University of South Carolina Libraries
Spotlight * 1 rrr,r-1im-, ? Wsf Friday, December 6, 1985 THE GAMECOCK Kiss remai with latesi by art boerke Sf?l# Unix wian niu?i It would be easy to slag the latest Kiss record with the slightest of thought. It would be even easier to simply dismiss the group's latest release as the newest entry into the Biggest Heavy Metal Excrement of '85 Sweepstakes. It would be easy, but it would be a mistake. Kiss is not a typical heavy metal group. Though loud guitars and expensive pyrotechnics have been responsible for much of the band's notoriety, Kiss' music has rarely been overly heavy. Since the day they first donned the greasepaint, Kiss has been one of the world's most successful pop groups. Asylum, the new Kiss record, is not a bad piece of vinyl. It's not great, but expectations were not exactly flying high. On the new LP, as on most Kiss recordings, the vocals arc split between rhythm guitarist Paul Stanley and bassist Gene Simmons. Also following tradition, Stanley's tunes arc the stronger ones. The most significant difference on this collection is that the everpredictable tongue wagger, Sim A1 it v * t s :y; r - > tail: ( ; J '^8B resti lengi more whei I Just from anch ? 1985 AUT CoovnuntcotKXij HHHHH ns crazy t, Asylum mons, actually hits the mark on a couple this time. Asylum also introduces Kiss' newest lead guitarist, Bruce Kulick. Responsible for much of Stanley's solo disc, Bruce was recruited to replace Mark St. John on the band's last tour. With this lineup change, Kiss once again finds itself with three writers and a big guitar punch. The record opens with one of the most hard-hitting rockers of Kiss' career. "King of the Mountain," penned by Stanley, Kulick and Desmond Child, is also remarkable in that there is no mention of women, rock 'n' roll or alcohol. Any momentum garnered by the lead-in. however, is nuicklv wasted with the next track, Simmons' putrid and unimaginative "Anyway You Slice It." "Who Wants To Be Lonely" is one of Stanley's better compositions, with good hooks. Cowritten by Jean Beauvoir, bassist from Steven Van Zandt's Disciples of Soul, the song could be an album rock smash. Stanley gets to do a little something extra with his throat on the chorus. This is followed by "Trial by Fire," pure re-hash from power if ilia and Rob &T's 60% would h loss for -V. gist U --"' V Jgjf '' ? ^ \ \ . J ( i^L .-vnXSSMBtL s\< kumM V^SM| \nd of course, she wouldn' a i r \ iu ner ieenngs to a mere i th, either. \fter all, you can always th i way to tell someone you 1 you're on the phone, ^et us count the ways you call weekends till 5pm Sur 111pm to 8am, Sunday thn you'll save 60% off AI&T's 1 The hard rock group Kisi is entering it! chord one, and "I'm Alive," the album's best drum-driven track. The best move Kiss made was allowing drummer Eric Carr to bash a few drum heads throughout the album. Side Two opens with the hottest Simmons tune in years, "Love's a Deadly Weapon," which he penned with Stanley, Rod Swenson and Wcs Beech, Wendy O. Williams' stun guitarist. This one swells with firepower. The four-string thump and sandblasted vocals don't try to carry it; instead, they are worked into the crunch. "Tears Arc Falling," the record's first single, is Kiss' first bona fide hit in years. Tearing up airwaves, it is making a dent in Edbethlfc erf Brow and 409 avebeet English! s^Siitcvv ? n t have had to on your s sonnets Call 1 through link of one state-toiove them So w distance can save. with ATX idays, or can satis Dugh Friday, exhausti Day Rate Reach o e*?- NMMBa jf^I i 11th year of concerts and recordings. the tight CHR market. "Secretly Cruel" slips Simmons down a peg from the side's lead-in, but leaves him with some dignity. Typical Simmons lyrics ? "She was all over me like a cheap suit" ? make it hard to enjoy, yet not impossible. The obvious choice for the follow-up single is the LP's closing track. Stanley's sexually energetic grunts combine with anthemic simplicity to make "UH All Night" foot-stomping, fistwaving fun. With the holidays just around the corner, Asylum may not seem the most worthwhile investment. It is, however, the strongest product in 10 years from these onetime hard-pop icons. orrett rninghw 'o aiscoui naterrifc iterature itate-to-state calls, between 5pm and 11pm, S Friday, and youll save 40?/* state calls. hen you're asked to choos< company, choose AT&T. B iT's 60% and 40% discoun fy your heart's desire with ng your means. >ut and touch someone^ TOT ie right choic Bands to get active tonight in Russell House Ballroom By ROBERT O'CONNOR Staff writer ? Jk Directly on the heels of REM's triumphant return to Columbia, two bands, Let's Active and Guadalcanal Diary, will invade the Russell House Ballroom tonight. In support of their forthcoming second album, Strike While the Iron Is, Let's Active will present a new lineup and repertoire. Band leader and former REM producer Mitch Easter is quick to point out that although Let's Active seems to be an entirely new band on the surface, not much has changed. "Our sound is not very different, but it is not all drum machine this time around, cither," he said. The new lineup includes Angie Carlson on keyboards, who replaced Sarah Romweber earlier this year. Romweber is now 4,in a band called Snatches of Pink, whose members all have big hairdos," acording to Easter. Faye Hunter will continue on guitar, and Easter will handle guitar and vocals. Let's Activc broke onto the music scene with their EP Afoot, which { A includes the songs "Every Word Means No" and "Room with a View." Critical praise and lackluster movement on the sales charts continued into 1984's Cypress, the band's first full-length album. "Blue Line" and "Easy Does" stood out on a album of big merit and promise. Guadalcanal Diary, formerly seen at The Beat, will open the double bill tonight. Walking in the Shadow of the Big Man was released regionally last year and contains the familiar "Watusi Rodeo." The band includes Murray Attaway on electric guitar and lead vocals, Rhett Crowe on bass, John Poc on drums and Jeff Walls on acoustic guitar. According to Walls, the Guadalcanal Diary sound bears no resemblance to REM. "Frankly, there is no comparison," he said. _ A new album is in the works for early 1986, and Walls sees no great \. W plans to stoop to the level of commercial music. "We are going to continue in the same vein," he said. Advance tickets for the concert, presented by Contemporary Sounds, are $5.50 for USC students and $7.50 for everybody else. The doors to the ballroom will open at 7:45 p.m., and the show will begin at 8:15 p.m. Admission for everybody will be $7.50 at the door. 1 aftS. I ' its i American RcdCroM ifa& Jim fIW Wk ^ Wt'll HdpWill Vx(.' ^ ^ / Donate Mood together. "?tssssbbM I * I u A, i-? NgLA toKyiEffliBiBKftwg^1 I I *> A Positive Point About Breast Cancer. , Now we can see it before unaay you can feel it. When it's no ) Oil VOUf oiRfler than the dot on this J page. And when it's 90% curg 3 long a^e- With ^)est c^ance vt oavuiK uic Uieasi. CCaUSe The trick is catching it nf1 early. And that's exactly ^ v tb, yuu wjiat a mammogram can do. L " Out A mammogram is a simple x-ray that s simply the best news yet for detecting breast cancer. And saving lives. If you're over 35, ask your doctor about mammoffraohv. V 1 / * Give yourself the chance of a lifetime:" e. J?" ,,, ? i