Music From "The Elder" (Remastered) Kiss

• 1 Fanfare 01:22
• 2 Just A Boy 02:30
• 3 Odyssey 05:36
• 4 Only You 04:19
• 5 Under The Rose 04:49
• 6 Dark Light 04:12
• 7 A World Without Heroes 02:40
• 8 The Oath 04:32
• 9 Mr. Blackwell 04:53
• 10 Escape From The Island 02:50
• 11 I 05:03
• Total Runtime 42:46

Info for Music From "The Elder" (Remastered)

The ninth studio album by KISS is, perhaps, most significant for being the band’s greatest misstep. Not the poppy, disco-inflected sheen of Dynasty, and not even the self-implosion of Unmasked could have prepared fans for the overblown, vacuous narcissism of Music From the Elder, which came out on Nov. 10, 1981.

Having lost drummer Peter Criss, who left two months after they started tracking The Elder, KISS hired Eric Carr to take Criss’ place. Feeling the urge to make a bold, larger-than-life statement following the commercial collapse of Unmasked, Kiss decided to come back swinging with hard-hitting songs that resembled their pre-"Love Gun" material.

In addition, the band felt that only an ambitious, concept album would gain them back the credibility they lost when they softened their sound and the respect they never received from mainstream critics. And so, KISS ill-advisably started to craft their version of Pink Floyd’s The Wall – even bringing in The Wall architect Bob Ezrin to produce.

“It’s a movie, in itself, of just absolute folly,” Paul Stanley told me about the release. “It’s us overstepping our goals and tripping over our own feet. I’m not ashamed of it by any means, but that and KISS Meets the Phantom stand out as two examples of us getting off at the wrong exit.”

If KISS intended to make a louder, heavier album than Unmasked they probably shouldn’t have hired the American Symphony Orchestra and St. Robert’s Choir to add symphonic and operatic flavor, let alone incorporate a storyline that makes Lou Reed and Metallica’s Lulu look like The Who’s Tommy.

"By the end of 1980, Kiss knew that their next album had to be a strong one, a glorious return to hard rock à 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, AMG)

Paul Stanley, vocals, rhythm guitar; lead guitar on "Just a Boy", "A World Without Heroes" and "The Oath"
Gene Simmons, vocals, bass; rhythm guitar on "Only You"
Ace Frehley, vocals, lead guitar, acoustic guitar on "A World Without Heroes", bass on "Under the Rose", "Dark Light" and "The Oath"
Eric Carr, drums, percussion, acoustic guitar on "Under the Rose", backing vocals
Additional musicians:
Bob Ezrin, producer, keyboards, bass on "Escape from the Island"
Allan Schwartzberg, drums on "Odyssey" and "I", additional overdub
Tony Powers, keyboards on "Odyssey"
The American Symphony Orchestra
St. Robert's Choir

Digitally remastered

KISS
is an American rock band formed in New York City in December 1972. Easily identified by its members' trademark face paint and stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid and late-1970s on the basis of their elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing, blood spitting, smoking guitars, and pyrotechnics. Kiss has been awarded 24 gold albums to date.The band has sold over 85 million albums to date.

The original lineup of Paul Stanley (vocals and rhythm guitar), Gene Simmons (vocals and bass guitar), Ace Frehley (lead guitar and vocals), and Peter Criss (drums, percussion and vocals) is the most successful and identifiable. With their makeup and costumes, they took on the personae of comic book-style characters: The Demon (Simmons), Starchild (Stanley), Spaceman (Frehley), and Catman (Criss). The band explains that the fans were the ones who ultimately chose their makeup designs. The 'Demon' makeup reflected Gene's cynicism and dark elements, as well as his love for comic books. Paul Stanley became the 'Starchild' due to his tendency to be referred to as the 'starry-eyed lover' and 'hopeless romantic.' Ace Frehley's 'Spaceman' makeup was a reflection of him wanting to go for a ride in a space ship and supposedly being from another planet. Peter Criss' 'Catman' makeup was in accordance with the belief that Peter had nine lives due to his rough childhood in Brooklyn. Due to creative differences, both Criss and Frehley were out of the group by 1982. The band's commercial fortunes had also waned considerably by that point.

In 1983, Kiss abandoned its makeup and enjoyed a commercial resurgence throughout the rest of the decade. Buoyed by a wave of Kiss nostalgia in the 1990s, the band announced a reunion of the original lineup (with makeup) in 1996. The resulting Kiss Alive/Worldwide/Lost Cities/Reunion Tour was the top-grossing act of 1996 and 1997. Criss and Frehley have since left Kiss again and have been replaced by Eric Singer and Tommy Thayer, respectively. The band continues to perform with makeup, while Stanley and Simmons have remained the only two constant members.

KISS is regarded as one of the most influential rock and roll bands of all-time. Their career milestones are staggering. KISS holds honors as one of America’s top gold record champions, recording 36 albums over 32 years selling over 85 million albums worldwide.

Over thirty years of record-breaking tours around the globe include high-profile appearances at Super Bowl XXXIII, the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City and most recently, the 2005 Rockin’ The Corps concert dedicated to our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The KISS legacy continues to grow, generation after generation, transcending age, race and creed. The unparalleled devotion and loyalty of the KISS Army to the “Hottest Band in the World” is a striking testament to the band’s unbreakable bond with its fans.

This album contains no booklet.