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The Scientific Method… meets Kiss (III)
Author: Keith
If you’ve read the previous two posts here, you know the deal – we’re using science to figure out which Kiss album is the best Kiss album… eva! Last time we left off midway through the Kiss solo albums, so it’s time to finish up the solo records, get to the reason this post even happened, and of course – listen to ‘Music from the Elder’.
Peter Criss (1978)
While this album wins the award for ‘most un-Kiss solo album’, it doesn’t win the award for ‘worst Kiss solo album’, thanks to Paul. It all sounds kind of…. I don’t know, 60s? in terms of the songwriting, but that’s probably helped along by the cover of ‘Tossin and Turnin’ and the song I thought was a cover ‘That’s the Kind of Sugar Papa Likes’. Speaking of, I REALLY like that song (That’s the kind of sugar…), and I can’t say I’m entirely pleased admitting that, it sounds very ‘Hi my name is Keith… and I have a Kiss-listening problem’). Anyway, the bad moments on this record are pretty damn bad, and there aren’t many good ones, either. No wonder this was the lowest-selling solo album.
Gene Simmons (1978)
This record is slightly more Kiss-like than the two just mentioned, and it does have a few interesting moments (”Living in Sin”, “Radioactive”), it’s only good when compared to Peter and Paul’s albums. I never realized it until this experiment, but these albums don’t really sound like Kiss much – even this album is an album I would have assumed (before listening) sounds a lot like what we think of when we think of Kiss, but it just doesn’t. Plus, Gene’s songs all reek of egomania you know? Like damn – like yourself much? I’ll See you in Your Dreams? Though I think we can all thank Gene for having a song that rhymes ‘living in sin’ with ‘Holiday inn’, a time-tested piece of lyrical brilliance that Chingy would then resucitate 25 years later.
Ace Frehley (1978)
While it may not be saying much, this is an absolute no-brainer as the best solo record, sporting a bunch of really cool songs (”Ozone, “Snowblind” and “New York Groove”) and sounding the most like Kiss after the other three solo records. This record probably even cracks the top 10 in terms of Kiss albums, its weak moments aren’t as weak as many Kiss albums’ weak moments – but it’s not a candidate for the best Kiss record ever. Next!
Dynasty (1979)
Kiss does Disco! Well, that was the big tag line about this album anyway, that Kiss had ‘gone disco’ and all. Sure, the song ‘I was Made For Loving You” was disco-ish and the surprisingly cool ‘Sure Know Something’ has a little bit of that too, but this is still a pretty good Kiss album top-to-bottom. Plus, ‘I was Made for Lovin you’ is cool! Some people disagree I’m sure, but I don’t hear Kiss trying too hard to be disco here, I just hear a band that made a rock record with some disco overtones here and there. This isn’t their best album, but deserves a quick mention in the conversation.
Unmasked (1980)
And now, here we are – the reason behind this excursion involving the scientific method. Yes, I ended up taking a few weeks off from this – sometimes you just get busy – and that’s a good thing, probably. So how does this, the album that I thought would be the best Kiss album ever, hold up?
Well, um…
Not good.
See, it turns out it’s not that good. It does have some songs I like (”Shandi”, “What makes the World Go Round”, and “Tomorrow”), it feels like the songswriting is a little more mature maybe? Or maybe I’m just thinking ahead to Kiss’s ‘cash in on sex’ years that are right around the corner. Anyway. This album isn’t that good, and really when you think about it I have Science and the Scientific Method to thank – without doing this experiment I would have walked around like an idiot, claiming ‘Unmasked’ is their best record yet and probably been committed to a mental institution on the spot. Whew!
Music from the Elder (1981)
This is one of the most hyped ‘bad’ records ever, when you think about it. To show how far-reaching the suck from this record is, I’m listening to the NFL Network on Sirius a few weeks back and they bring some guest on, only to be prefaced by some absolutely horrible song. I mean, horrible! The two hosts – in remote locations – have nothing to say about this horrible piece of ‘bumper’ music other than an awkward pause and a “uhhh, wow. We need to talk to our producer”. At this time, the guest reveals that he and the producer – both in New York – were talking about “Music from the Elder by Kiss, one of the worst albums ever” and the producer played a cut from it (”A world without heroes”) as a joke.
That’s how bad this album sucks. Actually, it’s not so much that it’s bad – it’s that it’s not Kiss. Well okay, a lot of it is pretty bad. I’m really doing all I can to find something redeeming about it, but it’s hard. So, yeah. Let’s move on then.
Creatures of the Night (1982)
Many Kiss fans put this in their top Kiss albums ever, and I’m with them on this. Hell, the massive-sounding drums that begin “I love It Loud” are practically enough, me being a drum
junkie and all. But aside from that, the album is top-to-bottom solid without one bad cut. It’s the one album that straddles their riff-oriented best from the arena rock days with the tight production and bigger sound of their records later on in their career. This one’s in consideration for the top spot for sure.
Well, as long as Step 5 was…. it’s now done. Many albums by Kiss digested, and only the final step of the Scientific Method to go.
read comments (0)The Scientific Method…..Meets Kiss (II)
Author: Keith
This is the second blog in this series (of four), a quick-hit scientific breakdown of Kiss albums in search of what the best Kiss album is – ever! The last blog left off after the first album, which might be their best. It’s time to continue to make my way through Kiss records, some of which don’t share the same high level of quality as “Kiss”. Just remember, this is science!
Read the rest of this entry »
The Scientific Method…..Meets Kiss (I)
Author: Keith
I’m about to take myself back to sixth grade… in two different ways. The first way is the
kid listening to ‘Creatures of the Night’ by Kiss who stared at that album cover, loved how freaking huge those drums at the beginning of ‘I love it Loud were’ and swore the eyes on the album cover glowed in the dark. The second is the kid who talked too loud in science class and got sent to the principal’s office…. a lot. Yet, despite my mouth running non-stop I somehow managed to pick up and remember The Scientific Method. You remember it, right? If not, it’s time to dust off those cobwebs.
My hunch is that the vast majority of people reading this are not independently (or even dependently) wealthy. That means that most likely, we’re all looking for ways to get some impact out of the money we have in terms of everything, including music. While I didn’t plan it this way, I’ve had a lot of cool little music things happen over the last 12 days – and they’re all cheap. So why not share?
Just about everyone I know has a “You haven’t seen” movie. You know, the movie you haven’t seen that is considered a classic – the one when you SAY you haven’t seen it, someone remarks “Wait, you haven’t seen (whatever movie)?” This is usually followed by some sort of action plan requiring you to see the movie immediately, even if you’re in the middle of mowing your lawn or something (though why you’d be discussing movies while mowing your lawn is kind of lost on me. But hey whatever, it’s your life). Anyway, many genres of music have the same type of thing. And if you’re down with the Metal and HAVEN’T heard ‘Reign in Blood’ by Slayer…. why haven’t you? Damn, stop mowing the lawn and listen to the record!
There’s a reason that you can go anywhere now and hear people randomly shout ‘Slayerrrrr!‘ every time something comes up that rocks (I heard someone say it at DJ Shadow/Cut Chemist’s ‘The Hard Sell’ tour!)…. and that reason goes back to Reign in Blood. It’s my favorite record ever, 29 minutes of thrash metal perfection.
And now, there’s a book about it.
I think it’s safe to say almost all of us know who Bill Cosby is: Stand-up comedian. Actor. Jell-o Pudding guy. Fat Albert creator. And of course, Dr. Huxtable – one of the defining characters of the 80s. So when I first got into hardcore beat-digging and record-collecting and started to do my research within those corners of the earth, finding ‘Bill Cosby’ on my want list was a surreal thing, you know? Turns out he’s actually known for creating a few sought-after beats within soul collector realms – “The Mudfoot”, a dope spoken word and beat perfect for sampling, and “Salvation Army Band”, known for its drum break - and come to think of it he did seem to rep jazz a disproportionate amount on the ol’ Cosby show, so wow okay there was something to it.
And that was before Badfoot Brown.
Album review: Judas Priest “Nostradamus”
Author: Keith
So what shows up in the mail the other day but my pre-ordered copy of ‘Nostradamus’ by Judas Priest, ordered for one reason and one reason only – along with it came the chance to attend a Judas Priest in-store signing. Which was a great idea, except the Jersey Turnpike had other plans (which you can read about in a previous blog here). So with no autograph to show from the signing and the only other release from the last 10 years the subpar “Angel of Retribution”, I was thinking this album better be good‘. And damn… it IS. Judas Priest is pulling a Bernard Hopkins on us.
Black Jazz
Author: Keith
Certain labels are known for their quality and are spoken of in revered tones: Desco Records (the precursor to current retro-funk labels Daptone and Soul Fire), Rawkus (in the mid-90s a near-guarantee of dope hip-hop) and Blue Note (revered in the jazz world, at least their pre-1980s records). And when you collect records, search for beats or both (as I do) you become familiar with additional record labels. Digger’s favorites. The ones known for their incredible music, incredible hard-to-find beats and songs ready for the sampling… or both. People (James Brown’s imprint and sure-shot funky guarantee). Fania (the salsa giant). And, a true treat for the aficionados and beatdiggers, possibly the digger’s favorite of ALL digger’s favorites …. Black Jazz.
Exit 7A on the New Jersey turnpike, and Judas Priest
Author: Keith
At this moment, I still can’t bear to listen to ‘Hell Bent for Leather’ without a tear coming to my eye. I was at the gym yesterday and ‘Breaking the Law’ came on my iPod and I couldn’t bear to listen… well okay, I’m being melodramatic. But that’s more fun than saying “I’m mildly disappointed”, right? Here we are, five days later and I’m still pissed, I still blame the New Jersey Turnpike, and my copy of ‘Screaming for Vengeance’ sits in my living room unsigned. How did I get here? Read the rest of this entry »
Premium Records versus the Dollar bin
Author: Keith
Premium Records versus the Dollar bin
You know, a tough decision sometimes faces you when you’re searching for records – what’s the right balance between pricey records (I would define them as anything over $15) and dollar bin records? It’s weird in a way – I think nothing of spending $25-30 on my tenth Philadelphia Phillies hat because it’s a different colorway, yet react like you’re asking me to finance the Hope diamond if a price tag on a record reads that same $25. If you have a store with a massive dollar bin, the decision gets even tougher: now, that $25 isn’t just relatively expensive compared to the majority of used records out there, it’s TWENTY-FIVE dollar records.
Top 10 songs to play at a funky chicken fry or BBQ
Author: Keith
With the calendar turning to May, those of us in the Northeast (this is the Princeton Record Exchange’s blog after all) actually have warm weather on the horizon! I thought of this as I was sitting in the bleachers at the Phillies the other night, ‘enjoying’ the 48-degree windswept baseball – and let me tell you, a heat-soaked barbecue was one hell of an idea to have. So as you’re prepping your burgers with Montreal Steakhouse seasoning, getting the hot dogs & chicken ready and exchanging your busted Propane tank for a fresh new one, don’t forget the tunes. I’m not going to LET you forget the tunes!