The packaging
The good
The cover is over the top in its sleaziness. Gene has a sense of humor, it may be sexist and prickish, but the guy obviously doesn’t take himself too seriously. The booklet is excellent with all the recording information–there’s quite a bit–a few goofy photos, and lyrics.
The bad
Really the only bad thing is that the lyrics are in paragraph form which makes them a pain to follow along to.
The music
When a reviewer goes into an album they should really remove expectations because when you go into something with high expectations it can’t possibly stand up. And if you think it will be crap, you may give a poor album a better review than it deserves.
I went into this album expecting nothing. I debated buying it for months and only broke down because it was cheap and the samples I heard weren’t bad.
I’ll give you an ultra-short and an ultra-long song by song review.
The short
The album isn’t bad. It’s not a Kiss album, nor does it claim to be--it’s a solo album that’s all over the place. There are all sorts of influences on here...from techno to The Beatles. It’s really not bad, but it definitely doesn’t feel like an album...it feels like a soundtrack or a compilation. There are some filler songs on here, but what Kiss album since 1976 hasn’t? There are some interesting songs that I think hold up because they’re an individual track. For example, a slower number like “Beautiful” is really only enjoyable because it’s unique on this album...give me 12 songs that sound like that, and I’ll rip this apart. Gene kept it varied and I think it works.
The long
I’m going to go song by song in this review. I generally don’t like doing this, but this album is over the place...
There are a few songs on here that could be Kiss tunes...mainly the album opener “Sweet and Dirty Love,” which is arguable the best song on here. It’s a straight forward rock song that could have easily fit on “Revenge” –the best and really the only 100% solid non-makeup Kiss album.
That’s really the only Kiss sounding song on here...and let me just say, that’s great. It’s not like Gene is an ex-member of Kiss doing his own thing now that the band is done. Kiss is Kiss, this is Gene...I would be a bit disappointed if this did sound like Kiss.
A cover of the Prodigy’s “Firestarter” is the second track and it’s not bad...I have never heard the original but my understanding is that the only thing different is the vocal track. Gene basically sounds like an old man trying desperately to sound modern. For that, it’s enjoyable because I think it’s interesting to hear people try something out of their element. It doesn’t really work, but at least he gave it a shot. Why the hell that would be a single, I don’t know.
“Weapons of Mass Destruction” is a throwaway track that’s got some pretty heavy music going on, but just isn’t all that good. To me, using the whole “WMD” reference is played out so maybe that hurts it.
“Waiting for the Morning Light” was co-written by Bob Dylan...I’m not a Bob Dylan fan at all, so I can’t say if there’s influence there or not...personally, and maybe this is the power of suggestion, but I hear a bit of Beatles in this one. It’s a mellow, poppy ballad but it’s not half bad and Gene delivers an excellent vocal track.
“Beautiful” is definitely a Beatles influenced song...at least in the chorus and the music...the verses are spoken and just sound ridiculous. It’s not that it’s not bad, as much as it’s so bad you enjoy it.
“Asshole” is up next and this is another song that’s so bad it’s enjoyable. The lyrics could have been written by a child and the delivery is silly, but that’s the point. You can’t listen to this song and say “that’s a dumb song.” I know it’s a dumb, it’s supposed to be dumb, and it’s supposed to give you a chuckle. And if not’s supposed to be dumb, then that makes it even funnier.
In “Now That You’re Gone” I hear more Beatles influence. I’m not a Beatles fan, so maybe it doesn’t sound like them...but it sounds like generic, old fashioned pop which is what I view the Beatles as. It's a catchy enough song that's fun to listen to, but give me an album of this and I'll want to kill.
“Whatever Turns You On” is terrible. You know how there are songs that are so bad, they’re bad? This just isn’t bad enough I guess. It has a fun sort of 60s/70s retro feel (of course, so does most of this album) but a retro sound only works if the song is good. The background vocals sounds like a group of drunks trying to carry a tune...I guess that’s mean since its Gene’s kids but we live in the age of Pro-Tools...he could’ve made them sound like the Mormon Tabernacle Choir if he wanted to...I guess you gotta keep it real...don’t forget to keep it real. Yeah man, keep it real. Yeah. YEAH.
That was a triple R (Random Rollins Reference).
“Dog” is another comedy rock song that doesn’t quite hit it. I enjoy stupid puns, so I guess him talking about being a dog and liking it “rough” is sort of funny, but I don’t know.
“Black Tongue” has got every member of the Zappa family on it...playing the instruments, Frank is sampled a bit, and I thought Frank co-wrote it, but that’s not in the credits...though I thought I read that. Regardless...it’s not a bad song...sleazy spoken verses (think “Domino”), goofy lyrics, but a catchy chorus. It’s stupid but it’s fun.
“Carnival of Souls” is a pretty good, upbeat rocking song. This is another Kiss-like song with the exception of the chorus. I could see Paul Stanley singing this one and prancing around. The chorus doesn’t sound like it really fits but perhaps Gene felt the need to add something into this to make it not an obvious Kiss throwaway.
“If I Had A Gun” is an acoustic song about Gene wanting to kill stupid people. While I agree, the song isn’t all that great. It’s a filler song, not bad but not great.
“1000 Dreams” ends the album...I would’ve preferred a reprise of “When You Wish Upon A Star” but that’s life I guess. This sort of sounds like that though...a mellow song where Gene tries showing some variety his vocals...there’s a sort of Hawaiian sound on here too...imagine going to a luau and hearing some Hank Williams done half true to the original, and half Hawaiian. That's a reasonable description.. It’s an interesting sounding song.
So what does this mean?
If you can find it cheap, why not? There’s some flat out crap on here...there’s some songs that are so bad you have to like them...and then there are a few solid rock tracks. I wouldn’t pay more than $10 for it...but if you can snag it for $8, and you are open to some variety then why not.
