Bruce Kulick - 'BK3'

With a resume that includes Meat Loaf's original Bat Out Of Hell, more than a decade with KISS and nearly as long with Grand Funk Railroad, Bruce Kulick has plenty of credibility as a solo artist. His third solo album shows off his own guitar, vocal and songwriting skills as well as those of several well known guest artists. The result make for an enjoyable ride.

Bruce Kulick has been around. He was in the band for Meat Loaf's Bat Out Of Hell tour in 1977-78. He holds the record for longest tenure as lead guitarist for KISS, from 1984-96. Since 2001 he has been lead guitarist for Grand Funk Railroad. He has recorded with Billy Squier and Michael Bolton. And he's recorded three solo albums.

Kulick's aptly titled third solo album, BK3 (2/2/10, Rocket Science/Twenty 4 Records) showcases his hard rock guitar, vocal and songwriting skills. He also gets some vocal and instrumental assists from former KISS mates Gene Simmons and Eric Singer, ace axeman Steve Lukather (ex-Toto) and The Knack's Doug Fieger, among others.

You could almost consider BK3 to be something of a concept album. Lyrically, it is essentially Kulick's autobiography, drawing on life experiences that include loves lost and won, and the 2003 incident in which he was shot outside a Hollywood club.

Musically, hard rock guitar is, of course, predominant, but not overpowering. The mix is such that each of the power trio elements (guitar, bass, drums) gets equal treatment. The blend makes the album quite listenable. Kulick co-produced the album with Jeremy Rubolino (who also engineered.)

The inclusion of an instrumental ("Between The Lines" - Lukather's cameo) and a ballad ("Life") adds interesting variety, but the two are grouped together at the end of the album. It might have been nice if they had been introduced higher up in the track list, and separated from one another, using their "differentness" to bridge other tracks rather than relegating them to the end.

Kulick's lyrics are well crafted and his guitar work is outstanding. It's an album that invites listening more than once. It's "full" enough that each time you listen, you make another little discovery that you previously missed. It isn't likely that BK3 will get a whole lot of notice outside the army of diehard KISS fans, and that's unfortunate. It's good, solid hard rock, with some better than average stories to tell.