Music from THE ELDER Facts:
There are two versions
of the US vinyl cover, the original pressing with the intended (and Japanese)
running order starting with "Fanfare" and excluding "Escape From The Island",
and the second pressing with the proper US track order that starts with "The
Oath". Both American pressings have actual identical track orders with only
the listing on the back covers being different. Click
to see a scan of the incorrect layout.
US Version:
Side A
1. The Oath (4:32) - Stanley/Ezrin/Powers
2. Fanfare (1:22) - Ezrin/Stanley
3. Just A Boy (2:30) - Stanley/Ezrin
4. Dark Light (4:12) - Frehley/Fig/Reed/Simmons
5. Only You (4:19) - Simmons
6. Under The Rose (4:49) - Carr/Simmons
Side B
1. A World Without Heroes (2:40) - Stanley/Ezrin/Reed/Simmons
2. Mr. Blackwell (4:53) - Simmons/Reed
3. Escape From The Island (2:50) - Frehley/Ezrin/Carr
4. Odyssey (5:36) - Powers
5. I (3:52) - Simmons/EzrinTrack order on the cover of the alternate U.S. pressing:
Side A
1. Fanfare (1:22) - Ezrin/Stanley
2. Just A Boy (2:30) - Stanley/Ezrin
3. Odyssey (5:36) - Powers
4. Only You (4:19) - Simmons
5. Under The Rose (4:49) - Carr/Simmons
Side B
1. Dark Light (4:12) - Frehley/Fig/Reed/Simmons
2. The Oath (4:32) - Stanley/Ezrin/Powers
3. A World Without Heroes (2:40) - Stanley/Ezrin/Reed/Simmons
4. Mr. Blackwell (4:53) - Simmons/Reed
5. I (3:52) - Simmons/Ezrin
Elder gatefold artwork
Ace was very unhappy with
the band's choice of Bob Ezrin for producer for the album because Ezrin was
the main force behind the new direction the band was going to take. Ace thought
that KISS needed to do another heavy metal record to get themselves back on
track, but Ezrin pushed them to do the concept album. Eric Carr agreed with
Ace, but was not given a vote since he was not part of the original band. Ace
was outvoted two to one. Because of this Ace felt even more alienated from the
band than he already had. Accordingly he had little to do with the recording
other than the two tracks he wrote and recorded himself. Ace was also reported
to be unhappy with the final mix of the album which downplayed the guitar work.
Ace and Anton Fig perform all of the instruments on 'Dark Light,' while Ace
and Eric Carr perform everything on 'Escape From The Island," two of the
album's best tracks.
' The Elder' was the first studio album which Eric Carr appeared on.
When The Elder was released in Japan, the record company designed a cover showing
the band in their costumes and makeup that slid over the original cover. It
was also not called Music From The Elder; instead it was given the title "Great
Decisive Battle of The Underworld." "Escape From The Island"
isn't on the Japanese version of 'The Elder,' instead it was released 7 months
later on the 'Killers' album.
The hand on the cover is actually Paul Stanley's.
The door on the cover belongs to a Methodist church on Park Avenue in New York
City.
The Elder was an original story for a film written by Gene Simmons. The movie
never was produced despite the fact that the soundtrack was written for it.
KISS hoped that The Elder would translate into a string of albums that would
be connected by a common thread--this concept of a boy chosen to fight against
evil. The Elder would have an immediate follow-up album (tentatively titled
'War of The Gods') that would continue the story line and then a third album
of the film's score. Of course, this never happened due to abysmal sales of
The Elder. At the time, Pink Floyd was very successful with their concept album, The Wall, and KISS believed that
The Elder could do the same for them after the disappointing Unmasked album.
The Elder quickly went out of print and became a hot collector's item in the
80's until it was released on cd by Mercury in 1989. It was the last Kiss album
to see re-issue apparently because both Paul and Gene did not want it to be
released. Apparently they bowed to fan pressure and the album was released in
May of 1989.
Promotional photo originally shot for
"Elder".
The band refined their look for the album as they wanted to be taken seriously.
Paul cut his hair short and wore a headband; Gene tied his hair back in a strange-looking
ponytail, and Ace also cut his hair into a shag. Oddly enough, Eric Carr was
the only member to keep his long hair. Other changes included the nixing of
the infamous blood-spitting and wild antics, no more platform shoes and a toning
down of the outfits. Needless to say, this hurt the band's image rather than
helping it.
An untitled demo was recorded by Ace and Eric at this time and it wouldn't be
released until 1992. The song was released as an instrumental on "Hot in the
Shade" and called "Carr Jam 1981." According to the liner notes of Revenge,
this song was meant to showcase Eric Carr with a 2 to 3 minute drum solo in
the middle; essentially it was to be his "Moby Dick". Ace first reworked the
song for his 1987 Frehley's Comet album and called it "Breakout" with Anton Fig performing the drums. Eric was
given writting credits on the Comet album.
Lou Reed co-wrote "Dark Light," "A World Without Heroes,"
and "Mr. Blackwell."
"Dark Light" was originally titled "Don't Run" and had different
lyrics.
"A World Without Heroes" was originally titled "Every Little
Bit of Your Heart."
"Only You" was originally performed as "Eskimo Sun" by Wicked
Lester around 1970, and was a love song.
The stage show for The Elder was to be very elaborate, featuring the band as
Keepers of the Light of Truth, protecting a damsel in distress with a freeze
gun in a three-act play. KISS was going Broadway, but alas it never
came to be. The entire tour was scraped because of poor album sales.
Two videos were produced for the album: "A World Without Heroes" and
"I."
The only live performance of material from The Elder was on the Friday show
on January 15, 1982 as KISS played The Oath, I, and A World Without Heroes.
Rumor has it that W.A.S.P.'s Blackie Lawless
was in the audience (as a fan) for KISS' appearance on the Friday show.
An appearance on January 28, 1982 at Studio 54 in New York City is significant
because Ace did not perform with the band. He was home sick with "stomach
problems". It was later revealed that Ace's unhappiness had
been driven to the point of not even wanting to appear with KISS any longer.
Eric Carr would receive songwriting credit on "Escape From The Island"
and "Under The Rose."
Talk of removing the make-up was first brought up during the making of The Elder.
The Elder peaked at a new low for the band on Billboard's album charts--# 75.
Studio musician Allan Schwartzberg, who had played drums on Gene's solo album,
played drums on "I" and "Odyseey". Eric Carr performed drums on the rest of
the album.
The 1997 Remasters series features the track listing that the band originally
wanted:
1. "fanfare" (1:21)
2. "Just a Boy" (2:25)
3. "Odyssey" (5:36)
4. "Only You" (4:17)
5. "Under the Rose" (4:51)
6. "Dark Light" (4:18)
7. "World without Heroes" (2:40)
8. "Oath" (4:31)
9. "Mr. Blackwell" (4:52)
10. "Escape from the Island" [instrumental] (2:52 )
11. "I" (5:03)
One listen and you can see that the album is more cohesive this way. Also of note, the remastered CD has a lot of dialogue and background sounds that were previously inaudible. The artwork on the cover, unlike some of the earlier albums, is poorly reproduced.
"Bob Ezrin is a brilliant producer, but when it came to the ninth KISS studio album, 'Music from "The Elder",' I disagreed with him and the band on many issues. I could see if from the beginning. I had the steet smarts and common sense to take a giant step back and look at the project with and objectice eye, and I knew it was a colossal mistake in judgment. Paul, Gene, and Bob didn't get it. They went through with the whole ridiculous concept."
-No Regrets, Ace Frehley, p213
"As anyone who knows rock 'n' roll can tell you, concept records can be career killers even for the most talented bands. The problem is that instead of ending up with a masterpiece like 'Tommy', you could end up with 'Saucy Jack', Spinal Tap's un-produced rock opera about Jack the Ripper"
-No Regrets, Ace Frehley, p214
According to Paul Stanley, The songs we recorded had no teeth. We were gumming the music at that point. We had forsaken everything we loved and embraced. We were intoxicated with fame and success. We were no longer the band everyone loved–and clearly we didn't love that band anymore either. How else to explain the way we veered away from what we did? For a band like ours to be doing something like Music from "The Eldger" truly reeked of the little Stonehenge coming down on the stage during This Is Spinal Tap. It only we had realized. -Paul Stanley, Face the Music-A Life Exposed, p. 261