Classic Rock’s Geoff Barton was invited to an exclusive preview of the new Kiss album this afternoon, in the convivial company of Doc McGhee, the band’s manager.
“Kiss promised to deliver a back-to-their-roots album and that’s exactly what we’ve got,” Barton reports. “Recorded in the old-fashioned, analog way, it sounds spectacularly good – no ProTools nonsense in evidence here.
“The interesting thing is, it’s not simply a homage the band’s first few albums. There are even nods to records such as [1982’s] Creatures Of The Night, which had Vinnie Vincent, Bob Kulick and others guesting on guitar. Kiss seem to have cleverly combined the best of all their eras into a single winning package.”
McGhee confirmed that Sonic Boom will be available exclusively through Wal-Mart stores in the US, as part of a package including a disc of re-recorded Kiss classics (already available in Japan) and a live DVD. The album is due for release on October 6.
“I actually wanted to make Sonic Boom available as a download for a dollar, but I was overruled,” McGhee chuckled.
“I still think it’s a great idea. Millions of people would’ve downloaded it, I guarantee. At just a dollar a throw, it would’ve been the bargain of the century.”
McGhee is delighted that Kiss decided to play to their strengths on Sonic Boom. “It’s exactly want people want: the classic Kiss sound played by the band looking like they’ve always done. Kiss are like James Bond or Mickey Mouse. They’re an amazing brand and they’ll likely go on forever.
“When I took over management of Kiss in the mid-1990s, that was my major plan: to get the band back to basics.
“I mean,” McGhee laughed, “when Kiss had a squirrel in their line-up – what was the hell was that all about?”
The full tracklisting of Sonic Boom is:
1. Modern Day Delilah
2. Russian Roulette
3. Never Enough
4. Yes I Know (Nobody’s Perfect)
5. Stand
6. Hot & Cold
7. All The Glory
8. Danger Us
9. I’m An Animal
10. When Lightning Strikes
11. Say Yah
Here’s our quickfire reaction to the six songs we heard:
Modern Day Delilah
Based around a lumbering, War Machine-style rhythm, Paul Stanley’s vocals sound top-notch and timeless, almost like they’ve been sampled from Kiss Alive! Meanwhile, Tommy Thayer’s guitar work is straight out of the Ace Frehley riff book. At a concise 3:35 in length, this is a perfect slam-bang beginning to the new album.
Russian Roulette
Gene Simmons takes the vocals on this one; it’s an archetypal lumbering, grumbling, pummelling offering, made all the better by the addition of a signature ‘ah-ah-ah-ah’ chant-line. The lyrics are simplistic but effective: ‘This is Russian Roulette… one pull of the trigger is all you’re gonna get… you feel the hunger and it’s much too much… go on take a bite.’ To a fan of classic Kiss, that’s sheer poetry.
Never Enough
You’re know you’re on to a winner immediately as this one begins with a time-honoured Stanley shout of… wait for it… ‘Woah yeah!’ This is a much jauntier offering than the preceding two tracks, recalling the more commercial, 1980s side of Kiss. The song has a real reach-for-the-sky spirit, full of uplifting phrases such as ‘rules just for breaking’, ‘life for the taking’ and (you guessed it) ‘love ’til I’m shaking’.
Yes I Know (Nobody’s Perfect)
Another three minutes of perfection. A light-hearted, hyper-commercial tune with Simmons at the mic-stand again, offering a gruff ‘YEAH’ (capital letters, natch) followed by the inevitable invitation: ‘C’mon baby, take off your clothes.’ There’s no word on whether Simmons kept his T-shirt on, however.
Stand
Our favourite so far; a proper anthem recalling the crowd-rousing grandeur of God Gave Rock’N’Roll To You. Stanley delivers the words ‘Stand by my side, I’ll be next to you/Stand by my side, we’ll make it through/Stand by my side, we’ll get by, you and I’ with consummate Starchild passion. This one just grows and grows… and then offers a neat false ending with some soft, CSN&Y-style harmonies (yes, really) before picking up the pace once more.
I’m An Animal
Full of giant, stalking menace, this is based around a dense, Zeppelinesque riff. Thayer plays a marvellous slick-but-stumbling Frehley solo, and you can rest assured the lyrics – ‘I’m an animal and I’m free… I’m an animal in the street’ – don’t refer to an old lady with her poodle off the leash. Late in the song, the band issue the urge: ‘Stand up, raise your fists.’ Little do they know, we’ve been doing that since track one…
FIRST!
........(Sad but true !)
