*PSYCHO CIRCUS*
KISS (Mercury)
Written for Purple Jade
If you had any sign of a hard rock pulse in mid '98 you were
awaiting the grand KISS comeback effort, if only to see some
glimmer of hope that your music would be a feasible sales tool
in the coming millenium. Sadly, MTV ignored their promo video
and the album failed to have any impact on the genre, though it
did hold its own within the KISS Army ranks, going Gold despite
the media resistance. Hell, it even debuted in the top ten. But
when there's bias, there's very little one can do to overcome it.
Well, except, maybe, go on the world's longest farewell tour...and
someday, they say, it will actually come to an end. But that's
another chapter.
Yep, this one is special because it has the makeup factor. There
is
something about the whole KISS persona that is SO much more
realized
when they subliminally brainwash us with that amazing theatrical
element. To be fair, their makeup free 80s material held its own,
but
more in a "look, he's holding his own, can't he do that in
private"
kinda way. Now we have "the real" KISS back on track
and a novelty
act again. This time, a cross generational event carefully
constructed
to relive the majesty yet not sound exactly '73 either. Did it
work?
Actually, it kind of does, sometimes. Sure, the credits may be as
real
as their fictional personas, but at least the lead vocals must be
theirs.
Right? Oh well, enough speculation. The music is a professional
yet
totally predictable foray into KISS cliche, even giving Ace the
goofy
fun of singing "Into the Void." Not quite a "Shock
Me", but still a
festive piece for the underdog vocalist. We have a titanic title
track
in "Psycho Circus" that actually does the job of
getting the listener
pumped up about his rock 'n' roll fanaticism. Lyrics like "The
amplifiers
start to hum" can't be ignored by any headbanger worth his
salt. It's
even got a nice, anthemic groove and concept. Good job on this
one.
"Within" is track number two and a crafty, early '90s
KISS thingy.
Dark and a bit modern, yet catchy. The score is 3 for 3. Remember,
we
jumped ahead to Ace's moment prematurely, so consider it covered.
"I
Pledge Allegiance to the State of Rock 'n' Roll" is true
Paul.
Overstated, dated and a guilty pleasure on par with "Three's
Company"
marathons on Nick at Nite. Another fun, high energy anthem for
the
masses, even if they have to roll their car windows up to keep
the
cheese flowing from their woofers and tweeters and into the
public domain.
A turn for the worse begins a la "We Are One". A fruity
attempt at
another "King of the Nighttime World" vibe of "we're
all in this
together and singing happy ass about it". Not cool. Was it
ever? "You
Wanted the Best" cranks and more than makes up for the prior
mishap.
Powerful, not particularly original but Hell, it rocks, even if
only
for a couple weeks. Probably went over well at album premiere
parties.
"Raise Your Glasses" has that late '70s, early '80s
brie-for-all smaltz.
Paul sings it. He tries to inspire but all we are simply torn
between
the panicked choices of punching the skip button or the mangling
the
volume knob into negative silence. "I Finally Found My Way"
might as
well have been written by Richard Marx. Peter Criss sings on it.
It's
a ballad. It's the predicable part of KISS we didn't want to hear.
Yuck.
Let me see, our score has fallen to 5 for 8. Still worth a
Playoff ring
for sure. Wait, do they give out Playoff rings?
Oh shit. Here's "I'm Eighteen"...I mean, oops, "Dreamin".
Another ballad
but with a rockin' lunge. Well, like "I'm Eighteen."
Song just has bad
vibes from the Alice Cooper lawsuit alone, even if it is
unexceptional,
anyways, 5 for 9. Finally, we get that song with numbers in it we
were
all just losing sleep over. "Journey of 1,000 Years"
plays like a slightly
lively Pink Floyd b-side and buries the end of the album, raping
the energy
of the first half and dulling the excitement dramatically. Well,
maybe
dramtically dull is a misuse of terms or perhaps an oxymoron, but
somebody
had to liven up the end of this review.
Some final notes. The album cover's motion special effect is cool,
if only
for the afternoon after picking up the album at Walmart. The
production is
standard for the genre. Nothing special, nothing poor. The
playing, overall,
is not inspired or spontaneous, but basically what you get from
studio
musicians who made their living in the '80s. Oh, and uh...what's
the
"Psycho" part of the circus anyway? I still can't
figure it out. Wait,
there is that obsessive, neverending farewell tour...
SPECIAL THANKS to Brian
"Rock Devil" Coles -
