The Hide Your Heart Dilemma Pt. 2 of 3
Molly Hatchett (1989) and their music, I have to admit, are largely unfamiliar to me, but that doesn't matter, because at least here they sound a bit like the Dire Straits, who are all the more close, only in more American. And that turns out to be a doubly good thing and pretty much the most original version, if you can say that. I.e. small variations in the arrangement with emphasis on lead guitar, quite identical dramaturgy, but at least with small moments of surprise (for someone who only knew the Kiss or Ace versions), and the somewhat too round and galloping bass almost turns it into a rousing feel good track. But hey, this is as close as I get to a Dire Straits version of Hide Your Heart, and I don't want to complain. Jukebox music where people take their whole family out for a BBQ or burger comes to mind.
The solo: An unexpected real burner, and doesn't sound like the Knopflers at all, but more like a turbocharged, red-hot, flaming and smoking battery drill burning itself into the ear canals or just about anything else. But that should mean something good.
Molly Hatchett (1989)
Ace Frehley (1989) comes closest to the Kiss version, but only in terms of the straight chords. Ace's voice is his weakness, so you get much less drama, but somehow likeable rocking buddy music. As if the three musketeers were going out for a few beers together because one of them was having problems with his girlfriend, the other two were trying to infect him halfway through the evening with a good buddy mood out of loyalty alone, but all three ended up warbling this beautiful song on the way back to their musketeer lives until dawn. Apparently even Peter Criss is singing along somewhere in the background. Why didn't he cover it too? I will never find out.
The solo: What solo? Rather a short extra intermezzo to compensate for the lack of drama. It would fit quite well as a musical illustration in a sequence for a youth sports movie, in which the young protagonist does a few extra training laps to demonstrate how seriously he takes his training, and of course wins the competition the following day, with a few extra dramatic complications. I had always assumed that an Ace Frehley solo would sound a little different.
Ace Frehley (1989)
To be continued…
