• Rockology

    Nearly 9 years after his death, Eric Carr finally gets his music heard.  While most of these tracks were recorded between 1987-1989, they reportedly fell on deaf ears when presented to the KISS camp for inclusion on their albums.  Thanks to long-time friend and fellow KISS "employee" Bruce Kulick, Eric's music is represented here over 12 tracks in various stages of completion.  Some sound like final mixes while others are in their rawest form.  Overall, Rockology represents an interesting look into what Eric Carr had to offer the music world.

    Eyes of Love, a funky song that has a hit written all over it, opens the album.  If this song was released in 1988 or '89, it would have been all over The Headbanger's Ball.  I picture the video containing a sleazy blonde dancing around while Eric belts this one out!  Eric plays drums, bass and all vocals.  Bruce Kulick plays guitar and actually overdubbed the solo in 1999.  Great song!

    Somebody's Waiting is next and sounds like a ballad Journey would have recorded.  Whoever is singing harmonies during the chorus is a lost talent!  Once again, Eric plays drums, bass and all vocals.  Bruce Kulick plays acoustic, lead and rhythm guitars and, again, overdubbed the solo in 1999.

    Heavy Metal Baby is a "work-in-progress," as the music track is there but features Eric singing jibberish throughout to get the vibe of what the vocal track would sound like.  From what I can tell, this sounds like a good song but it's a bit distracting hearing "danno bah tuh whoa" for four and a half minutes.  The solo is a sweet one from Bruce and Eric is featured on a pre-programmed drum machine.

    Just Can't Wait is an instrumental number that, according to the liner notes, was completed without a vocal track.  Keyboards and acoustic guitars were added in later to the 1987 demo.  This is a catchy song that is lighter fare than we might expect from Eric and it has a radio-friendly vibe to it.

    Mad Dog is another rocker that exists in raw form here without completed vocals.  The only discernible words are "Like a mad dog, mad dog..." at the beginning of the chorus.  Eric plays drums and bass with Bruce on guitar.

    You Make Me Crazy is another good rocker that sounds like a very raw demo.  More jibberish over a solid backbeat and another strong solo from Bruce.

    Nightmare is a demo from early '87 with Eric once again running through the vocal hijinks, but it sounds like the chorus is at least partially finished.  This is one of the best songs on the album with a cool acoustic guitar part and yet another great solo from Bruce.  This one would have been a hit.

    Nightmare (Live Demo) differs from Nightmare in that it is obviously one of the first times this song was played.  Recorded on what sounds like hand-held mini cassette recorder, all that is played is an acoustic guitar by Eric while he taps the beat and an electric guitar by Bruce.  There is basically no vocal other than "da-da-da" evident throughout.  The song ends abruptly when someone knocks the recorder over and everyone gets a chuckle.

    Too Cool For School has a heavy bass drum track reminiscent of the sound on Creatures of The Night.  A little banter opens the song where one guy tells another "She doesn't even know you're alive!" much to his pal's dismay.  This song almost sounds like it might have been recorded in the early 80's, as the vocal and drum parts sound typical of that era and the guitars sound unlike those on the rest of the tracks.  Other than the backbeat, I don't really care for this song.

    Tiara is a sappy love ballad that Eric plays on the keyboards over a drum loop.  The vocals on this song are really the standout as Eric displays an impressive range.  I'm not sure but it sounds as if Paul Stanley may be singing background vocals on this one.  The voices blend together nicely and coupled with the sole keybaoard and drum track, generate a dreamy effect.  Great song!

    Can You Feel It is a mid-tempo rocker that, as written in the liner notes, has Bryan Adams stamped all over it.  This, too, is one of the better songs on the album which showcases Eric's vocal talents.  Like Too Cool For School, Can You Feel It has an early '80's vibe to it.

    Nasty Boys is an anthem waiting to happen.  This song has a real King Kobra/Rough Cutt feel to it.  I really like this song and if I had to pick my favorite on the album, it would be a toss-up between this and Eyes Of Love.  Cool drums from Eric, too!

    Like I'm sure many others were, I was really surprised by the material on Rockology.  This is strong stuff and it's a shame that KISS never allowed him more input on their songs.  To stand alone, the finished product would have made an excellent rock record and I can't recommend it enough.  To see where Eric was headed before his untimely death makes me even more sad that his true musical talent was not realized.

Interesting Facts:
 

• Before Rockology was released, a 4-song EP entitled The Rockheads was released and limited to only 5,000 copies.  The 4 songs are the last 4 on the Rockology album, Too Cool For School, Tiara, Can You Feel It and Nasty Boys.
• At the request of the Carravello family, Bruce Kulick produced and did the final mixing for Rockology.
• Adam Mitchell co-wrote all of the songs, along with Bruce and Eric.  Adam first appeared in the KISS camp during the recording of the tracks for the Killers album, as he co-wrote I'm A Legend Tonight and Partners In Crime.  He also co-wrote Creatures of The Night, Keep Me Comin' and Danger from 1982's Creatures of The Night album.
• Too Cool For School, Tiara, Can You Feel It and Nasty Boys were written for an animated cartoon project that Eric was working on called The Rockheads.  They were supposed to be a hard rock band.
• The Japanese version of Rockology contains a second disc with 3 bonus tracks: Eyes Of Love (Alternate Version), Four Day Creep (by ESP) and 495 (Demo).

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