BRUCE KULICK - review added 6th January 2010
Album Review: BK3 (2009)
For fans of: Heavy Rock... and a heavy retro take on hmmm
Bruce Kulick first appeared on the rock scene in the late 1970's playing in Meatloaf's touring band, although he is best known as the lead guitarist in KISS from the mid 1980's to the mid 1990's. During that period he appeared on highly rated releases such as Crazy Nights and Revenge. These days, alongside his occasional solo releases, Bruce plays guitar with veteran rockers Grand Funk Railroad.
BK3 sees Bruce joining forces with various other artists both on the writing and performing fronts. The official listing includes Kevin Churko (known for his work with Ozzy Osbourne) co-writing 'Fate', Gene Simmons (KISS) singing on 'Ain't Gonna Die', Doug Fieger (The Knack) on 'Dirty Girl', Tobias Sammett (EdGuy, Avantasia) and Eric Singer (KISS) on 'I'm The Animal', Nick Simmons (son of Gene) on 'Hand of the King', John Corabi (Mötley Crüe, Union) on 'No Friend Of Mine', and Steve Lukather (Toto) on the instrumental 'Between The Lines'. Looking beyond that there are numerous other artists and behind-the-scenes people involved making this a really big production.
The sound, as the line-up suggests, varies wildly from track to track. There's a common thread of rock throughout, but it flits between grunge, the aforementioned instrumental, all the way up to modern upbeat rock. There's something for everybody on BK3. Whether they'll like it or not is another matter...
Opening track 'Fate' took me a lot of listens to get into. I still don't rate it that highly, but my opinion now is considerably better than when I first heard it - I actually cringed back then. 'Ain’t Gonna Die' sounds like an out take from the KISS Revenge sessions. Again, it isn't a great track (although it's better than the first one) and it does Gene Simmons few favours - he really does sound as rough as a cobbled pangolin in places. 'Friend of Mine' is a step in the right direction. It has an off-centre sound and is reasonably enjoyable.
'Hand of the King' is almost proof of the saying 'Like father, like son'. Nick's voice is incredibly similar to his dads, and this song is only a few notches better than Gene's number - i.e. not great. 'I’ll Survive' is a chilled number that's frankly a tad boring. 'Dirty Girl' is in another league. It's the album's first song I'd describe as 'good' and is going to do Mr. Fieger's reputation no harm whatsoever. The retro charmed 'Final Mile' is pleasant too, although the vocals struggle to do the writing justice.
'I'm The Animal' is my favourite track on the album, purely because it's got Tobias Sammett on it and he makes anything sound good. Bias? Yes, probably. 'And I Know' is a nice track, not amazing, but there's considerably worse on the album. The instrumental 'Between The Lines' is impressive, as indeed you'd expect it to be. Last of the normal tracks 'Life' is another retro tinged entry that's a touch slow and boring.
There are a few good snippets on BK3, but not enough for my liking. It simply isn't that enjoyable. Definitely one for selecting a few tracks on iTunes and leaving the rest alone...
Check out... Tracks 6 and 8.
Track List:
01. Fate
02. Ain’t Gonna Die (featuring Gene Simmons)
03. Friend of Mine (featuring John Corabi)
04. Hand of the King (featuring Nick Simmons)
05. I’ll Survive
06. Dirty Girl (featuring Doug Fieger)
07. Final Mile
08. I'm The Animal (featuring Tobias Sammet and Eric Singer)
09. And I Know
10. Between The Lines (featuring Steve Lukather)
11. Life
12. Skydome (from the BK CD Audiodog) (Bonus track)
Label: Frontiers
Artist's website(s): Bruce Kulick , MySpace
