New_World_Man Posted December 11, 2018 Share Posted December 11, 2018 I just listened to some of this somewhat controversial album on youtube. I'm wondering what Rush fans think of it since my first impression was they might have been trying to deliberately sound like Rush on this one. Not sure. Anyway, I didn't listen to the whole thing but what I heard sounded pretty good and I'm not sure I understand why it was so criticized except that maybe it was just bad timing for this kind of album. I have a few older Kiss albums and while it's true that they sound nothing like this(more straightforward rock)why should a band have to stick to the same formula all the time? Were Kiss fans really that narrow or did they all just think it was really that bad? What do you guys think? Also, I apologize if this has been brought up before but I don't frequent this site as much as I used to. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Segue Myles Posted December 11, 2018 Share Posted December 11, 2018 I like this album. Not sure why it's not better received nowadays. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucas Posted December 12, 2018 Share Posted December 12, 2018 (edited) I was 14 when Music From The Elder came out, and at that point, I had been a KISS fanatic for 6+ years .. At that point, Eric Carr had just joined the band, and KISS was coming off their first tour of Australia - a tour in which they introduced Carr and his double bass kit and heavier style ... Coming off Dynasty in 1979 ( I Was Made For Loving you ) and Unmasked in 1980, KISS had made it clear that the next album was going to be a return to their heavy rock and roll sound .. The shows in Australia saw KISS bringing back a lot of the ALIVE! era songs into the set, and with all those things lined up, KISS fans were hoping for a return to the heavy KISS .. Especially considering that since their last good/heavy album - Love Gun - seemed a distant memory in 1977 .. By that point KISS had lost a lot of their original fans and most of those remaining were young -- I was 14, and the days of the big kids who drove the 1972 Dusters and Barracudas who liked KISS were over ... It was kids my age and younger .... I admit that I was disappointed when I first heard it ... It was also disappointing because here you had a new, heavy drummer - a kid who was younger, or at least appeared to be - and they didn;t put him to good use ... And it proved to be the final album for Ace, as he thought the entire things was ridiculous ... I like the album now ... I don;t know if I would call it a great album - it has some very cool moments and songs, and I appreciate what they were trying to do more now than when I was 14 .... Only You/Under The Rose, The Oath and Mr Blackwell are my favorites, and I think each one of those songs are excellent . . Edited December 12, 2018 by Lucas 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Entre_Perpetuo Posted December 12, 2018 Share Posted December 12, 2018 Good album. If they'd gone even more over the top, it might have been great. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treeduck Posted December 12, 2018 Share Posted December 12, 2018 It's a good album and like all those late 70's/early 80's albums that are unpopular, they're all good, Dynasty, Unmasked and The Elder, all good albums and much better than albums like Crazy Nights and Asylum. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReRushed Posted December 12, 2018 Share Posted December 12, 2018 Elder is a fine album. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greyfriar Posted December 12, 2018 Share Posted December 12, 2018 Great album. Not a bad song there and Under The Rose is f***in' epic! :hail: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Presto-digitation Posted December 12, 2018 Share Posted December 12, 2018 It is reach that exceeded their grasp, BUT that is not to say it didn’t have some great material. But as a concept album it was way the f**k over their heads. Just forget the concept and enjoy this song and that. Tastes better that way. Also Mr Blackwell is dreadful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Cat 3 Posted December 13, 2018 Share Posted December 13, 2018 I was a pretty big KISS fan growing up in the 70s. They dropped off my radar screen after the solo albums and "Double Platinum ". I saw them in the summer of 1979 and though I enjoyed the show, they just kind of faded for me. It wasn't until years later that I picked up "Unmasked", "Dynasty" and " The Elder". Ironically, it wasn't until "Asylum" and "Crazy Nights" until they found their way back into rotation. I confess I've only heard "The Elder" a handful of times since its release. In fact, I'm listening to it just now. I'm enjoying it more than I thought I would. I give it an E for effort. I can really see this album growing on me, much like "Dynasty" has. They threw a little bit of everything in the mix. I kind of see where they were going, kind of. Brave move, but perhaps not brave enough. Where it is good, it is very good. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Cat 3 Posted December 13, 2018 Share Posted December 13, 2018 "Mr. Blackwell" is quite dreadful, indeed. I can't help but think if Peter Criss was in this album and Gene Simmons wasn't it would have been better. Gene's songs and singing drag the album down for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Segue Myles Posted December 13, 2018 Share Posted December 13, 2018 I am playing the album this morning, and I really do not understand the hate it gets. It has some great songs. Under The Rose is amazing! I love the general atmosphere and...I dunno...it's not the most outrageous concept album I have ever heard, but it's not a million miles away from Jeff Wayne's War Of The Worlds musically and that is also very popular...I dunno I like this album. 7/10 (I just want to say it has the song titles Under The Rose and Dark Light...two songs HIM wrote for their 2005 album Dark Light). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edhunter Posted December 13, 2018 Share Posted December 13, 2018 With th exception of the singles they released, I've never heard a single Kiss album track after Love Gun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bathory Posted December 13, 2018 Share Posted December 13, 2018 With th exception of the singles they released, I've never heard a single Kiss album track after Love Gun. you're probably better off Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edhunter Posted December 13, 2018 Share Posted December 13, 2018 With th exception of the singles they released, I've never heard a single Kiss album track after Love Gun. you're probably better off Even Love Gun haven't heard since I was 9 or 10. My father smashed it on the back of my bike because I wasn't practicing my accordion. "No more KISS!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bathory Posted December 13, 2018 Share Posted December 13, 2018 love gun has some killer songs but it's where things get a little inconsistent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bathory Posted December 13, 2018 Share Posted December 13, 2018 early KISS isn't too far off from a lot of the good garage rock/glam rock of the era. they're genuinely underrated songwriters, and that gets lost in the theatrics, the accusations of "selling out," etc etc 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Segue Myles Posted December 13, 2018 Share Posted December 13, 2018 Ok so I tried some "classic" KISS. Sorry but The Elder is the only interesting thing they have ever done musically lmao Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MalformedEarthborn Posted December 13, 2018 Share Posted December 13, 2018 Let's not forget Carnival Of Souls: the concept album about a group of middle aged has-beens in a group called "Kiss" who get turned into young, Seattle grunge rockers in a quest for relevancy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Presto-digitation Posted December 13, 2018 Share Posted December 13, 2018 Let's not forget Carnival Of Souls: the concept album about a group of middle aged has-beens in a group called "Kiss" who get turned into young, Seattle grunge rockers in a quest for relevancy And even still it didn’t necessarily make the songs poor. Tunes like Master & Slave, Seduction of the Innocent, and The Jungle are wonderful tracks regardless of their sincerity or lack thereof. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MalformedEarthborn Posted December 14, 2018 Share Posted December 14, 2018 Let's not forget Carnival Of Souls: the concept album about a group of middle aged has-beens in a group called "Kiss" who get turned into young, Seattle grunge rockers in a quest for relevancy And even still it didn’t necessarily make the songs poor. Tunes like Master & Slave, Seduction of the Innocent, and The Jungle are wonderful tracks regardless of their sincerity or lack thereof. Oh I agree, I like that album a lot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick N. Backer Posted December 14, 2018 Share Posted December 14, 2018 I'm a little surprised that this album isn't even more popular with some people here. I would have expected it to be ranked as their best work. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bathory Posted December 14, 2018 Share Posted December 14, 2018 I'm a little surprised that this album isn't even more popular with some people here. I would have expected it to be ranked as their best work. this is the only place I've ever seen it praised. then again, it's a rush forum. e'nuff z'nuff would beat neil young in a poll 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Na na na Posted December 14, 2018 Share Posted December 14, 2018 The Elder is a great album, the last Kiss album I really like. Those 4 songs on Killers are great as well. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeddyLeeRoth Posted December 14, 2018 Share Posted December 14, 2018 I dig The Elder. This just isn't the kind of album a band like KISS would be permitted by fans and critics to release without a lot of push back. Especially after releasing 2 pop albums previously, everyone was waiting for a return to form. I think if The Elder was released later in their career it would have been better received. It's a good album in hindsight and The Oath might make it into my Top Ten KISS Songs. I even like The Elder more than Creatures Of The Night--COTN is over-rated; at least half of the songs are very stale and unmemorable, IMO. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mithrandir Posted December 14, 2018 Share Posted December 14, 2018 I'm a little surprised that this album isn't even more popular with some people here. I would have expected it to be ranked as their best work. this is the only place I've ever seen it praised. then again, it's a rush forum. e'nuff z'nuff would beat neil young in a pollThis is a dumb comment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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