodlefest, & just a musical onslaught with little to distract from the reason we are here. There's no attempt to make this look like a band. No attempt to make radio hits. Its all Mark all the time, & a few guys you'll barely notice keeping the beat. Vinnie would end up doing an album like this, but after the fact. Given Mark's reputation I'm shocked it took so long for him to make such an album, but at least he did. The album has two musical sides that one might not expect, though technically the two sides are rotated between each other. There's the electric songs & a collection of acoustic outings. The electric songs all sorta feel the same, like a wild man of guitar gone wild with no limits. They are hard to distinguish. The acoustic bits are really the highlight. Each one covers a different acoustic style. You never hear a guitarist of Mark's caliber go to town on acoustic guitar, or at least not on a handful of very distinct sounding tracks. When I say 'go to town', I mean play so fast that I can't imagine his fingers not being in pain. I didn't know you could play the acoustic this fast without something breaking. First, the electric side. Sadly, summarizing one song will essentially cover the whole terrain. "AWOL" opens the album fast & furious with whammy bar fury Kerry King would approve of. There is a composition here & not just rambling directionless playing, though its not the intricate compositions of Joe Satriani nor the weird acrobatics of Steve Vai. This is more in the Eric Johnson & Jason Becker category, with as many flourishes as one can fit into a song under 4 minutes without having to call 911. Michael & Dave stay pretty out of the way. The drum beat is simple, the bass line outlining some semblance of a melody through the chords. There is some underlying guitar rhythms, but more so just there to fill the air than to craft something interesting to interact with. This is all about Mark flying as fast as possible across the fretboard without pause. There is an unexpected break where he plays with the harmonics & the band pulls back. It gives this song some much needed breathing space. All the electric songs pretty much could be described the same. The lead guitar soars without stop, the rhythm section is unnoticeable, song structures are loose. One thing that can be said is while he's playing its not all screaming notes above the 12th fret. He's covering the entire fretboard like Yngwie might, with some re-occurring riffs that provide a home base to spin off of. This is undoubtedly a guitar player's album. At times its awesome. Other times its hard to follow. Sometimes its tedious. But, a few songs into the album & listener burnout is likely to happen as you swear everything starts to sound alike. It would be great to hear him pause sometimes in the lead part. The lead guitar sounds like one long sound. This goes for every electric song. Its amazing playing, no doubt, but the music lacks tension, build-up & release. This also goes for every song. Pausing would allow a little more of the riffs to come through, versus riff going into noodling, touching on riff, noodle noodle, do something else, then end the song suddenly. That's another problem. All the songs essentially just stop as though someone in the control booth is waving them to stop. When you've played every note on the guitar, how do you actually finish? The directionless playing might be fascinating, it means in terms of overall composition the unexpected dynamic bridges end up being highlight. They're the part that allows you to hear something different & allows the song to breathe. A 12 bar bridge shouldn't be the highlight. The fact is none of the songs actually have any climactic moments, so the bridges take on that role. Since the songs go nowhere musically they actually can't climax. "The Lone Gunman" & "Wait No More" are big criminals of this charge, as they give up rambling for just being endlessly monotonous, almost like Mark decided to write a traditional song but left off the vocals & strong melody. This also is evident on the acoustic song "Utopian Trip" which almost feels like an imitation of Steve Howe, but just with repeating patterns. Speaking of the acoustic songs: they are the best & most musically interesting parts. A whole album of acoustic songs would have been cool. They suffer from the same speed, monotony & zero climax issues, but without the whammy bar & other effects they feel very different. Also, every acoustic song is different. "Bourbon Street" is an acoustic tour-de-force that sounds like a jazz song played so fast you're sure Mark's fingers are going to slip off the strings. I'm not even sure they didn't a few times. Just two guitars & a basic rhythm jazz-esque section in what is a fascinating musical trip. Though, there's not much of a song here, just like the electric songs. While it ends just as poorly. Thus, it aims for some great heights, but seems to give up just before reaching the top. I find it shocking how it just throws away the endings, like they don't matter. All things said, its my favorite track on the album next to "Baghdad". "Baghdad" goes for a mix of John McLaughlin with generic Indian & Middle Eastern flavors. Its fascinating, as someone who loves Indian music, but anyone who knows about the sitar knows that its not always played fast. Mark is absolutely twanging his strings like they are a sitar, though with no real concept of what makes up Indian ragas other than bending some notes. Its not speed, but flavor. Sadly, he has no slow parts, no contemplative parts, just an obvious imitation. As it is, its just the flavor of Indian & Middle Eastern music, as it doesn't actually follow any of the musical rules. Though, kudos for trying. Its a fascinating if flawed track. I wish the electric songs had this much creativity. "Utopian Trip" is another acoustic song, but clearly in the power ballad style as electric guitars whammy bar in almost obnoxiously. Power ballad might not be right, given there's a banjo playing part of the rhythm trying to boost it. The title track also incorporates an acoustic guitar into the rhythm for the power ballad approach, but is an under-utilized instrument here. Obviously Mark is trying to explore the instrument as much as possible both as a lead & rhythm instrument, but why couldn't he do this with his electric tracks? "Walking On A Call" ends the album trying for a straight forward style of folk playing. But, by this time you've heard pretty much every trick Mark has: play fast. Its no longer impressive. Its really sad. If he had some reigning in, more interplay with the other instruments & more focus on song structure I think this would be an amazing album, versus something that is largely forgotten.

Vinnie Vincent Invasion ~ Vinnie Vincent Invasion (aka self-titled) (album review) ... Whammy bars in orbit!

Style: hard rock, glam metal
Label: Chrysalis
Year: 1986
Home: n/a

Members: Robert Fleischman ~ vocals
Vinnie Vincent ~ guitar/b. vocals
Dana Strum ~ bass/b. vocals
Bobby Rock ~ drums

 

I like Vinnie's work with Kiss. I missed Ace, but Vinnie was good for the direction they were going & brought a new musical side to the group. I've reviewed the second VVI album with Mark Slaughter on vocals. I was both impressed & turned off, often simultaneously. I found Slaughter's vocals amazing & often distracting. I found the music largely wannabe Led Zeppelin more often than not. I thought Vinnie shined when he was being himself & not imitating some one else. On the whole, it was interesting, but not something I want to return to. It was also often cluttered in an attempt to fill up every inch of air in the room. I've long been a promoter of letting music breath. Yeach, Phil Spector & me wouldn't get along. Yet, due to Kiss, Vinnie is still a fascinating guitarist in my head, but VVI's album just wasn't the right musical template for him to shine in. I think he should have done something like Steve Vai's solo work, though Vai hadn't quite braved those waters yet to show it could be done. Going backwards in time, how does the first VVI album sound? Instead of Slaughter, Robert Fleischman is the vocalist. His claim to fame is as Journey's vocalist for a few months in 1977, but is not on any studio albums. He co-write three songs, which is three more than Slaughter. Everything else is by Vinnie. First, thankfully, no Led Zep. Obviously that was their attempt to switch things up. Yet ... the vocals. I had no clue what Fleischman sounded like, but I was hoping for a complete contrast, like Phil Collins to Ray Wilson in Genesis. Instead, Fleischman & Slaughter sound like brothers. Perhaps they grabbed Slaughter as he could sing songs from this album in addition to the new stuff, or just saw his talent was too much to not tap into? Fleischman is a good singer, going from operatic highs to even higher highs, while Slaughter kept that & took things to greater heights, though at times to cluttered absurd heights. The problem I have with singers like this who sing so high they're going into orbit is, it often feels they are at the top of their range with no real place to go. Imagine a guitar solo that never moves below the 12th fret or is all above the 20th fret. After awhile my ears just want more range, more variety, more low end, more of anything. Putting the vocals aside, there's one thing I like about this album & three things I don't. The one thing I like is Vinnie turns in some super hot awesomely unique solos, absolutely out of this world. Wild & gnarly like only the '80's could do. They don't make solos like this anymore. Give me all the solos ... & all the bacon. Dump the rest ... nobody needs turkey bacon. Seriously, dump all the rest. That's the first problem. The songs are limp. Nothing is memorable or distinct. By the end of the album they just all melt together as a long drag that never seems to end. Ironically, though imitative, the second album thus becomes the stronger album. The second problem is Vinnie loves his whammy bar & finger tapping, which he does like a Greek God come to earth who has no limitations, but on every song & every solo it makes the whole album quickly feel predictable & monochromatic. Is that all you've got? Can you groove? Can you swing a blues wail? Can you slow down? While finger tapping has no real emotional feeling, as its sparks & fireworks, but no depth. This leads to my final problem with the album. Whatever the song is, whether bluesy power ballad or straight ahead keyboard heavy '80's rock, Vinnie turns in whammy solos & finger tapping moving as fast along the fretboard as possible. Essentially, one solo that is just used for every song whatever the mood. This makes for a huge disconnect between solos & songs. The outcome is something that would make Nigel Tufnel proud. The fact that "Animal" actually stops for the solo just pushes everything over the edge of absurdity. Then the album ends on a feedback loop if the absurdity hadn't already landed home. Going back to the second album, its interesting I said Slaughter ruined those songs by being so over the top. Here Vinnie ruins his own album by being over the top with crash & burn solos. He obviously learned a lesson & scaled back for the second album, but he turned the reigns over to Slaughter to just do the same thing. Replacing bad with bad. Again, if this was something like Steve Vai or Joe Satriani, then it would work, but otherwise its just a strange animal that doesn't know what it wants to be or where its going. I'd like to redo the album & remove most of the vocals. Sorta like what Jimmy Page did on Outrider, half singing & half instrumental. That's the first fix. Then rope in Vinnie to have some melody, focus & groove. Plus, bring in other writers. I really feel Vinnie shined with Kiss because he wasn't writing/composing. I would also come up with more interesting lyrics than just sex crap. Lyrics like Dio, stuff as big as the solos. I would also up the ante with the rest of the band, so the guitar bounces off of them & weaves around them. This could then be one of the greatest albums for air guitar players ever. Could be. Right now it has moments of potential, moments of six string awe & moments of severe cringe.

Kiss ~ Unmasked (album review) ... What exactly is unmasked here?

Style: hard rock, pop rock
Label: Casablanca
Year: 1980
Home: New York

Members: Paul Stanley ~ vocals/guitars/bass
Gene Simmons ~ bass/vocals/rhythm guitar
Ace Frehley ~ lead guitar/vocals/acoustic guitar/bass

Additional: Anton Fig ~ drums
Vini Poncia ~ keyboards/percussion/b. vocals
Tom Harper ~ bass
Holly Knight ~ keyboards
Bob Kulick ~ guitar 

 

At one point I thought Asylum was the worst Kiss album, compared to all that came before it. It was a tough listen, but I could work my way through it. I call it neutered Kiss, or Kiss without any guts, or a beast without any bite, or a spaceman lost in space. Then I listened to Unmasked. Asylum is weak, but this is worse. Who is this? I like the opener "Is That You?," but if you played it for me & asked me to name the band, I don't think I would guess correctly. Maybe Paul's voice would give it away, but his phrasing & lyrics are just not what I typically associate with him. As for the music ... well ... nothing about the song sounds like Kiss as I think of them via their '70's albums. Not recognizing Paul's voice I would likely guess this to be a '70's quasi-bubblegum pop rock group. They have some potential, but need help. The only thing this unmasks is how much Kiss were willing to change their musical template to sound like music that was on the charts, even if that means jettisoning everything that makes them Kiss. If you pretend this is not Kiss its bearable & has some good parts. If you listen to it as Kiss you'll ... well, let's not go go there as I don't want anyone calling 911 due to their brain breaking & then suing me. I can't imagine the band thought this album was the perfect thing to release. The music fits them so uncomfortably I can't even think of a metaphor of something this bad. Even David Byrne's famous big suit looked more comfortable on him than this pop music does on Kiss. I'm losing track of how many times I've heard hard rock & metal bands find themselves slipping off the charts, or facing a line-up change, & instead of playing what their fans want, they go in another direction trying to win new fans while burning the ears of old fans. Skid Row did it by going post-grunge, then shockingly country. Megadeth did it by going power ballad. Motley Crue, Danger Danger, the Rolling Stones & so many others went in some odd direction that is now more often than not forgotten. Just reform your band under a new name, okay? We'll all know its still you. At least when Queen when electronica in the early '80's they had a history of experimenting, but I swear its a majority of bands that have gone out on the ledge & fallen. Disco Rod Stewart anyone? Speaking of which, Kiss had put a foot into the disco waters, but still made sure to rock. Here, I'm guessing, they felt the rock part was the problem & not the addition. Things aren't helped by Peter's absence. Anton Fig, who had played with Ace on his first solo album, went uncredited as the drummer for promotion's sake, yet any fan listening would know this isn't Peter. There's drum parts & effects on them never heard in Peter's playing. Ace, Gene & Paul all sing lead on the album & all have a hand in composing. That's not so unusual, except here the musical differences are so profound that it sounds like 3 distinct albums. Actually, it sounds like 3 distinct bands with 3 distinct singers & styles. Listening to this as a comp album of 3 bands was the only way, after numerous listens, to really make sense of it. Its a little more bearable, still not Kiss though, but if you re-arrange the order of the tracks the whole things works much better. First, there is the Gene album, or shall I call it the Gene Simmons Band EP? Its a one hit wonder ... maybe on AM radio, which nobody listens to. That hit is "Naked City". I enjoyed it, but only because its thematically based on a now forgotten 1950's/60's TV show of the same name, even semi-quoting the show's catchphrase with "there are 10 million stories". The show's theme was: "There are 8 million stories in the naked city, and this is one of them." I know this only because in 2021 I wrote the biography "In The Shadow Of The Gods: The Memoir Of A Led Zeppelin Tribute Singer" with Jean Violet on his 20 years fronting the Led Zep tribute band Kashmir. He was in a band called Naked City named after the show, as his lyrics were some of the 8 million stories. Other than this personal reference, its a big cheezy slab of '70's pop. It doesn't growl like a great Gene song should. Actually, none of the songs growl on the Gene Simmons Band EP. "She's So European" is better suited for the Andrea True Connection. What doesn't help is the cymbals have been given a shimmering effect that just toes the line of disco but doesn't land properly. "You're All That I Want" is Gene's sloppy love ballad with him singing in a higher range. Is he trying to imitate Paul, whose voice dominates the chorus? Maybe if the Doobie Brothers did this it might have been decent filler. Sometimes I wonder if the members of Kiss are not that good on their own & only in collaboration with each other, or maybe they are just lazy musicians, or maybe they don't care what they are doing as long as there is product to sell. I can't help but think of their 1978 solo albums when listening to Unmasked. Next up is the Paul Stanley Band EP. Paul sings his heart out. I'll give him that. His voice is at its prime, really. Yet, he sings his heart out on bubblegum pop. I kinda hate to confess I like some his songs, like "What Makes The World Go Round." Though, I feel too many songs have an identity crisis trying to figure out if they are rock or pop. Though, "Easy As It Seems" is tapping into that disco vein again. Please, stop. It has an addictive melody, but the bass does a quasi-dance beat that eventually just becomes annoying. There's also way too much keyboard. "Tomorrow" I kinda like, though it sounds like something that is supposed to be on the Grease soundtrack. "Shandi", also not bad & has Paul hitting some of his highest notes likely on record. "Is That You" I like better than "Shandi," because Paul has some great phrasing. Really, these few songs have some of his most acrobatic singing on record. I just wish .... oh, so many things, too many to begin fixing the errors of this album & the inner-workings of these songs. I have to wonder if Kiss seriously thought this is what their fans wanted. Did they ask themselves: "The Kiss Army is totally looking for syrupy love ballad disco songs!" Some of Paul's songs are bearable, if this was a Paul solo album, which given how many are his songs he should have just gone ahead & made. There is potential here, but not for Kiss. I must say that the above 2 EP's remind me of Wicked Lester, the band that Paul & Gene were in before Kiss. Pop rock with some proggy elements. The 1972 studio recordings are floating out there you can hunt up. Its not an exact comparison, but I'm struggling here. Then we come to the Ace Frehley Band EP. This is the only part of this comp album that should not be over-looked. Its good. Actually, I'd like to be hear more of this. This is the solo album I wish Ace had made instead of the first 2 Frehley's Comet albums. Ace plays all the guitars & bass, plus vocals, on "Talk to Me", "Two Sides of the Coin" & "Torpedo Girl." These epitomize to me everything about the Spaceman that so many of us really like: unique, quirky, addictive, kick ass. These are really just straight ahead rock songs, but Ace is so quirky in his personality, helped by outside substances, that he puts a unique spin on the template. These 3 songs have as much personality as the Gene & Paul cuts do for them, but the songs work for Ace. I don't see Gene doing ballads & I don't consider Paul a pop guy. But, wild songs by the Spaceman is exactly what I expect & want. For some reason he had it right, but the other guys ... yeah, I just don't know. He was likely listening to his inner muse. They were listening to music on the charts. He was being himself, but they were imitating. All this being said, I've drafted this review over numerous weeks & gone back & re-listened multiple times. There's moments that have potential, but on both the big & small picture things just don't work. Too many songs don't know what they want to be. Maybe I should blame the producer. Maybe I should blame the outside songwriter in Vini Poncia, whose credentials included 5 Ringo Starr albums, plus Melissa Manchester, Lynda Carter aka Wonder Woman, Jackie DeShannon, Martha Reeves & Tommy James. What would make someone think he was perfect for Kiss? He did co-write "I Was Made For Lovin' You" & produce Dynasty. That's workable, but only after he did Peter Criss' disastrous 1978 solo album, which didn't sound like Kiss. Is that alarm bells I hear ringing? Too late now. The wizard behind the curtain has been ... unmasked.

Frehley's Comet ~ Second Coming (album review) ... Put your telescope away for this alien sighting!

Style: hard rock
Label: Megaforce
Year: 1988
Home: n/a
 
Members: Ace Frehley ~ guitars/lead vocals
Tod Howarth ~ guitars/keyboards/lead vocals
John Regan ~ bass/b. vocals
Jamie Oldaker ~ drums/b. vocals

Additional: Gordon G.G. Gebert ~ sequencing

Frehley's Comet self-titled debut album had the great single "Rock Soldiers", but everything that followed was less than memorable, as I wrote in an earlier review. I found it bland & imitative, & lacking the quirkiness I love from Ace, who flips straight ahead rock'n'roll on its head. I've read the history behind its creation via Ace's autobio, but that didn't make it a more enjoyable. While some may argue Frehley's Comet was better than I gave it credit for, I doubt anyone will say its better than his 1978 self-titled solo album. That's the best Kiss album Kiss never did. Yet, Frehley's Comet second outing, Second Sighting, has been universally panned as Ace's worst solo album. Its commercial & critical failure would essentially end the band, though it was always a band in name only more than an actual outing. This time I'm not going to take an opposing side. What made Ace's 1978's solo album so good? Its got personality through the roof, kicks ass, & sounds like neither Kiss nor other things on the charts. Frehley's Comet, I wrote, sounded too much like what was on the charts. Second Sighting takes things to an even blander & forgettable place. There's no standout like "Rock Soldiers", or even "New York Groove". Its bland when compared to the earlier album, but even worse, its bland when compared to what was on the charts by just about anyone. Its a play by the numbers bluesy rock album with some '80's attributes like the tinkling keyboards & top heavy with AOR power ballads. "Insane", "Loser In A Fight", "Dancin' With Danger" have some great though immemorable guitar grooves, but they don't lift up the album's failures. Had I been the producer I would have had him sing more, not have Tod Howarth sing lead every other track, plus dump the keyboards & synthesizers, & twist up the arrangements, & dump Howarth's songs. Howarth is a good musician, but his style is a horrible fit for Space Ace. Perhaps Ace wanted to promote this as a legit band over a solo album, but nobody is coming here except for him. While, nobody is coming to Ace for loopy power ballads with whimpy guitar playing. I've heard far worse albums, many I've deliberately forgotten. This one I'll probably just naturally forget. It makes me sad to say that as I'm a fan of Ace & Kiss..

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.

Keel ~ The Right To Rock (album review) ... Gene Simmons was behind the wheel of this headbanger!

Style: hard rock, glam metal
Year: 1985
Label: Gold Mountain
Home: Los Angeles, California

Members: Ron Keel ~ lead vocals/guitar
Marc Ferrari, Bryan Jay ~ guitar/b. vocals
Kenny Chaisson ~ bass/b. vocals
Steve Riley ~ drums/b. vocals

There's not enough honest to goodness headbanging albums out there. There's a lot of flashy glam metal albums full of wild solos & melodies. There's a lot of overly dramatic power ballads that kinda rock. But, there's not enough albums that from start to finish that just rock with a groove, with riffs that go right for the groin & have your fist pumping. I mean, headbanging like you do to 'Welcome To The Jungle' or 'Balls To The Walls' or AC/DC, Danzig, 70's Kiss, Motorhead, W.A.S.P.. Keel's The Right To Rock sounds nothing like those bands, though Accept might be close at times, but has the same groin & head banging energy of all of the above. Its something that you feel in your soul & don't have to fake it. You can't help but pound your fist. This is an absolutely great headbanging album from the vocals, to the lyrics, to the guitars. It might be glammy, flashy, have big gang vocals, but also has guts & substance. There's so much energy here. Its like some dynamite was lit & went off under the band's collective asses, & now they are running for their lives & only headbanging rock will save them. Keel's The Right To Rock lives up to its name & I highly recommend it. The producer behind this rock monster is the beast himself, Gene Simmons. He did not play on the album, but co-wrote 3 songs, & would produce the follow-up. Yet, this doesn't sound like Kiss, though it does rock in a big way like them. If anything, Ron Keel's vocals have the same punch & phrasing as the way Gene sometimes sings. "Easier Said Than Done", "So Many Girls, So Little Time", & the W.A.S.P.-esque "Electric Love" could be sung by Gene in Kiss & I doubt anyone would know the difference. The first two are coincidentally co-penned by Gene. The sad irony is this rocks far better than a lot of what Kiss was putting out in the 1980's. Paul Stanley has said at times it felt like he was doing solo albums, as Gene was off producing bands, starting magazines, acting & doing everything but focusing on Kiss. His work here is good. If only he had done this quality work with Kiss their 80's days might be very different. I could totally hear Paul Stanley singing "Get Down", also by Gene. One last thought. Take a listen to this album but skip the third track, "Let's Spend The Night Together." There are many reasons why bands include covers. One reason is to attract attention when things aren't commercially popping. This is the second Keel album, while the first didn't make much of an impact outside of getting Gene's interest, so having a cover might attract listeners. I love the Rolling Stones. They pretty much can do no wrong for me. Keel turns in a good thick guitar version, but its the weakest track on the album by miles. They have dumped the bluesy swagger & the quasi-romantic vibe, neither are in Gene's palette, and just inserted some pumped up guitars. Keith & Brian's original guitars, or even Mick & Ronnie's, are way better. Their guitars weave, but here the boys just drone. There's no swagger. Its something that sounds like a weak covers band at your local bar where they don't actually know the correct chords to play. Skip this one track & this will be an awesome album. Oh well. Its a minor complaint on an otherwise must hear rock outing.

Vinnie Vincent Invasion ~ All Systems Go (album review) ... Guitar solos that would make Steve Vai blush!

Style: hard rock, heavy metal
Label: Capitol
Year: 1988
Home: n/a

Members: Mark Slaughter ~ vocals
Vinnie Vincent ~ guitar/b. vocals
Dana Strum ~ bass/b. vocals
Bobby Rock ~ drums

Additional: Jeff Scott Soto ~ b. vocals

Before Mark Slaughter fronted Slaughter, he fronted the Vinnie Vincent Invasion. I didn't know that before hearing this album & researching it. The guy has a super set of pipes & shows a bit of range on the album with 3 distinct voices. That really impressed me. Yet, for every moment I was impressed by him I was also turned off. At times his vocal phrase phrasing & use of echo, or chorus, makes him far too much of a Robert Plant imitator for my tastes. Other times his vocals were distracting or just plain annoying. I wanted him to reign it in more often than not, while other times I loved hearing the variety & wanted more of it. On the other hand, I might be laying blame at Slaughter's feet when the problem is really iffy songs that he was just trying not to be embarrassed by. Let me be clear. The songs are iffy. That doesn't mean they're bad. They're iffy for one huge reason: they are badly imitative. On multiple occasions I thought I was hearing a Jimmy Page riff. I do not listen to a solo album by the former guitarist of Kiss to hear Led Zeppelin. Need I say more? I'm 100% sure the riff on the opener "Ashes To Ashes" is pretty close to a famed Zep riff. Slaughter's singing "Baby, baby, yeah" with vocal effects just drives it into the Led Zeppelin imitation territory far too much for my tastes. "Heavy Pettin'" also sounds like a riff I've heard by Zep, & I almost found myself singing the other more famous song. This is not a good sign. The ethereal acoustic guitar part of "Ashes To Ashes" might be Zep, but I do have to give Vinnie kudos for nailing it perfectly. But, still, he's nailing a sound another band is known for. Though, its not all Zep Mach II. "Dirty Rhythm" reminded me of AC/DC, & the opening guitar part of "Love Kills" has an all too heavy '70's prog flavor. Essentially, who is Vinnie Vincent? A Jimmy Page imitator? I think not. I really like Vinnie's work with Kiss. I felt he was a good choice for their changing sound. Even when the songs were iffy, Vinnie shined through with great wild riffs. Thus, the few parts of All Systems Go that I enjoyed were the moments when Vinnie stopped being someone else & was himself. "Let Freedom Rock" & "Burn" had backing vocals that dominated in a bad way, but Vinnie makes up for it with some quirky almost violent guitar playing that would make Steve Vai blush. I love Vai, so that's a huge compliment. This is what I want to hear. "Ashes To Ashes", when not being imitative, has a guitar solo that is insane. It goes through about 8 distinct styles &/or sounds &/or techniques, including sounding like a violin, that might be found on a Spinal Tap album. I just wish it hadn't taken 3 minutes to get to that point playing riffs by another band. I would recommend this album to guitar fans & anyone who likes Mark Slaughter. It has weak parts, but the sheer force of the players is worth hearing. For anyone else, you might or might not like it. For me, I've heard enough wannabe Zep bands, not to mention writing the biography of a Zep tribute band singer, so I've had my Zep quota. One last note. I never ever need to hear ever again another musician doing an instrumental version of the "Star Spangled Banner". I don't care if you're Hendrix or Chris Squire. Its cool when singers do it, usually, as its a vocal challenge or a vocal embarrassment, but on a guitar or bass its not exactly anything that can't be done. Holding a note on a guitar is not impressive. Jumping an octave or whatever to the next note is also not impressive. Please stop, please.

Kiss ~ Creatures Of The Night (album review) ... Introducing 9 creatures who are killers!

Style: hard rock, heavy metal
Label: Casablanca
Year: 1982
Home: New York

Members: Paul Stanley ~ vocals/rhythm guitar
Gene Simmons ~ vocals/bass/rhythm guitar
Eric Carr ~ drums/b. vocals/bass
Vinnie Vincent ~ lead guitar

Additional:Robben Ford, Steve Farris ~ lead guitars
Jimmy Haslip, Mike Porcaro ~ bass
Adam Mitchell ~ guitar
Dave Wittman ~ b. vocals

 

The 1980's & '90's get a poor rap when it comes to Kiss. After a strong showing of hit album after hit album in the 1970's, that rap is somewhat justified as their albums would rise & fall commercially, & among critics & fan. One moment they would be strong & in the next they would be creating something we might all be better off without. Add to this the controversy over taking off their make-up, losing 2 original members, & changing their sound to be more like what was on the charts. Yet, to write off the entire decade is not quite being fair to Kiss. They actually created some great stuff that is worthy of being held up with the past. Creatures Of The Night from 1982 is one of these moments. That being said, it doesn't sound like the past. It might be good, but its not classic sounding Kiss but a new sounding Kiss who have hit a good groove. Creatures Of The Night is straddling both the past & the present musical world for a wonderful moment. Here they are brash, heavier than ever, dripping with sex, in your face with full on Kiss attitude, & everything you want from Kiss in a slightly modified form. Nearly every song keeps you head banging. The band sounds energized with great material. Just listen to the growl of "Rock & Roll Hell." Not to mention this album has the hits "I Still Love You", "Love It Loud", the title track, & the growling Gene moment "War Machine." Sadly, this album wasn't the commercial success at the time that they wanted it to be, finding a legacy after the fact. Thus, on the next album they dumped the make-up & stepped even more into the camp of playing the music of their peers & not being Kiss who inspired the music of their peers. One can only wonder if this album had been a bigger commercial success? Might they have taken this template to the next level & created something even greater, with the make-up? To note, this is not the original line-up. Eric Carr is on drums. Guitarist Vinnie Vincent handles the guitar parts of "Saint & Sinner", "Keep Me Comin'", "Danger", "I Love It Loud", "Killer", "War Machine." Vinnie is not Ace, who is always playing like he's slowing going crazy, or standing on a cliff's edge & trying to focus on playing & keeping his balance. Vinnie is polished, in control, highly technical & soars in ways Ace can't. They have two different feelings, yet as Kiss moves more '80's rock away from their roots Vinnie is really a perfect fit, as would be shown even more in later albums, both as a guitarist & composer. They wanted to go heavier & Vinnie is the one to help them do it. The same goes for Eric who has a harder edge than Peter, & might be the better player in general. "Danger" & "Keep It Comin'" I find a bit grating lyrically, but I think Vince's guitar solo saves both of them. It must be noted that the great jazz-rock guitarist Robben Ford does the leads on "Rock & Roll Hell" & "I Still Love You". Ford was in the jazz groups L.A. Express & the Yellowjackets. Yellowjackets bandmate Jimmy Haslip does the bass on "Danger", who ironically is a former bandmate of future Kiss guitarist Bruce Kulick. Toto's Mike Porcaro does the bass on the title track, while future Trans-Siberian Orchestra member Dave Wittman contributes backing vocals on "Love It Loud". Yes, there might be guests here & Ace might be given credit as the guitarist when he's not on the album, but the end result is so good the band can be forgiven for bringing in help & playing a promotion game on membership. Enough said. Just listen.

Criss ~ Cat #1 (album review) ... Don't pet this cat!

Style: blues rock, hard rock
Label: Tony Nicole Tony Records
Year: 1994
Home: Los Angeles, California

Members: Peter Criss ~ vocals/drums
Mark Montague ~ bass/vocals
Mike Stone ~ rhythm guitar/vocals
Mike McLaughlin ~ lead guitar

Additional: Kirk Miller ~ guitar
Wayne Johnsen ~ acoustic guitar
Dito Dodwin ~ piano/slide guitar/b. vocals
Doug Shawe, Stephen Presley ~ keybaords
Ed Kanon ~ cymbals 

Guest: Ace Frehley ~ lead guitar
 

I know Peter Criss isn't considered the greatest drummer in rock, but it shocks me continuously on this album how it features the most non-driving, bare bones & boring drum patterns ever. At times it felt like a beginner's drumming. I struggled to even find an interesting fill. I was thinking about holding off this criticism till later in the review, but it just taints the entire album for me from the beginning to the end. As a bassist, I see the drums as a foundation of a band. A great drum pattern is more than just keeping the beat, but is creating dynamics, filling the space between sounds & emphasizing things. Perhaps this is my jazz background talking, but when I hear great drummers like Mickey Hart, John Bonham, Eric Carr, the Appice Brothers, Neil Peart & countless others, than I'm verified that in a rock context the drums have the same role. This is one reason I don't like double bass drumming that just pounds away. I'd rather hear a metronome at loud volume, as it adds nothing to the music in my ears.While often the music can be driven just as fiercely by not using this technique. I recently reviewed Black Tongue who find a great balance with & without the technique & are always fierce. While when I hear music with a lousy drum part & it seems to just have no backbone, then I am verified again as to how powerful the drums are. Hearing Cat #1, I hear no backbone, no drive, no climax, no nothing & the album suffers for it. Without a backbone none of the songs ever kicked into high gear for me. They slogged when you thought they would skip. If Peter doesn't have the skills, than bring in someone to play the parts. Billy Joel did it on his classical album, confessing he couldn't play what he wrote. The Rolling Stones used a different drummer when Charlie Watts couldn't do the reggae back beat they started to include in their songs. No shame. You're still the voice & guiding light of the album, Peter. As it is, I can't believe a drummer would release an album with such poor quality drumming. If the drumming wasn't bad enough ... the other problem I have with this album is that the Peter Criss sound is all based on Kiss' "Beth", i.e. raspy vocal ballads or variations on that theme. Truthfully, Peter is an adequate singer. "Beth" might be a great song, but that doesn't make him a great singer. Rod Stewart is famous for his rasp, but he is a great blues belter. Louis Armstrong is famous for his rasp, but he had a great sense of melody. Tom Waits has a rasp, but he pours out every note like his life depends on it. Peter does not pour out anything. He just sings words with no meaning put into them & with melodies that are not so interesting. He's trying to get the most mileage out of his rasp, but it doesn't offer much. There's not too many miles to the gallon for this, or at least the way he's using it. While, there's only one "Beth". Its a good song, but you're never going to write another "Beth." Move on, don't try to do "Beth" over & over & over ... or you'll have an album that sounds like this. The fact that he includes a new acoustic guitar arrangement of "Beth" doesn't help. Who asked for this? This is like doing a new synthesizer version of "Stairway To Heaven" or "Fairies Wear Boots" on classical guitar. Leave the past behind & just create some good songs from scratch. Though, I'm wondering if he even is a composer & writer hearing this mess. "The Truth" sounds like a drunk man with no good voice singing the most boring song ever. In my life I'm a bassist & have done some production work. I'm not a composer nor pretend I am. Its okay if you aren't a composer, Peter. I can't help but think of Dave Grohl. When he moved out from behind Nirvana's drum kit & into the Foo Fighters he didn't try to be Nirvana 2.0.. He found a new sound, new lyrical style & new approach. Peter isn't doing that, & when he does the result is weak & half-hearted. The result is that the album feels scattered, like it doesn't know if its blues, or rock, or Peter Criss new & improved or just Beth 2.0. The most going for the album is a few decent guitar solos. Though, ironically, those guitar solos are out of Peter's hands, so I can't give him credit for them. Thus, the best part of the album has nothing to do with the focus, which is Peter. Essentially, the part I liked least was Peter. All I can say is I loved his autobiography, but neither this nor his solo debut. For those that declare this album is great, I just don't hear it. There's some decent moments here, but I feel like not enough to fix the album. On the other hand, this has more zest & personality than Ace Frehley's debut Frehely's Comet. That sounded nothing like Ace, so at least here Peter sounds like Peter. But, in terms of any non-Kiss music I wasn't swayed. Maybe he gets kudos for not going the typical hard rock sound of his peers, but just because he does something different means he should get praised for doing it well.

Ace Frehley (aka Frehley's Comet) ~ Frehley's Comet (album review) ... Ace must be lost in space, as he's not present on this album!

 
Style: hard rock, glam metal
Label: Atlantic
Year: 1987
Home: n/a
 
Members: Ace Frehley ~ guitars/lead vocals
Tod Howarth ~ guitars/keyboards/vocals
John Regan ~ bass/b. vocals
Anton Fig ~ drums

Additional: Robert Sabino ~ keyboards
Gordon G.G. Gebert ~ synthesizer/samples
Chay Lentin, David Spinner, Frank Simms, Lara Kramer, Monique Frehley, Tom Ayers ~ b. vocals

The opening chords of "Rock Soldiers" opens the album really well with its talky singing, soaring lead guitar lines, self-referential lyrics. This song says that what is about to follow from Ace's first album post-Kiss is going to rock. What follows is a series of fails & near misses in a slow drizzle of a lackluster bad album of every cliche in the book. The second song, "Breakout", really is what the album is about. Its bland & imitative of everything on the charts, which sounds nothing like Ace nor even Kiss. "Breakout" can't be meant for the same album as "Rock Soldiers", as its lacking in everything that makes "Rock Soldiers" so cool. Even the trademarkable frantic solo can't save "Breakout" from its blandness. If anything, the solo just accentuates how the rest of the song fails to rise beyond its derivative feeling. "Breakout" was written by Eric Carr during Kiss's Music From "The Elder" sessions, later issued as the instrumental drum solo "Carr Jam 1981" on Kiss' Revenge. Let's just leave it there. There's nothing here that sounds like it needed reviving. Okay, let me clarify. "Car Jam 1981" isn't bad as an unnecessary drum solo, but Ace has so many other great riffs in his arsenal that this weak riff didn't need new life without the drum solo & instead boring lyrics fusing prison metaphors & love. Its an uninspired inclusion that sets the stage for an uninspired album & "Rock Soldiers" becomes thus a sad tease of what is not going to come next. This girl isn't naked underneath the fans, but wearing clothes, or in this case a spacesuit. Though, to give Frehley's Comet, which would become the name of Ace's band, some credit, this is more musically cohesive than a few 1980's Kiss albums. Ironically, those albums also suffer from uninspired derivative songs trying to do the same as this: sound like every other band of the '80's, but not sound like the reason people love Kiss or Ace. Lifeless, forgettable, bland is how I describe this album. Not worth hearing, though, "We Got Your Rock" has a great Ace in the hole wild guitar solo that comes out of nowhere, vanishes, & comes back to end what is otherwise a plodding mess. There is another track that needs mentioning. "Dolls" is all about toy dolls. It sits strangely on the album. It sounds so much like Alice Cooper that I thought suddenly my computer had started playing a new Cooper album I hadn't heard yet. It even has a children's chorus like Alice uses & is absolutely creepy. It is worth hearing for its very strange lyrics. I recommend Alice borrow this one for his next album. As for a great Ace tune ... I'm not sure. Closing this review I need to mention I love Kiss. I love them so much I've outlined a novel focused on them as the heroes. Yet, there's some Kiss albums I don't particularly like ... except for Ace's contributions, who corny music saves the day. His songwriting is unpredictable, out of super left field & as zany as he is. He churns out grooves that must come from another planet, with a singing voice that is equally odd & equally wonderful. I've called him in another review straddling the line between madman & genius. Yet, after suffering through Frehley's Comet multiple times I can only come to the conclusion that this can't be Ace. This can't be the mad genius who creates melodies most of us don't even hear in our dreams. This must be an imposter. The album closes with the instrumental "Fractured Too". I think Joe Satriani came in to record it. Maybe this is actually a Satriani album? Even with an instrumental Ace is missing! Ace's name should be wiped from this play-by-the-numbers drag. Ace is sloppy, crazy, in your face, a beast who can't be held back, over the top, & this is very safe, rhythmically plodding, creatively bland, very imitative, emotionally listless. Imagine having one of rock's guitar gods in the studio under your thumb & you waste all his talent as you mold him into something he's not. The producer here should never work again. Stick to Ace's earlier self-titled album for great songs. Someone call 911 or the Space Force. Ace must be lost in space, as he's not on his own solo album.

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.