Post by Pete70s on Mar 31, 2004 22:29:27 GMT -5
It seems as though every band that has had a significant amount of longevity always seems to have "that album" in their catalog. You know, the one that didn't sell, the one that has an enigmatic mystery surrounding it.. The one that even the band itself refuses to acknowledge.. Well, I'm going to do a review of an album that I recently reacquainted myself with, an album that has been treated unfairly and unjustly for years, but DOES contain some very good music.
(Music From) The Elder - KISS, 1981
1. The Oath
2. fanfare
3. Just A Boy
4. Dark Light
5. Only You
6. Under The Rose
7. A World Without Heroes
8. Mr. Blackwell
9. Escape From The Island
10. Odessy
11. I
"When the earth was young, they were already old.." So begins the brief paragraph that adorns the inside of the albums gatefold sleeve. This was the first (and only) concept album in Kisstory. The story of a young warrior who struggles to be deemed worthy of fellowship in an elite group of noblemen known as the Elder.
After the lackluster sales of "Unmasked" in 1980, and the departure of Peter Criss, it was decided that Kiss needed to change their image in order to retain success in the 80's. New drummer Eric Carr was brought in, and the band decided to simplify their costumes and even wear shorter hair. Although no pictures of the band graced the album cover, pictures that circulated at the time had Kiss looking very different than usual.
Fresh from his successful production on Pink Floyd's "The Wall", producer Bob Ezrin (who had previously produced the bands masterpiece "Destroyer"), was brought in to oversee the bands next project. Originally slated to be a back-to-basics rock n' roll record, Ezrin's idea to make a concept album started to come to fruition. Three tracks were co-written by Lou Reed. Gene wrote the story, based around a movie he had been writing.
It was to be one of the first multimedia projects. Plans for an accompanying film were drawn up. Paul and Gene loved the idea, but Ace and Eric were against it from the beginning, and since Eric was not a voting member, Ace was on his own. He barely played on the album, not showing up for sessions in his own home studio! It would be the beginning of Ace's downfall, culminating in his leaving the band a year after The Elder was released.
The album was released in November 1981. I have vague memories of TV ads for the album that aired at the time. The album bombed, failing to achieve gold status or chart higher than #75. Sometime during the 80's, it became the only original Kiss album to go out of print. (I remember looking for it for a LONG time, just because I wanted to hear what the thing SOUNDED like. I was quite happy when the album was finally issued on CD in the summer of '89.)
The failure of the album led to the band cancelling their tour (and proposed film). The only live performance of any Elder songs was a taped performance on the late-night ABC show "Fridays", which aired in January 1982.
To this day, the album recieves a lot of negative criticism. Ace Frehley hated the album so much he smashed his copy against the wall after he first heard it. Even Bob Ezrin, years later, called it "One of the worst crimes ever perpetrated on music". But Paul Stanley said it best in a recent interview: "I go on record saying it's a really good album but I don't think it's a really good KISS album". Simply put, the band was out of their element.
I feel that If Blue Oyster Cult had done this album, everyone probably would have loved it!
Personally, I think the quality of the tracks should speak for themselves..
1. The Oath - A heavy rocking track that opens the album, with powerful Paul Stanley vocals. Too bad this cut gets overlooked, as Eric really pounds those double kick drums!
2. fanfare - A short medieval sounding horn-piece interlude
3. Just A Boy - A ballad-like tune, which introduces the main character of the story, played by Paul. The melody line, "I am just a boy" is a recurring theme throughout the album, sort of a "leitmotiv" (I'll be impressed if anyone knows what that means).
4. Dark Light - Ace Frehley's only contribution to the album, it would turn out to be his last lead vocal on a Kiss album. He sounds like he just doesn't care, which he didn't. Even his guitar solo sounds uninspired.
5. Only You - One of my favorites on this album, Gene sounds great on this! Great segue into the next track..
6. Under The Rose - A haunting piece with dark, gloomy undertones. "The Rose" is the symbol that The Elder unites under, and the council informs the boy of the sacrifices he must make in order to become a member.
7. A World Without Heroes - This was the single from the album, a Gene-sung ballad, which seems to hold up better than most of the album. Cher did a cover of this (I think), and Kiss revisited the song for their MTV Unplugged special in the mid-90s. Lou Reed was given co-writing credit, although legend has it that his only contribution was the title.
8. Mr. Blackwell - I'm assuming that Mr. Blackwell is the villain in the story. This is Gene's big cruncher on the album.
9. Escape From The Island - A firey instrumental that seems "action-filled".
10. Odessy - It may just be me, but there is a mid-section in this song that almost sounds Brian Wilson-ish. This is Kiss sounding like ELO, and not badly.
11. I - Probably the most "Kiss-sounding" track on the album. Paul and Gene share lead vocals on this uptempo rocker about believing in yourself. SHOULD have been a single.. Also contains a brief refference to "Rock and Roll All Night".
The album closes with a short spoken segment, where the boy is finally "deemed worthy of the fellowship".
Also, the new remastered CD version apparently rearranges the sequence slightly, as it was originally intended.
(Music From) The Elder - KISS, 1981
1. The Oath
2. fanfare
3. Just A Boy
4. Dark Light
5. Only You
6. Under The Rose
7. A World Without Heroes
8. Mr. Blackwell
9. Escape From The Island
10. Odessy
11. I
"When the earth was young, they were already old.." So begins the brief paragraph that adorns the inside of the albums gatefold sleeve. This was the first (and only) concept album in Kisstory. The story of a young warrior who struggles to be deemed worthy of fellowship in an elite group of noblemen known as the Elder.
After the lackluster sales of "Unmasked" in 1980, and the departure of Peter Criss, it was decided that Kiss needed to change their image in order to retain success in the 80's. New drummer Eric Carr was brought in, and the band decided to simplify their costumes and even wear shorter hair. Although no pictures of the band graced the album cover, pictures that circulated at the time had Kiss looking very different than usual.
Fresh from his successful production on Pink Floyd's "The Wall", producer Bob Ezrin (who had previously produced the bands masterpiece "Destroyer"), was brought in to oversee the bands next project. Originally slated to be a back-to-basics rock n' roll record, Ezrin's idea to make a concept album started to come to fruition. Three tracks were co-written by Lou Reed. Gene wrote the story, based around a movie he had been writing.
It was to be one of the first multimedia projects. Plans for an accompanying film were drawn up. Paul and Gene loved the idea, but Ace and Eric were against it from the beginning, and since Eric was not a voting member, Ace was on his own. He barely played on the album, not showing up for sessions in his own home studio! It would be the beginning of Ace's downfall, culminating in his leaving the band a year after The Elder was released.
The album was released in November 1981. I have vague memories of TV ads for the album that aired at the time. The album bombed, failing to achieve gold status or chart higher than #75. Sometime during the 80's, it became the only original Kiss album to go out of print. (I remember looking for it for a LONG time, just because I wanted to hear what the thing SOUNDED like. I was quite happy when the album was finally issued on CD in the summer of '89.)
The failure of the album led to the band cancelling their tour (and proposed film). The only live performance of any Elder songs was a taped performance on the late-night ABC show "Fridays", which aired in January 1982.
To this day, the album recieves a lot of negative criticism. Ace Frehley hated the album so much he smashed his copy against the wall after he first heard it. Even Bob Ezrin, years later, called it "One of the worst crimes ever perpetrated on music". But Paul Stanley said it best in a recent interview: "I go on record saying it's a really good album but I don't think it's a really good KISS album". Simply put, the band was out of their element.
I feel that If Blue Oyster Cult had done this album, everyone probably would have loved it!
Personally, I think the quality of the tracks should speak for themselves..
1. The Oath - A heavy rocking track that opens the album, with powerful Paul Stanley vocals. Too bad this cut gets overlooked, as Eric really pounds those double kick drums!
2. fanfare - A short medieval sounding horn-piece interlude
3. Just A Boy - A ballad-like tune, which introduces the main character of the story, played by Paul. The melody line, "I am just a boy" is a recurring theme throughout the album, sort of a "leitmotiv" (I'll be impressed if anyone knows what that means).
4. Dark Light - Ace Frehley's only contribution to the album, it would turn out to be his last lead vocal on a Kiss album. He sounds like he just doesn't care, which he didn't. Even his guitar solo sounds uninspired.
5. Only You - One of my favorites on this album, Gene sounds great on this! Great segue into the next track..
6. Under The Rose - A haunting piece with dark, gloomy undertones. "The Rose" is the symbol that The Elder unites under, and the council informs the boy of the sacrifices he must make in order to become a member.
7. A World Without Heroes - This was the single from the album, a Gene-sung ballad, which seems to hold up better than most of the album. Cher did a cover of this (I think), and Kiss revisited the song for their MTV Unplugged special in the mid-90s. Lou Reed was given co-writing credit, although legend has it that his only contribution was the title.
8. Mr. Blackwell - I'm assuming that Mr. Blackwell is the villain in the story. This is Gene's big cruncher on the album.
9. Escape From The Island - A firey instrumental that seems "action-filled".
10. Odessy - It may just be me, but there is a mid-section in this song that almost sounds Brian Wilson-ish. This is Kiss sounding like ELO, and not badly.
11. I - Probably the most "Kiss-sounding" track on the album. Paul and Gene share lead vocals on this uptempo rocker about believing in yourself. SHOULD have been a single.. Also contains a brief refference to "Rock and Roll All Night".
The album closes with a short spoken segment, where the boy is finally "deemed worthy of the fellowship".
Also, the new remastered CD version apparently rearranges the sequence slightly, as it was originally intended.
