By 1981, KISS was on the ropes. Due to a number of factors, including the release of two pop-oriented albums, the group had alienated much of the KISS Army. In an attempt to revitalize their carrier, the decision was made to go big with the type of LP that would impress both critics and rock fans: a concept album. There was the belief amongst some in the KISS camp that the record would be a critical success and a commercial blockbuster. But it was ultimately neither—it bombed. Years later, long after the failure of what’s remembered as KISS’s weirdest album, something surprising happened: an ambitious musical based on the LP was staged by an American high school.
KISS should be given some credit for at least trying something different with their 1981 concept album, Music From ‘The Elder’, but those who pushed for the band to go in this direction—Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, and producer Bob Ezrin—didn’t go far enough. It was shortsighted and naïve to think that the record’s formulaic story of a “hero’s journey,” which was half-assed in execution, was going to both win over a press that had consistently dismissed KISS, and appeal to those who bought that recent blockbuster concept album Pink Floyd’s The Wall (which Ezrin produced). To make matters worse, the powers that be at KISS’s label, Polygram, didn’t believe in the project. The suits insisted that the two tracks they thought would have the most impact in the singles market (“The Oath,” and “A World Without Heroes”) be moved to start each side of the LP, which KISS agreed to. With those changes, an album that was already hard to follow was made effectively impenetrable.
When Music From ‘The Elder’ was released in November 1981, all it really did was confuse everyone. Most critics, remaining KISS fans, and those in the general public still paying attention, couldn’t understand why KISS would release such a record. The album sold poorly, and the band abandoned the project by March 1982 or so. Guitarist Ace Frehley was against the concept album idea from the beginning, and was so frustrated by the entire Elder endeavor, that it contributed to his eventual departure from KISS.
Japanese picture sleeve.
Initially, a lavish tour was planned, as well as subsequent albums continuing the concept. The three principals had such blind faith in the The Elder, that the record’s success was considered a foregone conclusion. When Music From ‘The Elder’ ends, there is the implication that what you have just heard is only “part one” of the story, and even the title of the LP alludes to the eventuality of a film. This makes the failure of the project that much greater, as there obviously was the belief that Music From ‘The Elder’ was only the beginning.
Over the years, Simmons and Stanley have dissed the album, stating that it was the completely wrong approach for KISS, and admitting that their egos got in the way. They have seemed embarrassed by the album and its commercial bombing, and given the impression that they wish the record would just disappear from their discography.
Italian picture sleeve.
Surprisingly, a cult surrounding Music From ‘The Elder’ has grown over the years. While many fans of the group either don’t like the album or are simply unaware of its existence, there is a portion of their fanbase that delights in the oddity of the record. Simmons and Stanley first appeared to warm to The Elder during their acoustic tour of KISS conventions in 1995. “A World Without Heroes” was consistently a part of their set and was included on the Unplugged album. When convention audiences shouted out requests for Elder songs, the band would often attempt to play the material, seemingly bemused by the overwhelming positive responses.
The past few years KISS have occasionally teased the faithful by playing snippets of songs from The Elder during the annual KISS Kruise. During the 2013 Kruise, they played “The Oath” in full for the first time since 1982. Although KISS had performed “A World Without Heroes” numerous times, the song could have come from another album and falls in line with their superhero image. But “The Oath” is a key song from The Elder, and is sung at times by Stanley in an uncharacteristic falsetto. At the conclusion of this, just the second live airing of “The Oath,” Simmons walks over to Stanley, and the two exchange a fist bump. They then take a moment to bask in the glow of applause that they had, in a sense, been waiting over 30 years to hear.
As strange as it might seem to base a high school musical on KISS’s weirdest and most obscure record, the Elder story, centered around a young person’s journey from being “just a boy” to a hero, is one every good teenager would want to explore. The play was put on by the students of Athens High School in Athens, Wisconsin during the 1996-97 school year. At the time, word spread about the unusual production, and the kids hit the road after being invited to perform at a theater in Nashville. A circulating video of the musical was recorded on November 10th, 1996 in Athens. That night, KISS played an arena gig in Dallas. The group was in the midst of a massively successful reunion trek with the original four members. Not one Music From ‘The Elder’ song was played during the entire tour.
Listen to Music From ‘The Elder’, as configured for the 1997 reissue of the album to reflect the band’s preferred running order, here. If you want more insight into the Elder period, look no further than this 500+ page book.
Previously on Dangerous Minds:
KISS comes ‘Alive!’: How to market a band of superheroes
The surprising origins of the KISS merchandising machine that generated $100 million in the 1970s