We had a Hulkamaniacs album in the house. It was weird and wonderful, with something for the whole family -- helpful and wholesome tips for the kids, leering at bikini''d babes for dad. Almost like a Sparks album.
I read Ace's autobiography and he basically agreed with you on this one. At one point they were going to do a more typical Kiss Rock album and had a great track in the works you can hear on bootlegs, Heaven that later became part of the Frehley's Comet song Breakout and the bonus track Carr Jam from Revenge, if they'd combined that with the then new hard rock tracks they put on 1981 Killers comp and then boiled down the best Elder stuff to one side or half a side of an album they would have had something much better.
Today, this one tends to make a lot "favorites" lists of the hardcore fans. You nailed it on the head though - REVISIONIST HISTORY is out of control! We were fed three great big 💩💩💩 all in a row. You better take cover, Robert! When the KISS ARMY soldiers see this, they're coming for you!
Long comment, but here it is - I have a High School memory of this from 1981 - an acquaintance who played Guitar was actually into this album for a brief while and "I" actually caught my ears then although Ace's "Dark Light" now saves the experience any time I put my Thrift Store-bought CD into the player. The complete album sounds like a soundtrack to one of those flop animated films that wound up in matinees at the AMC or Saturday Afternoon TV on an end-of-the-dial UHF station more than an actual Kiss album (welcome to the showing my age department!). I'd still rather hear Alice Cooper's DADA - although the Bob-Ezrin-Produced concept album did not really work as one, it really was a postcard from the abyss that had some good stuff on it and a sense of humor. (Thankfully, Cooper returned after some time way from the business...I'm sure some were worried after experiencing that album).
The fact is by this point Kiss hadnt done anything worth a squat since Love Gun. I started my senior year in high school in the fall of 81, and remember the horror of this turd when it first came out. And to add to the embarrassment of seeing I performed on solid gold in all its flamer glory was beyond too much. they tried to atone with an LP titled Kiss Killers ( Import release only ) with some new songs combined with older hits but the wheels were off.
I remember when that album came out. (I am 55). I did not believe that it was a Kiss album. It didn't have any pictures of them on the cover. My friends bought it, and we were all like "what the hell is this??" We actually thought it was the soundtrack to a movie or something. I feel very bad for Eric Carr..it was his first album with them..
I hadn't bought a Kiss album since Rock And Roll Over, when one night I saw them on the sketch comedy show Fridays performing a couple songs from The Elder. I ended up buying the album. Pretty much a waste of money however, I do quite like "Under The Rose".
Great video! I dont hate The Elder, but I sure don't love it. It's got nostalgia to me. My mom bought it for me at Sears in the cut out bin for like 2.99 but yeah, i really like Dark light; Mr. blackwell and the Oath is cool
That Kiss suit doesn't fit you anymore? Amazing. "Kilroy was here" was HUGE. Was written on every textbook cover and bathroom wall. Talking about Lou Reed's contribution, I just learned that Do The Bartman was written by Michael Jackson.
I personally like this album but I definitely see why many don’t, it was definitely a step in the wrong direction for them at the time and I think Eric Carr’s debut full LP with KISS could’ve been better, considering his excellent drumming on Creatures of the Night. I agree with many things that you pointed out, like how Ace’s guitar work sounded like he was bored, I mean he doesn’t even like this record all that much and he wanted out of the band by that point. I also agree that there were a lot of great records that came out at the time that KISS could’ve followed in the footsteps of. When they recorded this record in mid 1981, Van Halen came out with Fair Warning, and the year before, Ozzy came out with Blizzard of Ozz, so they had a lot of good material to get an idea of where they should be heading. Funny enough, on the same day that The Elder was released, Mötley Crüe’s original Leathür Records mix of Too Fast for Love was released and that started the hair metal craze that KISS eventually took part of, kinda interesting don’t you think
Thanks for vividly describing an album I (also) never heard Robert. Sounds like Kiss f*@$ed up somewhat! Since my age is already in double digits phase, I think I'm too old for this. Probably it saved somebody's life by inspiring them to feel wholesome, wizardly and worthy. Little bit shocked Lou Reed was involved.
I feel the same way about this album. I know many KISS diehards claim to love it, but I just can't get into it. Some rave about "Dark Light" . . . I think it's kinda boring. Ah well, different strokes, as Sly said. When you were listing what was big in '81: you can't bring up REO's "Hi Infidelity" and not bring up Styx's "Paradise Theater". I remember it felt like there was a solid 3 or 4 months where those two albums battled between being the #1 and #2 album in the country (with REO taking the #1 spot most times). The less-aggressive AOR rock of REO, Styx, Journey, and Foreigner were all huge that year. I enjoyed them all, along with the AC/DC, Stones, and Billy Squier albums you mentioned, and Rush's "Moving Pictures", Police's "Ghost In The Machine", Bob Seger's "Nine Tonight" and Black Sabbath's "Mob Rules". They were the soundtrack to the 8th-to-9th grade time of my life!" Great vid!
all I knew about this album is 'a world without heroes ' from Gene on TV but didn't hear the full album until the mid-80s . I really liked it and thought it was different. maybe too much dungeon and dragons for some
I think what happens is bands that made great albums start running out of great ideas but they are still expected to put out albums so they get together and put their ideas together and good or bad they make an album.
I didn’t know anybody who liked KISS when I was a kid. I never heard any of their songs until the 90s. They were like a scary/satan band when I was a kid
That makes two of us! I really enjoy this album, regardless what Paul and Gene have to say about it. There’s a hefty book called ‘Odyssey’ all about the making of and reaction to The Elder that’s worth reading too.
I agree with you, Bobby, if not for the candy-ass lyrics, a lot of these songs could be taken seriously, like Mr Blackwell - it's got a great bass and rhythm guitar riff, a World Without Heroes with the original lyrics and title "Every Little Bit of Your Heart", would have been the soft-rock ballad B-side or single (those were still put out in 1981, you know, the little black discs with the artwork in the middle?
The other day a co-worker streamed this album, not sure why anyone would go out of their way for that. Hey, Kiss were on Solid Gold to promote this rubbish, it didn't help.
If there's one song in all holy and unholy creation that I cannot stand, it's "I", especially that bad West Side Story-inspired drum thing in the middle. it sounds like the soundtrack to a bad gay dance number. You're gonna lose your mind in Elder Cringe City.
Could have been great but they dropped the ball with this.I saw them on a show called Friday's and they played the best 3 songs off the Elder and they were great..however as a whole it sucks.
Interesting. I quite like Just A Boy and Under The Rose. Few other tracks are ok. But Odyssey is horrific! They were trying to copy Pink Floyd, a crazy idea for KISS.
I wouldn't doubt. They'd just given Peter Criss the boot, Ace was clearly on the way out. Unmasked had sold so poorly here they didn't even bother touring, then they decided to....re-invent themselves. I highly doubt this was their decision, I think they were prodded along, but since none of us were there to hear the true conversations, they made up bullshit about "wanting to do something different". So your question was very dead-on.
