Customer Reviews

Spin the Bottle: Tribute to Kiss

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

It's been over 30 years since the painted performers dropped their debut self titled record on the World. That record was a pure blend of Beatles inspired rock mixed with a style all their own. The Demon, Space Ace, Cat Man, and Star Child have delivered nothing but the best rock 'n' roll and attitude since day one and never danced around with Nsync or did rap songs to keep their name alive. They are America's greatest rock band and I defy anyone to tell me differently. So, you wanted the best? You've got the best! Artists from the best genre in rock 'n' roll history gather to pay homage to the hottest band in the world! KISS!

Several tribute albums have come out over the past few years with tributes to bands like Def Leppard, The Scorpions, Guns 'n' Roses, and Bon Jovi. I've found the good and bad in all of those tributes. I find good and bad in this one as well. But, my review won't use the phrase "hair band" in a negative light. Hair is and was the best music ever created! Instead, I'll just tell you what is actually good and bad without stereotypes. This should be proof I'm not employed by a music magazine. This puppet has no strings!

Dee Snider of Twisted Sister fame belts out a grand old version of Detroit Rock City. Paul Stanley has a voice that is hard to replace and I am a traditionalist in that I am all for staying true to the original tune. Dee deviates a few times but nevertheless performs a true version of a true classic. This one is Aces with me. I give it 5 Star Children!

Tommy Shaw of Styx fame performs Love Gun rather well. Tommy sounds incredible! The bad? There are a few missed portions of the songs musicianship that I enjoy. The guitar solo, for example, doesn't have the impact of the original or the KISS Symphony version. Does it ruin the song? No, but it does keep it from being Aces! I give it 3 Star Children!

Mark Slaughter of Slaughter absolutely nails Cold Gin. The man can sing and all involved in the musicianship of this song should take a bow once for me! This was far and away the best cover on the album! It makes me look forward to catching Slaughter on the road this summer! Aces! I give it 5 Star Children!

Chris Jericho of Fozzy and WWE superstar performs King of the Night Time World with Fred Corry of Cinderella fame jamming on the drums! Jericho has called himself the "King of the World" on WWE TV several times and does Paul Stanley's famed spin move in his entrance so this was just a natural fit. I like it though I feel Chris may have held back a tiny bit at the end instead of trying to reach the stratosphere vocally, pun intended. Not aces but not bad! I give it 3 Star Children!

Kip Winger of Winger fame cranks out a cool version of I Want You. This is my personal favorite early KISS song. Kip sounds great and tries very hard to create the energy Paul Stanley does when he performs the song. The negatives? Over production! There is no reason to have the "I Want You" repeated during the guitar solo and there certainly was no reason for the echo effect to be so prominent. I give it 4 Star Children just for Kip doing "Ba-ba-ba-ba-babe I want You" so well!

Page Hamilton performs a fine version of Calling Doctor Love. Great musicianship, okay vocals. The band stayed true to the original song and just made it sound heavier. I'm all for that! I give it 4 Star Children!

Buzz Osbourne performs God of Thunder with Bruce Kulick jamming on guitar. I have a very faint idea who Buzz Osbourne is and frankly I doubt I'll go on a mad CD search to find out who he is. His voice fits the song well, though! Gene Simmons should be impressed! But, the lack of the driving drum beat that the song is noted for is noticed. I give it 2 Star Children.

Lemmy from Motohead performed Shout it Out Loud. What a let down! They changed the tempo of the song completely and it just does not work. I love Motorhead but this just doesn't cut it. I give it 1 Star Child.

Doug Pinnick performs Parasite Lady. Good version though not going to knock your socks off. I give it 3 Star Children.

This next one is another one getting a ranking of Aces! Phil Lewis of LA Guns, Jeff Pilson of Dokken, and Gilby Clarke of Guns 'n' Roses perform Strutter. Phil sounds grand as always barring any George Lynch borderline garage band recordings that are released as professional albums, same goes for Jeff. Slightly overly produced but it is just too cool to bash. I give it 5 Star Children!

The album wraps up with Aces! Robin Mcauley, CC Deville of Poison fame, Tony Frankin of Blue Murder and Whitesnake fame, and Anysley Dunbar of Journey and Whitesnake fame positively knock you out with an amazing version of I Stole Your Love! For those who were disappointed in Poison's last CD titled Hollyweird, check this one out! Robin belts out a very Bret Michaels inspired "guitar" right before the solo! You've got to love that! I give it 5 Star Children!

So, lets tally up the total of Star Children! By my calculations, this album received 40 of 55 possible Star Children. I guess that's good enough for a Smiley face sticker, or a half naked girl cover!

A DVD accompanies the CD in specially marked packaging. It features interviews with most of the guys telling their KISS thoughts or stories. As far as free stuff goes, this is Aces with me!

People forget KISS is not just a look but a collection of great songs as well. Melodic hard rock and heavy metal that will live forever in the annals of time because they stayed true to themselves. I'm 22 years old and I'm part of the new generation of KISS fans that will keep these guys on tour another 30 years, God willing! Bottom line, this CD is pretty cool

I've never taken the time to do an online review for anything but this CD is so kick ass i had to post. I've been a KISS fanatic for 27 years. I was excited about kiss my ass but it was just so so but Spin the bottle makes that look like a piece of crap (with the exception of anthrax and lenny kravitz). the label is 100% correct. ALL KILLER NO FILLER. this cd is a must have. damn i can pick em! :o)

Three words for you: BUY THIS ALBUM!!!!! I just got through listening to the entire thing and I must say that I was very much impressed. I like this CD even better than the last official KISS tribute album KISS My A$$. There is much more of a hard rock feel to this album instead of the more pop rock feel of KISS My A$$. Musically this album might sound a bit unoriginal, some of the songs do sound like they did on the original KISS recordings. However, the vocals on all of the songs are awesome. I mean come on, how can you deny the greatness of Dee Snider, Mark Slaughter, and the metal legend Lemmy. Even Chris Jericho's vocals weren't that bad. And while some of the songs aren't to innovative musically, most of the songs do have a new "twist" to them. They definately have more of a hard rock/metal feel to them. Plus you get a bonus DVD that features a 40-minute documentary of the making of the record. It also contains performances, session footage and interviews with nearly everyone involved with the CD. All in all, I am a huge KISS fan. I am going to be seeing them again this summer with Poison. If you are like me, or if you just like hard rock. BUY THIS ALBUM!!!!

Exclusive in studio access in the vain of the long out-of-print Hear N' Aid (STARS) video from the late 80s is revealed with the DVD. Paul Gilbert (Racer X, Mr. Big) makes perhaps the most notable contribution with guitar playing that literally took my breath away.

Not a bad collection of covers, especially in this day of weak covers and weaker tribute albums. I think KISS is one of the best bands to cover because they have so many songs that lend themselves to be covered by others in their own style. I wasn't a fan of the last KISS tribute album, although I did get a perverse kick out of Garth Brooks performing on it, hehe!
However, if anyone knows where to find it, there was a Sub Pop records tribute to KISS back in the late 80s/early 90s that featured a pre-Nevermind Nirvana performing on it. I worked at a music store at the time, and we always threw that on when we worked over nights putting out new stock or doing inventory. Sadly, my own personal copy was stolen years ago, and I've never found it for sale anywhere since. (Anyone know how or where to get it?) If anyone out there has it, compare it to this and post your own response. And if it has a red "X" inside a green "O" across the top of the CD disc, please give it back, ya damn dirty thief!

What's good about it?

A good cover song stays true to the original and changes only slightly. The artists here understand that theory. Dee Snider's (Twisted Sister) version of "Detroit Rock City" kicks things off. The addition of Doug Aldrich's (Whitesnake) fiery guitar solos and subtle improvised licks really add to the song. On "Cold Gin," Mark Slaughter (Slaughter) transforms himself into Gene Simmons vocally, a far cry from his glass shattering falsetto days. Buzz Osborne (The Melvins) adds a more sinister vocal arrangement to "God of Thunder," which features former KISS guitarist Bruce Kulick laying down that infamous opening riff. Backed by an all female rhythm section, Lemmy (Motörhead) lets loose on "Shout It Out Loud." Any commercial song covered by Lemmy is always worth a listen.

Chris Jericho (Fozzy) & Rich Ward (Fozzy) take "King of the Nighttime World" to the next level. They tinker with the music just enough to give it a modern feel. I could see this one tearing up rock radio. It's the best track on the album and possibly better than the original. Doug Pinnick (King's X) impressed me on "Parasite." I never knew he could perform a song that was more than 20 beats per minute and less than ten minutes long. C.C. Deville (Poison) flies through the guitar parts on "I Stole Your Love" probably as fast as the thoughts in his head. He's backed by underrated vocalist Robin McAuley (McAuley-Schenker Group). Believe it or not, two eighties rock heavyweights finally come together for the first time on "Love Gun." Arena rockers Tommy Shaw (Styx) and Steve Lukather (Toto) crank it up on their version of "Love Gun." Don't be ashamed, everyone secretly loves those groups (Give me REO Speedwagon any day).

Anything bad?

Nobody wanted to cover "Rock and Roll All Night?"

Bottom Line

You wanted the best (tribute), and you've got the best (tribute)...(to) the hottest band in the World...KISS!

The new KISS tribute album, "Spin The Bottle: An All-Star Tribute To KISS", is the best KISS tribute album out on the market. Here we have eleven songs and over thirty minutes of our favorite KISS songs performed by artists such as Doug Pinnick, Buzz Osbourne, Mark Slaughter, Kip Winger, etc. On the Buzz Osbourne version of "God of Thunder", Bruce Kulick plays guitar, and one song even features a cameo appearance by Bobby Rock, who was the drummer for The Vinnie Vincent Invasion. All of the songs sound great on here, but the best cover on here would definitely have to be Mark Slaughter's solo version of "Cold Gin". As good as KISS' version is, I must say, I like Slaughter's version better. His high-pitched vocals and the fact that more was added to Slaughter's version ( KISS collaborater Bob Kulick is the producer of this album) really help make this cover version great. Other highlights here are Robin McAuley's version of "I Stole Your Love", the Buzz Osbounrne version of "God of Thunder", the Phil Lewis version of "Strutter", and several other songs on this record sound really great. What can I say? This whole album rocks. If you like KISS, you should hear this album for yourself.

I guess you have seek, and you shall find. For starters the album cover is hot, and so are the covers of these songs. The only problem I had was finding out who did them. I thank James Walsh for bringing some to light for me. I would never have guessed that Dee Snider was doing "Detroit Rock City", or Tommy Shaw for that matter doing "Love Gun". The only one I kind of figured out was Motorhead doing "Shout It Out Loud", and that's only because I heard the unmistakeable voice of Lemmy. I feel the best thing about this tribute album compared to "Kiss My A**" is that the artists tried to keep with the original sound of the songs; they didn't try to make their own interpretations, but respected KISS enough to keep it simple by doing the songs the way KISS would've done them. If this was made and released 10 years earlier I have no idea if it would've sold as much as "Kiss My A**". It was a different scene back then, and if you listen to "Carnival Of Souls" the last studio tracks done by KISS before the big reunion tour with Ace and Peter they were sounding like they were going to go alternative, so I don't know if a tribute album like this would've stood up in the 90's, but it certainly does now.

... and put out something like this! Whoa, what a trip!

This tribute CD is one that does not disappoint, for the most part. I mean, put hotshot guitarists like Jennifer Batten and Paul Gilbert in a room, hook them up with excellent singers like King's X's Doug Pinnick and ex-MSG frontman Robin McAuley, and what have you got? Mostly pure gold. The only bad spot is the badly produced and splattery guitarwork phoned in by Poison's CC DeVille (arguably the worst guitarist in the history of rock music); where's Ace Frehley when we need him most? Why, oh why, was the drunken, whacked-out DeVille hired to ruin McAuley's great vocals?

Perhaps the weirdest track is the collaboration between Lemmy Kilmister (Motorhead), Samantha Moloney (Hole, briefly in Motley Crue)and Jennifer Batten (Michael Jackson, Jeff Beck) on Shout it Out Loud; not in a million years would I think that this group would work well together, but they simply ROCK (hey, Lemmy, when's the tour?).

A small bonus is the interview DVD, in which the musicians talk about KISS's influence on their styles and choices in music. Paul Gilbert, in particular, blazes through some great Frehley riffage as he talks.

If you get only one KISS tribute cd this year, forget KISS Symphony-- this one is what you need.

Impressive album,indeed.Much more heavier and uniform than Kiss my Ass.The versions of Detroit Rock City,Love Gun,King Of the Nite Time World,Shout It Out Loud And Calling Dr.Love are highlights in the album.Also The songs are performed by 80's hair metal musicians,like Slaughter,Winger,CC de Ville,Dee Snider,etc..