Music From "The Elder" [Half-Speed Master Clear LP]

by Kiss

Overview

By the end of 1980, Kiss knew that their next album had to be a strong one, a glorious return to hard rock a la their classic Destroyer. New drummer Eric Carr had refueled the band's desire to rock, and the quartet began working on a straight-ahead rock album in early 1981. Midway through, the band felt that they were rewriting past songs, and the sessions were aborted. Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley then came up with the idea of recording a concept album, based on a mythical original story by Simmons. Destroyer producer Bob Ezrin was back and encouraged the band's concept album idea (against both Ace Frehley's and Carr's wishes). Simmons and Stanley had high hopes for Music from "The Elder" (such as a movie, an elaborate tour, a follow-up record, etc.), but it completely bombed upon release. The reason? The music is totally uncharacteristic of Kiss -- it resembles heavy prog rock for the most part. Some of the songs could have been classics if the pompous and/or hard-to-decipher lyrics were replaced, such as "The Oath," "Only You," "I," and "Just a Boy." Only two tracks resemble the Kiss of old (Frehley's "Dark Light" and the instrumental "Escape from the Island"), while the rest is downright embarrassing ("Odyssey," "A World Without Heroes," "Under the Rose"). Music from "The Elder" was the final straw for Frehley, who would leave the band in 1982. ~ Greg Prato

Product Details

Release Date:	03/18/2022
Label:	Mercury / Universal
UPC:	0600753948156

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Kiss   Primary Artist
Eric Carr   Drums,Vocals
Gene Simmons   Bass,Vocals
Ace Frehley   Guitar,Vocals
Paul Stanley   Guitar,Vocals
American Symphony Orchestra   Ensemble

Technical Credits

Ted Jensen   Mastering
Bob Ezrin   Composer,Producer,Orchestral Arrangements
Kiss   Composer
Eric Carr   Composer,Group Member
Gene Simmons   Composer
Lou Reed   Composer
Joseph M. Palmaccio   Remastering
Rob Freeman   Engineer
Michael Kamen   Orchestral Arrangements
Brian Christian   Engineer,Associate Producer
Ace Frehley   Composer,Group Member
Paul Stanley   Composer,Group Member
Bill Levenson   Remastering Supervisor
Corky Stasiak   Engineer
Anton Fig   Composer
Lewis Reed   Composer
Mitchell Kanner   Redesign
David Spindel   Photography
Jayne Grodd   Production Assistant
Stephanie Tudor   Production Assistant
John Harte   Production Assistant
Dennis Woloch   Art Direction
Tony Powers   Composer
Tim Trombley   Production Coordination
Yasuhito Kitai   Liner Notes
Kevin Doyle   Engineer
David Brown   Engineer