Guitarist Bob Kulick Dead at age 70

News broke today that long-time session guitarist Bob Kulick died today at the age of 70.  While Bob may not be a household name, he had a very good career in music and got to work with the likes of Meatloaf, Michael Bolton, WASP and most notably KISS and Paul Stanley on his 1978 solo album. Bob is the brother of Bruce Kulick who would go on to be an official member of KISS in 1984 until the reunion of the original band in 1996.

Bob himself came close to being Kiss' guitar player. He auditioned when they were looking for a guitar player and he apparently nailed the audition, but Ace Frehley came in right after and was more what the band was looking for as a member of Kiss. While Bob missed out on the gig, he would do session work with Kiss, playing guitar on the studio disc side of Alive II (1977) and the new songs on the Kiss compilation album Killers (1982).  When Kiss released individual solo albums in 1978, Paul Stanley enlisted Bob Kulick to play all the lead guitar on the album, so if you want as close of an idea as you're going to get as to what Kiss may have sounded like with Bob, give Paul Stanley's '78 record a listen. It's a good album, but in my personal opinion, Ace's would be the most solid of the 4 solo records released by Kiss in 1978.

Along with his session work with various artists from Lou Reed to Diana Ross including those mentioned above, he also worked as a producer on a number of tribute albums throughout the 2000's.  A storied career and working closely with some of the biggest names in music. Even though he didn't land that Kiss gig, things seemed to work out for Bob as a session player. 

Rest in peace, Bob Kulick. 

-CMM

Happy 75th Birthday, Bob Seger

Blow out some candles for Bob Seger. The singer-songwriter legend from Detroit turns 75 years old today. Seger began his career in the 60's and enjoyed some local success.  The bulk of his success and work his is most widely known for would come in the late 1970's with albums like the live success "Live Bullet" (1976), Night Moves (1976), Stranger in Town (1978) and his only #1 album, Against The Wind from 1980 and he would dominate the airwaves during this time.  Like many successful artists, Bob found it difficult to find new success in the flashy and glamorous music video age of the 1980's but he maintained a high profile with his classic rock hits that would become radio staples. "Old Time Rock and Roll", one of his album "Stranger in Town" would become perhaps his most well-known song thanks to a famous scene in the 1983 film Risky Business starring Tom Cruise. A scene itself that has been parodied many times over the years, all with the famous piano intro to the song starting things off. In the 90's, Seger's voice would be in our ears every day with the 1986 #1 hit song "Like A Rock" used as the soundtrack for many Chevrolet truck commercials from 1991 until 2004.  His song "Turn The Page" has been covered by many artists over the years, but none more famous than Metallica's 1998 cover that would turn out to be a #1 hit for the band off their covers album Garage, Inc.

It would take too long and way too much research than I have time for to do even a brief bio of Seger's career, so I'm just going to run down my top 5 Seger songs.

5) Turn The Page  -  A bit of an obvious choice. I love the original, I love his live version on Live Bullet. I love the Metallica version and the Waylon Jennings version from 1985. It's just a great song, great for car rides, great for listing at home and also a great campfire tune if you're hanging out with some friends and wanna strum a few tunes.

4) Old Time Rock and Roll -  This is perhaps his most catchy song. Its the type of song that would fit just about any mood and any mixed playlist. The type of song that someone who probably isn't even much of a classic rock fan would still enjoy. It's an anthem that resonates with generations well past this song's release.   "Call me a relic, call me what you will. Say I'm old-fashion, say I'm over-the-hill. Today's music ain't got the same soul. I like that old-time rock and roll." A line the singer boldly states with no shame. I know a lot of us have been there. The only difference is in this song Bob scoffs off the invitation to a disco club whereas today it would be some new rave or dubstep night.

3) Still The Same - The #4 charting hit from the album "Stranger In Town". Not much to say. Just a cool, catchy tune. A nice mid-tempo rock ballad from 1978 that almost evokes feelings of 1958 in its arrangement and the background singers in the chorus are a nice touch, too. I've always enjoyed this one.

2) Night Moves - The title track off the 1976 album. For me personally, this was probably my earliest favorite Seger tune. Night Moves is also the first Bob Seger album that I ever listened to so its a bit of a sentimental/nostalgic favorite for me, too. I could have gone with "Mainstreet" or 'Rock and Roll Never Forgets", both great songs, but the title track has always been a top favorite of mine and it also represents that album very well. This song was another top ten hit for Bob, reaching #4 in the US. 

1) Against The Wind -  Well, I'm older now and still runnin' against the wind. The #5 charting hit of his lone #1 album. To me this song is just classic rock perfection. A great radio tune. Bob sounds great. The band sounds great. Its one of those songs you find yourself relaxing to, but also one that you also want to pay attention to the actual lyrics as well. A catchy, relaxing tune about weathering the storms of whatever life brings you. Probably something a lot of you out there right now could find some comfort in listening to. It's a huge hit off a huge album and also one of my favorites, so this was a pretty easy#1 for me.

Closing thoughts...

Thanks for reading, everyone. Bob Seger today is pretty much retired. He finished his farewell tour last year, so who knows, right now he could be reading this blog. If you are, know that your music was very much appreciated by a teenager who got into his dad's dusty old record collection in the mid-2000s and claimed them as his own.  I'm no Bob Seger historian so some one else will be much more qualified to do a more thorough write-up on the man's life and career. This is just a post of appreciation from a fan and wishing a very happy 75th birthday to a music legend. 

Take care and God bless.

-CMM

Metallica Perform New Version of "Blackened" From Home

How does it feel to be alive? Metallica performs "Blackened 2020"

On May 1 Metallica joined John Fogerty, Dennis DeYoung, Paul Stanley, and other music artists in performing from their homes while the world deals with COVID-19.  What better song than an uplifting tune about the end of the world? 

The performance of the lead track off their 1988 album "...And Justice For All" is semi-acoustic with an altered arrangement and a new guitar solo by lead guitarist Kirk Hammett. All four members are performing from their homes in what oddly enough is the band's first "live" (or at least public) performance since September of last year when their Worldwired Tour went on hold while singer/guitarist James Hetfield went into rehab.

The video can be seen on YouTube and the band's various official social media and below this post.  In my opinion, this is a great stripped-down rendition of one of the band's heaviest, fastest and complex songs. It would have been easy enough to just do an acoustic, sentimental performance of "Nothing Else Matters", but they went all out with a semi-obscure fan-favorite that clearly took a bit of work to put together. Big thumbs up here and it's also nice just to see these guys playing together again... even if they aren't actually together.