Album Review: Space Invader, by Ace Frehley

 
Lately former Kiss lead guitarist Ace Frehley has been talking big game about how his new album Space Invader is going to put the current line-up of Kiss to shame and show them and the whole world that he is not a big screw up any more and can blow any replacement of his off the stage. A couple of days ago Space Invader made its debut and is now available to the public. Does it live up to the boasting of its creator? We're going to talk about just that today.

I will say this, it does have Ace Frehley written all over it. The guitar playing is unmistakeably him. While that is a good thing, I do have a few nitpicks. The overall sound of the album is too over-produced for the style of music. A lot of it does sound like classic Kiss, but that's the problem. There is too much shine for what fans are used to. As far as I'm concerned, part of what made Kiss's sound back in their 70's heyday was the fact that to a certain extent it was raw and had a bit more warmth to it. Secondly, I know this is something that Ace can't exactly help but the age in his voice definitely shows through. You wouldn't know the vocals were him unless you knew who it was beforehand.

Gimme a Feeling was the first single put out from the album a couple months before its release. It starts out with a classic Ace guitar riff and solo that we have all heard him do many times, but I think it works. It's the song's way of saying, "Yeah, this is Ace motherf***ing Frehley up in this b****!". It is a mid tempo rocker does sound like something Kiss might have done back in the day. However, I think higher octave vocals like the kind Ace was able to do a long while back would have helped it a bit more. Other than that though, the guitar work is fantastic. It's flashy, it's ballsy, and it's Ace.

Ace did another cover for this album as well. This time around it was Steve Miller Band's The Joker. I was a little dumbfounded when I found this out, but I decided to give it a fair shot. It definitely sounds different from the original and is quite unique. I will give it this, while the vocals don't really astound me, to the song's and Ace's credit the blend of acoustic and electric guitars really does work. Ace really makes this classic his own and really makes it almost an entirely different song (though not in a bad way). However, I do kind of miss some of the whistling sounds that were in the original.

Space Invader is by no means a bad album, but if you want the God's honest truth from me none of the songs really stood out to me. There was no one particular track that really grabbed my attention and made me want to play it on repeat like some Kiss songs have in the past. In my opinion, I think Ace my have bragged about it a little too much. However, it is still worth finding online and listening to a couple times. There is some good guitar work. It's what you would expect from him. Maybe if he had toned down the production a bit things might have worked out a little better. I get the impression that maybe this is one of those albums you have to listen to a few times to really grasp it.

Space Invader, by Ace Frehley receives 3 out of 5 stars.

Track List:

1. Space Invader
2. Gimme a Feeling (Radio Edit)
3. I Wanna Hold You
4. Change
5. Toys
6. Immortal Pleasures
7. Into the Vortex
8. What Every Girl Wants
9. Past the Milky Way
10. Reckless
11. The Joker
12. Starship
13. Space Invader (Radio Edit)
14. Gimme a Feeling

Buy the album on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KGYPY7Y/ref=s9_psimh_gw_p15_d1_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=05SB6C8MF7T10XZ9WZG8&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1688200382&pf_rd_i=507846

Throwback Thursday: Machine Head, by Deep Purple

On March 25, 1972 one of the most influential albums in rock and heavy metal history was released out into the world. To this day, many bands and artists cite it as a direct influence and inspiration. This album is Deep Purple's Machine Head. In fact, this same album spawned the very guitar riff that is one of the first that new guitar players in modern times learn that drives music store owners absolutely insane: Smoke on the Water.

The album was recorded during the winter of late 1971 and early 1972 in Montreux, Switzerland. Originally the band intended to do its sessions at the Montreux Casino with a mobile recording studio owned by The Rolling Stones. However, during a Frank Zappa concert at a venue in the casino some less than intelligent concert goer fired off a flare gun into the theater and caused the whole place to be burnt to the ground. From there, Purple had to relocate their base of operations to a theater across town called Pavillion. They got many of the basic tracks for one song recorded before the police were called on them due to noise. After that bit of unpleasantness, the band relocated one last time to an empty hotel called the Grand Hotel. This whole misadventure lead to the idea behind the lyrics to Smoke on the Water.

Smoke on the Water. If you don't know this song even the tiniest bit, you have clearly been living under a giant pile of rocks the past 42 years. Everyone has heard it at least once. It starts off with that catchy riff that finds a way to dig into your brain so it will never get out. Interestingly enough, most people who try to play it do it wrong. As guitarist Ritchie Blackmore has stated in multiple interviews rather than with basic power chords, it's actually done in fourths on the D and G strings of the guitar. However, I digress. It is a pretty mid-tempo kind of song with a really snazzy beat laid down by drummer Ian Paice that is focused primarily on the hi-hat of the drum kit with sparing hits on the snare and bass. It's a pretty basic song with under rated jazzy parts at time. However, it really is a defining song of rock n' roll.

Let's talk about a track a little less known from Machine Head, though. It's one of my personal favorites called Maybe I'm a Leo. It was originally written by the bassist Roger Glover. When presented to the band, they just picked up on the riff he played and made a whole jam/song out of it. It is a somewhat slower and more jazzy song, but has a catchy riff as well. Honestly, that riff gets stuck in my head more than Smoke on the Water. There isn't anything particularly flashy about it, but the way the song progresses melodically while basic is very pleasing and fun to groove along to. Listening to the main parts along with Blackmore's solo feels almost like drinking a very pleasant non-alcoholic beverage, if that makes any sense.

If you want flashy on the other hand, Lazy is right up your alley. This song features a blend of rock, jazz, blues, boogie, and more. Many people consider it an instrumental where the band is just straight up jamming, but the reason I don't is because there is a section where Ian Gillan the vocalist comes in and sings a couple verses before letting the band carry on. It is a very upbeat song and really showcases what Blackmore and keyboardist Jon Lord could do. It is a bit of a long song, but fun to listen to. It does a pretty good job of keeping your attention.

Machine Head is pretty darn fantastic. I've bought it on at least two different formats and even gotten that tribute album ReMachined that came out a couple years ago. Machine Head belongs in the collection of anyone who is a fan of classic rock or metal. It is pretty easy to see why it has become such an influence on so many musicians and as well as why it has become an inspiration for people to pick up guitar in the first place. It features TONS of great tracks besides Smoke on the Water. All killer no filler, as far as I'm concerned.

Machine Head, by Deep Purple receives 5 out of 5 stars.

Track List:

1. Highway Star
2. Maybe I'm a Leo
3. Pictures From Home
4. Never Before
5. Smoke on the Water
6. Lazy
7. Space Truckin'

Buy the album on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Machine-Head-Deep-Purple/dp/B000002KHB/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1408682308&sr=8-1&keywords=machine+head+deep+purple

Nickelback Sign to New Label and Release New Single

Recently Canadian hard rock band Nickelback got back into the game by releasing the single from their eighth studio album which they hope to release this autumn, a follow-up to 2011 release Right Here, Right Now. This single is titled Edge of a Revolution and it is VERY much full of political connotations.

The band has signed just recently with Republic Records and are looking forward to having a fresh start and being able to make music they feel strongly about. Nickelback front man Chad Kroeger recently made a statement saying:

“We are very excited to be releasing new music for our fans and feel it’s some of our strongest material to date. During the recording process as we looked toward the next chapter, it became clear that Monte, Randy and the entire Republic / Universal team had a shared vision and passion for this project.  Their track record of artist development speaks volumes to their success and we are honored to be partners with them.”

I've listened to Edge of a Revolution myself and I have to say that I definitely like it. Musically it sounds somewhat like older Nickelback but lyrically it is full of brutally honest political lyrics. They definitely aren't hiding their feelings about all of the things going on in the world today. Now I know it's fun to hate on Nickelback, but you should give the song at least one unbiased fair listen. It's worth the few minutes. To be honest, I never understood the Nickelback hate anyway. Seems a bit unwarranted.

Nickelback: Edge of a Revolution Lyric Video

 

You can buy the single on iTunes here:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/edge-of-a-revolution/id906943545?i=906943551&ign-mpt=uo%3D4

Glenn Danzig to Record Elvis Cover EP

It would seem that former Misfits front man and long time solo artist Glenn Danzig is currently in the process of recording an EP full of covers of songs by the late king of rock n' roll Elvis Presley.

The EP will be titled Danzig Sings Elvis and it was announced via Danzig's Facebook page on the 8/17. He also included a photo from the recording sessions to his page as well.

Danzig's message with the photo reads:

"So strange how things happen.Working in studio all this week on
"Danzig sings Elvis" ep & tonight is anniversary of day Elvis died"

RIP
EAP"

Personally, I'm curious to see how this will turn out. Danzig in his big hey-day did have a vocal timbre similar to that of Elvis as well as the late Jim Morrison of The Doors. However, I know he has aged and like any singer who gets to be as old as Danzig his voice is not what it once was. Be that as it may, I kind of want to hear him do the Elvis classic Love Me Tender. It would be so unlike Danzig yet at the same time kind of awesome and maybe a little bit funny. Depending on how well he pulls this off, I would love to hear him do some Doors covers as well.

3 More 70's Bands You May Not Know About

As I said during the previous post of this nature, the 70's had a great deal of amazing rock bands; many of which have unfortunately gone unnoticed by the general public. Today however I have dug up three more of them for you.

1. Trapeze

Before singer/bassist Glenn Hughes became famous in the rock world as a member of Deep Purple he was a member of a three piece funk/boogie rock band called Trapeze where he was the front man.  The band began in 1969 as a five piece, but keyboardist Terry Rowley and vocalist John Jones quit after the first album. From there, the line up of Hughes on bass and vocals, Mel Galley on guitar, and Dave Holland on drums would become the one the band was most known by its fans for. In the line up's initial run of 1970-1973 they put out two astounding albums: Medusa and You Are the Music, We're Just the Band. When Hughes left to join Deep Purple in 1973 the band dissolved, but did get back together with different line-ups except for a few reunions in the late 70's and early 90's. Unfortunately Galley passed away in 2008 leaving any future reunions impossible.

The sound was primarily upbeat blues and funk rock. Every member was very proficient in what they did. It's incredible how Hughes was able to play some of his complex bass lines while also giving vocal performances that you would NOT believe. The man's range was (and still is to this day) incredible. He could get incredibly high but at the same time sing very softly and melodically. They have something for everybody musically. Some upbeat funky dance music, some softer ballad type songs, and some songs that were just straight up rock. Definitely worth checking out.

2. Uriah Heep

Uriah Heep is another band that got its start in the 1960's, but it wasn't until the early 70's when they became noticed and their classic line-up came together. They along with Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, and Led Zeppelin are considered the "Big Four" of early hard rock. Their most played song that you can still hear on classic rock radio from time to time is Easy Livin'. The band is still together to this day, but guitarist Mick Box is the only original member currently left in the band. The others who are still living have gone on to do other things.

Like many other bands of that time period, they had progressive leanings but were mainly focused on making guitar and keyboard blended hard rock. Keyboardist/organist Ken Hensley wrote most if not all of the band's classic material. Their songs pack quite a bit of a punch while still being quite artistic for the time. To top it all off, classic vocalist David Byron had a great vocal range which could also get really high, but really it was the timbre of it that made him special. Unfortunately he passed in the mid-80's. This is a band worth checking out if you are into 70's hard rock and prog rock.

3. New York Dolls

If you're a punk or glam rocker at all you may already know of these guys. However, you don't hear about them too much on the radio or any general media these days so I figure they are still worth mentioning. Anyway, The New York Dolls formed in 1971 and quickly attracted the attention of a manager and people from the music industry. What got them a big break however was an opening spot for Rod Stewart in London. The band would put out two albums with its classic line up, but would dissolve by 1975 due to loss of interest from their record label and their own problems with drugs and alcohol.

The New York Dolls were one of the key influences for the punk movement of the 1970's. Both their loud straight rock sound and outrageous appearance in feminine attire and make up would garner the attention of many up and coming rockers like Motley Crue, Kiss, The Ramones, etc. Lead guitarist Johnny Thunders was a huge influence with his attitude, playing, and appearance. The New York Dolls were one of the first bands to where their appearance was almost as important if not more important than the music itself. However, that doesn't make the tunes any less good.

Gene Simmons Attempts to Clear His Name After Cruel Comment on Depression

 
It is no secret that lately Kiss bassist and front man Gene Simmons has been drawing much negative attention to himself in the press. Some of it is political, but what really has the public upset is the following comment he made when asked why he does not have a good relationship with former Kiss members Ace Frehley and Peter Criss in an interview with Songfacts:

“I don’t get along with anybody who’s a drug addict and has a dark cloud over their head and sees themselves as a victim. Drug addicts and alcoholics are always: ‘The world is a harsh place.’ My mother was in a concentration camp in Nazi Germany. I don’t want to hear f— all about ‘the world as a harsh place.’ She gets up every day, smells the roses and loves life. For a putz 20-year-old kid to say, ‘I’m depressed. I live in Seattle.’ F– you, then kill yourself.”

Seems a pretty harsh thing for him to say, don't you think? It's easy to say things like that when you personally have never experienced the kind of hell that addicts and victims of depression go through on a daily basis. This comment has caused many radio stations across the nation to start banning Kiss from being played on their stations, which personally I think is a little silly because Gene while being a major representative of the band does not speak for the entire group. Besides, can't you just enjoy the art but hate the artist if that's the way you feel about it? After all, Guns N' Roses front man Axl Rose has said and done some outrageous things over the years but you don't see their music getting banned from the radio.

Back to the topic at hand, though. This comment really got the attention of Motley Crue bassist and chief song writer Nikki Sixx. Sixx, who is a recovering drug addict and victim of depression had this to say on his radio show Sixx Sense:

“To be honest with you, I like Gene but in this situation, I don’t like Gene. I don’t like Gene’s words, because … there is a 20-year-old kid out there who is a Kiss fan and reads this and goes, ‘You know what? He’s right. I should just kill myself.’”

I think Sixx hits the nail right on the head here. Gene Simmons has a huge amount of influence. Therefore, he has a major responsibility regarding said influence. He needs to be careful about what he says because saying something like that could cause one of his fans to do something tragic. Even the loss of one person due to this would be a grave tragedy.

However, after all the public outcry about these comments Gene has come forward with two apologies to take back the comments he made. The first one from his personal Facebook page on 8/15 says this:

"Depression is very serious and very sad when it happens to anyone, especially loved ones.
I have not commented on various allegations made in the media, but I want to make this statement for the record and to clarify.
I deeply support and am empathetic to anyone suffering from any disease, especially depression.
I have never sugarcoated my feelings regarding drug use and alcoholics.
Somewhere along the line, my intentions in speaking very directly and perhaps politically-incorrectly about drug use and alcoholics have been misconstrued as vile commentary on depression.
Unkind statements about depression was certainly never my intention.
And I do not intend to defend myself here and now by listing the myriad charities and self-help organizations I am involved with.
This is not about me. This is about clearing up misconceptions and being clear. My heart goes out to anyone suffering from depression."

Later on he made another apology meant to be more detailed on the same day on the official Kiss Facebook page:

"I want to make this statement about my views on depression for the record and to clarify my prior remarks.

To the extent my comments reported by the media speak of depression, I was wrong and in the spur of the moment made remarks that in hindsight were made without regard for those who truly suffer the struggles of depression. I sincerely apologize to those who were offended by my comments. I recognize that depression is very serious and very sad when it happens to anyone, especially loved ones. I deeply support and am empathetic to anyone suffering from any disease, especially depression.

I have never sugarcoated my feelings regarding drug use and alcoholics. Somewhere along the line, my intention of speaking in very directly and perhaps politically incorrectly about drug use and alcoholics has been misconstrued as vile commentary on depression. Unkind statements about depression was certainly never my intention. Fully, you will know that and I do not intend to defend myself here and now, by listing the myriad charities and self-help organizations I am involved with. Rather, I simply want to be clear that my heart goes out to anyone suffering from depression and I deeply regret any offhand remarks in the heat of an interview that might have suggested otherwise."

To wrap this all up, it seems to me that Gene is just backtracking in order to have positive PR again. He may yet recover, but I don't think anything will ever be quite the same again. After all, how can you say you are empathetic towards those with depression when you make a comment like "For a putz 20-year-old kid to say, ‘I’m depressed. I live in Seattle.’ F– you, then kill yourself.”? Personally, I'm a little surprised that he would say such a thing considering how much he knows about business. Saying stuff like that to the public isn't exactly going to help you sell more albums and merchandise. Be that as it may, I personally will still continue to rock out to Kiss but Gene Simmons will definitely not be one of my favorite people.

What are your thoughts about the whole situation? Leave comments below.

Throwback Thursday: Elf, by Elf

Before world renowned metal singer Ronnie James Dio was singing about rainbows in the dark, Heaven and Hell, or even the man on the silver mountain, he was singing a very different kind of music. Before all that, he sang the blues and straight up rock n' roll in a band that went through many line-up and name changes called Elf. By the time the group finally put out their first full length album titled Elf, the line-up consisted of Ronald Padavona (Ronnie James Dio's real name which was used on the first album in order for the family name to be on an album) on vocals and bass, David Feinstein on guitar, Mickey Lee Soule, on keys, and Gary Driscoll on drums.

Elf was produced by Deep Purple members Ian Paice and Roger Glover when the two of them had seen the band auditioning and found that they liked them very much. Elf had been their opening act on multiple tours so in 1972 Glover and Paice decided to give them a real chance by helping them produce a studio album. From there Elf would go on to produce two more studio albums and much success as an opening band on multiple tours for Deep Purple until they morphed into what became Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow.

Sit Down Honey (Everything Will Be All Right) has to be one of my absolute favorite tracks not just on this album, but by Elf in general. It starts off with a very honky-tonk sounding opening on piano and is soon joined by the rest of the band at a moderate 12 bar blues groove. From there Ronnie's legendary voice comes soaring up over the band, but not in a way many of his fans are used to. His vocals surprisingly suit this style of music very well and add a very nice amount of richness to it. The beauty of Sit Down Honey however is that it doesn't try to be anything more than it is. It is straight upbeat blues that promises nothing less than a good time.

Never More like many of Elf's other songs is piano centered. It is the sad ballad of Elf. This one is almost prog-rock oriented rather than straight up blues. The band does seem to do a bit of experimentation musically. Dio of course makes Never More really sparkle with his vocals and cleverly worded lyrics. Another splendid aspect of the tune is that rather than just piano, Soule also incorporates in some Hammond organ; which adds to the prog-rock element of it. For those who are not fans of overly long experimental songs however, it doesn't go on too long.

Elf is not the most spectacular of Ronnie James Dio's works, but it gives great insight as to where he came from musically. While not overly flashy and majestic, the musicianship is still respectable in many ways. The band sounds tight, the songs while straightforward are creative in their own ways, and the album knows exactly what it is. Elf is a key piece in any Dio fan's collection and is even quite enjoyable for an average listener to pick up and listen to. It isn't very difficult to digest and it is a good time.

Elf, by Elf receives 4 out of 5 stars.

Track List:

1. Hoochie-Koochie Lady
2. First Avenue
3. Never More
4. I'm Coming Back For You
5. Sit Down Honey (Everything Will Be All Right)
6. Dixie Lee Junction
7. Love Me Like a Woman
8. Gambler, Gambler

Buy the album on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Elf/dp/B0012GN454/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1408075389&sr=8-1&keywords=Elf+Elf