VINNIE VINCENT INVASION – Vinnie Vincent Invasion
Vinnie Vincent Invasion – Vinnie Vincent Invasion (2003, Capitol Records)
Original Release: 1986, Chrysalis Records
Track List:
1. “Boyz Are Gonna Rock” … 4:54
2. “Shoot U Full of Love” … 4:44
3. “No Substitute” … 3:52
4. “Animal” … 5:33
5. “Twisted” … 4:49
6. “Do You Wanna Make Love” … 3:23
7. “Back on the Streets” … 4:50
8. “I Wanna Be Your Victim” … 4:36
9. “Baby-O” … 3:43
10. “Invasion” … 7:50
Band:
Robert Fleischman – Vocals
Vinnie Vincent – Guitars, Vocals
Dana Strum – Bass; Backing Vocals
Bobby Rock – Drums
Produced by: Vinnie Vincent and Dana Strum
I’ve got a lot of respect for Vinnie Vincent. He wrote and/or played on some of the better non-makeup KISS songs. His personality didn’t mix too well with Gene & Paul and according to Gene he was fired for being “unethical”. In my own opinion, I think it probably had more to do with a struggle for power and control over songwriting, but then again, that could possibly cut Gene out of more than his fair share, so I guess to him losing money is unethical!
So how does the co-writer of KISS classics such as “Unholy”, “I Still Love You”, “I Love It Loud” and “Lick It Up” fare on his own? Well, it’s pretty generic 80s melodic hard rock/heavy metal with your generic nasally melodic rock singer. I guess Gene & Paul were right to cut Vinnie off during the middle of live solos and to edit the solos he recorded for the KISS albums because the guy is kinda all over the place. There’s just so much senseless noodling that it actually distracts and takes away from the songs. The talent Vinnie possessed cannot be denied, but maybe he really did need someone like Mr. Simmons or Mr. Stanley to rein him in.
The band itself is pretty interesting: Ex-Journey singer Robert Fleischman (never released an album with ‘em though), Dana Strum (would would later co-found Slaughter) and Bobby Rock (later joined Nitro)
Highlights: “Boyz Are Gonna Rock”, “Shoot You Full of Love”, “Animal”, “Back on the Streets”, “Baby-O”, “Invasion”
Posted on March 19, 2009, in Vinnie Vincent Invasion and tagged Classic Rock, Glam, Glam Metal, Glam Rock, Hair Metal, Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, KISS, Metal, Music, Pop Metal, Rock, Vinnie Vincent, Vinnie Vincent Invasion. Bookmark the permalink. 3 Comments.
I’m a HUGE KISS fan and when a member of the KISS family tree would release something I was all over it. I had been reading about VVI in Hit Parader and Circus for months so I bought the album the day it came out. Back in the day I thought it was one of the best albums. Today I prefer ALL SYSTEMS GO.
You are absolutely right, Vinnie can play and write but he needs a catalyst to keep him in check, that’s when he’s at his best. Some of the solos are way too wanking and the lyrics on this record are too sexual. I see it now as Vinnie trying to go for shock and out-KISS his former band.
Steve
Heavy Metal Addiction
Steve, I prefer ALL SYSTEMS GO as well.
It seems like even today there’s a lot of hype that goes into VVI, but it’s mostly just fluff. I couldn’t wait to finally listen to the album, but it didn’t live up to how other people were talking it up.
VINNIE….HAD A BIG HEAD-BUT WAS A GREAT GUITAR PLAYER !!!!,BUT THE MAN WASN’T ALL THAT-[MARK St JOHN & BRUCE KULINK] ESPICALLY BRUCE {WAS/IS A MUCH BETTER GUITAR PLAYER} THAN VINNIE IS !!!! I’M NOT TAKING ANYTHING AWAY FROM THE MAN DON’T GET ME WRONG !!!! I COULD NOT DREAM OF PLAYING SOME OF THE LICKS HE DOES,THE WAY I HEAR HE WANTED TO TAKE [KISS] THE BAND OVER WAS WRONG THATS WHY HE WAS WITH KISS NO LONGER THAN HE WAS OUTSIDE OF ACE BRUCE WS WITH THEM THE LONGEST.BUT WE DON’T HEAR A THING ABOUT BRUCE–{WHATS UP WITH THAT HUH ????}–what ever happened to vinnie ? is he still alive ? making music ? can someone tell me about him if so hit me with an email at….blkdragonsworld@gmail.com….i’ll be glad to hear anything about him THANKS ALL !!!!
Wayne
4-8-09
6:30pm