| |
|
For some reason, I’ve waited several months to review
this album, and I’m glad I have. Back in October 2009,
it just did not live up to the hype. The band touted it as
a return to their rough-around-the-edges, us-against-the-world,
1970s sound. Paul Stanley took the reins as producer, and
no outside songwriters participated. It was KISS writing and
recording as a real band for the first time in who knows how
long.
For the most part, the 11 tracks that make up Sonic Boom
are much closer in style to 1980s KISS (circa Creatures
of the Night or Lick It Up) than anything they
did in the ‘70s. That probably was the biggest hurdle
for me to overcome. Once I let that settle in, the songs gradually
grew on me to the point where I like almost all of them.
There are a handful of songs that should go down as KISS
classics: the Paul-sung opener “Modern Day Delilah,”
and a trio of Gene Simmons tracks—“Russian Roulette,”
“Hot and Cold” and “I’m an Animal.”
The last one is best thing Gene has recorded in ages, with
a big groove that reminds me of “Watchin’ You”
or “She” (there’s that ‘70s influence).
The “other” guys in the band, drummer Eric Singer
and guitarist Tommy Thayer, each get a song to showcase their
talents, as well. Singer’s “All for the Glory”
(written by Paul and Gene) has a promising start. With his
raspy voice, he sounds eerily similar to Peter Criss, who
I always thought should have gotten more mic time in KISS.
The problem comes with the chorus, which sounds like it should
accompany a Rocky training montage as he prepares to take
on yet another unbeatable opponent. Thayer’s “When
Lightning Strikes,” one of the disc’s better songs,
could be a companion to Ace Frehley’s classic “Shock
Me,” and his voice sounds like a cross between Ace and
Gene. Thayer is a standout throughout the album, with solos
that can’t help but recall Ace but stop short of being
carbon copies. I hope we hear more from Singer and Thayer
if KISS records again in the future; they both have a lot
to offer.
It’s still not all good, though. “Stand,”
which features Paul and Gene sharing the vocals, moves along
nicely until reaching one of the wimpier choruses KISS has
recorded. Some nice mid-song vocal harmonizing reminiscent
of “God Gave Rock ‘n’ Roll to You II”
almost redeems it but not quite. A pair of Paul’s songs,
“Danger Us” and “Say Yeah,” don’t
work for me, either. Maybe, as the producer, he was more focused
on the album as a whole than his own songs.
If you look through the KISS discography, you will find few
albums that are winners from front to back. So it should be
no surprise that Sonic Boom is a little uneven. But
it is more consistent than most, and if it is to be their
last, it’s a far better finale than Psycho Circus.
®2010 Live-Metal.net
|
