Kiss - Music from "The Elder"
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Free Music Notes for Music from "The Elder"
Free Music Review: You either Love it or hate it.... there is no in-between
Hit: 5 Stars
This is the KISS album I cannot live without. I use it for inspirational/ motivational music to get my day started. "I" jumps. The whole album has kind of a medieval feel- reminds me of knights and chivalry. With so much music available from other artists that makes the listener feel angry or encourages values that degrade women, this album is the counterpoint. The lyrics foster hope and a sense that we all have a purpose and a duty to each other and ourselves to be the best we can be.
The songs are strange and somewhat dis-jointed. There may have been plans for the songs to follow a storyline, but it never really materialized. Don't get me wrong... the songs are complete. It is just not the normal fare we get from KISS, where love-making or love-lost is often the point.
Just so you know... I have loved KISS from the mid- seventies, owned all of the albums at one time or another, been present at fourteen concerts. If I have a favorite band, KISS is the one.
Favorite tracks in no particular order: I, Under the Rose, The Oath, A World without Heroes, Dark Light, Only You.
I wish the album had been a bigger success, but history rates it a dud. Just goes to show that bands get paralyzed into a genre that the fans will not let them leave. It's too bad, too, because I think this album shows more of the personality of the artists than any other album.
Free Music Review: Actually, there are some great songs here!
Hit: 3 Stars
I can see why this didn't go over well. By 1981, prog rock and rock opera were on their way out, and the latest thing was hi-tech video / futuristic synthesizer grooves. Long hair was becoming passe (hear that, Waddy?) and the trend was to have hair that was combed straight upward, kinda like Don King, or else straight down over your face, like a Flock O' Seagulls. This hairdo was refined over the years, leading to Glass Tiger by the end of the 80s. Anyways, I'm getting off topic.
This album is not like a standard KISS album. To me, there's good things and bad things about that, because not being a KISS fanatic, I see good things and bad things about KISS. Oddly enough, I always thought Ace Frehley was the most musically talented of the bunch, his guitar riffs gave their 70s stuff its sound. And his first solo album was actually, track-for-track, as good as if not better than KISS's 70s albums. But apparently he was absolutely opposed to this style of music. He is largely absent from this recording, stylewise, though his one contribution, Dark Star, is a bit of comic relief at that point in the album. It's a great song, though he doesn't sing it particularly well and sounds almost like he's sarcastically mocking the whole concept of this album.
And there's a lot to mock, to be honest. The strength of good prog rock was that it was never very specific, just gassing on about dimensions, catherine wheels, stories of the life of mythical creatures and ever opening minds, etc, and where it gets too specific and self consciously preachy, you get the feeling the singer is a tad delusional. And Gene and Paul, while showing astounding vocal range and ability on this album, do not have any idea how to write a theme for an album. This is not Tommy, this is not The Wall. This isn't even Kilroy Was Here (hehe). This is more like WWF. It only really gets bad in songs like Mr Blackwell (you're not well/mr blackwell/and we can tell)
But hey hey hey, I'm being to hard on this album. There is some really good MUSIC, not much like KISS but if you like Floyd, Ozzy, Steve Hackett influenced Genesis, Yes, etc, you will like this album. Songs like 'I' (whose positive, seize-the-moment lyrics transcend the cheesy theme) are anthemic and strongly classically influenced at the same time. 'Just A Boy' sounds a bit silly, it's an obvious nod to Tommy, but it sounds ridiculous to hear Paul Stanley sing falsetto for more than 3 words. Even so, it is IMPRESSIVE to hear such a range! 'Under the Rose' has a super-produced, ozzy ozbournish choir under the main vocal during the chorus. Ace's song Dark Light sounds much more like KISS (and even more like Ace's solo stuff). Absolutely heavy guitar solo, quality stuff. His instrumental is pretty nondescript. Where these songs are bad, they are pretty bad. But where they are good they are REALLY good.
Free Music Review: Kiss does a rock opera and almost pulls it off
Hit: 3 Stars
I like The Elder. Note that I am a big Kiss fan, but I know they have their good moments and some serious duds. I think The Elder is about a five out of 10, maybe a six. It's an odd album for Kiss, because even though they dressed in costumes and were very into putting on a spectacle of a concert, a concept album or sort of rock opera release was something I never expected and was not well received at the time. I think this album has grown on people since it came out and is now semi-respected within the Kiss catalog.
1. Fanfare - good song, nice opener
2. Just A Boy - crazy falsetto by Paul, but I do like this song
3. Odyssey - Good song again
4. Only You - eh, not horrid not great either
5. Under The Rose - another "eh" tune
6. Dark Light - Ace Frehley pulls out a fantastic rocker, thank goodness. What a killer guitar solo!
7. A World Without Heroes - lame ballad
8. The Oath - another "eh" tune
9. Mr. Blackwell - interesting and different, especially for Kiss. I like this song.
10. Escape From The Island - awesome
11. I - nice closer, I like the music and chorus of this song even though the lyrics are super-weak and cheesy
If you're really into Kiss and picking up most of their stuff, The Elder is at the very least quite interesting and you might even like several of the tracks. It's way better than Unmasked.
Free Music Review: The Most Under-Rated Concept Album....
Hit: 4 Stars
The Moment I Read About This Album, I Knew That It Was Going To Be Better Than What Most People Say. Kiss Released This Album In 1981, and Was Hoping For Some Success But Did Not Acheive Much Of It. Most Of The People That Trash This Album Are "Kiss Fans" That Do Not Take It For A Piece of Art That It Is, But For A "Typical" Kiss Album. Well, I'll Tell You Something: This Is Not The "Typical" Kiss Album, But More Like An Amazing Album That Was Trashed For The Wrong Reasons...Read On For The Review.
Fanfare: The Album Kicks Off With This Orchestral Intro, Which Is What It Is An "Intro" That You Would Never Expect To Hear On A Kiss Album..And May Take You For Surprise.
Just A Boy: The First Actual Song On The Album Doesn't Really Do The Album Justice, It Sounds Like Another Intro Track, With "Paul Stanley" Singing Like He Would Never
Odyssey: To Me This Is The Actual First Real Track On The Album. This Is A VERY Underated Song, It Shows That "Paul Stanley" Can Really Sing Good, And Change His Tone Of Vocals, While On Top Of The Sound Of A Mellow, Yet Great Sounding Orchestra. Great Track!
Only You: The First "Gene Simmons" Track Keeps A Nice Steady Riff, And Does Not Fail For One Second.
Under The Rose: Now This Song Sounds More Like A Filler Track, But Doesn't Really Bother.
Dark Light: The First And Only "Ace Frehley" Vocal Track On The Album Sounds Like Your Average "Ace" Song, And Is Actually The First Song On The Album That Comes Close To Sounding Like A "Typical" Kiss Song.
A World Without Heroes: A Very, Very Underated Song From Kiss, It Had A Music Video, And Was A Single. But It Still Didn't Get All The Credit It Could Have Had. Gene Vocals Really Shine On This Track.
The Oath: This Is The Second Track On The Album That Really Gets Close To Pulling Off The "Typical" Good Hard Rock Kiss Sound. Anybody That Likes Kiss Should Love This Track.
Mr.Blackwell: Another "Gene Simmons" Track. Not As Good As "A World Without You", Or "Only You" But Still Comes Off Catchy, and Decent.
Escape From The Island: One Of The Only "Instrumental" Tracks That Kiss Ever Recorded, But Shines Alot On "Eric Carr" Who Shows That He's A Great Drummer On This Track.
I: The Final, And Most True To Kiss Song On The Album. It Sounds Like A Sequel To "Rock & Roll All Night", And "Shout It Out Loud" With "Gene", and "Paul" Switching Vocal Pieces In The Song, But At The Last 20 Seconds of The Song When It Is All Ready Over, You Hear The First Sound Of Actual Talking Voices To Move The Story Along. But This Is The Best Track on The Album, And All "Kiss Fans" Will Agree.
So, This Ends My Review On The Most Highly Under-Rated Concept Album Ever!
Although This Isn't an Album All Kiss Fans Will Like, It Still Shines, And It Stands High As A Great Masterpiece. But Not A "Kiss Masterpiece".
As "Paul Stanley" Said In An Interview: "Music From: The Elder" Is A Great Album, But Not A Great "Kiss Album".
Free Music Review: A few Good Songs, worth the buy for KISS
Hit: 3 Stars
I'm a big KISS fan (75-77 era) and although this isn't my fave record, it still has some good songs on it. The obvious rockers rule like "I" and "The Oath", but Ace (my fave) doesn't shine as much on this record . I've read that he was pretty bummed out on the direction KISS was taking on this record and I can see why. It's cheesy, the story is cheesy and it has a "Queen's Flash Gordon Soundtrack" feel to it in some ways. But honestly, i've always considered KISS "comic book rock" anyway, so this record is a nice Dungeons & Dragons rock attempt and so I like it for what it is.