Gene Simmons - Asshole (CD)

Asshole
$9.48
3 out of 5.0 stars 2 Ratings (2 Reviews)

Album Details: Asshole

Release Date:01/02/2006
Label:Sanctuary Records
UPC:060768467026

User Reviews: Asshole

  • Overall:

    Disjointed but groundbreaking for Gene

    By okie  Jun 7, 2004 | 3 out of 5 found this Asshole review helpful

    Pros: Songs written by Bag + bluesy/soulful songs

    Cons: Wanna-be Lennon/Dylan songs + Carnival of Souls outtakes

    "Hi, I'm Gene Simmons. I have more money than most third-world countries combined." Substantially similar statements have been made several times by the man who claims to have been to bed with thousand of women."Sweet & Dirty Lov...e" never made a Kiss album, perhaps because it was too bluesey, swingy and un-Kiss like. Nevertheless, it rocks. "Carnival of Souls" only works in that the big-background-vocal Chorus part is outrageous as well as the riffs between that part and the verses. "Weapons of Mass Destruction" is a bad version of "Hate". "Waiting for the Morning Light" may have been co-written by Bob Dylan, but it's easily the worst song on the album. "Beautiful" is actually clever, catchy, and is Gene's best Beatles-influenced tune on the album. "Now That You're Gone" is also Beatles-influenced, but it sounds far too familiar. "Whatever Turns You On" has some very annoying gang-like and background vocals, but they grow on you; ultimately, the song is one of the catchiest tunes Simmons presents here. "Dog" was co-written by a fellow named Bag, and it works because of its combination of musical styles and genres. "Black Tongue" with the Zappa family is clearly one of the finest tracks on the album; it is catchy, well-arranged, and has those wonderful "Rocky Horror Picture Show" soundtrack background vocals in the Chorus...absolutely over the top! "If I Had a Gun" rivals it for top song. This one is clearly hip, but for the cheesy Oriental keyboard sound and production. It sounds retro and is very appealing--seems to poke fun of all the nuts out there. "I Dream a Thousand Dreams" makes me think of an island where a heavyset Jewish man is lounging in a chair with a bunch of women around, and I'm bored because that's not me in that chair! "Firestarter" is ridiculous. Obviously, Gene was just having some fun. But neither he nor Dave Navarro on guitar make the song sound any different from the original which I've already heard too many times by accident. "***hole," the title track, is immediately the most catchy, but gets old fast. The background vocals are out of tune and over the top, as are the lyrics. It's amusing--yes, it is--but even more amusing is the fact that the most contemporary-sounding and would-be-radio-prone song contains lyrics that will clearly ban it from ever being played. Anyway, at this point in his life, I don't think Gene cares. He has more money than he knows what to do with. The good thing is that this is much more entertaining than the '78 solo album or even Psycho Circus for that matter. I can't wait to hear Paul's new one!!!!! Read more Less

  • Overall:

    Lyrics:

    Music:

    A Total EmbarAssment

    By dave  Jun 7, 2004 | 1 out of 2 found this Asshole review helpful

    Pros: none

    Cons: everything

    To think that this guy used to write some good music with Kiss (about 30 years ago). Do yourself a favor and stay away from this stinker. Some of the worst music I've ever heard. I just hope the next Kiss album is better than this.

Pro Reviews: Asshole

  • All Music Guide

    "Sweet Dirty Love", the rocking kickoff to HOLE, could be one of the lesser tracks on Kiss' Double Platinum. It rocks, it's simple, it's what Gene Simmons is best at, but it doesn't hint at the album to follow. The can'tbelieveit'ssofaithfultotheoriginal cover of Prodigy's "Firestarter" is the first clue that the album is overly indulgent but its sampling/composition credit means that the Breeders' Kim Deal will receive royalty checks, and that's brilliant in anyone's book. That's the thing about HOLE, you don't listen and engage with it as much as sit back and marvel at it, as in "how does he get away with it, and on such a grand scale?". There are plenty of epic ballads in the style of the Beatles, freakish rockers with provocative lyrics, and an oddball set of guest stars. Believe it or not, Bob Dylan sat with the Demon and co wrote the very plain "Waiting for the Morning Light." That tops the bit of trivia that Lou Reed once cowrote with Simmons but it doesn't outfreak the fact th...at "Black Tongue"'s writers' credit reads Simmons/Zappa (that the fabulous, glittery photographer David LaChapelle was hired for the cover is freakout number three). Why Gail Zappa handed over some old tapes of Frank to Simmons is anyone's guess, but he builds an almost worthy rocker around the bit of Frankontape and the Zappa kids seem to be having a lot of fun singing backup. It's almost infectious, but more so is the singalong title track, even better on the edited version of the album since all the naughty "A" words get replaced with a ridiculous sheep bleat. "Whatever Turns You On (Turns Me On)" is the other singalong but this time it's groovy with a near jam band feel. Former playmate Shannon Tweed and her family are in the chorus just to make it extra freaky. - David Jeffries, All Music Guide Read more Less

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Biography

Gene Simmons

Although Gene Simmons found fame as a bloodspurting, firebreathing, bassplaying demon with Kiss, his early years were about as far removed as you can possibly get from the notorious heavy metal band. Born August 25, 1949, and named Chaim Witz, he and his mother left Israel by the late '50s, relocating to the United States (New York City, to be exact). Witz's name was th... Read more