Hey KISSERS, Long time KISS fan here, been a fan since I was a kid, circa 1974 when Firehouse, Let Me Know & Kissin Time were a huge factor for my young unadulterated and innocent ears way over in Eastham, Massachusetts, USA...(cape cod), I hope the original four will mend the fences one more time in my lifetime and give all of us a equally partnered full length release and tour but alas, all I have are youtube videos and the occasional soundboard bootleg to go with until that day arrives. I've seen em during the "Lick It Up", "Crazy Nights" & "Psycho Circus" tour and the "Psycho Circus" show in Boston, the Fleet Center, the 2nd gig of the tour was the best with all four original members at their best with no flubs, just great rocking live versions that were close to the originals that night.. Far better than the "Crazy Nights" show in Worcester back in 1987 when the opener Ted Nugent stole the show. KISS lipsynced that night. Paul fell down during the opener,"Love Gun", let go of his guitar but could be heard singing and strumming while he struggled to get up from the floor LOL. Too bad they didn't perform "No No No" its' the heaviest song on "Crazy Nights" imho..the guitar / drum interlude is killer, I wish there was more of that. Vinnie Vincent ruined the Kiss songs with his shredding at the Lick It Up show again in Worcester, February 1984. It was probably the only show they didn't perform "Rock And Roll All Night" since it came out back in 75...Eric Carr did a stand up version of "Young And Wasted" that night. They performed for just less than an hour and a half. Gene never stuck his tongue out nor did he spit fire either. Paul was full of the f bomb the whole night but managed a killer "I Still Love You". The European band Accept was the opener and totally ridiculous to hear, especially their only fan favorite single "Balls To The Wall", probably the worst band along with Lordi of whom got booed at Ozzfest back in 2009 in Mansfield MA. Back in 2001, August I did a killer a-capella medley of "Hard Luck Woman", "Baby Driver" & "Tonight You Belong To Me" at a packed coffee house in Hyannis called the Prodigal Son (now defunct) and I've got the medley, its also got Queen & Bruce Springsteen covers too. If you care to hear it, email me at williamkeithmahler@gmail.com and I'll gladly send the full 15 minute impromptu live performance to you wherever tyou are. Seems like Gene has his hands full with his current book but his greatest asset is his drop dead gorgeous daughter Sophie..wow, she is gorgeous, beautiful, smart and hopefully she'll opt to keep her clothes on unlike her mom LOL. Well all for now, peace, W. K. Mahler, Mahlers.Com
Haha - not the warmest response then. It can't be denied that at their peak, they had great energy. Paul Stanley wasn't [past tense is key] a bad singer by any means, either.
Kiss was probably the first band I really got into, but I haven't listened to them for a good while now. 'Black Diamond' which I thought was a fantastic, progressive piece of music, I find now to be built on what are really the blandest riffs. Although, Ace Frehley's lead guitar work does have character, despite not being the most technically proficient.
Most groups I've enjoyed since Kiss are just so much more enduring and interesting - whether it be Queen, or others like Led Zep, The Doors, Beatles, Neil Young or Nicks/Buckingham era Fleetwood Mac. There's not enough time in life to be immersed in second rate music when there's such a wealth of beautiful stuff out there.
20 albums, 10+ solo albums = approximately 400 recorded songs....
of which LESS than 1% are actually good enough that you might actually listen to more than once.
shockingly bad
You just don't understand the profundity of masterpieces like 'Nothin' to Lose', in which the persona describes coercing his girlfriend into trying unorthodox sexual acts, or 'Hotter than Hell', in which the persona describes how attractive he finds a woman.
Can you guess what 'Lick it Up' is about?
Lol
Yeah! Destroyer wasn't bad at all! And I didn't mind Dynasty either. But stuff like Hotter Than Hell is pretty average in my book! The had a bit of a go on The Elder too and got a bit more creative! But there were apparently too many meatheads in the Kiss Army and that one sunk like a stone. So they went back to what their fans love to keep the big bucks coming in and sold any sort of soul they ever possessed in the process. Just my opinion of course.