Kiss

What’s the next step for a hard rock band whose most recent Lp’s were Disco (Dynasty) and Power Pop (Umasked)? A Concept album of course! Don’t read this wrong, I unironically adore this album. For all the flack the band gets, they have never been timid in evolving (or chasing trends, depending on how you look at it) their sound.

The inherent problem with this is your behind the the eight ball. 1981 was a huge year for metal. The previous year saw some of the biggest and most revered heavy metal albums released; AC/DC – Back In Black, Judas Priest gave us British Steel, the debut from Iron Maiden, Sabbath’s Heaven and Hell and Ozzy’s Bizzard of Ozz. ‘81 was no exception either – Iron Maiden’s Killers, Motörhead’s – No Sleep ‘Til Hammersmith, Def Leppard- High N Dry – just to name a handful, there are plenty more classic examples.

KISS toured Australia in 1980 where the band sold out venues left, right and center. Due to

lackluster sales of “Unmasked” Kiss toured exclusively outside the US for the first time in their career, aside from one appearance in New York to introduce new stickman Eric Carr. “Unmasked”, a power pop masterpiece that if recorded by another band would probably spoken in the same breath with great reverence as “Heaven Tonight.” Ace Frehley tried his hardest to appeal to Gene and Paul that the next album should be a return to roots, a more hard rock approach. When his persuasion failed his time in the band was near.

Instead the band contacted Bob Ezrin who most recent produced record was “The Wall,” a massive success. The band both wanted and needed the album to hit. This was a time before the band could coast on its name alone. This commercial downturn in the US is attributable to a few factors; two of the biggest being the more family friendly of image in an effort to appeal to a broader fanbase and the softening of their music. This managed to piss off both fanbases from the casual to the cult. This album simply had to work.

The band and Ezrin decided to develop a full concept album from a fantasy story conceived by Simmons who imagined it as a soundtrack for a blockbuster movie. Simmons went so far to say an actually film was in the works and got so far as beginning casting, but the film ended up in developmental hell. Sessions for the album began in March of 1981 at Ace’s home studio in Connecticut and then moving to Toronto at Ezrin’s farmstead. Frehley did not accompany the band to the Canadian recording sessions as his frustration festered at an all time high. Frehley resented Simmons’ and Stanley’s domination of the recording sessions and was often outvoted 2–1 on band decisions after Criss’ departure, as Carr was not a partner in Kiss as the other three members were, but rather an employee.

He did continue to work on guitar solos and mailing tapes but a number of guitar solos he recorded were not included in the final mix of the album. His urging for them to make this a hard rock album again failed and when he was informed that St. Robert’s Choir and Michael Kamen were employed to add an orchestral sound to the tracks, he knew that there was no turning back.

The band and Ezrin both worked in secrecy until the album was completed. Fearful that the ideas would be compromised or even stolen should tapes get leaked. Refusing repeated requests from the label to hear the album’s progress. Ezrin went so far as to only communicate with the band or their manager Bill Aucoin.

So what’s the story? The basic concept of “The Elder” involves the recruitment and training of a young hero (The Boy) by the Council of Elders who belong to the Order of the Rose, a mysterious group dedicated to combating evil in the world. The Boy is trained and guided by Morpheus, an Obi-Wan Kenobi character. The story develops as our hero does. A number of narrative passages were cut from the final version of the album. They were meant to provide details of the story, and to act as transitional elements between each song. Only spoken dialogue is at the end of the last track, “I” when Morpheus proclaims to the Elders that The Boy is ready to undertake his odyssey. “The Elder are a life-form without body”, Simmons later explained, “they are benevolent, but committed to the balance of opposites. And when darkness gets too strong, a hero is born to restore the balance of opposites.

There are two track listings for the original 1981 vinyl release and the 1997 cd remaster. The 1997 is the definitive version that’s running order makes more sense to help tell a coherent story.

The original order was chosen to emphasize “The Oath” and “A World Without Heroes” as potential singles, as the two songs started each side of the record. The original version starts with “The Oath.” A hard rocker that would make even Ace smile. Paul sings in his highest falsetto. “Fanfare” is the closest we get to the theatrical concept of the album. A large or orchestral piece. “Just A Boy” again, has Paul’s signature, at least on this LP, falsetto. “Dark Light” an Ace vocal written with Lou Reed. Yes, THAT Lou Reed. It’s also one of his absolute best guitar solos, Strange Ways and Shock Me maybe be a hair better but this is a highlight of the record. When I met Ace in 2015 I asked if he’d ever play this song live he laughed and said “you never know!”

“Only You” Simmons first tune on the album is one of the best here. The way it’s produced a soundtrack-ish layering does a great job giving you a mental picture of what could have been. “Under The Rose” a Carr and Simmons number that bleeds in from “Only You” IS the highest point of the album. Everything I said about the previous tune, multiply that here. Brilliant.

Side Two opens with possibly the most well known piece here “A World Without Heroes.” A video was even produced for the song

(showing Gene crying at the conclusion) and was even preformed live during MTV’s Unplugged performance. Lou Reed contributed the line “A world without heroes, is like a world without sun” to the lyrics

This along with the next song “Mr. Blackwell” were both composed during a Simmons/Reed writing session. A brooding number that fits the Demon character like a glove. “Escape From The Island” is a fun instrumental jam written by Eric Carr and Ace. “Odyssey” is the single tune people point at to “make” their negative feelings “valid “ about the album. It’s not that bad. “I” closes the album and is a nice booked to “The Oath.” A song that’s ties the album together with a self assured belief in one’s own ability to get through life’s toughest obstacles. The album ends with “He’s got the light in his eyes. And, the look of a champion. A real champion!”

Kiss premiered Music from “The Elder” for their management and record company in early October 1981. The reactions were less than stellar. Mostly confusion and some resentment. Business Manager Howard Marks even adamantly refused to allow his company’s name to appear in the liner notes.

The album was released November 10, 1981.

Fans were divided, most hated it. However the band garnered mostly praise from the critics. “A surprisingly good attempt by Kiss to edge forward…” wrote Fred Dellar in Hi-Fi News & Record Review. “The mix of familiar HM riffs and well-honed harmony vocals sometimes throw up images of Queen. Which is not at all a bad thing.” Hell, even Rolling Stone Magazine gave the album a positive review something they couldn’t have paid them to do previously. The album peaked at # 75 on Billboards hot 200 in the States. In Norway, the album got to number seven. By February 1982, the album had disappeared from the charts and quietly moved to the cut out bin.

The band has always dismissed this effort as a lowest point in their long career. Paul Stanley especially has been very vocal about his dislike for the album. In the booklet for Kissology Vol 2 1978-1991 Gene states: “to this day we get emails that say you guys should do an all Elder show. Do a whole tour, and just play the Elder from beginning to end, because it’s such a classic.”

Paul chimes in – “and we always write back to the hospital and tell the people we hope they get better.”

Although budgets were prepared for a tour, none was undertaken. The only public appearances the band made in conjunction with the album were a January 15, 1982, appearance on improv show “Fridays.” Playing “The Oath,” “A World Without Heroes” & “I.” January 28 they appeared on “Solid Gold” and played “A World Without Heroes” Frehley didn’t show so the band played as a trio.

In more recent years the album has certainly found its way into the KISS Army’s heart’s. Without this album, we never get the follow up, heavy metal classic “Creatures Of The Night.”

It’s a Halloween 3 Season Of The Witch effect; once you know, there’s no Michael Myers in it you can appreciate the movie for what it is. If you judge this album as just that, a stand alone album, not a KISS album, it’s a beautiful record.