MA talks about unreleased material

[Rikk]

Around summer 2012, right after my son was born (and a few months before we lost him...we had a daughter in 2014 and life got good again), my wife and I were in the kitchen of our old Chicago apartment (before we bought this nice house). We were blasting A DIFFERENT KIND OF TRUTH while making a nice dinner. And my wife, God bless her, said to me: "You know, there are so many reunion albums and most of them suck. But THIS ALBUM really is one of those rare reunion albums that showcase what makes the band in question GREAT. This is a GREAT reunion album!" And I knew I had married the right woman.

ADKOT isn't perfect...but I think most posters who rag on that album are lying when they bitch too much about it. Most of us are VERY glad that it exists. Who cares if so many of the songs are leftovers from the old demos: THOSE ARE GREAT SONGS, AND THEY NOW FINALLY ARE ON A REAL VH ALBUM.

It's Dave & Eddie together...

...and this is the fucking Roth Army...

[Rikk]

KISS were all about giving the fans what they wanted.

I met Gene in 1995 at one of the official KISS Konventions when they started doing the Unplugged thing (right before the reunion).

He was very polite and kind with me. Signed everything I gave him.

Both big box sets they've done (DESTROYER and CREATURES OF THE NIGHT) I happily shelled out my money for and I was not remotely disappointed with either of them. They had top-notch outtakes...especially CREATURES (which is one of their better albums, for sure...the only post-70s album they made that can truly stand up with the original band's albums).

The CREATURE box set had a load of unreleased KISS songs in good quality. I've been taking those songs and making my own "new" KISS 1982 studio album from the outtakes from that set on my iTunes...and it kicks ass.

Most KISS archive sets have definitely had a very fan-friendly vibe.

I haven't bothered with the endless pointless hits sets they keep pumping out, and the current band (as far as I'm concerned) isn't really KISS. But KISS have seemed pretty open to giving fans what they want when it comes to opening the vaults.

I DID NOT spend the insane amount of money Gene wanted for his personal Demo Archive set thingy...but I did download it from a torrent site and I've been enjoying the hell out of some of the lost songs that set offers.

[Nitro Express]

Y'know, I DO love ADKOT. But one thing I wasn't crazy about was the sort of slightly-muffled, over-compressed sound of the album. It sounded nothing like the old days. Now, I know it wasn't the old days anymore...but can you imagine how much better that album could've sounded had Ted & Donn returned and the album be recorded completely at 5150? It's a bit sad. I never cared as much as some of the die-hards that Mikey wasn't back. I think Wolfie is a shitty solo artist, but he held his chops on bass and the backing vocals on ADKOT were adequate (though, admittedly, the magic old harmony sound was lost a bit).

If I had a choice between ADKOT (still a VH album I cherish) being produced better or having Mikey back, I would've chosen it being produced better in a heartbeat. Ted & Donn returning would have made it almost a complete reunion.

Hell, this never would've happened, but imagine if they'd produced it back at Sunset Sound with Donn at the boards. That would have been pretty fucking cool.

5150 was not a great room. Al actually had to use electronic drums to get a good drum sound until a drum room was added to the studio. Ted Templeman liked to mike the room and you couldn’t do that at 5150. He liked Sunset Sound because it had great sounding rooms. Any good sound engineer knows you try and get a good sound in the room first. You take the concert hall approach. You don’t want to use EQ or effects unless you have to.

Now people are so into doctoring the sound with electronics the sound is dead. I still play with a speaker cab on stage. Why? I want my guitar to react with it. I’m sending a line signal to the board using a Friedman Mic No More box but I have a cab on stage because if that cab goes so does all the dynamics of my sound. Sure an engineer could enhance that sound with echo and reverb ect.. but it’s going to sound blah.

[Nitro Express]

I met Gene in 1995 at one of the official KISS Konventions when they started doing the Unplugged thing (right before the reunion).

He was very polite and kind with me. Signed everything I gave him.

Both big box sets they've done (DESTROYER and CREATURES OF THE NIGHT) I happily shelled out my money for and I was not remotely disappointed with either of them. They had top-notch outtakes...especially CREATURES (which is one of their better albums, for sure...the only post-70s album they made that can truly stand up with the original band's albums).

The CREATURE box set had a load of unreleased KISS songs in good quality. I've been taking those songs and making my own "new" KISS 1982 studio album from the outtakes from that set on my iTunes...and it kicks ass.

Most KISS archive sets have definitely had a very fan-friendly vibe.

I haven't bothered with the endless pointless hits sets they keep pumping out, and the current band (as far as I'm concerned) isn't really KISS. But KISS have seemed pretty open to giving fans what they want when it comes to opening the vaults.

I DID NOT spend the insane amount of money Gene wanted for his personal Demo Archive set thingy...but I did download it from a torrent site and I've been enjoying the hell out of some of the lost songs that set offers.

KISS Alive I and II are the best workout albums ever. I crank them in the gym.

[Nitro Express]

I saw Ace Frehley a while back. The spaceman was on his game that night. The whole crowd was singing Cold Gin and Ace was loving it. We all had a lot of fun.

[Rikk]

KISS Alive I and II are the best workout albums ever. I crank them in the gym.

I'm glad to hear you mention ALIVE II and not just ALIVE. Yeah, ALIVE is superior. It's doctored, but not as doctored as ALIVE II.

But ALIVE II is still a kick-ass album. Not only are the 15 "live" songs freaking amazing (just listen to SHOCK ME or MAKIN' LOVE on that album) but I also really like the five studio songs on that album.

You really can't do more to appreciate the whole KISS experience than just listen to ALIVE and ALIVE II (though I will probably always say that LOVE GUN is my favorite KISS album...and, I don't care if you don't agree, I also love DYNASTY).

[Rikk]

I saw Ace Frehley a while back. The spaceman was on his game that night. The whole crowd was singing Cold Gin and Ace was loving it. We all had a lot of fun.

Ace is not only my favorite member of KISS but also my second-favorite guitar-player ever. Every solo he put on a song was a full story, with a beginning, middle and end.

Have you heard GENGHIS KHAN off of his ANAMOLY solo album? It's a freaking masterpiece of guitar playing and arrangement.

Incidentally, people here can shoot me for saying this...but my all-time favorite guitarist is NOT Eddie Van Halen (he's probably number 3) but Ritchie Blackmore. His work in Deep Purple and Rainbow just kills me every time. I don't care if Blackmore is supposed to be a piece of crap in real life...he's still a guitar genius.

Eddie is number 3 for me (or tied for number 3 with Hendrix) because he watered down so much of his career with subpar albums and songs. I'm not saying that neither Ace or Blackmore ever made subpar music. I'm just saying: every piece of Ace or Ritchie guitar-playing on all their band or solo work blows me away...whereas Ed went through a period during which his playing simply became not-as-exciting to me...especially during the first half of the 90s. (I still love Ed...I just get more goosebumps these days listening to Blackmore's work on albums like BURN or LONG LIVE ROCK 'N' ROLL.)

Some things'll never change for me:

1) My favorite actors of all-time will always be Steve McQueen & Larry Hagman. Hands down. No competition.
2) My favorite guitarist will always be Ritchie Blackmore.

(...watch me go put in WOMEN AND CHILDREN FIRST after I write this and just change my mind...)

[VHscraps]

"Right now I'm just hearing about it as they're announcing it"...

Doesn't sound much like he's in the loop far as the decision-making goes.

Not even sure how useful it is to know there is unreleased CVH stuff in the private collections of ex-band members: useless to me if I never get to see/hear it.

I read about that over on VH Links, where none of those commenting on it seem to have noticed that, if you look at his own words, Mike - as you say - doesn't really seem to be a part of what is going on but is hearing about it second-hand or after the fact.

[VHscraps]

Don Landee was as legendary in his realm as Eddie and Dave were in theirs. The guy was a true mad scientist. David Bertinelli was sharing some stories about 5150 being built. David’s older brother Drew was the contractor and private studios were against the zoning so they said they were building a racketball court when filed for the building permit. The whole project was motivated by Eddie constantly practicing in the main house and Valerie having to get up real early to be on sets and having to have a quiet atmosphere to memorize scripts. All of Eddie’s noise was driving her nuts. So let’s turn the guest house/gymn into a practice space.

David said Ed wanted some recording equipment to record demo tapes. So Ed and Don Landee got all this used equipment from LA studios. David said he walked in when Don was hooking all the stuff up and he said it was a mess of wires and electrical circuits and he’s thinking holy hell how is he ever going to make all this stuff work? Don got it working after being there for days. Ed was on tour and when Ed came back and Don showed him what could be done with their garage sale equipment Ed is just stoked. He’s like we can make abums here! Why pay some studio when we can record here for free?

Only Don could run the studio. The patch bay was completely unmarked. Only Don had it memorized. 5150 became Ed and Don’s mad scientist laboratory. Don had a reputation around the recording industry is he could fix anything. He knew equipment like no other and he was a true sound engineer. He knew how to make things sound good. You could bring Don in and he could make the magic happen.

I can't remember where they got the main desk that they bought for 5150, an old metal army green thing, but it came out of a studio where it had been used to record all sorts of legendary records - from Sinatra to Beach Boys, the Mamas and the Papas and so on.

I have no idea how or why or when Donn lost his engineering chops, but listen to Little Feat Sailin' Shoes ('72 or '73) through to the six VH albums with DLR and the sound of OU812 is a mystery.

I think the secret is - a bit like VHIII - no one was in charge. What did it say in the credits on the album 'written and performed by Eddie Alex Sammy and Mike, recorded by Donn Landee'. I don't think the word 'producer' or 'engineer' is used on the orginal release of the record. And it sounds like they thought they could just throw anything down on tape and release it.

[Nitro Express]

I'm glad to hear you mention ALIVE II and not just ALIVE. Yeah, ALIVE is superior. It's doctored, but not as doctored as ALIVE II.

But ALIVE II is still a kick-ass album. Not only are the 15 "live" songs freaking amazing (just listen to SHOCK ME or MAKIN' LOVE on that album) but I also really like the five studio songs on that album.

You really can't do more to appreciate the whole KISS experience than just listen to ALIVE and ALIVE II (though I will probably always say that LOVE GUN is my favorite KISS album...and, I don't care if you don't agree, I also love DYNASTY).

If they weren’t doctored they would just be bootlegs. Let’s just say they were polished. Even pretty girls look better with some makeup.

[Nitro Express]

I can't remember where they got the main desk that they bought for 5150, an old metal army green thing, but it came out of a studio where it had been used to record all sorts of legendary records - from Sinatra to Beach Boys, the Mamas and the Papas and so on.

I have no idea how or why or when Donn lost his engineering chops, but listen to Little Feat Sailin' Shoes ('72 or '73) through to the six VH albums with DLR and the sound of OU812 is a mystery.

I think the secret is - a bit like VHIII - no one was in charge. What did it say in the credits on the album 'written and performed by Eddie Alex Sammy and Mike, recorded by Donn Landee'. I don't think the word 'producer' or 'engineer' is used on the orginal release of the record. And it sounds like they thought they could just throw anything down on tape and release it.

Could have come out of Capitol Records. All that equipment was bought used. Don Landee went and found all that stuff. Ed paid $6,000 for that console but it was used in some LA studio. I know it was tube powered. Both Don Landee and Ted Templeman had mental breakdowns. Don kind of cracked up during the 1984 mixdown. He wouldn’t release the master tapes to Warner Brothers. I think Don had just hung in Ed’s world too long. It’s amazing 1984 even came out. Ha! Ha! The drama was pretty bad then. Everyone was losing their marbles.

Ted’s breakdown came later. I guess he just kind of disappeared for awhile and fell into a bad depression. I don’t know what it is about Hollywood but it drives people nutters. Sure drugs are a part of it but there’s something else. If you live in mountain resort towns there’s always a few Hollywood types who say they just had to get away. They trade nice warm weather for snow but being in the complete opposite environment seems to be therapy from whatever demons they picked up in LA. Funny thing is people who worked in Washington DC are the same way. I just had to get away when I no longer had to work there. Washington DC and Hollywood seem to be haunted by the same demons. Ha! Ha!

[Nitro Express]

Bands tend to be self-destructive. There’s a producer for a good reason. An adult needs to be in charge. I think the more control Van Halen had the more the end product suffered. The bottom line is there needs to be some structure. Creative geniuses with emotional and substance abuse issues aren’t exactly great at structure.

[Nitro Express]

Ace is not only my favorite member of KISS but also my second-favorite guitar-player ever. Every solo he put on a song was a full story, with a beginning, middle and end.

Have you heard GENGHIS KHAN off of his ANAMOLY solo album? It's a freaking masterpiece of guitar playing and arrangement.

Incidentally, people here can shoot me for saying this...but my all-time favorite guitarist is NOT Eddie Van Halen (he's probably number 3) but Ritchie Blackmore. His work in Deep Purple and Rainbow just kills me every time. I don't care if Blackmore is supposed to be a piece of crap in real life...he's still a guitar genius.

Eddie is number 3 for me (or tied for number 3 with Hendrix) because he watered down so much of his career with subpar albums and songs. I'm not saying that neither Ace or Blackmore ever made subpar music. I'm just saying: every piece of Ace or Ritchie guitar-playing on all their band or solo work blows me away...whereas Ed went through a period during which his playing simply became not-as-exciting to me...especially during the first half of the 90s. (I still love Ed...I just get more goosebumps these days listening to Blackmore's work on albums like BURN or LONG LIVE ROCK 'N' ROLL.)

Some things'll never change for me:

1) My favorite actors of all-time will always be Steve McQueen & Larry Hagman. Hands down. No competition.
2) My favorite guitarist will always be Ritchie Blackmore.

(...watch me go put in WOMEN AND CHILDREN FIRST after I write this and just change my mind...)

Ace had great feel. He still can knock out great songs with interesting riffs and even write good lyrics. His current studio looks amazing. The guy is the real deal. He’s an artist.

[Nitro Express]

Who's supposed to be the "we" he uses? He and...?

Don Landee produced Van Hagar, so he isn't concerned with real VH stuff and shouldn't touch, or even brush against it.

Don Landee is the sound engineer who mixed all the classic VH albums. He was the engineer Ted Templeman liked to work with, a personal friend of Eddie Van Halen and well respected by people in the Los Angeles recording industry.

[Terry]

I read about that over on VH Links, where none of those commenting on it seem to have noticed that, if you look at his own words, Mike - as you say - doesn't really seem to be a part of what is going on but is hearing about it second-hand or after the fact.

Depending on exactly what rights Anthony had signed away over the years he was involved with Van Halen, it could be a possibility he stands to make next to nothing (if anything) from any future Van Halen releases, depending on whatever the terms of his contracts stipulate.

I've read claims that Anthony signed away his rights in terms of songwriting credits from the 1984 album forward. I've also read Anthony had to sign away more rights to participate in the 2004 tour. I've read that his contract with the band was also renegotiated toward the Van Halen's favor at least once during the Hagar years. Haven't seen any of the contracts (nor am I conversant in the intricacies of business law), so I have no idea what Anthony receives these days when the Van Halen albums he played on sell...a performance royalty, perhaps? I dunno if Anthony took a one-time buyout in 2004 or what.

Point being I tend to doubt Mike Anthony's cares or concerns would be given much (if any) consideration by Alex, Wolfgang or Dave re: hypothetical future Van Halen release loaded with extras beyond whatever legal obligations the record label releasing it has to Anthony concerning whatever percentage of the profits Anthony is legally entitled to. (Again) from what I've read, Anthony hasn't had much of any relationship with any of the Van Halens or Roth in the last twenty years. It was telling to me that Anthony was approached for that proposed 'kitchen sink' reunion not by any of the band members themselves but by Van Halen's management.