Album Review: KISS - Music from "The Elder"

Greetings everyone, and welcome back to Rave Up Music! Again, I am your host, Barius, and today, we going to talk about a unique concept album from the biggest rock acts of all time. You wanted the best, and you got the best! The hottest band in the world – KISS! Yes, I know how cheesy that line is, but I simply could not resist using it.

Let us just get to the intro…

KISS is one of the most recognized and celebrated bands in rock music today! Their show productions, costumes, and face make-up have captivated audiences for nearly forty years. Their fans, known as the KISS Army, come to their concerts in droves, and buy nearly every piece of merchandise they can get their hands on, because when the members of a band look like larger-than-life superheroes, it is very easy to exploit them for money, including KISS lunchboxes.

My brother has one of these... I am jealous…

Outside of lunchboxes, KISS merchandise includes action figures, coffee mugs, underwear, skateboards, comic books, and my personal favorite, the KISS Coffin.

Doubles nicely as a refrigerator, as advertised by Gene Simmons…

Yeah, that is the last thing I want my family to remember me by: being buried in a KISS Coffin with Gene Simmons’ tongue sticking out at you. Is there anyone who is actually buried in one of these coffins?

Oh…respect to the Dime…

Despite the licensing and stage work, the heart of KISS is the music. Some the songs are amazing, like “Detroit Rock City,” “God of Thunder,” “Shock Me,” “Love Gun,” “Psycho Circus,” “I Love It Loud,” and of course, the most commonly played KISS song, “Rock & Roll All Nite.” But of course, there are the rare gems, like “War Machine,” “Parasite,” “I Want You,” and “Uh! All Night.” Yeah, not all of the titles were great…

After two albums that shifted the hard rock sound of KISS to be more commercial, 1979’s disco-driven Dynasty and 1980’s pop-oriented Unmasked, many fans felt alienated, feeling KISS was more into making money then making music. KISS reentered the studio to record an album that would bring them back to their hard rock roots. Bringing in the producer of their successful Destroyer album Bob Ezrin, KISS promised, "It will be hard and heavy from start to finish—straight-on rock and roll that will knock your socks off."

However, before recording the new album, KISS members Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley met with their creative manager Bill Aucoin, who thought a straight ahead rock album was not going to be enough to regain the public’s interest in KISS. They felt an artistic statement would bring people around to KISS. The end result was the album Music from the Elder.

A concept album, Music from "The Elder" involves the story of a young hero trained by the Council of Elders who belong to the Order of the Rose, who fight evil. The album was presented as a soundtrack to a film that was never made, making it difficult to follow the story.

Before its release on November 10^th, 1981, the album already faced harsh criticism, seeing it as a step backwards for the band. Furthermore, when Kiss premiered the album for their management and record company in October 1981, the reaction was a mixture of confusion and resentment. Business manager Howard Marks refused to allow his company's name to appear in the liner notes.

So, was this album another step back for KISS, according to so many people? Let’s take a listen and find out.

The Album Cover:

This is a very unique cover. We have a hand reaching out for the door knocker on a very fancy door. It has a sort Renaissance vibe to it. I for one Renaissance in music and décor, but it when I think KISS, those two styles are anything but associated with the group who wrote the song “Let’s Put the ‘X’ in Sex,” which is not one of my favorite KISS song. Still, it is an intriguing cover, and it does get your attention. Well, let us look at the tracks on the album.

Now, depending on where this album was released, the track listing varies from country to country. For this review, we will look at the U.S. release of the album.

The Songs:

"The Oath"

Well, the song is pretty rockin’ and has a tight sound, but once we hit the chorus, it gets kind of awkward. I know that Paul Stanley has been known to use falsetto in KISS songs, but this song actually sounds like someone cut off his manhood to get those high notes. Despite the falsetto, this song is pretty heavy and really feels like your standard KISS.

"Fanfare"

Yeah, when I think of the band KISS, I really think woodwind choir introductions with a brass outro. It feels like I am in either late Renaissance or Baroque period. Though it is a nice simply little piece, it could probably be left off the album, thus I dub thee “ALBUM FILLER!” Next track, please…

"Just A Boy"

The track “Just A Boy” does not help KISS’ case for doing a concept album. The song feels like it drags the beat down; it feels like a lullaby I would go to sleep to, and to make it worse, the falsetto Paul Stanley returns. This time, it’s even higher than it was on “The Oath.” I know he is trying to sound like a young boy, the protagonist of this non-existent story, but this time it comes off as not only having Stanley’s no testicles, but his Love Gun as well.

"Dark Light"

 

Over the course of Love Gun to Unmasked, guitarist Ace Frehley started to contribute more tracks to the band, including songs where he has the lead vocals. How ever, this track was Ace’s only contribution to Music from The Elder, mostly being displeased with the abandoned plans to do a hard rock album. Despite voicing his opinion about doing a concept album, Ace was outvoted 2-1 by Gene and Paul. At this point, drummer Peter Criss left the group after the released of the previous album Unmasked, and then drummer Eric Carr (R.I.P.) had no say on the direction of the music for he was not a partner in KISS but more of an employee.

However, Ace did manage to express his opinion about KISS doing a concept album with “Dark Light.” From the Jaws-esque intro and hard rock riffs, Ace portrays the “Dark Light” as being tragic and destructive, similar to that of Sodom and Gomorrah. Every verse and chorus is like that. Heck, the song sounds so Ace-style of KISS music, it is like a musical middle finger to Gene and Paul. And it is probably one of my favorite songs on the album.

"Only You"

The song “Only You” is a little more upbeat and feels like a KISS song. It’s also the first one to feature Gene and Paul on lead vocals. As we get further into the song, the vocals effects sort of leave a weird impression that I cannot explain. And when we get to the breakdown of the song, it has a good callback to “Just A Boy,” which shows good musical writing on the part of the band. Plus, I love the transition going from this song going into the next one.

"Under The Rose"

The only major highlight of this is the chorus section, which has a sort of rejected Gregorian chant feel to it. Outside of that, it is very minimal in musical ideas, and I feel it does not offer a lot to the listener.

So let us review what we have so far on this album: woodwinds and brass instruments, falsetto Paul Stanley, weird vocal effects on Gene Simmons, an Ace Frehley proverbially middle finger song, and an attempt at Gregorian chant. Gee, I know KISS was trying to make a concept album, but I could not tell you which concept they were going for! Well, half way through the album, we arrive at the song “A World Without Heroes.”

"A World Without Heroes"

 

Originally titled "Every Little Bit of Your Heart", the lyrics were changed in order the fit the concept of the album, with Lou Reed contributing the line "A world without heroes, is like a world without sun" to the lyrics. The band also made a music video for this song, and it is considered the only single for the album.

You know, I need to take a moment and talk about the costumes that KISS decided to wear for this album, and it makes me say, “Why?!?” 

 

I mean, look at Paul Stanley. It’s like he went to the gym, forgot to take off his headband, and said, “Screw it, its part of my costume now.” Ace is in a full body lightning suit, which is kind of appropriate for the Space Ace, and Eric Carr is…well, dress like Eric Carr. But Gene Simmons, what is up with the perm, dude? It looks like he hired a hair stylist for the album, but received a dog groomer instead!

Okay, back to the song and music video. The music video itself leaves a lot to the imagination; just the band playing under single spot lights. Now I know music video concepts back then were not great in the early eighties, but they could at least try a little bit. Like, show images of what the world could be like without heroes.

And is it just me, or is Eric Carr’s drumming really basic in this song. In fact, if you look at most of the songs on Music from the Elder, Carr’s amazing drumming skills are really underutilized. This becomes more obvious with Kiss’ next album, Creatures of the Night. Furthermore, this song is just too depressing, and really repetitive. I know it is suppose to be a sad song, but boy, does it drag on. And, just to top off this train wreck of a video…

…Gene Simmons, the Demon himself, the man who has been with over a thousand women, and is one of rock music’s greatest icons, cries at the end of the video. *sigh*

"Mr. Blackwell"

Okay, quick question: WHO THE HELL IS MR. BLACKWELL?!?

Anyway, the song has a nice, dark, eerie beginning, but that changes to this weird bass guitar pounding in your ear, while it is has some unique ideas, they are not well fleshed out, and it makes me not want to care for Mr. Blackwell and his problems.

“Escape from the Island” 

This is a nice three minute instrumental from the band, but has a jam session feel to it. It is pretty up beat song that has some nice guitar riffs and drum fills, and has a real nice chase music feel to it. There really is not whole lot more one can say about the track. Let us move on; we only have a few tracks left…

 
"Odyssey"

The song starts nicely with a simple piano riff intro and supporting string, but the minute Paul Stanley’s vocals kick it, he turns into this weird lounge singer. It is really weird, and kind of out of place. Oddly enough, this song is the only one not to written by a member of KISS, but by Tony Powers. Who is that? Exactly...

You know, after listening to this song, it feels like it does not fit here in the album, and actually, it should not be here on the album. With the US release of Music from the Elder, the order of the music was switch around to sound more appealing, as well as to create a single out of the song, “The Oath.” Here’s the original track list:

1. "Fanfare"
2. "Just A Boy"
3. "Odyssey"
4. "Only You"
5. "Under the Rose"
6. "Dark Light"
7. "A World Without Heroes"
8. "The Oath"
9. "Mr. Blackwell"
10. "Escape from the Island" 
11. "I"

…and here’s the US release version:

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. "Odyssey"
11. "I"
12. "Finale"

As you can see, a good chunk of the album was rearranged, thus making this abstract story even harder to follow. But, let’s go to the next track of the album, simply entitled, “I.” Yes, “I,” as in the pronoun.

"I"

Hmm...I wonder where Ace is? Plus, it is kind of cool to see what Eric Carr was going to before he became the Fox.

Anyway, on to the song. Is it a bad thing that I think this song sounds like an empowerment song for those in rehab? Regardless of the A.A.-themed lyrics, this song is another one of the few gems found on this album. It is upbeat has great guitar riff that only KISS can play.

So this would be the end of the album… if we have the international version. KISS was kind enough to give us a Finale to the album on the American release.

"Finale"

 

What in the hell was that?!? That is how you end a KISS album? You know, I have been a KISS fan for most of my life, and I have dealt with the non-makeup years, I have dealt with the crappy merchandise, and I have dealt with that terrible TV movie “KISS Meets the Phantom in the Park,” but that was that last straw! This betrays all the KISS fans by giving them this album that does not stay consistent in the sound, and gives us songs to a story that doesn’t exist!

… Okay, I am good now.

Overall Impression:

Is KISS’ Music from the Elder really that bad of an album? To be honest, it is actually a fairly good album. The songs are actually well-crafted and unique. Some of the songs on the album are really catchy, and will stick around in your head for a while. The album's lyrics do a great job describing the hero's feelings during his journey and training, as he overcomes his early doubts to become confident and self-assured.

KISS did accomplish their goal of a musical statement with this album, but the fan backlash was immense that the band opted not even go on tour to support the album; there were only a few television appearances.

In the years since its release, the members of KISS have often stated about their misguided attempt at a concept album. Paul Stanley stated, "I go on record saying it's not a great KISS record but I think it's a really great record." Gene Simmons has stated, "As a KISS record I'd give it a zero. As a bad Genesis record, I'd give it a two." Finally, Ace Frehley summed up his experience with, “I hated that album. That was the icing on the cake when I quit the group. I listened to it; I took the tape and smashed it against the wall."

Fortunately, the next album, Creatures of the Night, did bring back the heavy, hard rock sound KISS promised they would. By this point, Ace Frehley was gone, even though he was promoted on the album, and US fans were distilled by KISS that it took the removal of the makeup in 1983 that brought some of the fans back to the KISS Army. So, would I recommend it to KISS fans? Actually, I would recommend people to listening to it as a reference of what to do for a concept album, but I also recommend for what not to do for a rock album.

Well, that was a hard album to get through. I think for next time, we need to look at more hard rock and heavy metal acts. So, tune in next time on Rave Up Music as I present the first installment of “A Little Slice of Metal.” Until then, I am Barius, and let us rock ‘n’ roll all night, and party every day!

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