Living Out of Touch
Pushin' Hard
What Love Can Be
17
The Shuffle
Get It On
Now Forever After
Hideaway
Loving You
Shout It Out
There's no doubt that Kingdom Come's 1988 debut album made waves, mostly for its startling resemblance to Led Zeppelin. Some were even convinced that Kingdom Come was the work of Zeppelin themselves.
Led by vocalist Lenny Wolf, who could – and did – wail like Robert Plant, the band succeeded in delivering a classic rock sound to a new generation of rock fans, with tracks like the suspiciously Kashmir-esque Get It On receiving substantial airplay on both MTV and rock radio stations.
There was no avoiding the Zeppelin-sized elephant in the room, and it didn’t help when the band claimed – ludicrously, it has to be said – that they'd never listened to Jimmy Page & Co. But with a monstrous drum sound – supplied by the late James Kottak – hammer riffs and stratospheric vocals, Kingdom Come is still an album worth seeking out.
Every week, Album of the Week Club listens to and discusses the album in question, votes on how good it is, and publishes our findings, with the aim of giving people reliable reviews and the wider rock community the chance to contribute.
Other albums released in February 1988
- Ain't Misbehavin' - UFO
- I'm Your Man - Leonard Cohen
- Lita - Lita Ford
- Space Wrangler - Widespread Panic
- The Seventh One - Toto
- All About Eve - All About Eve
- Starfish - The Church
- Tattooed Beat Messiah - Zodiac Mindwarp and the Love Reaction
- Children - The Mission
- Now and Zen - Robert Plant
- Corrosion - Front Line Assembly
- Falling Up - Kevin Ayers
- If You Can't Lick 'Em... Lick 'Em - Ted Nugent
- Pinker and Prouder Than Previous - Nick Lowe
What they said...
"Despite the over-the-top Zeppelin comparisons, the main riff for the opener Living Out of Touch is more Robin Trower than Jimmy Page. The verse contains a calm strum over consistent bass and drum beat, with the riff returning during the chorus to give the song a more driving and intense vibe. Pushin’ Hard is more standard eighties hair metal, albeit with some good dynamics such as the mid section." (Classic Rock Review)
"Kingdom Come still holds up a worthy listen for fans of 80s hair metal/melodic rock, even if it's obviously not the most original thing ever to come down the pike. Hell, in this day and age, current retro rockers like Greta van Fleet are consistently praised for their similarities to Led Zeppelin, so it's a mystery to me why poor Kingdom Come got so much flack for it." (Spinditty)
"Dubbed 'Kingdom Clone' by Jimmy Page and many fans, the late-'80s German-American hair metal act used the Plant-like vocal timbres of singer Lenny Wolf to pull off What Can Love Be, which sounds a lot like Since I've Been Loving You as heard in a parallel universe. Get It On incorporates the stuttering riffs of The Ocean and Black Dog and the ascending progression of Kashmir, while Wolf's vocals are highly reminiscent of Robert Plant." (George Case - Led Zeppelin FAQ)
What you said...
Peter Thomas Webb: Kingdom Come might have reminded folks of Led Zeppelin in 1988, but in retrospect the splashy reverb all over everything and Boom! Cha! studio drumbeats situate this album decidedly in the 1980s. Anyway, I've never understood all the handwringing over the fleet of Zep rivals that comes along every so often, from the same people who maintain the Zeppelin sound was the greatest thing ever. Kingdom Come's debut album is a pretty good eighties rock album – made especially credible by Lenny Wolf, whose vocal chops, like Tom Keifer's in Cinderella, sell the formula. I'd rate it 7/10 for its era.
Philip Qvist: I remember all the noise that was made about the band when Get It On hit the airwaves - not much of it complimentary, with a lot about them being a poor Led Zep imitation. As I hadn't explored much of Led Zeppelin's work at the time (I had only listened to LZ IV in full for the first time a couple of years earlier), it didn't bother me too much. It rocked and I liked what I heard.
Nearly 40 years later, and after exploring everything I could about Led Zeppelin (one of the greatest rock bands of all time with no bad album in their catalogue), what do I now think of Lenny Wolf and Kingdom Come's debut album?
Yip, he sounds like Robert Plant - and there is no denying the LZ influence on the record. It's in your face - but is it really a bad thing? I don't necessarily think so - the record is full of very good, hard rocking songs; while it's clear that the band was also influenced by some of the hard rock bands of the late 70s and 80s (Scorpions and Whitesnake for a start).
It isn't on my essential listening list - but it is still a pretty good album. The songs rock, the musicianship is right up there, while there are no real bad songs on Kingdom Come. A 7 / 10 for me.
John Edgar: 1988 was a pretty good year for rock music fans, and Kingdom Come just added to the party. Like anything else, it has its influences, but they were their own thing and they did their thing well. For me, it's one of those albums that still gets a spin every year or so, and it's still an enjoyable listen from start to finish. A monumental mark in rock history? No, but a darn good time, especially if you're rolling down the highway. Pick up on it.
John Davidson: I remember the song Get It On being played on MTV and thinking that if the rest of the album was a mix of Whitesnake's 1987 and Robert Plant's vocal ticks it probably wasn't for me so never explored this or the band any further.
To be fair, other than Get It On the Zep influences are much more subtle (and with the distance of time - really who cares who influenced who as long as it sounds good). I hear just as much Def Leppard in the guitars and choruses and equal amounts of Scorpions in the vocals as I do of anything Led Zep related.
The question then becomes, on its own terms, is it any good?
And the answer is - its ok. Its not groundbreaking, the production is very of its time, the guitars are pretty generic and the songs while reaching for epic rarely rise above the mediocre. 6/10, maybe a 7 if I warm to it after a few more listens.
Mike Canoe: Until this week, my knowledge of Kingdom Come began and ended with their single, Get It On. While I acknowledged that they tried hard to hit that Led Zeppelin sweet spot, that wasn't really a problem. It was more that they came across as a manufactured band, assembled for maximum wallop to get that seemingly endless hair metal money. In that regard, they reminded me of Europe, another, um, European band, buffed and fluffed and ready for MTV.
While I don't consider it a lost masterpiece, Kingdom Come is a generally likeable listen. Frontman Lenny Wolf has plenty of personality and swagger, separate from any comparisons to Robert Plant. As usual, I like the rockers best and, fortunately, most of the songs are rockers. Favourites after several listens include opener Living Out of Touch, Pushin' Hard, and 17. And while 17 is presumably about the perennially popular topic of jailbait, the lyrics aren't alarmingly lascivious. I also like Shout It Out even if the main riff is just another hit and run in Wolf's clothing.
The (presumably) unintentionally funniest moment on the album is when Wolf croons he wants to be "the tissue for your tears" on the power ballad, What Love Can Be. Maybe something got lost in translation, but I would think that one of the three Americans in the band would have told them that sounded kinda silly. Loving You is an easy ballad to skip over but the slow burn of Hideaway is pretty cool.
In what's becoming the new normal (and a rare positive occurrence of that otherwise loathsome phrase), I like this album a lot more than I expected to.
Tony Bickerdike: Brilliant album, love it. So what it sounds like Zepplin, there are loads of bands out there that can be said sound like others. I’d suggest there’s no unique sounds out there any more, but is that such a bad thing?
Brian Carr: It’s too bad such a well-performed, great sounding record will forever be viewed primarily as a sound-alike. When Kingdom Come’s debut was released, I believe it was my first year of buying CDs. I bought it and it is still part of my music collection. I saw them in Indianapolis on the Monsters of Rock tour. Really loved the record and was unfazed by the comparison chatter. At the time, I really didn’t think Lenny Wolf really sounded that much like Robert Plant. But as my music collection and interests expanded exponentially, I stopped listening to Kingdom Come.
So now that I’m older and much better versed on Led Zeppelin than my teenage self was, what do I think of it? I still like it a lot. I think Mr. Wolf is similar with Plant more in his phrasing than his timbre. The guitar work is quite good and doesn’t remind me of Jimmy Page in the slightest. What really stands out to me is the drumming of James Kottack - his playing and the drum sound is very reminiscent of Bonzo.
It’s derivative, I suppose - not only the nods (full on embraces?) of Zep, but album closer Shout It Out has a main riff straight off of Def Leppard’s High & Dry record. But I still like Kingdom Come just as much in my 50s as I did in my teens.
Gary Claydon: 'Led Clones'? Gary Moore reckoned so, as did a few more of the great and the good at the time. To this day, mention Kingdom Come and, the vast majority of the time, the initial reaction will be " Led Zep rip-off merchants". Which seems more than a bit unfair on a band who went on to produce a decent enough body of work. I've often wondered just how much of that work many of their critics have actually listened to, beyond Get It On.
As for Kingdom Come's debut, well, bottom line is, it's a solid hard rock album. Not groundbreaking, not innovative, decidedly unoriginal in places but, nevertheless, a solid, enjoyable listen. The influences are obvious - Zep, Scorpions, Whitesnake - the production is fairly typical late-80s and a couple of the tracks sound somewhat dated. The album also feels a little one-paced but, overall, this is an easy 7/10.
Mark Herrington: Kingdom Come’s debut is a driving, tight rock album with great vocals, drums and lead guitar. The production is clear and it has travelled well over the last 36 years - still an enjoyable seamless listen on a car journey , when you don’t want to skip duff tracks.
For me, one of its main attractions is the sheer abundance of hooks throughout. Typical of the catchiness of many bands from Germany and northwards such as the Scorpions and Volbeat (Denmark). This is earworm in abundance, and sets it apart from the average album of the time.
The complaints of Zeppelin fans were irrelevant to me then, I just liked this album full stop. Any complaints were just background noise. Judging by its Platinum sales , many others felt the same way. A fine tribute to James Kottak.
Chris Downie: Perhaps the greatest irony surrounding this band's legacy, is they were roundly crucified by punters and critics alike, for - to put it mildly - "borrowing" heavily from Led Zeppelin, the band whom themselves borrowed liberally (some would say, at risk of butchering one of rock's sacred cows, to the point of outright plagiarism) from a disparate range of influences.
In judging Kingdom Come as such, the wider rock community touched upon a wider issue, with respect to a band's musical merits; an artist can be unique (take Frank Zappa or Yngwie Malmsteen, for instance) but have mediocre commercial success, while derivative artists (from 80s glam metal to Greta Van Fleet) hit platinum or better. How does this reflect on the wider rock community? Moreover, was their judgement of Kingdom Come entirely fair, given all the above?
In truth, they were far from the worst culprits. In an age where hard rock was jam-packed with guitarists doing an inferior Eddie Van Halen impression, Kingdom Come took their cues from classic 70's Zeppelin and Montrose, with powerhouse performances by late drummer James Kottak. If there is one criticism to be levelled at them which is indisputable, it is that they burned brightly at the start, but never topped their promising debut. While Queen and Rush delivered similarly derivative debuts, but quickly went on to forge an identity and a long career, Kingdom Come left us wondering what might have been.
Original or groundbreaking this is not, but it is an enjoyable, melodic classic hard rock album that, alongside the likes of Whitesnake and Badlands, stands up well to scrutiny. 8/10.
Andrew Cumming: The album that everyone was talking about 35 years ago, and the album that no-one since has ever spoken about. Notorious because of its ridculously overt Led Zep influences, especially on the Kashmir re-write lead off single Get It On. I remember it being OK – notwithstanding all the Zep stuff – although the album hasn't survived in my collection. So, presumably I too was in the fleetingly interested brigade. Revisiting it now, I wondered if the Led Zep thing had been overstated. It hadn't. First track Living Out Of Touch has a cracking riff, but then stomps along to a When The Levee Breaks beat. And third track, What Love Can Be is so desperately wanting to be Since I Been Loving You. It's pretty irritating, and detracts from what is a competent band, a great singer, and some pretty ok songs. Happy to park for another 35 years.
Richard Cardenas: Really good album but not one I ever think to spin. Saw these guys open for Alice Cooper in the 80s and they put on a great show.
Dean Doherty: I think it's actually a great album. Yes, there were influences, but it was so well done. Sounds amazing. Get It On is a f**kin' classic. A very good rock album.
Hunter Will: Loved this and the two that followed. Yes, it was pure Zep, but it was great!
Jörgen Andersson: Never got “hooked” on Kingdom Come. To me it was more of a disappointment from the earlier albums with Lenny Wolff and Bruce Gowdy (Stone Fury). The best album from Kingdom Come was Hands of Time, although mostly a solo album by Lenny Wolff.
Steve Gardiner: Great album. Only problem was they ever equalled it.
David Clancy: Love this album! Underrated in the arena of other “hair metal” albums of that era.
Keith Petitt: Loved it then, love it now. Fantastic album!
Glen Smith: Great album, I still have it.
Paul Anthony Davies: Brilliant album, still a favourite today. I don't give a shite about the Zepplin issue. It's damn fine album!
Sam Martin: The 80s version of Greta Van Whatever
David R. Howard: It’s a great record.
Jon Yindra: The only hair metal band the figured out if you have guitar follow the bass line, it sounds really heavy. Just like Zeppelin
Mick Howson: Great album although I do prefer the follow up In Your Face.
Paul Powell: Great album. I have every release by them. Even though it was only Lenny Wolf from the original.
Chris Elliott: Every band has influences. Some wear those influences on their sleeves. Then there's just derivative. This plunges beyond derivative into borderline imitation the moment the vocals begin. I fail to get the attraction at any level.
Bill Griffin: Still sounds like Led Zeppelin which is why Greta Van Fleet is redundant and Lenny Wolf was never irritating like Joshua Kiszka. I grew to like Kingdom Come, maybe because I was overseas with the U.S.A.F. and starved for new music. Still, the only band I've heard do Zeppelin right is Heart.
James West: Great album, along with all the other Kingdom Come albums with Lenny Wolf!
Mark Burnside: A great debut album.
Chris Bilton: Shit, heard it all before.
Jimmy Brewer: Loved it then and now.
Bruce Pecha: Still a decent listen. Saw them at their very first US show on the Monsters Of Rock Tour: Alpine Valley, East Troy, WI, 1988.
Alex Hayes: This was an interesting pick for me. I'd never previously heard this album, although I do remember reading articles about Kingdom Come in Kerrang! magazine back at the tail end of the 80s. Also, my all time favourite band are Led Zeppelin, that towering edifice of classic rock majesty, whose shadow Kingdom Come will never, ever escape from. Given the endless Zeppelin comparisons, what would I personally make of this? My curiosity was piqued.
My early impressions of Kingdom Come's debut album are that it is just as much a product of it's particular time as it is any kind of direct Zeppelin clone. It was produced by Bob Rock, and that becomes immediately apparent the second that Living Out Of Touch, the album's opening track, kicks into gear. Crunching guitars, a spacious drum sound and prominent low end, this album has Rock's signature production style all over it, custom built for those heady, MTV-driven days of the late 80s. The synths that adorn both Now Forever After and Hideaway really aren't very Zeppelin-like at all. Robert Plant's solo material from that period would probably be a better fit.
Don't get me wrong, at times this album is certainly guilty of filching wholesale from the Zeppelin copybook. There is more than a whiff of Since I Been Loving You to bluesy ballad What Love Can Be. We find the band trying their hardest to channel their own inner acoustic Zep vibe on Loving You. Then, there's Get It On, which so blatantly rips off Kashmir in places that it's almost taking the piss. The copycat jibes thrown in Kingdom Come's direction by the music press, and also the likes of Gary Moore, were certainly not without merit at the time. Which, naturally, then brings us to Lenny Wolf's vocal style and delivery.
The Robert Plant comparisons are, again, impossible to deny, although I also picked up traces of both Geddy Lee and Great White's Jack Russell in there. Wolf was hardly the first shrill, high pitched, and plainly Plant-inspired, vocalist in rock, and nor would he be the last. Not by a long way. I will say that he does appear to be trying a little bit too hard to imitate Plant's mannerisms here though.
I'd be doing the rest of the band a major disservice by not praising their musical chops here too. Kingdom Come may well come across as a slicker and more manufactured 80s version of Led Zeppelin, but they were undoubtedly a bloody good band. One whose flame briefly flickered quite brightly.
Gotta say, I really quite enjoyed this. Enough to acquaint myself with Kingdom Come's second album, 1989's In Your Face, as well. Just like the debut, In Your Face plainly takes it's inspiration from all the right places, and is just too damn good overall not to appreciate, despite it's derivative nature. I think I'm gonna be giving both these albums a fairly regular spin for the foreseeable future. This is a fine album that I can award a 7/10 to, no bother.
For the ultimate comparison though, I recently gave Led Zeppelin's debut a listen for the first time in a couple of years, and, as good as Kingdom Come are, they don't come close to measuring up to the masters. Just amazing stuff. That one is a straight up 10/10. And that will always be the biggest difference.
Mark Tucker: For me this album marked the beginning of the end for 80s rock bands. Introduced a lack of originality as an acceptable path to follow. As an album it's ok, but if I want to listen to that style of music might as well throw Zep on the turn table.
Greg Schwepe: Yes, Kingdom Come sound like Led Zeppelin. Yes, Led Zeppelin is my favourite group of all time, hands down. After hearing Get It On for the umpteenth time on my local radio station, was I incensed that they had “ripped off” and copied my Led Zeppelin? No, believe it or not. The one thing that did tick me off was that the radio station kept playing up the whole Zeppelin mystique. I swear after hearing that song for a month, they didn’t say who the band was once. “Hey listeners, is that Led Zeppelin? Could it be? Keep listening to FM Blah Blah Blah to find out…commercial free for the next 10 minutes...” “Just tell me, you stupid DJs!”
And as far being a little peeved about some other band “doing” Zeppelin, maybe I levied a little abuse against Whitesnake initially for Still Of The Night. That abuse has since been rescinded as I really like that song!
When Kingdom Come’s debut came out in 1988, Zeppelin had been grounded about eight years and Robert Plant was 3-4 albums into his solo career, but not yet ready to revisit Led Zeppelin songs onstage. So maybe the time was ripe for a band to bring some of that swagger, riffing guitars, and vocal gymnastics back to the forefront. Sometime last year the Club did a Krokus album that was a total AC/DC clone, and in that case I didn’t have a problem with it either. Finally hearing the rest of Kingdom Come for the first time... yeah, it does really sound like Led Zeppelin, but I’m OK with it. To use the same analogy I did with the Krokus album and AC/DC, more Led Zeppelin sounding music to me is not a bad thing.
Could I do a side by side comparison of the 10 songs here and find the exact Zeppelin song they were trying to emulate? Sure could! For starters, I heard Kashmir, Since I’ve Been Loving You, and Going to California. I didn’t have to try too hard to find those.
While Kingdom Come does have the same Plant-like vocals and Page-like guitars, the overall sound is a little more metallic sounding version of Zeppelin. And on a good note, the songs are decent, not cheesy or cringe-worthy.
Being a Zeppelin fan and hearing Get It On over and over did not drive me to the record store to buy a copy of this debut. Musical style is up my alley, but not that exciting to make me leave my alley to go buy it. And hearing the rest of it now; not bad, but not like I was missing something earth-shattering. But I did listen two more times today after my initial deep dive. 7 out of 10. The song(s) remains kind of the same.
Final score: 7.29 (116 votes cast, total score 846)
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