Music from "The Elder"

Kiss was in the midst of a transitional phase as the 1980s began. Drummer Peter Criss was not involved in the recording of 1980's Unmasked and he officially left Kiss in May of the same year. His replacement Eric Carr was officially introduced in July. The group had recently embarked on a hugely successful tour of Australia and New Zealand - where the group's popularity was at its peak - in November, but the band's commercial fortunes at home were drastically reduced from the 1975–79 era. Due to the lackluster sales of Unmasked, Kiss toured exclusively outside the US for the first time in their career, except for one concert at the Palladium Theatre in New York City. The overseas tours were well attended, partly because Kiss had rarely ventured abroad and because the more pop-oriented Dynasty and Unmasked albums did better in the European markets than Kiss's earlier hard rock albums. This commercial downturn in the US is attributable to many factors; two of the biggest being the softening of Kiss' image in an effort to appeal to a broader fanbase and the softening of their music. Unmasked was a decidedly more pop-oriented effort than earlier albums and represented a sales drop-off of 65% from 1979's Dynasty. It also became the first Kiss album to fail to achieve platinum status since 1975's Dressed to Kill. The glut of Kiss merchandising that had cropped up in the late 1970s led to a backlash from many fans who felt that Kiss was more concerned with making money than with making good music. ==Recording==

In an effort to return to their hard rock roots, Kiss began recording music more akin to the heavier style that launched them to popularity in the mid-1970s. The fall 1980 issue of the Kiss Army Newsletter hinted at the style the new album was to take: "It will be hard and heavy from start to finish, straight-on rock and roll that will knock your socks off." At the same time, Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley and creative manager Bill Aucoin felt that just returning to a harder sound was not enough. They believed that only a bold, artistic statement would regenerate public interest in Kiss. To that end, they enlisted producer Bob Ezrin to work with the group. Ezrin had worked with the group before, producing the group's hit 1976 album Destroyer. He had also co-produced Pink Floyd's 1979 concept album The Wall. Simmons, Stanley and Aucoin felt that Ezrin could help bring their ambitions to fruition. According to Simmons, a movie deal was actually in the works and casting had begun, but the film ended up in development hell. Frehley resented what he felt was Simmons' and Stanley's domination of the recording sessions and was often outvoted 2–1 on band decisions after Criss' departure, as Carr was not a partner in Kiss as the other three members were, but rather an employee. This was the last album to feature Frehley until their 1996 reunion Alive/Worldwide Tour, apart from appearing on the cover of the compilation album Killers and the next album Creatures of the Night and a handful of promotional appearances with the band until late 1982. == Composition ==

Story The basic plot of "The Elder" involves the recruitment and training of a young hero (The Boy) by the Council of Elders who belong to the Order of the Rose, a mysterious group dedicated to combating evil. The Boy is guided by an elderly caretaker named Morpheus. The album's lyrics describe the boy's feelings during his journey and training, as he overcomes his early doubts to become confident and self-assured. The only spoken dialogue is at the end of the last track, "I". During the passage, Morpheus proclaims to the Elders that The Boy is ready to undertake his odyssey. "The Elder are a life-form without body", Simmons explained, "they are benevolent, but committed to the balance of opposites. And when darkness gets too strong, a hero is born to restore the balance." Despite this, some critics have described the album as hard rock and heavy metal, such as the opening track, "The Oath", written by Ezrin, Stanley and actor/songwriter Tony Powers. Many parts of the song feature Stanley singing in falsetto, a vocal technique he utilized on several of the album's tracks. "Dark Light", written by Frehley with Anton Fig, Simmons and Lou Reed, was based on a guitar riff composed by Fig. The song's original title was "Don't Run" and it's the only track Frehley sings on the album. The lone American single from the album, "A World Without Heroes" was originally a Stanley song entitled "Every Little Bit of Your Heart". The name was changed when it was decided to record Music from "The Elder" as a concept album. Lou Reed wrote the lyric "a world without heroes is like a world without sun". Simmons and Ezrin are also credited for the song." "Escape from the Island" is an instrumental, written and performed by Carr, Ezrin and Frehley, who recounted the recording of this song in a 2016 interview with The Pods & Sods Network. Songs that were demoed but did not end up on the album include "Deadly Weapon" (Simmons recycled the title for a different song on Asylum), "Nowhere to Run" (re-recorded for Killers), "Feel Like Heaven" (covered by Peter Criss on Let Me Rock You), "Heaven" (became "Breakout" on Frehley's Comet and "Carr Jam 81" on Revenge), "It's My Life" (covered by Wendy O. Williams and later on The Box Set) and a few instrumentals, one confirmed to be titled "Silly Girl" and at least two known only by their bootleg names "The Difference Between Men and Boys" and "Council of the Elder". The original demos for "Deadly Weapon", "Feel Like Heaven" and "Nowhere to Run" were included on the 2022 deluxe re-release of Creatures of the Night. ==Artwork==

The original vinyl release was a gatefold sleeve. This was the first Kiss album to feature no image of the group, not even the customary front-cover appearance. According to one story, the hand reaching for the door knocker is not that of Stanley: Aucoin has stated that it belongs to a hand model, hired for the shoot; however, in 2011 a photo surfaced from the album cover shoot showing a partially naked-faced Stanley with his hand on the door knocker. The door itself was long rumored to be located at the Park Ave United Methodist Church on Park Avenue, New York City, but was actually a prop created for the shoot. The photo session displayed a change of image: the costumes were more streamlined, especially when compared with the costumes for Unmasked, as were the hairstyles of Stanley and Simmons in particular. == Release==

The version of Music from "The Elder" released in the US, Europe and Brazil contained a different song order than the one originally intended. This order was chosen in order to emphasize "The Oath" and "A World Without Heroes" as potential singles, as the two songs started each side of the record. One effect of this alteration in song order was to disrupt the narrative flow of the album's story. "When the album came out, we were embarrassed", said Simmons. In a 2021 interview, band consultant Robert V. Conte discussed how the original sequence was restored. "When it came time to remaster The Elder, I contacted Gene asking for his thoughts about using that version for the CD," Conte recalls. "He was all for it but one track, 'Escape from the Island' was not on the imported version. Ay, caramba! We could not find any production notes in the PolyGram files about where it belonged on that particular sequence so, with The Demon's blessing, the track was added, the original sequence was restored, and the 1997 CD and cassette became the most complete versions of The Elder to date!" == Promotion==

Although budgets were prepared for a tour, none was undertaken. The only live public performance the band made in conjunction with the album was a January 15, 1982 appearance on the late-night variety show Fridays, where they performed live versions of "A World Without Heroes", "I" and "The Oath". Kiss also made public appearances on television shows where they lip synced performances. Prior to the release of the album, on September 25, 1981, Kiss went to Mexico City on the national television show, Imevision, where they lip synced songs from the Dynasty album only, including “I Was Made for Lovin' You” and “Charisma”, as both songs were massive hits there. To promote the new album, they appeared on Solid Gold where they lip synced "I" and showed the promotional video of "A World Without Heroes", and a January 28 lip synced performance of "I" from Studio 54, broadcast via satellite to the Sanremo Festival in Italy. However, Frehley was absent for the Studio 54 appearance, so the group performed as a trio. ==Critical reception==

Critical reception for Music from "The Elder" was relatively kind on release, but the album was a commercial failure and for a long time unpopular with the involved parties, label and musicians alike, as well as critics, even considering it to be one of the worst albums ever made. When Kiss premiered the album for their management and record company in October 1981, the reaction was a mixture of confusion and resentment. Business manager Howard Marks refused to allow his company's name to appear in the liner notes. But while reviews like the one printed by Rolling Stone were kinder than past judgments, The same magazine ranked the album 6th in their list of 15 Albums Where Great Rock Acts Lost the Plot. Most participants in the album subsequently said that it was a major misstep. Also in 2011, the American website Guitar World mentioned the album among their 50 Great Albums Celebrating Their 30th Anniversary in 2011 while the Brazilian magazine Roadie Crew did likewise in a list of The 81 Greatest Albums of 1981. Roadie Crew would later, in 2017, rank it among their greatest 40 concept albums ever, at #22. In 2016, Classic Rock ranked the album among a list of The 20 Most Underrated Classic Rock Albums Ever, calling the album "anomalous" but stating that it "nonetheless has much to recommend it". In 2018, the French edition of the Rock Hard magazine included it in the Volume 2 of its "ideal metaltheque", in the concept albums category. ==Track listing==

All credits adapted from the original releases. ==Personnel==

;Kiss • Paul Stanley – vocals, rhythm guitar, all guitars on "The Oath", guitar solo on "Just a Boy" and "A World Without Heroes" • Gene Simmons – vocals, bass, rhythm guitar on "Only You" • Ace Frehley – vocals, lead guitar, bass on "Dark Light" and "The Oath" • Eric Carr – drums, percussion, acoustic guitar and bass on "Under the Rose", backing vocals ;Additional musicians • Bob Ezrin – producer, keyboards, bass on "Escape from the Island", orchestral arrangements • Allan Schwartzberg – drums on "Odyssey" and "I", additional overdub • Tony Powers – keyboards on "Odyssey" • The American Symphony Orchestra • St. Robert's Choir • Michael Kamen – orchestral arrangements ;Production • Brian Christian – associate producer, engineer • Rick Hart, Robert Hrycyna, David Brown – engineers • Rob Freeman, Corky Stasiak, Kevin Doyle – additional engineering • Tom Laughlin – chief technician • Ted Jensen – mastering engineer at Sterling Sound, New York ==Charts==

• Casablanca NBLP-7261 (November 16, 1981): LP • Casablanca NBL5-7261 (November 16, 1981): US Cassette • Casablanca NBL8-7261 (November 16, 1981): US 8-track • PolyGram 824-153-2 (May 23, 1989): 1st US CD release • Mercury 314 532 390-2 (October 7, 1997): Remastered CD ==Notes and references==