ACE FREHLEY’s Origins Vol.2 a good time

Thanks eOne for the advance of the 4-seam fastball that is ACE FREHLEY’s Origins Vol.2. And, hot stove news spoiler, it’s a well-paced labor of love and a real stellar rock & roll party! Go figure right? …AAACCKKK! but, same as it ever was, no pretense and no fluff = good times. And like your favorite pair of jeans, faded but not jaded, Frehley rolls on Les Paul a blazin’, narrowly outflanking ‘Origins Vol.1’ on an adjacent orbit, phasers set again for fun, America’s favorite past-time.

>> GOOD TIMES, BAD TIMES – no big shock, Ace’s has had his share, but real nice to have Pagey in the lead-off influences/origins spot, speedin’ back, I don’t mean maybe, but I still don’t seem to care — it was Ace’s Page-like phrasing and detached ‘rock or be rocked’ vibe that got him the KISS gig, hence the spot on delivery of this rock crucible

>> NEVER IN MY LIFE – this may be about torpedo girl herself, or the ultimate Mountain women, certainly a Richie Scarlet infusion with 2-sides of the coin’ to choose from …”feel like a bolt of lightning!” …best tune on the album?

>> SPACE TRUCKIN’ – hard, heavy, foxy ‘n free spaced Deep Purple (slight return), ample G-forces to take your breath away just long enough to ascertain the Space Bear is M.I.A. again, riding’ high in the saddle with Blackmore’s gang

>> I’M DOWN – and out!! and down to the wire!! There’s no escape from this island of guilty FabFour pleasures, special thanks to a bench hit from John 5 and a delightfully spirited lead vocal from Mr. Excitement …does anyone remember laughter? good times!

>> JUMPIN’ JACK FLASH – Lita Ford kisses us deadly on this tag team sortie and it’s a gas, gas, gas runnin’ outta oxygen as the 2,000 man casts more lightning bolts across the pond — don’t run, good things are at hand, little runaway. Ace’s chorus vocal is as chill as the pill

>> THE POLITICIAN – Frehley diplomatic mythos manifested in finely aged Cream, a deep dive into earthly matters, couch calls, fractured mirrors and the non-partisan ozone, not my favorite track but it does belie the ‘origins’ of the “Space Bear” riff off Frehley’s 2009 release, Anomaly.

>> LOLA – Faithfully Kinked out by Ace, as with “All The Day And All The Night” on Vol.1, “Lola” & British Invasion continue to offer Frehley gender-bending hooks to burn and further insight into his keen pop sensibility, one of the best cuts on here

>> 30 DAYS IN THE HOLE – Robin Zander dices this classic up like Zoro; all treat, no tricks, rollin’ numbers, rock & roll, got my Humble Pie records out, surrender, this is grade A rock and an awesome pairing, would love to see these two do more together, what a long strange trip it’s been!

>> MANIC DEPRESSION – fellow KISS gunslinger Bruce Kulick channels Hendrix, summoning his wah-wah and acid rock swells as Ace waits on deck, bringing BK round with a base-clearing lead coda, a guitar Donnybrook

>> KICKS – A fair distance from Route 66, Ace takes this pure pop sedan, removes the top and mods it for turbo, mining seminal rhythm riffs that would help shape his approach to KISS tunes, then get his kicks. go through a park and space their heads out

>> WE GOTTA GET OUT OF THIS PLACE – a surprisingly rockin’ rendering of this soulful 60’s Picasso, obliterating the gravity on earth that used to hold us Animals down, gotta get away, leavin’ tomorrow by some way … reminds me of Ace’s take on Steppenwolf’s “Magic Carpet Ride” off Origin’s vol.1 in the decidedly creative approach / re-write, really fun versions

>> SHE – Old School, plus 40 years, Ace hits the boosters on the outro, catapulting into the free-form unknown so rarely glimpsed in KISS’s cannon, wailing comets, dressed to kill, and doin’ well for others.

Great album, home run

KISStorian finds no BOWIE, no KISS

So true …From Ziggys lightning bolt live backdrop logo adopted by ‘the Ace’, to Bowie’s face paint, to Spiders From Mars guitarist Mick Ronson‘s over-driven Les Paul, early DB is a glowing strand in KISS’s DNA, both visually and musically. Bowie made being ‘out there’ cool and KISS got the message.

At least a couple KISS fans (me and my brother) were introduced to Ziggy & KISS on the very same day. In fact it was back to back in real-time when our whole family tuned in for the ABC Friday Night At The Movies special feature ‘Heroes Of Rock & Roll’ hosted by Jeff Bridges. Still have the VHS …it’s a whirlwind tour that takes us from the inception in the 50’s to 1979, when it aired. It has the coolest segue I have ever seen in my life … Ziggy pointing to the rafters with a peace sign, grimacing at the end of a hairy live version “Ziggy Stardust” when the scene cuts to Gene Simmons breathing fire as the riff to “Rockin’ In The USA” off Alive II kicks in. It may have been that very moment that I realized ‘I Wanna Rock’ (thanks Dee).

KISS has overtly tipped the collective glam rock chapeaus Bowie’s way at least a couple times over the years (if the unabashed commitment to theatrics wasn’t a big enough dot to connect).

Paul’s singing (and the band’s overall delivery) on the original 1973 demo of “Strutter” is Bowie all the way. Stanley cops a whiney, quasi-British, Ziggy vibe on the “She gets her waa-aay, like a child” doubled vocal line, going intentionally out of phase to create what me and my bro have always called ‘the Bowie effect!!’. This early demo by the furry four reveals Ziggy was one of their Gods, no question. Just check Gene and Paul’s Tweets when the news hit of Bowie’s passing yesterday.

Another homage is Gene’s “Hey man …” lyric leads-ins on the verses of “The Street ‘Giveth & The Street ‘Taketh Away” off Hot In The Shade, shamelessly knocking off Bowie’s ultra-cool “Suffragette City” verse hook lock, stock & barrel.

The most obvious parallel for me though is Bowie’s pre-occupation with fantasy and ultimate decision to really go for it by creating Ziggy, just as the boys did with the Spaceman (Ziggy take a bow), the Catman, the Demon and the Starchild (uh .. Stardust). His focus was always on creating a new image of himself and on pushing boundries, forcing audiences to either except or reject (him).

Ironically, it’s long been joked by Gene that, had KISS been shorter or skinnier, they would have dressed in semi-drag like the New York Dolls, or Bowie as was en vogue at time. Their early photo sessions without face paint show a bunch of ‘lovely lads’ looking a little fey for, say, Detroit or Terre Haute where the KISS Army started. But even when they put the make up on Paul dabbled with adrogyny, playing the role like Jagger, or Bowie being Ziggy.

With the rock news of the past few weeks, my KISS-vision has been gaining clarity …KISS is a bastard step child of, Alice aside, both waves of the British Invasion: from the first with the Beatles, Kinks & Who to the second with Ziggy, Lemmy, Zep, Slade & Sabbath. Without Bolan, The Who & The Beatles, there’s no Bowie. Without Lou Reed’s Velvet Underground, there’s no Alice Cooper. Without Alice or Bolan, there’s no Bowie. It’s fuzzy rock math but any way you slice it, without Ziggy, there’s probably no KISS as we know them.

RIP David Bowie, the atomic punk …he came and met us, he blew our minds.

 

 

 

 

 

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.

better lift your diamond ring, better pawn it babe

Is it just me, but isn’t KISStory a sweet science?

The band’s appearance on the coming cover of Rolling Stone is the proverbial KISSKoupDeGras and figures more more prominently is rock history than their induction next month into the so called Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Both have taken 40 years to happen. Madness.

But, oh how the might have fallen … to have to acknowledge KISS? Not Eddie Murphy again on the cover? really?

See, RStone and the RHall are one in the same and their but all-out capitulation is the proof today that both need KISS more than the band needs them. Anyway, all three  entities sold out a long time ago or wouldn’t be here now in this stare down to see who blinks first.

As KISS is prone to tell you, they’ve won yet again. Rome has fallen, the Berlin Wall has crumbled, the emperor has no pants, let the pagan hedonists rule!. The death of print media aside, history of all sorts teaches us that eventually the leaders of last revolution become the old guard and, resting on their laurels in desperate need of a way to distinguish themselves from commoners, ultimately want to tell everyone else what to think … when they finally do compromise it’s usually too late; the die is cast. The wicked witch of the west is dead at last, the KISS Army sleeps well tonight.

And as some sorta silly little consolation, and as a last jab at Gene & Paul  by the RockHall clan, the mag finally allows Kiss to grace their already shrunken cover and of course chooses a rare photo of the long-gone original line-up  …..whatchoo gonna do with folks like that?