The thread where I look at each KISS album

[Steevo]

QUOTE (naturalsciences101 @ May 15 2009, 12:42 PM)

KISS are a bunch of mighty fat pengas.  And, they reek of opportunism.  In retrospect, it certainly seems obvious that once the tail-end of the 1970's rolled around, this bunch of opportunists were poised to hop from one musical style to the next, seeing which fad fit best and drew the biggest crowds.  Thos six releases from 74 to 77 correspond to the output of a band who's got a decent degree of musical integrity.  From the start, KISS  was conjuring some accessible Hard Rock,  aimed to please a certain demographic.  They weren't interested in making music which was going to land them on the singles chart.  I remember reading that Casablanca was prepared to sign the band anyways, and told the members that they didn't need to wear the make-up any more.  KISS replied, telling the company, 'you'll sign us with the make-up or we'll walk'.  They held onto their costumes because they had become a part of their musical identities.  They wanted to do things their way and were willing to wait for the right record company who 'got it'. KISS were all about putting out the best, uncompromising Hard Rock and giving the fans the ultimate in Rock shows.  But, after those four initial years and six albums, they were all about hopping on the newest bandwagon, the next fad and abadoning their hardcore following.  They had lost their integrity.  Disco came around, they danced a little jig with that scene for a while.  The Pop Charts were a big lure on every artist and Kiss bought into that direction for a short stint.  Pink Floyd had a large success doing a Prog Concept album with Bob Ezrin and Kiss wanted a piece of that.  But, then they found girly-man Vinnie Vincent and the rewards of writing with outside help, professional songsmiths were enormous.  They were right on time to embrace the new wave, which was the highly dispicable, Metal-Lite of Kokk Rokk.  This was a pair of pants, or should I say, 'a set of spandex' that felt right to the boys, and they wore that particular get-up proudly for the remainder of the 1980's. It felt so comfortable to them because they had done more than their share in creating this new sub-genre.  KISS were one of the biggest flag-wavers of the Kokk Rokk era.  And, no one shook their ass more in multi-colored spandex pants than Jon Bon Jovi and Paul Stanley. Yes, KISS are a bunch of mighty fat pengas indeed....men that are greedy, opportunists who will latch onto and ride whatever wave is currently moving through music's ocean.  What was it, either their 'Revenge' or 'Carnival of Souls' that they even sold out to, or at least made serious concessions to, the 'Grunge' era.  These guys lost their own musical identity decades ago, and have been nothing more than a group of musical opportunists who will adapt to whatever surroundings are currently prevalent.  Chameleons, that's what they is.  Musical chameleons that much on massive man-meat.

Nice one NS, you get a double for that one. But as commercial and banal as some of Dynasty and Unmasked is, I will not banish those to the pit of despair quite yet. Once the 80s hair metal scene truly kicked in, you're perfectly right, they were primed and ready to unleash their charade and ride the scenes forevermore. I guess I will concede to snagging a few from Lick it Up and Animalize, and thats a stretch. What happened to them since is a blur and a seemingly underlying nostalgic yearning for the 70s glory days when they actually meant something.

[Test 4 Gecko]

The only way to deal with Kiss albums is to look at them. Do not, I repeat do not, ever try to listen to them.

[Presto-digitation]

QUOTE (Test 4 Gecko @ May 14 2009, 10:02 PM)

The only way to deal with Kiss albums is to look at them. Do not, I repeat do not, ever try to listen to them.

Thanks for posting. Insightful.

[Test 4 Gecko]

QUOTE (Presto-digitation @ May 14 2009, 10:03 PM)

QUOTE (Test 4 Gecko @ May 14 2009, 10:02 PM) The only way to deal with Kiss albums is to look at them. Do not, I repeat do not, ever try to listen to them. Thanks for posting. Insightful. Thanks   For fans of honest and decent music it's a very insightful remark.

[naturalsciences101]

QUOTE (Steevo @ May 14 2009, 09:49 PM)

Nice one NS, you get a double for that one. But as commercial and banal as some of Dynasty and Unmasked is, I will not banish those to the pit of despair quite yet. Once the 80s hair metal scene truly kicked in, you're perfectly right, they were primed and ready to unleash their charade and ride the scenes forevermore. I guess I will concede to snagging a few from Lick it Up and Animalize, and thats a stretch. What happened to them since is a blur and a seemingly underlying nostalgic yearning for the 70s glory days when they actually meant something.

Yeah, I hear ya. I could probably make a nice, small compilation disc with the best tracks from Dynasty, Unmasked, The Elder, Killers and Creatures. These, collectively, constitute the second wave of KISS, with nothing cohesive binding this lot of records, other than the years they were recorded. Regardless of how uneven and uninspired and lacking direction all of these records are...I'd still take 'em in a heartbeat over the next four outings. You could reduce the albums between '79 and '82 down to a nice 10 to 12 tracks...and miss absolutely nothing.

 

QUOTE

The only way to deal with Kiss albums is to look at them. Do not, I repeat do not, ever try to listen to them.

 

Nice one. Bring the lad a glass of the house's finest...on me.

 

Why gamble and potentially ruin the whole experience by putting the needle on the black platter? From another perspective, if you're randomly picking out which KISS title yer 'bout to hear, you got yerself a pretty even shot of it being good...somewhere 'round even odds, 50%.

 

 

[lerxt1990]

QUOTE (Test 4 Gecko @ May 14 2009, 11:19 PM)

QUOTE (Presto-digitation @ May 14 2009, 10:03 PM) QUOTE (Test 4 Gecko @ May 14 2009, 10:02 PM) The only way to deal with Kiss albums is to look at them. Do not, I repeat do not, ever try to listen to them. Thanks for posting. Insightful. Thanks   For fans of honest and decent music it's a very insightful remark. Where does that leave you?   http://pics.bikerag.com/Uploads/data/500/258Troll_spray.jpg

[naturalsciences101]

QUOTE (metaldad @ May 13 2009, 01:27 PM)

i am not a half ass fan. if i like the band i buy the stuff. that being said i do not own a KISS coffin edit for spelling

I bet this happens to be Presto's gig as well. I've met quite a bit of folks on the web who's MO follows these particular dictates. I guess it takes all types. Right? I met one dude at another site who was so super-tight in the way he would collect recordings. Everything had to be bought in a specific order and no gaps went unfilled. One thing (out of many) that really annoyed me about this guy was that he would wait to see what which title was looked down upon as being the worst possible offering in a specific band's discography, and only then the guy would adopt it as his favourite album from that band. His MO was so transparent that it hurt.

 

Like, for The Who, his favourite title would have to be 'Face Dances'. For KISS, it was 'Unmasked'. For YES, it was 'Tormato', and so on down the line. Just gravitated to the absolute dregs of each catalog. And, didn't have any interest in Solo Albums or Bonus Tracks in the least. No interest at all. Wouldn't even listen to the extra songs on remasters. Said that the band never intended for him to hear them. lol. Like, with The Who, I was trying to tell him how much the two Townshend solo outings were similiar in vision to the '81 and '82 Who albums. Didn't want to know about it. Told him how great Entwistle's '71 and '72 solo albums were and that The Who's My Wife and Heaven and Hell came from these sessions. Didn't want to know. Tight-ass micky ficky. Did not understand the chap at all.

 

But, I digress. Yeah, majorly so. This is my rationale for skipping over titles from a band who I think is otherwise the cat's pajamas. When you skip over a skunky stinker of a title, or a obvious redundancy, you can acquire another important entry on that same date to fill the spot you were just about to dedicate to utter meaninglessness. Like, I'll give ya a 'fer instance'. If I have both of the first two YES albums, I'm certainly not going to pick up 'Yesterdays', which is just a compilation, comprised of the 'best of' the material from these two outings, plus an in-studio remake of Simon & Garfunkel's 'America'. Especially if I have this one track appearing on other albums.

 

Like the silly, little butt-nugget I just called attention to...He had purchased two copies of The Who's Meaty Beaty. One on CD, one on vinyl. Now, this particular album is a compilation, and he has all of the individual songs appearing on other albums. He didn't even need one of these. Yet, he has two. The boy could have acquired one of the Townshend albums and one of Entwistle titles with the money wasted on redundancy. Absolute waste. So, me...I might not have 'complete sets' of a band's music with my particular music collecting mentality, ideology, but I know a heckuva lot more music because of the way I skip over the crap and the obvious duplicate stuff. Ya dig? Ya think it's groovy?

 

 

 

 

 

[Presto-digitation]

I own no Kiss stuff outside official recordings and DVD releases and a handful of publications. No swag.

[metaldad]

QUOTE (Presto-digitation @ May 15 2009, 10:51 PM)

I own no Kiss stuff outside official recordings and DVD releases and a handful of publications. No swag.

well........get on with it

[naturalsciences101]

I have a Black Sabbath comic book and an original 1977 Zeppelin Concert Tee, metal button and programme. That's the extent of my collection.

 

 

[Presto-digitation]

QUOTE (metaldad @ May 15 2009, 10:56 PM)

QUOTE (Presto-digitation @ May 15 2009, 10:51 PM) I own no Kiss stuff outside official recordings and DVD releases and a handful of publications.  No swag.  well........get on with it Soon...! I know everyone's breathless.

[ozzy85]

OK, its the late '80's and I'm on the cruise strip. Need new tunes. My buddy bought this and I listened to it in his Firebird. No go. These guys were spent. And I defended a couple songs from Asylum. Oh well, back to Guns N Roses...

[naturalsciences101]

QUOTE (ozzy85 @ May 16 2009, 11:51 PM)

OK, its the late '80's and I'm on the cruise strip. Need new tunes. My buddy bought this and I listened to it in his Firebird. No go. These guys were spent. And I defended a couple songs from Asylum. Oh well, back to Guns N Roses...

You're on the 'cruise strip' or yer cruisin' the strip?...Man, have you gotten so old that you've forgotten the old lingo? lol.

 

 

[Presto-digitation]

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51B9FQDWCJL._SL500_AA240_.jpg

 

UNPLUGGED

 

There are numerous reasons this is a pretty special Kiss happening for me. For one, Kiss had just finished up a very cool summer-long "tour" of mostly hotel business meeting rooms doing an acoustic set, displaying their vintage costumes, original album cover art, etc, so the band was in fine form -- having either rehearsed or fumbled their way through what seemed to be their entire catalogue. Truly these shows were intimate (often as few as 500 folks in attendance) and fun. There wasn't anything the band wouldn't attempt, even if much of what they did was more nostalgic than quality. Secondly Peter Criss had shown up for the convention stop in L.A. and performed a couple songs with the rest of the band and talk of full-on reunion began again. This came to fruition in August 1995 when the band filmed and recorded their final unplugged spot for MTV, with both Peter and Ace in tow for what would mark the first time the original four members of Kiss had performed together since November 1979.

 

Beyond that, the album is simply great.

 

While one might question the tonality of Kiss as an unplugged act, most of the songs take on a special quality stripped down. For one, the format demanded that the band dig deeper into its catalogue than they would normally do for a standard live show. This marks one of the most unique and appreciable aspects of Unplugged; the set list. (We're still talking about Kiss, right??) Lumbering and tired stalwarts such as Lick It Up and Love Gun are kicked to the curbside for the inclusion of such WTF and rare performance moments as Comin' Home, A World Without Heroes, Sure Know Something, Goin' Blind, Plaster Caster, and See You Tonite from Simmons' solo album. The result is both pleasing on paper and to the ear, both as a success and as a relief to the tedium of "same old." Gene and Paul's harmonies blend nicely with Singer's often-overlooked background vocals, providing a night of some of the best harmonizing Kiss has ever achieved in a "live" setting. Say what you will about non-original Kiss, both Singer and Kulick are rock solid backbones in this performance. This band is as tight as they've been since the earliest days.

 

Had the album/video merely consisted of the Revenge-era quartet performing these rarities like they're old hat -- and they do -- it would've been special enough; but the real thrill for fans came when Ace and Peter joined Gene and Paul two perform four songs, including the cover of 2,000 Man from the Dynasty album and the first-ever band performance of Criss's '76 croon-fest, Beth. Kulick and Singer then rejoin the original four for a rousing version of Nothin' To Lose and the requisite Rock And Roll All Nite.

 

The album is not without flaws. Both Peter and Ace's vocals are a bit on the rough side, understandable as that might be; Gene's voice is a tad rough on the first couple songs but ultimately smooths out; Criss's drumming leaves something to be desired and he actually screws up the timing in 2,000 Man; songs like Domino, Do Ya Love Me, and Rock And Roll All Nite lack bite acoustically or just seem...out of place altogether in this format. Still, there's plenty of magic to counter the rough edges. But that's part of what I enjoy about the album too. Despite the fact that some songs were performed multiple times to get them right, there are still enough raw moments left in to remind us that very little was actually done in the editing room.

 

The only real disappointment is the exclusion of Got To Choose, which exists on both the video and Japanese import version of the CD, but not the domestic CD -- and it's arguably the strongest performance of the lot in addition to being one of the band's best songs.

 

The summer of '95 through the summer of '97 proved to be a really magical time for many Kiss fans. This successful unplugged reunion (the band really appears to genuinely enjoy the chemistry) eventually led the way to a full-on makeup-era reunion tour announcement early in 1996 and a sneak-peek preview apprearance on the Grammys in February. The enormously successful tour would last a calendar year. But that all started here on the Unplugged album.

 

Grade: A

 

Production: Really nothing to speak of. It's pretty unremarkable, but also there's nothing to pinpoint as off either. It's a solid mix.

 

Cover: Pretty cool skewed shot of all "six" Kiss members onstage. Nice shot. The packaging was good all around on this one.

 

Reflections: Well I was simply excited by this. I remember watching the airing of the video for this in October 1995 and was just excited as hell to see the original band reuniting after so long...and performing sans makeup for the first time as well! There was really nothing to NOT be excited about. The performances were great, the setlist was incredibly diverse and rare, and the originals played together for the first time in 16 years. As a Kiss fan, I'd geekily DREAMED of this moment since Peter Criss first quit in early '80. I wasn't disappointed.

 

Key Listens:

 

Goin' Blind

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJ-wWKRUYuY&feature=related

 

Beth

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RasH32CY_sU

 

Sure Know Something

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2j3MCO8rYCI&feature=related

 

Comin' Home

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tj7MeoL201g&feature=related

 

 

 

 

[metaldad]

this should have been called ALIVE III. i love how they broke out the old school stuff. GOIN BLIND , COMIN HOME PLASTER CASTER . i am not one for the whole"unplugged' thing but this was real cool . plus it got ACE and PETER back agian [and i finally got to see them together] i love watching the vid of this show because you can almost see what BRUCE is feeling " me and eric are so going to get fired after this" and they did it was very cool to see all six of them jam for a bit

[Presto-digitation]

QUOTE (metaldad @ May 19 2009, 04:12 PM)

this should have been called ALIVE III. i love how they broke out the old school stuff. GOIN BLIND , COMIN HOME PLASTER CASTER . i am not one for the whole"unplugged' thing but this was real cool . plus it got ACE and PETER back agian [and i finally got to see them together] i love watching the vid of this show because you can almost see what BRUCE is feeling " me and eric are so going to get fired after this" and they did it was very cool to see all six of them jam for a bit

Nicely said.

 

[naturalsciences101]

Aw, man. This is one that I need. So sad to hear about the exclusion of 'Got To Choose'. Love that song. I remember that when I first saw this show on MTV that the song 'World Without Heroes' rung a bell with me. Same goes for 'Sure Know Something'. I knew that I knew these songs, but hadn't listened to Kiss since I was a preteen, so I didn't remember which songs were from which albums.

 

This Unplugged concert and the reunion shows that followed restirred my interest in the band. But, not so much that I magically accepted anything after 'Creatures'. Need a copy of this video too.

 

Which album is 'Every Time I Look At You' from? Pretty poppy and bright compared to the others. I'm assuming, post-LIU.

 

 

Edited May 19, 2009 by naturalsciences101

[Presto-digitation]

QUOTE (naturalsciences101 @ May 19 2009, 05:17 PM)

Aw, man. This is one that I need. So sad to hear about the exclusion of 'Got To Choose'. Love that song. I remember that when I first saw this show on MTV that the song 'World Without Heroes' rung a bell with me. Same goes for 'Sure Know Something'. I knew that I knew these songs, but hadn't listened to Kiss since I was a preteen, so I didn't remember which songs were from which albums. This Unplugged concert and the reunion shows that followed restirred my interest in the band. But, not so much that I magically accepted anything after 'Creatures'. Need a copy of this video too. Which album is 'Every Time I Look At You' from? Pretty poppy and bright compared to the others. I'm assuming, post-LIU.

It's from Revenge, which, IMO, is the strongest album after Creatures and easily the best record from the non-makeup years. It also has Unholy and God Gave Rock & Roll To You on it...if you're at all familiar with those.

[naturalsciences101]

The Unplugged concert is a win, fella. I want to hear about Psycho Circus, Prof. That's the one where they got the ol' gang back together and did each others' nails and makeup. I contemplated it 'nuff times, but never picked it up. I heard it was only 'ok'. I want to know if they 'at all' re-captured any of that early KISS magic.

 

 

[ozzy85]

QUOTE (naturalsciences101 @ May 17 2009, 12:27 AM)

QUOTE (ozzy85 @ May 16 2009, 11:51 PM) OK, its the late '80's and I'm on the cruise strip.  Need new tunes.  My buddy bought this and I listened to it in his Firebird.  No go.  These guys were spent.  And I defended a couple songs from Asylum. Oh well, back to Guns N Roses... You're on the 'cruise strip' or yer cruisin' the strip?...Man, have you gotten so old that you've forgotten the old lingo? lol. Maybe...   I'd hit the boulevard in my '70 Nova looking for a race. That's what I meant. Listening to tunes most of the time.

[Steevo]

QUOTE (naturalsciences101 @ May 20 2009, 02:00 PM)

I want to hear about Psycho Circus, Prof.  I heard it was only 'ok'.  I want to know if they 'at all' re-captured any of that early KISS magic.

You've GOT to be kidding NS I heard it was an abomination, a complete piss take. Its what I imagined as well. Wouldnt touch that shit with a 10 footer

[metaldad]

QUOTE (Steevo @ May 20 2009, 02:01 AM)

QUOTE (naturalsciences101 @ May 20 2009, 02:00 PM) I want to hear about Psycho Circus, Prof.  I heard it was only 'ok'.  I want to know if they 'at all' re-captured any of that early KISS magic. You've GOT to be kidding NS I heard it was an abomination, a complete piss take. Its what I imagined as well. Wouldnt touch that shit with a 10 footer 95% crap . i like 1 f-n song

[Presto-digitation]

I actually like Psycho Circus quite well, myself. Yes there was much of the usual tomfoolery afoot (Ace & Peter aren't on most things), but I like the songs on the whole. I'll get into that more when it comes up. I will say it's stronger than just about all of their lazy ass 80s material, Creatures aside.

 

For the record, one ought judge the record without actually hearing it...(*cough*...Steevo).

Edited May 20, 2009 by Presto-digitation

[Presto-digitation]

Recap of what's been reviewed so far, in descending order of grade:

 

Alive! (A+)

Unplugged (A)

Love Gun (A-)

Creatures Of The Night (A-)

 

Alive III (B-/C+)

 

Music From The Elder (C+)

Peter Criss (C-)

Gene Simmons (C-/D+)

 

Crazy Nights (D+)

[Presto-digitation]