Maps of Music

Music from "The Elder" (1981)

Where the lyrics of Music from "The Elder" take you, and where it was really made.

The album was made as a concept soundtrack for a movie that never got filmed, and the band's own members later called it a major misstep.

Key places

Frehley's home studio in Wilton (1981)

Recording site Ace in the Hole Studios — Sessions for the album started in March 1981 at Ace Frehley's home recording studio in Wilton, Connecticut. The point marks the town, not the exact building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

New York City sessions (1981)

Recording site Record Plant Studios — Discogs notes that part of the album was recorded in New York City. The point marks the city centre, not the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Ezrin's farm near Toronto (1981)

Recording site Ezrin Farm — From 11 May 1981 the recording continued at Ezrin's farmstead near Toronto, Canada. The point marks the town centre, not the farm itself. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Music from "The Elder": ninth studio album by American rock band Kiss
• Released 10 November 1981 by Casablanca Records
• Concept album with orchestral elements, a substantial departure from the band's earlier output
• First album with drummer Eric Carr, who adopted the persona of "The Fox"
• Last album with lead guitarist Ace Frehley until the 1996 reunion
• Commercial failure on release; no supporting tour followed

Background

• Unmasked (1980) sold poorly, so 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
• Peter Criss was not involved in recording Unmasked and officially left the band in May 1980
• Eric Carr was officially introduced as his replacement in July 1980
• Unmasked sold 65% fewer copies than 1979's Dynasty
• Unmasked was the first Kiss album to fail to achieve platinum status since 1975's Dressed to Kill
• The band wanted to return to a harder sound, but Simmons, Stanley and Aucoin felt that alone would not revive public interest
• They hired producer Bob Ezrin, who had worked with the band on Destroyer (1976) and co-produced Pink Floyd's The Wall
• The band and Ezrin built a full concept album from a fantasy short story by Simmons, imagined as a blockbuster movie soundtrack
• A movie deal was reportedly in the works and casting had begun, but the film ended up in development hell

Recording

• Sessions began in March 1981 at Ace Frehley's home recording studio in Wilton, Connecticut
• From 11 May 1981 the work continued at Ezrin's farmstead near Toronto, Canada
• Ezrin and the band worked in complete secrecy, and no outsiders heard the album in progress
• Frehley did not go to the Canadian sessions and grew frustrated, as he disagreed with abandoning the plan for a straight rock album
• Several of Frehley's recorded guitar solos were left out of the final cut
• Allan Schwartzberg played drums on "Odyssey" and "I" instead of Carr
• Members of the American Symphony Orchestra and St. Robert's Choir, with orchestral arrangements by Michael Kamen, added an orchestral sound

Cover

• The gatefold sleeve was the first Kiss album to show no image of the group, not even the usual front-cover appearance
• The cover shows a hand reaching for a door knocker
• Aucoin said the hand belongs to a hand model hired for the shoot, but a 2011 photo from the shoot showed Stanley with his hand on the knocker
• The door was long rumored to be at the Park Ave United Methodist Church in New York City, but it was a prop built for the shoot
• Costumes and hairstyles were more streamlined than in the Unmasked era

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Kiss was formed in New York City in 1973 by Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss.
• The band traces its roots to Wicked Lester, a New York rock band led by Simmons and Stanley.
• Their first performance took place on January 30, 1973, at the Popcorn Club (later Coventry) in Queens.
• Casablanca Records signed the band on November 1, 1973, as the label's first act.

Members

• The four original members were Stanley (Starchild), Simmons (Demon), Frehley (Spaceman) and Criss (Catman).
• Eric Carr replaced Criss in 1980; Vinnie Vincent, Mark St. John and Bruce Kulick later held lead guitar.
• Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer formed the final lineup.

Career

• Kiss became one of America's most successful rock bands in the late 1970s, with a 1977 Gallup poll naming them the most popular band in America.
• The band unmasked in 1983 and reunited the original lineup for the 1996 reunion tour.
• The band announced its retirement after its final show at Madison Square Garden on December 2, 2023.
• Kiss was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on April 10, 2014.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Critical reception was relatively kind on release
• Rolling Stone's review was kinder than its earlier judgments of the band; critic J.D. Considine praised the catchy songs and respectable performances
• Hi-Fi News & Record Review: Fred Dellar wrote "A surprisingly good attempt by Kiss to edge forward…"
• AllMusic: Greg Prato said the music was not characteristic of Kiss and that most songs were embarrassing
• Pitchfork: Jason Josephes called it the lowest point of the band's existence
• A.V. Club: Nathan Rabin called it a lasting mark of shame for a band that seemed to lack shame

Reappraisal

• Over the years the album became a cult item, and fans count it among their favourites despite the members' disapproval
• Chuck Klosterman called it indisputably the most fascinating Kiss album on Grantland
• Classic Rock (2016) ranked it among the 20 most underrated classic rock albums, calling it anomalous but worth recommending
• Guitar World (2011) included it among 50 great albums celebrating their 30th anniversary
• Roadie Crew (2017) ranked it 22nd among its 40 greatest concept albums

Records

• Peaked at number 75 on the Billboard 200
• Left the US chart by February 1982
• First Kiss studio album to fail to earn an RIAA gold certification
• Better commercial reception outside the US, especially in Japan, Australia and central and northern Europe
• "A World Without Heroes" reached number 56 in the US and number 55 in the UK
• "I" reached the top 10 in Italy
• Q ranked the album 44th in its list of The 50 Worst Albums Ever

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Ezrin later said his judgments on the album were clouded in large part by a cocaine addiction at the time
• Simmons said: "When the album came out, we were embarrassed"
• Ace Frehley did not appear at the Studio 54 appearance, so the group performed as a trio
• Budgets were prepared for a tour, but no tour took place after the album failed commercially
• The record company changed the song order to push "The Oath" and "A World Without Heroes" as potential singles, which disrupted the story flow
• The 1997 CD reissue restored the original song order and added "Escape from the Island"

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org

Maps of Ages ↗ (mapsofages.com)

Privacy · Contact