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Taking a dip in sales with their previous effort UNMASKED, Kiss decided to deliver a more hard-driving rock album and enlisted the aid of Bob Ezrin, the man who produced DESTROYER (their most successful studio album). Upon his hiring, Ezrin discarded the heavy rock demos Kiss had recorded and suggested the band experiment with a concept album, a Kissified version of THE WALL.
Disgruntled at the band's new direction, Ace Frehley only contributed one track, "Dark Light" (featuring a blistering solo), and aside from basic tracks, the rest of the record was completed without him. THE ELDER is a creative left turn for the band. Kiss brought in co-writers Tony Powers ("Odyssey", "The Oath") and Lou Reed ("Dark Light", "A World Without Heroes", "Mr. Blackwell") to contribute to this epic fantasy, and the result is some magnificent music. The American Symphony Orchestra is heard throughout the album, adding to the grand scale. The finale, "I" is a powerful ode to self-esteem, sung convincingly by Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley. THE ELDER is a highly underrated Kiss album that showed the band's depth and ability to branch out in different musical directions.
Includes liner notes by Robert V. Conte.
Engineers include: Brian Christian, Rick Hart, Robert "Ringo" Hryeyna.
Composer: Kiss.
Personnel: Ace Frehley, Paul Stanley (vocals, guitar); Eric Carr (vocals, drums); Gene Simmons (vocals).
Audio Remasterer: Joseph M. Palmaccio.
Liner Note Author: Yasuhito Kitai.
Recording information: A&R Studios, New York, NY; Ace In The Hole Studios; Ezrin Farms, King, Ontario, Canada With Record Plant St; Record Plant Studios, New York, NY; Sounds Interchange Ltd., Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Ensemble: American Symphony Orchestra.
Photographer: David Spindel.
Unknown Contributor Roles: Antony Parr; Kuni Takeuchi; Robert Christie.
Kiss: Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley (vocals, guitar); Gene Simmons (vocals, bass); Eric Carr (drums).
Additional personnel: Robert Christie, Anthony Parr, Christopher Makepeace, The American Symphony Orchestra, St. Robert's Choir.
Classic, epiphanous and just damn good! Make-up. No make-up. Commercial success or bust? This has been the basic KISS album review over the years. However, 'The Elder' marks new territory essential for every major band: a chance to conceptualize and have fun - and KISS does in spades here. Set-up as a medieveal coming-of-age boy-to-man story meets sword-and-the-sorcerer, the feel of this rock opera still holds up today (Lord of the Rings, 300, etc.). I owned the original vinyl, but the restored CD version's tracks are chronologically organized to better serve the tale. It could, dare I say, be done into an actual live prodcution or even film, and although it's not as extensive as, say Pink Floyd's 'The Wall,' it is a standout in Kiss's career, and cetainly the hard rock category in the 80's. Submitted by renesworld (San Francisco, CA, USA) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo 1 of 1 found this helpful.
Lost Classic from the Vaults! Surprisingly enough, Kiss unleashes some hidden talent on this CD....... A long time coming & well worth the wait! Many considered this a total disaster for the Heavy Metal Gods but it really shows the depth of the bands talents ....... when do we get to hear the next surprise from this Super Group? Submitted by ob1kinobee (Whistler, B.C., Canada) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
Last Great Kiss Album I too was becoming increasingly discouraged with KISS when this gem came out. I anticipated good things knowing Bob Ezrin collaborated and the concept album approach fit very well with the band. This is a classic! With songs like Mr. Blackwell, Darklight, I,Only You, truly among the great works ever coming from this band. It also marked the end of Ace Frehley's tenure and the following phase of their career did not count me as a fan. But this marks an apex in KISStory. A band at their peak creative powers that was being torn apart in musical directions. Any fan should own this album and non fans will be pleasantly surprised at the high level of artistry in this, their last great album. Submitted by krisdroog (Orlando, FL USA) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
jesus To me, this album is a perfect integration of a classic orchestra with rock that kiss couldn't achive in alive 4. Sounds so good that reminds me when guns 'n roses made "use your ilussion".
In this album, you'll aware that some musicians (like kiss) are much more talented than the average of noisy trash. This is why some become leyends. Enjoy it.
As a personal note: I sent odissey's lyrics as a poem to a girl who later became my wife. She loved it but she never knew it wasn't a poem. Submitted by jesusenmochis (México) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
mostly good, a few bad songs The only reason this CD is overlooked so badly is because it strays away from the typical "KISS" sound, it was originally made for a movie, but the movie never came out, and it ended up being some wierd album called music from "The Elder", a movie that didn't even exist. But unfortunately people are missing put on a pretty good album, the album is worth buying, because of the great tunes such as "Only You", "Under The Rose", "Dark Light", "A World Without Heroes", "The Oath", "Mr. Blackwell", "Escape From The Island", and "I". "Just a Boy" and "Odyssey" are the only tracks on the album that really aren't anything special. But overall I found this to be a surprisingly good album, many people are missing out on some good KISS tunes. Submitted by gregbailey (Des Moines) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
Classic, epiphanous and just damn good!
mostly good, a few bad songs
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