Description
Music from “The Elder” is the ninth studio album by American rock band Kiss, released on November 10, 1981 by Casablanca Records. The album marked a substantial departure from their previous output with the concept and orchestral elements. It was their first album with drummer Eric Carr, who adopted the persona of “The Fox”, and the last with lead guitarist Ace Frehley until their 1996 reunion.
Due to poor sales, Kiss did not embark on a supporting tour for the first time in its eight-year history, opting instead to make a handful of promotional appearances. Outside of lead single “A World Without Heroes”, later performed on the band’s 1995 MTV Unplugged appearance, Kiss has avoided live performances of songs from the album following initial promotional appearances in 1981. On January 15, 1982, they performed “A World Without Heroes”, “The Oath” and “I” on the TV show Fridays and on Dec 7, 1981 they lip-synced the song “I” for an episode of Gold Gold.
Critical reception was relatively kind on release, but the album proved to be a commercial failure and was, for a long time, unpopular with the involved parties, label, musicians and critics alike, even considering it to be one of the worst albums ever made. In recent years, the album has garnered some positive reappraisal, with some critics admitting the record has issues, but is still a concept album worthy of note.
