ALBUM OF THE WEEK # 323 UNION - UNION (1998)

[RJhog (Admin)]

Disclaimer: All info that does not reside in my brain is gathered from wikipedia.com (mostly because Jon can't stand it) unless otherwise noted.

This week I fear that I stray into Jon's territory.  I picked the self-titled debut by Union as the Album of the Week. I guess it's more of a "lost or forgotten" album, however, in all fairness to myself, Album of the Week doesn't really have any stipulations.  Whereas Lost/Forgotten Album of the Week pretty much needs to be lost or forgotten.  Gosh, I hope that Jon doesn't get upset with me.   

Anyway, I don't have a whole lot to say about the album, other than the fact that it is pretty good.  Oh, and that the drumming and guitars sound exactly like those found on Kiss' Carnival Of Souls release from a couple of years earlier. The tone is almost identical.  October Morning Wind is a really good song.  There's exactly one sentence written on the album in it's Wikipedia page, so the tidbits will be few:

• Union featured John Corabi from Motley Crue (he's the real reason I picked this one, because I've been spending a good bit of time with his Dead Daisies release).
• Union also featured Bruce Kulick, who spent ten plus years in Kiss prior to the formation of Union.  Kulick has always been cool in my book.
• One other member of the band was Brent Fitz, who drums with Slash's latest band (no, not the reunited GNR).  Also, I just realized he spent some time in Econoline Crush.  Where have I heard that band's name before?

I will also add that I like Corabi's voice better now, since he has that Steven Tyler sound down pat.  You can find a 2 CD set featuring this album and the follow up, Blue Room, on Amazon for sixteen dollars.  I wouldn't mind hearing the second one, but I don't wanna buy it in said version since I already have this one. 

Tracks:

1. Old Man Wise

2. Around Again

3. Pain Behind Your Eyes

4. Love (I Don't Need It Anymore)

5. Heavy D...

6. Let It Flow

7. Empty Soul

8. October Morning Wind

9. Get Off My Cloud

10. Tangerine

11. Robin's Song

[Jon]

WHAT IN THE BLUE FRAK IS THIS??? YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE POSTING FRAKKING ALBUMS LIKE THIS! THIS IS MY FRAKKING TERRITORY AND ANYONE WHO INVADES MY FRAKKING TERRITORY CAN EXPECT DERIOUS FRAKKING CONSEQUENCES. THIS IS THE MOST FRAKKITY FRAKKED POST I HAVE EVER SEEN HERE ON THIS FRAKKING SITE. WHAT IS YOUR FRAKKING PROBLEM??????

Other than THAT, all I can really say is "meh". It's not bad, but it's just a callback to grunge. Corabi sounds allright here, but he sounded much better on Motley Crue's greatest album ever. It really offers nothing new and it's the genre of music I could (mostly) care less about, but it is listenable. However it's not something I'm wanting to buy or really need to listen to again. 

Well, that about does it for my checklist. I can now cross of "Listen to that Union album (no, not that Yes album since I've already heard that one) but the other one". That's pretty cool, I guess. 

YOU'RE NOTHING BUT A FRAKKER!!!!!

 

[Scott]

I believe it was I who first played tracks from this band on here sometime around July 28, 2010 at 1:41pm, if memory serves me correctly (and it usually does) and at the time I recall you saying something to the effect of …

“This whole playlist rocked and I really liked the Union tune. I like Bruce Kulick and miss his presence in Kiss. For some reason, I've never gotten around to picking up any Union material....maybe one of these days.”

Or something like that…

First off, all my playlists rock, and well it looks like one those days has come. Tangerine was the song that first grabbed me, it was either on the radio or a friend at work had the song or both – probably both because my memory is that good.

There is grunge connection but its mostly because of the music of the time and Corabis slight bend towards Alt Rock, something that’s only slightly still present in the Dead Daisies. I say it just flat out rocks. Old Man Wise, Love (I Don’t Need It Anymore), Tangerine and a couple real nice acoustic tracks which seem to be a homage to the unplugged phenomena of the time as well.

The Blue Room is a worthy follow up and worth having in the collection as well. I still spin each fairly frequently. Nice post and glad you came around to this band…

[RJhog (Admin)]

I enjoyed those acoustic tunes as well.

[Niels (Mod)]

The singer sounds like Dan Maccafferty.

I have not much knowledge about this band, album, Corabi or whatever.

I know Kulick, of course, but have always thought of him as THE mistake-member of KISS, that is from when I did care.

I never liked his solo's. You can't remember one from another, not like Frehley's.

First song was actually okay, not my style exactly, these days, but okay.

Next song has an okay start, and I can hear that 90's Heavy Rock-sound. A darker sound (very much inspired by Soundgarden), than the 80's, and that suits me fine. But I certainly prefer Soundgarden themselves.

But I doubt, I can listen to this album all the way through. Copy-cat comes to my mind.

Unlike most of you, I don't care at all for Dead Daisies, whatsoever. Second song was listenable as well.

Third song, and they suddently want to be Nirvana. The singer starts to kind of annoy me, Corabi, whoever that dude is, meaning I don't care at all. Third song is not very good.

And fourth song is back to Soundgarden again. Corabi sounds like a drunk singing in a Bar-band. Fourth song sucks.

Fifth song, and it's Cobain/AIC/Soundgarden again. What a weak song! Evrybody had to have the same sound back then, huh? Or at least the most un-original bands. 

Sixth song, and it's imbarrising how much they rip of Soundgarden!!

Seventh song, and I'm still thinking: What an idiot, Corabi I mean. I really can't take this band or album serious at all!!

This song sucks big time!!!

Arrrgh...song no. 8, and they are getting on my 90's nerves. What a joke this band is?! They did realize, that the 90's was pretty much over, when they released this shit, right?

The rest of the songs are as much crap as the former. I regret, kind of liking the first couple of songs, but I was kind of back in the mid-90's in my mind, I guess. In ´98, I would had laughed of this album, as I do now. 

If the songs had been better, the singer another person, the album was released in 1994, then MAYBE....maybe I would kind of had liked this. Now, I feel like, I've wasted my time.

Still, it's nice to have you posting AOTW, boss