Kulick, Bruce: BK3

Well you wait years for a Kiss related release and in the space of a few months, three come along at once! To be fair to Bruce Kulick, he has actually been one of the busier members of the Kiss family in recent years, as he is guitarist in Grand Funk Railroad, plays with ex, and current Kiss member Eric Singer in ESP (Eric Singer Project) as well as numerous sessions and clinic work. Having said that, it has been seven years since Kulick's last solo foray, however there are still some links to his past in evidence throughout BK3. Other than Kulick himself the interest for Kiss fans is increased by the appearance of Singer on drums on "I'm The Animal", Gene Simmons' son Nick on vocals on "Hand of the King" and the demon tongued one himself behind the mic for "Ain't Gonna Die". The impressive guest list doesn't end their either with Kulcik's ex Union band mate (and ex Motley Crue singer) John Corabi handling vocals on "No Friend Of Mine", Tobias Sammet (Edguy, Avantasia) features on the same track as Singer, Steve Lukather adds some magic to "Between The Lines" and most surprisingly of all, Doug Fieger of The Knack (of "My Sharona" fame) features on "Dirty Girl".

So it's quite a mixed bag of guests and that reflects the music on BK3 as well. Kulick's fret work remains as fluid and recognisable as ever and on this occasion he has put his talents to good use. The heavy crunch of the likes of "Fate" or "No Friend Of Mine" which both would have happily featured on either of the last two Kiss discs he (officially) played on, Revenge and Carnival Of Souls is excellent and unsurprisingly Gene Simmons also gives "Ain't Gonna Die" a Kiss feel although the sound is a little more modern than that of his day job.

Elsewhere it's a different story as "I'm The Animal" is a great straight on rocker with a killer riff and Sammet's expressive vocals, whereas Fieger brings a light, airy feel to "Dirty Girl" which shimmers with a gentle easy going beat and Hendrix-lite riff. Hendrix is also in evidence as inspiration on instrumental "Between The Lines" where Kulick and Lukather trade licks and fire off solos with style and grace. Bruce also features on vocals on a few tracks and his voice, whilst never really the strongest, varies from a lazy drawl on "And I Know", to a Tom Petty like spoken/sung vocal on "Life", he's not a natural singer, however Kulick's voice does possess character and is capable of matching the music.

BK3 is an eclectic collection of all out rock, intricate quirky passages and excellent guitar workouts, it isn't the most instant of collections, however given a little time it does reveal hidden charms and is well worth regular outings.

Track Listing
1.Fate
2. Ain't Gonna Die
3. No Friend Of Mine
4. Hand of the King
5. I'll Survive
6. Dirty Girl
7. Final Mile
8. I'm The Animal
9. And I Know
10. Between The Lines
11. Life
12. Skydome (bonus track)

Added: January 13th 2010
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
Related Link: Artists Web Site
Hits: 2185
Language: english

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