BRUCE KULICK
Bruce Kulick - BK3 (Twenty 4Records) 2010
1. Fate (3:31)
2. Ain't Gonna Die (4:11)
3. No Friend Of Mine (4:09)
4. Hand Of The King (4:55)
5. I'll Survive (4:48)
6. Dirty Girl (3:59)
7. Final Mile (4:14)
8. I'm The Animal (4:42)
9. And I Know (3:17)
10. Between The Lines [instrumental] (3:54)
11. Life (4:32)
Bruce Kulick is best known as Kiss' guitarist during the non-makeup years of the band from 1984 - 1996. Since that time he's gone from Union with John Corabi (formerly of Motley Crue), who recorded a couple of albums, to become the axeman in Grand Funk Railroad. I myself have been a huge fan of Bruce since seeing him perform in Philadelphia with Kiss in 1984 on their Animalize tour. I thought he was great in Kiss. His first album with the band "Asylum" still ranks as one of my favorites. I also think that "Revenge" is a great record and hugely underrated in the Kiss catalog. Unfortunately I didn't really care for the modern rock sound he was chasing with Union.
"BK3" is Bruce's third solo album, though it's his first that has been readily available at most record stores. I actually discovered this CD because I happened to be in a record store, digging through piles of old albums, when I heard a song playing in the store that sounded like "Carnival of Souls" era Kiss with Gene Simmons on vocals. However, I wasn't familiar with the song so I had to ask the clerk who this band was. Low and behold, it was Bruce. Based off that one song, "Ain't Gonna Die", I picked up this disc. Simmons' son Nick Simmons also makes an appearance here, singing on the song "Hand of the King". Surprisingly, Gene's son sounds pretty similar to his dad. Former Union bandmate John Corabi makes an appearance singing on "No Friend of Mine", a modern rock song that sounds a bit like what's being played on modern rock radio at the moment. "Dirty Girl" also has that modern, radio-ready rock sound. The song has a big pop hook and could easily be an FM radio hit. "I'm The Animal" features the drumming of Eric Singer and a powerful vocal performance a from Edguy and Avantasia frontman Tobias Sammet. "I'll Survive" and "Life" are melancholy, blues based numbers with somber vocals by Bruce. Another track worth mentioning is the instrumental "Between The Lines" where Kulick trades licks with Steve Luthaker (ex-Toto), it's a melodic song. I sort of expected it to turn into more of a jam than it was.
"BK3" contains rockers, ballads, pop songs and an instrumental. It's a fairly diverse collection of songs, even if it does lean more towards modern rock. The Gene Simmons track is certainly one that stands out in my mind, as well as "Between the Lines" and "I'm An Animal".
Band:
Bruce Kulick - vocals, guitar and bass
Additional Musicians:
Gene Simmons - vocals (2)
John Corabi - vocals (3)
Nick Simmons - vocals (4)
Doug Fieger - vocals (6)
Tobias Sammet - vocals (8)
Steve Lukather - guitar (10)
Jeremy Rubolino - bass (2)
Jimmy Haslip - bass (10 & 11)
Eric Singer - drums (8)
Kenny Aronoff - drums (10)
Brent Fitz - drums (2,5,9 & 11)