Album Focus Special Edition

This special anniversary edition of the Music From "The Elder" KISS Album Focus is based on the CHAPTER XXII version available in Volume I, "Kings of the Night Time World, 1972-82," of the third edition of the work published in 2004.

  Art or arrogance? Love it or hate it, Music From "The Elder" has long been considered to be the most divisive album released by KISS (that is until their record label got around to releasing "Carnival Of Souls" in October 1997. However, in some circles "Psycho Circus" has been extensively 'discussed' and is in some ways more divisive). Whereas "Unmasked" was vilified in most quarters, due to its overly polished production and weak material, The "Elder" simply left most fans scratching their heads. While the production kept the songs sonic edge, the confusing concept, track-order, and packaging seemed to make little sense for a heavy metal band. "The Elder" was simply ignored, doomed to sink into obscurity as the fans either grew up or ran to the arms of certified heavy metal acts like AC/DC, Judas Priest, or the bludgeoning NWOBHM (New Wave Of British Heavy Metal) bands like Iron Maiden and Def Leppard - KISS even considered working with Mutt Lange though he was unwilling to leave the UK at the time.

  By 1980 the age of many fans had decreased to the point where the attention span of those fans was unsustainable and fleeting. Things would get even worse with the release of "The Elder." Perhaps some of the reaction against the album was simply a result of fan shock at reading some favorable reviews by critics. There was certainly no small amount of confusion over a product that clashed against everything that KISS had been about. It would be disingenuous to suggest that the majority of reviews were positive, many accused the album of being full of pretentious twaddle, an accusation neither the band or album can deny! There was also the small matter of record label support, which with the failing Casablanca had no clue as to handle KISS by 1981. PolyGram was knee deep in trying to deal with the label that was suffering from being out of control financially, more akin to the extremes of the Studio 54 revolution its disco music had helped fuel. This was in conjunction with a music industry that was generally in decline, with sales dropping off from the highs enjoyed in the late 1970s.

  Music From "The Elder," bears the rather sordid distinction of being the only studio album by the band to have not have attained at least Gold certification by the RIAA after more than a decade on release (yeah, "Carnival Of Souls" and "Greatest KISS" are also not certified, but those are discussions for other chapters). The album has, of course, obtained Gold awards in other countries where the certification requirements are substantially less than the 500,000 units sold required in the United States, so one can occasionally see "Elder" Gold and Platinum discs for sale. As a statistic that is rather meaningless. "The Elder" was the album that KISS delayed re-releasing on CD for some time after the summer 1987 re-release of the full catalog in the United States - it finally came out in mid-1989, though in some markets it remained an elusive purchase until it was released as a remaster in late-1997. This once and for all ended a search which had driven many hardcore fans nuts trying to find it.

  Was Music From "The Elder" a bad album? Possibly not, though without doubt it was the wrong album for the band to present to both the public and fans at the time, especially after spouting off about what sort of style the next album would be. The KISS Army Newsletter reported in late 1980, "a new album is already in the works. It will be hard and heavy from start to finish - straight-on rock and roll that will knock your socks off. This will be the first chance you'll have to hear Eric on record. You'll freak out when you do" (KAN, Fall 1980). One can suppose that plenty of fans did "freak-out" when they heard the album, more likely with comments of "what the f**k is this" rather than being blown away by the concept as the band would have hoped them to be. Ace Frehley has commented that the band were essentially coasting at the time. There is little doubt that they were not in touch with reality, or more aptly confused about their identity and to a certain extent they were clutching at straws. As the 1970s turned into the 1980s KISS had forgotten who and what they were. In one fell swoop they'd transform themselves from a band that had led into a band that followed musical band-wagons. 1981 was a year that saw stagnant sales even from established acts like AC/DC, Journey, Styx, and Rush, and on the whole saw no mega-sellers. Competition meant that fans were buying albums from other artists as new groups broke onto the scene. Many other "hard rock" acts had eaten into KISS' fan base as they enjoyed their own rises in popularity and exposure. The fact that the members of KISS have generally ignored the album, almost to the point, at times, of denying its existence (or in Ace's case simply loathing it), has not made the album disappear, but has give in a certain amount of cult status within sectors of the KISS Army and the album is by the end of 2004 still creeping toward Gold certification if the label and/or band could be bothered to request and pay for the certification.

  Fans of the album usually come from that certain sector of the KISS Army that accepted and enjoyed the fact that the band continued after Peter left, though critics can be found in all quarters. Ironically, when KISS embarked on the Konvention tour of 1995, playing an assortment of unusual songs specially rehearsed to fit in with fan requests, some of the most vocally demanded material was that from "The Elder" (and Wicked Lester). KISS finally had to give in and though they failed to make much of their attempts at performing parts of "Just A Boy" or "The Oath," they did manage to incorporate "A World Without Heroes" into the set list. This would be a song that was later featured on their "MTV Unplugged" performance and album. A definite oddity, but savored by many fans for its inclusion in the acoustic set. Whenever the band tease a crowd with a few bars of material from "The Elder" the response is usually the same: The more schooled members of the audience go nuts after a moment of complete shock.

  "The Elder" is an obscure album built on an obscure premise, yet recorded with great attention to detail and skill, though KISS were not quite ready to become Rush, Pink Floyd, or The Who, the only rock acts to do concept pieces with tremendous results. There is a certain amount of artistic meandering on the album, artistic touches which immediately grab the attention of a KISS fan for not being expected in a KISS recording (or long forgotten since the experimentation of the "Destroyer" sessions in early-1976). While it may only make a mediocre "KISS" album, there is little doubt that the music and concept is a masterpiece of execution. Though the definition of "masterpiece" should be within the realms of what KISS had done prior (and following) the creation of the album, since the storyline is the tried, true, and in essence rather simplistic "good versus bad." Any positives that the album may generate are easily offset by the negatives. Mainly, it was a shame that the album pushed Ace over the edge...

  Paul, looking back with hindsight and seeing the album as the wrong sort of material at the wrong time, still feels that while the album is not a great KISS record it is a good album. This sort of theme is usually unified in the feelings of the members who really seem unable to explain how they got trapped in the project which ran so counter to everything the band was supposed to be about. It was also something of an 180 degree turn from the direction the band knew they had to take following "Unmasked." When KISS started work on their studio follow-up to "Unmasked" they set out with the object of recapturing the power (and glory) of their most successful album, "Destroyer" (1976), with a powerful rock album that in particular captured the power of new drummer Eric Carr's double-bass style. With "Dynasty" (1979) and the following year's "Unmasked" albums, KISS had had an extended period of experimentation, quite a long period when you consider that "Love Gun" (and the studio side of "Alive II") was the last KISS album with a KISS identity that the fans could identify with. What then followed was a deviation from the normal girls 'n' rock 'n' roll songs that had initially made KISS famous. These songs had little in terms of message, apart from feel good factor and catchy riffs. In most cases there wasn't elegance, simply energetic presentation that allowed fans to stomp their feel and clap their hands. They didn't really need to analyze what they were hearing.

  Cashing in on the disco craze KISS did "Dynasty's" lead track and single "I Was Made For Lovin' You" simply to prove to themselves that they could pen that sort of music. And they did so very well with that album being a smash, but then the ideas dried up, and many were unable to get past that one song to hear the rest of the album. "Dynasty," with that one exception, really didn't deviate much from the strict definition of what KISS' sound was supposed to be. "Unmasked" would be something of a parody, a further dilution of the style of "Dynasty," a further step down the road to perdition as the band tried to expand their market with a softer style and more polished sound. The songs weren't particularly bad or weak, they just didn't come across well in the finished product. Compared to any of the previous albums there was a flatness that just didn't sound like KISS as the guitars faded into the mix to be replaced by keyboards.

  KISS Army fans were going AWOL in their masses while the band struggled to (re)define itself, almost a plague to the diehards who had seen the band transform from "street" in 1973/4 to Vegas-KISS by 1979/80. They were growing tired of putting up with the artistic experimentation of a band which had clearly lost direction and was suffering from an identity crisis. The merchandising was out of control, and had little musically to back it up. This had already helped drive Peter away from the band was probably already becoming monotonous to the fans as licensing touched every imaginable product. The dynamic of the band's following had changed with the fans becoming younger and younger, a change that probably put off many of the older fans who wouldn't want to be caught dead hanging out with kiddies, and their chaperones, at shows. KISS had apparently gone schizophrenic in their attempts to be everything to everyone!

  By the time pre-production of "The Elder" came around, KISS had realized that they had to get back on track if they were ever going to make any inroads into the 1980s and rebuild the fan base that they had alienated, especially with other rock acts breaking out at the start of the new decade. During the European Tour of 1980, when KISS had already given up on "Unmasked" as a mistake and lost cause, KISS had "promised the media that their next record would be the heaviest album they had ever done." Sure, and they always promoted their new albums as being "the best we've ever done." With that in mind the band convened at Ace's "Ace In The Hole" studio at Ace's home in Connecticut to start work on the new record in early March 1981. One of the first songs recorded was "Deadly Weapons," which is notable only because it was the first appearance of Eric Carr on a KISS tune. The song definitely comes across as being something of an "Unmasked" cut-off or transition piece. There are striking similarities in the song which while being "heavier" would have been right at home on that album with watered-down production. This song would never surface on any album and would eventually recycled by Gene for inclusion on the 1985 album "Asylum." The song demonstrated that the band were moving in the right direction while they were working on an album apparently tentatively titled "Rockin' With The Boys."

  An important caveat, this title never seems to have had any official sanction and probably came down as another KISS urban legend from interviews where member's said that the next album would see the band "rockin'" again. Dante Bonutto reported in Kerrang in late 1982, "while the last few months have been fairly traumatic for Ace, and no doubt wife Jeanette, he's still managed to come up with some new songs, seeming particularly pleased with a freshly written opus called 'Rockin' With The Boys' (a typical Ace title - no concept here)" (Kerrang #32). That is one of the very few references that use the term "Rockin' With The Boys" in conjunction with KISS. That piece would be printed in late 1982, indicating that perhaps there has been some confusion placing the title as pre-Elder when it should really be post-Elder. It would seem most likely that "Rockin' With The Boys" is little more than another KISS urban legend, since no one in the band has ever confirmed that it was the working title for any album. Mention of the album was also made in the book "KISS On Fire," which included the suggestion that Martin Birch (Iron Maiden) had produced 9 tracks for the unreleased album including: "One Step Too Far," "Bad Reputation," "Rockin' With The Boys," "Ruler Of The Universe," "Shoot The President," "The Harder The Better," "Fever," "Welcome Back My Boys, To Metal," and "Watch Your Step." This seems highly dubious, even with the inclusion of two song-titles mentioned in Kerrang.

  What is clear is that there was "harder" music being created before the recording sessions got "Elder-fied." The most common source listing this pre-Elder material stated, "Prior to recording the ill-fated '(Music From) The Elder' album back in 1981 KISS did start work on a straight-forward self-produced rock record at then-guitarist Ace Frehley's Ace In The Hole Studio in Upstate New York. The numbers that emerged were 'Deadly Weapons' (similar to 'Partners In Crime' on the 'Killers' album, apparently), 'Reputation,' 'Feels Like Heaven' (a Simmons number that later surfaced on original KISS drummer Peter Criss' ludicrously titled 'Let Me Rock You' LP), and 'Nowhere To Run,' a song that did make it onto 'Killers'" (Bonutto, Dante - Kerrang #155). Ace's involvement is unclear because he was apparently often absent from the sessions at his own home, though the music showed the band moving away from the dour material of "Unmasked" while not really getting back to the band's roots.

  Some of the material was the sort of music that KISS was about, just rock music without any particular message. Another of the early tracks worked on was a piece that would later surface as "Breakout" on Ace's "Frehley's Comet" album, and as "Carr Jam 1981" on KISS' "Revenge" album. While it is more likely that the piece was simply recorded by Ace and Eric, according to Paul, "it's from the sessions that preceded 'The Elder.' We started an album and we aborted... But before that, we had cut about five songs, of which one of them was a song that Eric Carr had written that never got a melody or lyrics put to it" (Sound Attitude, 1992). "Heaven" would be an incomplete idea piece left at the instrumental stage by Ace Frehley and Eric Carr in Toronto during the "Elder" sessions in 1981. While the song structure basically follows what would become the main music in Frehley's Comet's "Breakout," the song was notable for including the only studio recording of an Eric Carr drum solo. According to Eric, "It was supposed to be my 'Moby Dick' with the drum solo on it. I don't have a copy of it anymore. You know there was like a three minute drum solo in the middle of the song then came back in the way Ace did and end it. We tried, all during the recording of 'The Elder,' to write lyrics for this thing and nobody could figure out what the hell to sing to it! That was one of the few things that Ace and I worked on separately. We couldn't get anywhere.... It just kind of sat there" (KISS Neon Glow #1, 1992).

  A likely other final early demo from the initial sessions was Ace's "Don't Run" which would later be transformed (or "Elder-fied"). This song is a striking departure for Ace, for while it has a standard rock underlying nature, many of the lyrics are vocally spoken or mumbled making for a stylistic difference. "Don't Run" was based on a riff that Anton Fig had created. Anton recalled, "Well what happened there was I had a riff which Ace really liked and so he took my guitar riff and then he wrote some more stuff and the song kind of came out" (KISS Online). The KISS Army News of Spring 1981 also went so far as to provoke, "a voice I've never heard before is doing the lead vocal - Could it be Eric"? And while only a teaser, without any serious credence, it was an interesting suggestion that did first ask the question of when and if Eric would be allowed to sing on a studio album. Thus with a selection of harder, or at least different music, the band were initially doing what they suggested that they would do - they were attempting to get back to their "roots" and had no plans on heading off on any artistic tangents.

  By April 1981 work on the album stepped up and Bob Ezrin was officially chosen to produce the next effort while the band relocated to IRS Studios in New York to continue working on the album. Bob had had extreme success in the late 70s with some smash hits, including Pink Floyd's mammoth "The Wall" (1979). This made his selection a good choice, according to internal Aucoin memos, for the exposure his name would bring at a time when the band badly needed it. Another reason for his selection was that he had been responsible for the success of "Destroyer," an album and success story which KISS were hoping to repeat, and an album which seemed to really benefit from the input of Ezrin. That was the album that had forced a certain amount of unplanned artistic development on the band which pushed them to new limits. It is probable that the choice of Ezrin was down to Paul and Gene, but there was certainly pressure from other quarters for the band to do something substantial. Ace was probably still smarting from being replaced during the "Destroyer" sessions by Dick Wagner, at a time when he was already considering quitting the band. Eric, as a hired member of the band in the employ of the band, simply had no say in the decision making process. The record company was also keen to see Ezrin as producer. Not only would his appointment be newsworthy, but in PolyGram's view, it would be a "surprise to everyone, [as] no one In the industry expects Ezrin to produce another KISS album" (PolyGram). PolyGram also thought that the inclusion of Ezrin would automatically result in a successful album, plus he had the support of several influential figures at PolyGram including David Braun and the A&R department.

  At a KISS meeting in 1981 Ezrin was "pushed" as being the genius producer whose "reputation for turning out hits" would give KISS the exposure they desperately needed. Furthermore, that meeting recognized the need to bring in outside song-writers to assist the band. Ostentatiously, this was to bring in an objectivity and new perspective to the song-writing process, because "the band has been writing their own material for such a long time, they know their own style as well as each other's [and as a result] cannot be as objective as an outside source, or introduce fresh ideas to the material" (PolyGram). Taking into account all of these factors, the label band, and their management seem to have at least had a plan on how to take the band forward. The problem would be in the execution of the plan.

  Quite simply, the whole period around the recording of "The Elder" was about change and Casablanca with their new PolyGram masters were ill-equipped to deal with the band. The band was also unable to cope with their own changing situation. KISS was attempting to redefine themselves in a major way so that they could move forward and bring closure to the 1970s and the loss of Peter Criss. In a period of realignment, "The Elder" would be the first effort to allow KISS to continue as a visibly active "current" band. Even with musical releases the band had not had a successful tour in the United States since the end of the Alive II tour in early 1978. While Paul had suggested getting rid of the makeup, it was decided that it would stay for the time being while "not necessarily hiding from cameras off stage when not wearing it" (PolyGram). The band also wanted to develop the member's personalities by adding "dimensions to themselves and characters like actors on and off stage by not always hiding their faces" (PolyGram). Both of these points presented in internal PolyGram documents suggested that the makeup was starting to become a liability, or in the least a hindrance to the development of Gene and Paul in particular.

  It should be noted that Gene was, at the time, involved with Diana Ross and that Paul had also had his first taste of Hollywood. After 7 years in makeup they were perhaps tiring of the stress that the characters imposed on them - since 1979 more and more unmasked photos of the band members had reached circulation as they possibly became less serious about maintaining the mystique. The band also planned to scale down tours in an attempt to get back to basics, and of course to help cut the costs which were proving a major problem with PolyGram who were in the process of swallowing Casablanca and cleaning house of all the excesses that had become notorious during the disco era of Studio 54. Other decisions made at the same time were about image, mainly to drop the platform boots, shorten their hair, and get less outrageous in the image department, more streamlined costumes. A lot of the cuts were for more logical reasons. Financial.

  Why the studio album became the concept it was is unclear, and time may have affected some of the stories and memories of those involved. Some sources suggest that Ezrin was the main focus for this idea insisting that the band ignore the work that they had already done. Paul would be quoted as saying, "the direction of the album was very much Bob's... We felt almost dependent on him" (Kerrang #32). Others site Gene Simmons as the source, mainly from his comments about a proposed film or story idea that he had been working on, yet this idea was little more than an "concept" at this point and no script had even been developed. With Gene's circles of movement becoming more and more centered in California, dating from his relationship with Cher, Gene had been looking to expand into Hollywood. He was starting to develop ideas, which in the case of "The Elder" could have been either a movie or a musical album. Initially Gene would only have a short script which was built around "when the earth was young they were already old," a tried and tested mythological starting point for a good old fight between good and evil. Gene would show the script to Bob Ezrin who immediately grabbed at the idea of the script being perfect for a KISS concept album. Gene, with his desire to transcend formats, liked the grandiose concept which few other bands had pulled off and bought into the idea. Part of the reason for liking the idea of project came not only from it being a challenge to center all of the songs on an album around a common theme, with something of a story line to hold them together in some cognitive fashion, but the ego factor.

  Ego dictated that KISS, who had often been written off by critics, would do something musically challenging and blow away everyone who heard it. It was something of a selfish and misguided attempt at attention-seeking. Buying into the project for his own ego satisfaction, the album was not about the fans or the music, but the hoped end result of critical acclaim. With the lack of any vision for the future of KISS, Gene and Paul had forgotten the basic premise that defined KISS. It would seem that Gene mentioned the concept to Bob who then sold it back to him as the direction to take to save KISS. Delusional indeed, and Gene completely bought it, though other ideas weren't exactly flowing from other directions either.

  Towards the late 1970s concept albums had found a massive popularity, so there has to be a factor of there being some emulation, or at least hopping on the bandwagon. Not only was the Ezrin produced "The Wall," a cult film and smash record in 1979, but other artists including Yes and Rush had built solid reputations making obscure concept albums. The main difference between KISS and these acts was that they seldom jumped into other styles of music. And for KISS who had built their career on basic rock, it was perhaps a step too far to be accepted regardless of the quality of the final product. Perhaps Gene and Paul saw the idea as feasible, and liked the idea of making a "Heavy Metal" concept album, it really hadn't been done since "Tommy," with "The Wall" transcending musical genres with its sometimes rather eclectic subject matter and style. As a challenge to the band perhaps, it was also a sort of project that they had never done before. One thing is clear - Ace was not happy with the idea, and he also certainly had misgivings about Ezrin's involvement in the project. Eric too, while only being an employee of the band, thought that it was a mistake, believing that the band needed to get back to its roots to survive. Those roots meant R-O-C-K! Eric went as far as to complain most vocally about his misgivings about the project, but he was told in no uncertain terms that the band (Gene & Paul) knew what they were doing. Thus his first appearance on vinyl was to be a strange and rather odd experience and one that would in some aspects serve to be a disappointment and rude awakening to the realities of the music business.

  Any KISS fan must have been somewhat bemused to open up "The Elder" and read, "When the earth was young, they were already old..." Or shocked, wondering what the Hell the band was doing now following the soft-AOR meanderings of "Unmasked." To some it would have been a matter of the comic-book heroes becoming comical themselves. According to Ezrin "The Elder" was the first part of what was to be a three-album saga. Paul himself commented that the second album, which he had wanted to call "Elder II: War Of The Gods," was to be the heavy metal masterpiece - the conflict between good and evil in the mystical world of Morpheus and evil Mr. Blackwell, sort of a rock 'n roll T.S. Elliott saga. Robert Conte, KISS' catalog consultant, on the Remaster packaging sums the "Elder" up as being about "the story of a young boy's destiny to become a warrior battling evil that was threatening to destroy the universe." The plan to release "The Elder" in a double album format was scrapped due to cost, which PolyGram was not willing to invest on what had essentially become an insecure brand name, especially after having been sued by them the prior year. In the meantime KISS set about recording. "Eskimo Sun," an ancient track by Gene was dredged up and reworked. It was turned into the exquisite "Only You." "Eskimo Sun" was a song which Gene had originally written and recorded in the 1960s. Following the storyline the song would be about the boy-hero believing in himself, and accepting his destiny that he is the only one who can fight the powers of darkness (KISS PR). Appearing on Gene's publishing tape around 1970, the song was more developed than the concept piece it has occasionally been suggested to have been.

  "A World Without Heroes" was created with some strange lyrical assistance from Lou Reed, another performer Ezrin had assisted in the 1970s, who's sole input seems to have been scrawling the title of the song on a piece of paper. Originally called "Every Little Bit Of Your Heart," KISS had been working on this song before Ezrin was brought in. According to Paul, they "changed the title once Bob Ezrin thought we should do a concept album. The music worked but lyrically it didn't fall in. It became kind of a group project. By group, I mean, Lou Reed, Ezrin, Gene..." Other early versions of the song exist often appearing on bootlegs labeled "I Want You Only" as an instrumental though interestingly the song may have become an "instrumental" through the degradation caused by multi-generational tape reproduction blocking out the low vocal levels. Demos of "Every Little Piece Of Your Heart" do circulate, but Paul's vocals are so low in the mix that they can easily be overlooked. "I Want You Only" does form part of the lyrics to Paul's original song which may explain why some of the instrumental takes of the song are referred to by this title. While Paul had a very clear melodic structure for the song it was very apparent that he was still fleshing out the lyrics for the piece when he essentially abandoned it to work on other material for the album. Gene, however, liked the melody of the piece, rather than Paul's rather sappy lyrics, and took it and along with Bob Ezrin revamped the piece in the album's sole single in the US, "A World Without Heroes." When Gene saw the "A World Without Heroes" scrawled on the piece of paper he knew a good song title when he saw one. Those original sappy lyrics essentially went along the lines of: "I know you / Don't know what you want to do / I want you only // I don't love her / We went through it all before / I was so lonely / I want you only // Every little bit of your heart / There not your only tears apart / Our lips are lonely." This also explains why some of the early instrumental takes of "A World Without Heroes" are often referred to as being "I Want You Only" on the trading market...

  Lou Reed was also appropriately involved in the darker songs on the album including "Mr. Blackwell," and he managed to get a credit on Ace's track "Dark Light" during its transition from the original demo of "Don't Run." Oddly, in one plot synopsis for the "Elder," Mr. Blackwell is a Washington D.C. power broker "who turns out to be the story's villain, and the worldly representative of the Powers of Darkness" (KISS PR) who is holding hostage a world leader. This seems quite different than the character Gene and Lou Reed would write into the song, a character who seems almost Dr. Jekyll-ish. Lou would also write other pieces of lyrics for the project, which went unused, including the interesting "Morpheus Descending": "Give us a verdict now; now is the hour of decision / Don't be slow when you go / Unless you can quickly show to us / A boy prepared to be our hero // Morpheus descending from the spirit / Morpheus descending to our court / Morpheus do send to us a hero // And, Morpheus we thank you very much" (Lou Reed).

  Eric Carr made his first significant contribution to the band co-writing "Under The Rose" with Gene. Eric recalled his role in the writing of the song, "I had all the music exactly the way it is on the album. I then brought it to Gene, and he worked on the lyrics. I think Ezrin was involved in that too, but I don't remember at this point" (Dark Light, Spring '90). Eric had chosen the song from a list of song titles that dealt with the plot of Gene's embryonic idea. With the challenge the boy-hero faces, the first step was for him to accept his destiny as he appeared before the Order Of The Rose. According to Eric, "It was supposed to be about the chant meetings, the oath that these people take in this ancient 'order.' So I just decided that might be something to work on. A lot of the stuff that I would play on my own when I play guitar kind of had an eerie kind of thing to it. I figured maybe I could handle that. I just went in and I fooled around with stuff. And I brought the finished track, musically, anyway, to Gene. That was it. I had a scratch vocal on it. No words. I could not do lyrics at that time" (KISS Neon Glow #1, 1992). Eric also managed to get a credit on the instrumental piece "Escape From The Island," which he Ace and Bob Ezrin created while jamming in the basement of Bob's house (Bob would play bass on the recording of the song). According to Eric the 2:50 instrumental "was a jam that me, Ace, and Bob Ezrin did. We got together at Bob's house jamming in his little studio room in his basement. They started pulling things together, and that's how that song came about" (Dark Light, Spring '90). This puts the track in a class of its own for not including either Gene or Paul on it, though it would return the use of sirens (in this case air raid versus fire sirens) on a "KISS" song. Sadly these were some of the few songs by or with Eric's input to ever make it onto a KISS album.

  Worse was to come for Eric when session drummer Alan Schwartzberg was brought in to complete the drum tracks on "I" and "Odyssey" when he allegedly "couldn't get the feel for the song." It would seem odd that a drummer who had performed all sorts of material during his struggling days in clubs was unable to perform in a manner that the writer of the song demanded, but while being disappointed Eric dealt with his emotions in a professional manner. At some point during the recording the band again relocated to Ezrin's farm to continue and finish the recording. It would seem plausible that this was after the basic tracks had been laid down. According to Paul, "As far as 'I,' it is indeed Alan Schwartzberg on the drums. Alan was a well-known session player in NYC and Bob Ezrin our producer at the time felt Eric was not playing the sound with the feel that Bob felt it needed. One of the rules we have always tried to adhere to when we work with Bob is to give him final say. It avoids ongoing, endless and sometimes unresolved issues" (KISS Online - Paul Speaks). Gene has been somewhat more blunt in his explanation of Alan's involvement suggesting that Eric simply couldn't provide the desired feel so they used Alan. What is interesting is that Eric would play the song live on "Fridays," without any problems.

  At this time it is unlikely that Ace opted to join the band for extended periods away from home, electing to stay home and refrain from contributing anything substantial for the album. The decision to employ Bob was probably the final straw for an already frustrated Frehley who only input one vocal track and the instrumental (with Eric) for the album. However, Ace and Eric did collaborate early on with "Heaven" a partially completed track which would later be finished, and recorded, by Frehley's Comet. For most of the "Elder" Ace simply refused to actively participate, being so opposed to the concept that he stayed at home in Connecticut and had the band send him the twenty-four track masters for him to add his guitar work to. Bob would then select the parts which would be used on the actual tracks. As a result of Ace's non-involvement, Gene has suggested, "at home he put down a number of different solos, and then it was up to Bob, when it was flown back to Toronto, to figure out which solos to use - or whether, as happened in some cases, another guitar player should be brought in. A number of other guitar players played because Ace just didn't show up" (KISS And Make Up). Perhaps Gene, Paul, and Bob should have listened to Ace and Eric... It should be noted that Ace's opposition was not a vehement as he would make out in later years. He would comment in late-1982, "he [Bob] hypnotized us... We lost sight of what we really are... I don't hate the album but I'm not crazy about it either. Basically, I'm just a heavy metal guitarist, that's my forte, and I don't think it's indicative of KISS" (Kerrang #32). This sort of comment provides a stark contrast to the tape smashing stories Ace later tells.

  Once in Bob's domain polishing and final work on the album continued for several months dragging out "The Elder" to be the KISS album which took the longest period to complete - 7 months! Paul and Ezrin came up with the odd "Fanfare," a medieval sounding horn-piece interlude, which is very illustrative of the experimentation which led to the studio work taking so long. Bob had also played around with the mixing of tracks, notably "Just A Boy." Written by Bob Ezrin and Paul Stanley while working together in a small 8-track studio in Ontario with Bob playing drums. The concept between this piece is the protagonist of the plot, "feeling exempt from the responsibility of leadership because of his age" (KISS PR). In other notes concerning the storyline, the premise of the song is that the young hero, and indeed individuals, need to look inside themselves and take control of their destinies to, as the analogy goes, "steer their own ships" without looking for excuses not to do so. Several different experimental mixes of this song exist, including an odd version with a Bach "Toccata & Fuge" styled organ background. Several rehearsal takes show Paul to have had some issues with the falsetto in which the song is sung. According to Bob, they really should have stopped the whole project when they heard this resulting piece!

  On the remastered CD an alternative version of "Fanfare" is included with several appearances of chimes (more noticeable than on the original version) and with the piece culminating with the chanting of monks. This mix had originally been the mix intended for release, however it only turned up on the Japanese issue of the album at the time, though several recorded spoken parts would be cut from the product. This narrative was supposed to tell the story of the "Elder" and segue the album from one track to another. "Nowhere To Run" and "Just A Boy" were recorded around the same time, as noted by the mixed together versions available on several bootlegs with the subject matter that suggested a connection of content for the story line. The original track-order at least helped the "story" make some sense. It would only be issued on the Japanese version: "fanfare" / "Just A Boy" / "Odyssey" / "Only You" / "Under The Rose" / "Dark Light" / "A World Without Heroes" / "The Oath" / "Mr. Blackwell" / "I."

  KISS also elected to do Tony Power's "Odyssey," a powerful ballad-styled piece which fitted in nicely with the story line due to its subject matter. This was a song which may have led to some debate with Gene admitting that he had wanted to do the lead vocals on the song. Tony later recorded and released the song himself, including it on his video piece "Don't Nobody Move (This Is A Heist)" which featured two other songs and actor John Goodman. Powers also made other contributions to the album. Two short, spoken narrative pieces survived in the album featuring Christopher Makepeace. These detailed the boy's progress. The heavy metal "The Oath" and "I" finished off the album. According to Paul, "For whatever reason, I didn't seem able to hit the high notes full voice at that point and wound up singing some passages in falsetto, which is hardly to my liking at this point" (Box Set Liners). Comparing the album version of "The Oath," with the one Ace would perform on "Fridays" live in early 1982, it would seem to indicate that Paul plays lead on the track and Ace's work, if any were provided, wasn't used.

  "I" certainly reflects Gene's annoyance with Ace with the inclusion of lyrical digs at Ace's known lifestyle, while setting out Gene's own somewhat puritanical views on booze and drugs. But these more chastise Ace than attack him and were more a message for the purity of the concept of the leading character. Interestingly, this would be the last song until "Revenge" on which Gene and Paul would trade-off lead vocals. By September the recording was done and orchestration and choral vocals were added. What was left was for Bob to piece the album together into a cognitive story, which was easier said than done. This appears to have been rather more complex than originally considered with Conte commenting that the number of varying master mixes for "The Elder" far exceed those available for other albums, suggesting that there are several versions of the album, or in the very least songs, in the vaults somewhere, which probably means in Bob's hands, since it was from there that the masters for "Heaven" were magically discovered in 1992. This is a point that Ace would agree with. He would suggest that one of those tapes include his uncut solos, another nail in the coffin of his KISS career, which were edited out arbitrarily by Ezrin. Paul and Gene naturally defend this, suggesting that additional over-playing by all members was edited out of the final mix, but there is little point arguing the issue with Ace. And there is also the question of how much Frehley can actually remember from the time, though his anger is clear, "I remember getting a cassette copy of it and listening to it and smashing it against the wall because a lot of my solos had been edited out and I wasn't really happy overall with the album. I mean, I don't think it's a bad album musically, I just don't think it's a good KISS album" (Creative Loafing).

  According to Conte, the track listing sequence for release was also changed to "emphasize 'The Oath' and 'A World Without Heroes' as potential singles." These songs would become the lead tracks on each side of the album, and "Escape From The Island," which hadn't been listed on some copies of the album's packaging would be added to some printings. The restored sequence which appears on the Japanese release and the Remaster CD certainly works better as a story line for the concept than the rather disjointed version that appeared on the released album which further made the concept pointless since the product with juggled track order made no sense and didn't flow. Eric pointed to other problems during the recording of the Elder which didn't help matters, "the producer wouldn't show. He would just leave notes telling us what he wanted us to do." That sort of thing is far from helpful, and Eric didn't remember the recording sessions being that enjoyable, which is not too surprising when you're replaced by a session drummer on your debut album with the band you've just joined who are doing a type of album you disagree with.

  In October 1981, "press kits and advance copies of "The Elder" were made available to PolyGram Records... and radio stations. Reactions were, "mostly negative and unsupportive" (Conte). Billboard bucked that trend in their 11/28/81 review of the album: "On this LP, KISS finally makes the transition from a one dimensional gimmick attraction to a multifaceted not-to-be-taken-for-granted group. Maybe it was Ezrin's production or the group's realization that all those adolescent fans are growing up, but Kiss has delivered a mature concept LP which will surprise skeptics. 'A World Without Heroes,' the first single, just might be the softest sounding KISS yet. Well balanced between rockers and slower material, with even some dreamy Pink Floyd like aural textures mixed in, this album turns a new page for the group. Best cuts: 'A World Without Heroes,' 'Under The Rose,' 'Odyssey,' 'Dark Light'" (Billboard). While much of the music on the album was straightforward, the story was confusing to most listeners and it was difficult to reconcile the songs with the concept. As was KISS' new image. Gone was the long hair to be replaced with cropped cuts and hair-bands, a definite continuation of the identity crisis of the previous few years. One of the most interesting promotional activities in support of "The Elder" occurred before the release of the album when on September 24, 1981 the band made a promotional visit to Mexico and appear on TV channel 13 the following day. Oddly, dressed in their Elder outfits, the band lip-synched to "Charisma" and "I Was Made For Lovin' You," rather than perform anything from the forthcoming album. While those tracks had been popular in Mexico it doesn't really explain why they ignored their then current album... KISS would return to the States on September 28.

  On November 21 "The Elder" was released to the general public fronted by the single, "A World Without Heroes," for which the band also made a video, in some countries, and "I" in others (Two versions of a video for this song exist. One professional, in the style of "A World Without Heroes," and the other which was piecemeal and appears so low budget that it might have been pieced together by a fan). Japan saw the release of the album minus "Escape From The Island," which would be used as a B-side for "The Oath" single. Interestingly, the album featured the original mix of the album, complete with sound effects, and liner track sequence. This structure would be restored to the international versions with the release of the remaster version in 1997. Both the album and single failed to make any inroads and the album stalled at #75 in the American charts (while the single only reached #56, in early 1982, with only nine weeks on the charts), the worst performance of a KISS album in 7 years. The band was disappointed and cancelled their tour plans in support of the album.

  The band must have been extremely disappointed to see the culmination of their year's work come to nothing, and by this time the response to the album and the problems in the studio had pretty much helped Ace make up his mind in deciding whether or not to stay in the band. He decided to quit. But Ace no longer felt any affinity with the band or it's direction. Not only was his personal life out of control, but in the band his views were always ignored and with Peter gone he had no chance of winning any of the democratic votes against Paul and Gene. On the trail of promotion for the album the band agreed to appear on Solid Gold, a lip-synched (it is possible that only the music was canned as vocals were often performed on the show) appearance taped on December 7. Hosted by Andy Gibb and Marilyn McCoo, the show was taped on Stage 6 at KTLA Studios, the former Warner Brothers Studios, in Hollywood, CA. The show would be broadcast the following month.

  In January the band also appeared on ABC's Fridays syndicated television program, where the band preformed "The Oath," "A World Without Heroes" and "I" live on Friday January 15, 1982 at ABC Studios in Hollywood. The special quest host for the episode was Tab Hunter. This performance of Elder material has become very popular in collector circles being the only live performance of Elder material from the period. As an interesting side note, in the audience of that performance was one Blackie Lawless, of WASP, a childhood friend of Ace who was readying his own musical assault. In a final promotional appearance, on January 28, 1982 KISS appeared live lip-synching "I" from the then infamous Studio 54, which was well past its halcyon days of 1979, via satellite to the San Remo Music Festival in Italy where they we due to receive an award. Surprisingly, KISS appeared as a trio as Ace had gone AWOL, and couldn't be bothered to show up, though at the time Paul used the standard excuse that Ace was sick. By this time also several countries were planning on issuing second singles off the album. Japan released "The Oath" on January 25, while Holland and England released "A World Without Heroes" in early February 1982 with Australia and Germany planning to do so when "I" finally disappeared off the charts. "I" would chart as high as #24 in Australia, but was limited to reaching only #62 in Germany and #48 in Holland. The promotional appearances did little to help the sales either - not only did they fail to get widespread attention in the States, but overseas sales were suffering also with "The Elder" shifting less than 100,000 copies in Japan and Australia in its first 3 months on release. Few countries ever issued a second single off the album and simply allowed the album to die as the band abandoned it as well.

  While "Unmasked" and "Dynasty" harmed KISS' image with the fans and public, "The Elder" very nearly destroyed the band. Not only did it cause some of the final problems which resulted in the departure of Ace Frehley from the band, but the reaction of the public in the States, the home market, showed that people were willing to ignore the album as other bands took up the gauntlet. But neither was "The Elder" a bad album, simply it was the wrong album by the wrong band at the wrong time - had Paul and Gene listened to Eric and Ace's opinions then matters might have been somewhat different. It is probably only fitting to let Ace have the final word. When asked about the album Ace invariably relates stories involving the throwing of the album out of windows or smashing it against the wall. His point is clearly made. Regardless, KISS now finally realized that they had to do what they had intended to do a year earlier, but some would have wondered if the band could ever recover from the position their declining popularity and artistic album put them...

  In terms of collectibles, one country's version of "The Elder" ranks along side the most expensive KISS vinyl. Dallas Records, who distributed KISS' albums in Turkey, released "The Elder" with unique artwork, from one of the posed promotional photographs of the band with a yellow background. This version of the album, if obtainable, changes hands for in excess of $400. Japan issued the album with alternate cover. In the case of Australia, it has been reported that there is a version of the album which has an alternative cover which was actually different, while in Japan, the standard "Door" cover had a paper overlay with a photo-collage of the band members with their new costumes and style, along with the ever present obi. The alleged Australian version used a similar series of images which was actually only included as a poster with some copies also coming with a promotional advertisement for the Australian fan club. In addition the Japanese version came with usual premiums, listed on the obi as being a poster, badge, sticker, and a KISS bag. These premiums were available in the first 50,000 copies of the album, but only the sticker is often seen. The bag was simply a yellow plastic bag with the KISS logo in red surrounded by the band member's names and Polystar's details. The Japanese version of the album sells in the $25-$40 range while the Australian version sells for slightly more. Even the American version of the album had an initial pressing that included a lyric sheet insert. This was in addition to the special credits translucent dust sleeve for the album which also had a photo center-ring with the hand from the album cover. The singles released for the album vary widely with the American "A World Without Heroes" (both promotional and regular release) being easily obtainable for around $10. The Japanese singles for "I" and "The Oath" are, as usual, collectible selling for around $25 for the regular release version and $50 for the promotional versions. Both come with the standard paper cover overlay sheet.

  Australian singles for "I" and "A World Without Heroes" were both released and the "I" single, apart from including an edited version of the song which replaces "balls to stand" with "guts to stand," was the first Australian KISS single to feature a picture sleeve - as bland as it was. It sells for around $25 while the "A World Without Heroes" is far more rare since it was on release for such a short period. It usually sells for more than $50. Most European countries released singles for "I" or "A World Without Heroes," but the rarest of these is the Dutch release of the later track which with picture sleeve sells for more than $100. German copies, as usual, featured the altered logo, and most European singles sell in the $25 range. In Britain, the only unique release from the album occurred with the release of the 7" picture disc of "A World Without Heroes" backed with "Mr. Blackwell." Also released as a regular 7" with unique picture sleeve, this single was released in late-February 1982 with only 7,500 copies of the 7" picture sleeve being pressed according to order documentation dated 1/11/82. According to that same documentation, the picture disc is more common with some 10,000 copies being pressed. While the regular single sells for around $25 the picture disc often changes hands for sums of money not justified by its availability, which really puts it in the same category as the regular single. One final item of interest is the picture disc version of the album released by Phonogram in the early 1980's - it sells for around $75.