KISStorian ranks KISS’s ‘unmasked’ studio albums

Helmets tight KISS Army …I sat and looked at the album covers, accessing the part of my brain that governs KISS related decisions to figure out which album I really wanted to listen to most, and 2nd most, and so on and so forth. A short blog piece on a Herculean task. Please forgive me.

LICK IT UP > back on the streets  …hey, hey have you read the news? this album is as good as Creatures of The Night and is the make-over that saved the KISS brand.

ASYLUM > alive n’ kickin’ …guh-guh, guh-guh, guh-guh, guh-guh get the message sugar: Asylum is Kulick/Carr KISS hitting their best 80’s stride.

ANIMALIZE > once bitten, twice shy …Stanley’s triumph in fret-frenzied St. Johns wood; had Simmons given a damn, or Vincent remained on-board, Animalize might have been as good as LIU.

REVENGE > cult of personality …KISS was cool again but I’de give the album higher marks were it not for Stanleys somewhat labored contributions under the rose w/ Ezrin.

HOT IN THE SHADE > these happy days are yours and mine …KISS lighten up to become almost human with “Forever” and a fun album.

CRAZY NIGHTS > desperate, but not serious …KISS buffed to 80’s money-shot oblivion by the grace of Nevison’s hand. 

CARNIVAL OF SOULS > return to sender …unmasked KISS fade to black with a grungy dirge.

 

 

 

 

KISStorian’s 5 best BRUCE KULICK KISS solos

As a matter of fate, unfortunately Bruce Kulick is slightly land-locked in the 80’s because he had to wear so many fret-defying hats in KISS‘s post make-up, hair band phase. But Bruce is a guilty pleasure with no bad after taste who has done some excellent guitar work with KISS and beyond, especially on his solo disc BK3. But, as it relates to our furry fab four, these are this KISStorians’ top 5 of all time:

“HELL OR HIGH WATER”  – You get sizzle & steak on this ripping solo from Kulick. The high point is the Hendrix-infused long high bend that is, to me, the hottest shit he’s ever laid down. Say what you will about the production on Crazy Nights, in some ways it’s Bruce’s most succinct and dialed in 80’s sound. It’s consistent through-out and one of the most pleasing elements of the album. The fade out riffage is hot also. It reminds me a lot of his brother Bob to be honest and, by all accounts, this take is the Demon’s favorite Kulick shred on tape. Ripping Kulick.

“TEARS ARE FALLING” – Off the semi-screechy Asylum opus from ’85, Bruce’s solo here is A1, top-notch, super-melodic and ends on a searing jam of high notes that removes bras at Paul’s request (yeah, he produced it). The harmony guitar line is so cool — instantly singable, hooky, and a big part of the tunes appeal. Pure melodic 80’s Kulick.

“KING OF THE MOUNTAIN” – Also off Asylum, the Kulick solo here, and the extended outro jam out, is hairy and yet slick thanks to what seems like a long leash from Paul. Bruce managed to do some sweet Van Halenesque tapping and yet infuse the blues into his playing like the classics Clapton, Page, Beck, Hendrix and, dare I say, the original ‘Spaceman’ Ace Frehley. Majestic Kulick.

“FOREVER” – Though slightly saccharine for this KISStorian’s tastes as a number, Bruce really shines on an acoustic solo that elevates the song nicely (if not the entire Hot In The Shade album). I don’t think it could be improved on (though who wouldn’t love hearing the electric version he apparently did that ended left on the cutting room floor in favor of the keen radio-friendly approach). I am especially fond of the descending phrase at the end of the figure.  It’s so tasty a solo in fact that it is, musically speaking, a legitimately KISStoric highlight/moment. Classy Kulick.

“I WALK ALONE” – Bruce’s swan song on Carnival of Souls, and his only lead vocal with the lads, “I Walk Alone” is down right epic and recalls the guitar work of Queen’s Brian May. You can really feel the love on this track, perhaps more than any other KISS/Kulick effort. It’s a great song that is somehow in KISS’s wheel house and yet a little farther reaching in scope. If God Gave Rock & Roll to You and I, the fact that “I Walk Alone” made the record is a miracle of Biblical proportions; must have been the 8th Day? Amen. Epic Kulick.

through the past darkly with 80’s KISS

Me and my bro Rich were talking about Paul’s recent rather disparaging comments about Gene’s material in the 80’s. I can’t argue with his assertion that Gene was mailing it in here and there in terms of material and over all effort in the unmasked 80’s. It’s a pity Gene was so distracted after removing the facial facade because he simply contributed less tunes than Stanley with very few truly great tracks and certainly no workable singles …..but clunkers? The true measure of the quality of material is how it holds up today. Let’s see:

LICK IT UP – I can no fault with either the Starchild or Demon’s offerings on this mega rock opus that may be the best hard rock record of 1983, period.

ANIMALIZE – Some will roll there eyes here ‘cuz this album is so land-locked in the 80’s it’s hard to have any perspective on it that isn’t absurd but the only Gene cut here that really wears on me is “Lonely Is The Hunter” (even though it’s got the best guitar work on the record compliments of Bruce Kulick behind the scenes).  I would say Paul’s “I’ve Had Enough” is a bit of a dog in on the LP also.  “Burn Bitch Burn” may be a low point for Gene in terms of lyrics but I gotta say people, it rocks. Score: 1 to 1.

ASYLUM – Pretty cool album. but I’ve always hated “Trial By Fire” because it’s just so shitty, save the fun bridge which does makes one want to do the Demon head and tail wag a bit.  “I’m Alive” is also a bit too much: we may enjoy it, but I would say it’s borderline at best. Score: 2 to 2.

CRAZY NIGHTS – Again, Gene’s output here is weak, but in terms of truly walking the plank, this is Paul’s baby and “My Way” and “Bang, Bang, You” are sub-par KISS cuts no matter how much gloss was added by Nevison. That said, they are over shadowed by the grim reality of Gene’s god-awful “No, No. No”….mercy.  Score: Paul 4, Gene 3.

HOT IN THE SHADE – Welcome to the jungle people, it’s thick in here with KISS near hits n’ misses but the two pigs that really stand out to me today, as they did upon first listen, are “Cadillac Dreams” (Bruce, you we’re so right!) and desperate abomination that was “Read My Body”. The rest is survivable though the chorus of “Love You To Hate Me” and irksome but I’ll let it slide lol.. Score: Paul 5, Gene 4

SMASHES, THRASHES & HITS – Then of course we have the Stanley womanizers  “Let’s Put The X In Sex” and “Rock Hard” but both tunes are catchy enough to escape banishment here I think. Since Gene contributed nothing here it’s hard to dock points. He was the only one of the two punching in at the office apparently.

In conclusion, sure Gene was AWOL and brought little to the table ‘unmasked’ that stands out today (save “Hell of High Water” and maybe “The Street Giveth” (Tommy Thayer take a bow)) but in the Demons wanderlust absence the Starchild birthed his own collection of 80’s muts.  That said, I cut him slack and offer a tip of the hat because did what had to do to get us all through the 80s, though a tad darkly at times.

 

 

 

KERRANG! Curse of the Sphinx?

A rather excellent and, as the English say, ‘cheeky’ article from KERRANG about the launch of KISS’s Hot In The Shade Tour in Lubbock, TX. Unless you have a copy of the issue, you missed it … until now when hacks like me can share the work of real journalists who wrote great articles in what were called magazines. KERRANG was hard to get your hands on. You had to travel to the city to get to a real record store that carried some imports. Hope the folks over there don’t mind me sharing this rich slice of KISStory.

ACE FREHLEY in Rochester

I was in college at Colgate in upstate New York about an hour south west of Syracuse and I got my buddies Ken & Chris to drive to Rochester, at least two and half hours away, to see Ace Frehley at BACKSTREETS in Rochester, NY. Ace had just released Trouble Walkin‘, a record I was pretty amped about and one that helped define the difference between he and the new KISS who had just released, Hot In The Shade.

I was a student DJ at WRCU, 90.1FM, at the time and had contacted MegaForce Records, Ace’s label, to see if I could interview him. As it turns out I talked with now famous rock radio mogul Eddie Trunk from That Metal Show on VH1 Classic who approved a “ten minute in-and-out interview…… time permitting”. I should have read between the lines but was so excited I believed it would happen. It Didn’t.

I remember asking Eddie “how’s the tour going?” and all he said, hurried to get off the phone…”yeah man, it’s an abortion”. To be honest, totally green in the industry at the time, I had no idea what he meant. Crazier than that was the dank smell of weed wafting out of Ace’s backstage door upstairs there at CrossCurrents — it could have been Bob Marley’s dressing room!

First few rules in A&R broached and observed unwittingly that evening: Play it cool or get bounced and whatever (apparently) the artists wants is how it goes pre-show. I was happy with the near backstage glimpse and brief interaction with what looked to me like hardened criminals / roadies. They were cooler than me to be sure, and a little scary. Ace was in good hands I figured.

When we got there they did have my name at the door so I got in for free armed with my small Craig cassette recorder. Pre-show we waited in what was one of these two room rock clubs with a bar room and then the show room which would make for difficult drinking logistics. We would end up in the first row, clinging to the barricade with giant-like 24-once beers that had to last us but, as it turned out, did not. By the time we drank them Ace had not come on just yet and we had to pee so bad we peed in the giant now-empty cups and poured them on the floor which seeped behind the barricade towards the stage. Ace’s roadies had to scurry with big brooms to mop it aside away from the cables and were looking hard at folks when they realized it was urine. They were pissed to say the least but we stayed cool… “wasn’t us, swear to God”.

Anyway, before that, I tried a couple of times to go and interview Ace and was sent away. The last time I explained that Eddie had set it all up and asked “So what’s the word? can we do this?” and he replied “The word is Thunderbird…..sorry, not gonna happen tonight pal” and that was it.  I had no idea what the reference was but it sounded cool LOL.

I don’t recall much about the show besides a broken bottle fight between two chicks that caused the crowd to rear back and the fact that bassist John Regan came out for the encore with like a SRV / Hendrix type cowboy hat with the round silver button things around the brim. I was so buzzed I actually for a split second thought it was SRV and we were gonna have a jam. Ironically, they launched into Ace’s only blues recording “Remember Me” and even my Jimmy Page aficionado friend Kenny was impressed. Ace was on.

Sandy Slavin was on drums in place of Anton Fig who played on the record and it was my first time seeing Richie Scarlet in the band and I gotta say he immediately fit great and the Trouble Walkin’ album documents it well. Pity: they should have cut Scarlet’s tune “Animal” but I’ll let that go some day. But for the first time in Ace’s solo career the album felt like his band sounded live — raw and rowdy. Weird how Ace almost ignores the release these days. Someone should pull him aside and remind him playing only half of ‘Trouble Walkin'” (the tune) live is a real disservice. What a fun rock record, worth a revisit KISStorians.