Archive for May 22, 2009

I refuse to be a closet KISS fan

Posted in 1970's hard rock, 1970's heavy metal, 1970's Rock, 1980's hair metal music, 1980's hard rock, 1980's heavy metal music, 1980's metal music, 1990's heavy metal music, classic metal, classic rock, concerts, cool album covers, Gene Simmons, Hair Metal, hair metal music, Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, heavy metal album covers, heavy metal albums, heavy metal guitarists, heavy metal memorabilia, heavy metal music, Heavy Metal Reviews, heavy metal vocalists, Metal, metal concerts, metal music, Music, old school heavy metal, Rock, rock and roll memorabilia, rock music, vintage heavy metal albums with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 22, 2009 by Metal Odyssey

main-150KISS. The makeup, the attitude, the stage show, the costumes, the KISS trading cards from the 1970’s, the marketing machine which throws the KISS logo on just about anything. Wait a minute, there is of course… the music, uh, I mean the Heavy Metal. Since about 5th grade, (a long time ago, in a parochial school, far, far, away), I have been a KISS fan. You betcha. I am not a closet KISS fan either. No way will I disregard to anyone, a lifetime love I have for such a behemoth of a Heavy Metal icon, which is KISS. I will not part with my unopened wax box of KISS trading cards from 1978. No sir. What in the world is there to be ashamed of? KISS is the epitome of Heavy Metal success, both commercially and musically, in my Metal opinion.

I have had the opportunity to see KISS live, albeit without makeup. I unfortunately, never had an opportunity to see them live with makeup. Quite honestly, the only drawback about seeing KISS live was… the venue where the concert was. The New Haven Coliseum, (which no longer exists), was by far, the creepiest, most decrepit, armpit of an arena, ever to exist on planet Earth. I mean, this building was not even cool creepy, it was just a plain nightmare gone wrong. This arena was located in New Haven, Connecticut, of course. Alright, enough about that incompetent structure. The KISS concert was loud, bright, festive, loud again and darn right good. I have seen better live shows in my day, yet I am not complaining about anything that KISS did on that stage. It was a night to celebrate Heavy Metal, with a band that carried the flag for Heavy Music since their introduction to the world. This was the KISS “Asylum” Tour, back in good ol’ 1985. I will tell you this, it is a real Metal treat, to see my daughters revel in the KISS tunes, to know and see how much the music of KISS means to them, as it always has for me. My daughters were extremely excited when they saw KISS on television the other night, (I absolutely refuse to discuss this show on Metal Odyssey, let’s just say it is on the Fox Network and is a Pop music show). Hey, anytime KISS can get exposure to a new generation of fans is fine with me.

I remember being in High School, when all of a sudden, it was uncool to like KISS anymore. Well, that was what was happening in the penitentiary like High School I attended. Metalheads  were abundant, yet KISS became almost taboo to talk about. So, I took advantage of this situation. I asked all the super cool know-it-alls that no longer liked KISS, if they were willing to sell their KISS albums and anything KISS. I made out like a bandit. I had more KISS posters, albums and fanzines than I knew what to do with. Plus, I acquired it all dirt cheap. Then, one day, in 1982, KISS made a loud and triumphant return with their release “Creatures Of The Night”… all of a sudden, these fair weather KISS fans are asking me, if I would sell them any of my extra KISS memorabilia and/or albums. Go figure. Since the mid ’70’s up until present day, I have embraced the Heavy Metal that KISS has created. Even the ballads and Gene Simmons dating Cher I have accepted. Yes, the made for television movie “KISS Meets The Phantom In The Park” I have always accepted too. The changes in the KISS lineup never has made me flinch either, any KISS fan knows that the original four are the best. I am not ashamed to say this, for once a KISS fan, always a KISS fan. What other reason was there not to believe this, back in the day when I joined the “KISS Army”? I enlisted into the KISS Army decades ago, I have never gone awol since.

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Cheap Trick “At Budokan” – a vintage vinyl reunion

Posted in 1970's hard rock, Album Review, classic rock, essential hard rock albums, Hard Rock, hard rock album review, hard rock guitarists, hard rock songs, live rock albums, Metal, Music, Rock, rock & roll, rock and roll, rock music, rock music vocals, vintage hard rock albums, vintage live hard rock albums with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 22, 2009 by Metal Odyssey

I love perusing the local thrift stores. You just never know when you will make that Hard Rock or Heavy Metal find. Cheap Trick “At Budokan” was just that for me this past winter – a Hard Rock find. It was a dreary, cold and blustery winters day, I decided to venture to one of the local thrift shops that has been infamous for having many vintage vinyl albums available for sale – at fifty cents each!! As I entered the shop, I made my way towards the used CD and albums section… there it was… just sitting there, abandoned, found useless by a former owner. Cheap Trick “At Budokan”, in all of it’s vintage vinyl, Hard Rock glory! This live album was released in the U.S. in February of 1979. This album is a live Hard Rock masterpiece, in my Metal opinion. I saw, from just a few feet away, that this album was in near perfect condition too! The coast was clear, I made my move and Cheap Trick was in my hands. I have finally been reunited with my long lost Cheap Trick album!! Holding this album, staring at the front cover photo of Robin Zander and Tom Petersson, well, it took me back to a moment in time.

Sometime back in the very early 1980’s, my cousin, Michael, well, he asked me if he could “borrow” my beloved Cheap Trick “At Budokan” album. I replied, “yes”. You live and learn. You learn from your past mistakes. I never saw that album again, not until this find at the thrift store was in my hands. You see, throughout the years, I never repurchased this classic Cheap Trick album, nor did I ever get it on CD. I guess, deep down inside of me, I was waiting, maybe hoping, that this cousin of mine would someday return the album to me. Dream on. Did I ever ask my cousin for the album over the years? Nope. It was not worth it. Eventually realizing how my cousin actually took care of material possessions, well, I just knew the album would not be in the same mint shape as it was, when it left me.

At this point, the past is just that, the past. I now have the Cheap Trick “At Budokan” live album and I could not be happier with it’s condition. As an amazing bonus – the liner notes are still inside this album that I found! The liner notes are in black and white, however, they are like a giant tour program. The photo’s alone are fabulous. To actually get my hands on this album at a thrift store, in this perfect shape, with the original liner notes tucked inside, that to me… is a find. Plus, upon my scrupulous inspection, it appears to me, that these liner notes were never taken out of the album sleeve! I am not kidding, no creases, tears or even signs of other people’s fingerprints! (My very own fingerprints were immediately left onto these liner notes, for the majority of the ink on the artwork is black). Do I sound a tad obsessive? Maybe so, however, when you are a collector of vintage Hard Rock/Metal albums, you do tend to inspect the memorabilia more than the average/casual consumer of such items.

Now, for the actual music found on this excellent album: Cheap Trick “At Budokan” is an incredibly essential, live Rock & Roll album to own! I have this album in the top ten live Rock albums ever released, it is that good. The songs are tremendous, filled with the trademark energy of Cheap Trick, yet the live essence surrounding the music makes for an inspiring listen. This album was recorded in Japan, at Budokan, in April of 1978! This music is incredibly relevant to today’s Rock sound, it has not lost any mileage with me after all these years. This is the album that truly made Cheap Trick a household name. Since “at Budokan”, Cheap Trick continues to stay current with Rock & Hard Rock, releasing an extensive catalog of great Rock albums which spans four decades! The very famous track “I Want You To Want Me” is here in all of it’s Rock glory, with the classic cover of Fats Domino’s “Ain’t That A Shame”. “Surrender” is a signature song of this great band, it borderlines on the Punk Rock side and still has that catchy appeal it bestowed so brightly, back in the day. “Need Your Love” and “Come On, Come On” are two more tracks that can light up any concert stage today. Overall, this is required Rock & Roll listening for fans of all Rock genres. You can honestly walk away from listening to “At Budokan” and realize how much influence Cheap Trick has on today’s Rock sound. Musically, Cheap Trick is so good, simply one of a kind. Cheap Trick are: Robin Zander on vocals, Rick Nielsen on guitar, Tom Petersson on bass and Bun E. Carlos on drums.

Cheap Trick "At Budokan"

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