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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Mar 23, 2019 17:30:04 GMT
Or is it the hottest band in the WORLD?
Anyway, here's a recent interview with Paul Stanley and he names his two favorite KISS songs!
And a short interview with Gene Simmons where he takes another shot at you know who.
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Post by Kapitan on Mar 23, 2019 18:20:35 GMT
I am so tired of them--especially Gene--taking every opportunity to trash Ace and Peter (and sometimes Vinnie). Move on, fellas. It's like Mike, or worse.
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Post by kds on Mar 26, 2019 14:38:22 GMT
I am so tired of them--especially Gene--taking every opportunity to trash Ace and Peter (and sometimes Vinnie). Move on, fellas. It's like Mike, or worse. I think Gene's antics put Mike's to shame to be honest.
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Post by Kapitan on Mar 26, 2019 16:05:47 GMT
I think Ace agrees...as does his wife!
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Post by kds on Mar 26, 2019 16:15:13 GMT
I think Ace agrees...as does his wife! Yeah, I saw that. I really thought there might be an outside chance of the original four playing a grand farewell show, but it's not looking good.
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Post by Kapitan on Mar 26, 2019 16:28:20 GMT
That’s what I was thinking too. They seemed initially to be gauging excitement for the current lineup—remember they announced the tour long before announcing any dates or venues, which is odd—and after a while the talk in interviews was getting warmer about some participation from Peter and Ace (and Vinnie, though poor Bruce Kulick never seemed to get a mention).
But then that stuff with Ace/Gene heated up and, well, here we are...
Too bad. I get the issues with it, considering everyone who could be involved, but it certainly could have been better. Even as a few one-offs or some gigantic celebratory send-off spectacular.
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Post by kds on Mar 26, 2019 16:31:34 GMT
That’s what I was thinking too. They seemed initially to be gauging excitement for the current lineup—remember they announced the tour long before announcing any dates or venues, which is odd—and after a while the talk in interviews was getting warmer about some participation from Peter and Ace (and Vinnie, though poor Bruce Kulick never seemed to get a mention). But then that stuff with Ace/Gene heated up and, well, here we are... Too bad. I get the issues with it, considering everyone who could be involved, but it certainly could have been better. Even as a few one-offs or some gigantic celebratory send-off spectacular. True. The one reason that something might happen is if Gene and Paul think there's money in it, but even if that's the case, Ace or Peter would have to agree to it.
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Post by Kapitan on Mar 26, 2019 16:42:12 GMT
I think Peter and Ace were VERY hesitant out of pride, largely. What i’d Read/heard was that it was all or nothing for Ace. No watching Tommy “play” Ace for 15-20 songs only to trot out for a couple.
Peter seems retired, so his calculus might be different. Who knows whether he could even physically perform a full show?
Vinnie...oh Vinnie. I heard he has canceled all future appearances (again) and his long promised box set is probably on the shelf yet again.
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Post by Kapitan on Aug 7, 2019 19:50:20 GMT
I’ll be using this thread soonish: stay tuned (especially KDS and SJS)!
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Aug 7, 2019 20:14:05 GMT
I’ll be using this thread soonish: stay tuned (especially KDS and SJS)!
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Post by Kapitan on Aug 7, 2019 21:55:39 GMT
KISS, KISS, 1974
Unmasked was the first KISS album I ever heard, having checked out a cassette of it from the library around 1987 or ’88. I’m pretty sure Love Gun was the first one I bought—that or Destroyer, almost certainly in ’88. The first all-new studio album I was aware of was Hot in the Shade in 1989. But the first KISS album, and so the one I’m writing about today to kick off what I anticipate as an album-by-album discussion, is indeed the first KISS album, KISS. Released in February 1974 (two and a half years before I was born) and including the singles “Nothin’ To Lose,” “Kissin’ Time,” and “Strutter,” the album sold poorly and did not go gold until 1977, well into the band’s commercial peak. Despite my opening paragraph, this is one of the first KISS albums I bought: once I got one or two, my obsessive nature took over and I bought everything I could afford as soon as I found it. (Finding albums wasn’t so easy in those days, however, at least not in my part of the country. Neither Columbia House nor BMG record clubs carried KISS’s back catalog, and usually the music stores in the mall—itself 45 minutes from my hometown—such as Musicland tended not to have everything.) They did have KISS. I knew a few of the songs were classics, having been exposed to them through Alive!, Smashes, Thrashes & Hits, and Ace’s Live … +4. But I’ve never been much of a fan of “Strutter,” “Deuce,” “Firehouse,” or even the cult classic “Black Diamond” (covered by the Replacements, for Christ’s sake). And in fact I think a lot of this album plods. The live versions—er, semi-live versions—at least usually have some tempo to them, which helps. But they’re just not great songs to my ears. Some of the ones I like are maybe surprising. I like “Let Me Know,” especially the classic rock and roll feel (and little doo-wop vocal tag), quite a bit. I also love the shared lead vocal between Gene and Paul, something I adore in multi-vocalist bands. (Ditto for Gene and Peter doing “Nothin’ to Lose,” which as an aside is almost certainly the first song I ever heard that was written about anal sex…) And speaking of shared leads, the cover, “Kissin’ Time,” is actually one of my favorites. I think KISS was great with ‘60s (and in this case, ’59) tunes. I don’t have a lot else to say about this album, other than that it set the template to some degree for what was to come for the next few albums: a slightly heavy, slightly more riff-focused version of traditionally constructed rock and roll songs. Heavy on anthems, double entendres, and cartoonishly stoopid teenage rebellion. Chime in with your thoughts. As it dries up, we’ll progress through other albums (assuming the project remains amusing).
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Aug 7, 2019 23:09:33 GMT
Back in late 1974, a couple of high school buddies and I paid a visit to another buddy, Pat. Pat was different from most of my high school friends...he had spending money. After hanging out for awhile, Pat asked if we'd like to see his album collection. He also mentioned that he wanted to sell a few albums that he never played. Pat got out a pile of albums for sale, none of them interested me, until he came to one in particular - KISS's first album. I'm sure my eyes got wide but I tried not to let it show. I calmly asked Pat how much he wanted for the album, and he said, "I only played it once and didn't like it it. You can have it for $5.00." Sold! KISS's first album was on my "want" list, but it kept taking a back seat to groups like The Doors, Blue Oyster Cult, and Sparks. And, keep in mind, I could only afford one album every few months, so this was a good purchase. And the record was in mint condition.
I love the album. Period. So many of their all-time classics, and personal favorites, are on this debut album including "Strutter", "Deuce", "Firehouse", "Cold Gin", and "Black Diamond". But there are other solid tunes, too, like "Nothing to Lose", "Let Me Know", and "1000,000 Years". "Kissin' Time" was not on my original album. This was just the kind of hard rock music I was getting into around that time including the aforementioned BOC, New York Dolls, Slade, The Dictators, and The MC5.
The makeup really wasn't a factor to me. Meh. To paraphrase a line in "Do You Love Me", I just loved the sound of the electric guitars. Paul Stanley was an exceptional lead singer.I thought the songs were produced "just enough", nothing fancy, just straightforward hard rock & roll. In the end, I think the first album not only laid the groundwork, but might've also been a peak, at least in songwriting. I mean, there's some great shit on that album. There would be some future songs to rival them, but as a whole, as a collection of songs, the first album is hard to beat.
Kapitan, I know exactly what you mean when you compare the live versions to the first album versions. It does play head games with you. When I first heard KISS Alive, I didn't particularly care for it, but for the opposite reason than what you mentioned. Because of the increased tempo, I thought the live versions sounded rushed, and then when I went back to the studio album, they sounded slow. It took me a while to adjust and make my peace with KISS Alive. I think overall I prefer the original studio versions, though there are some live versions that are superior.
I have no idea which KISS album is the individual band members' favorite (maybe you guys do), but I'll bet the first KISS album is right up there.
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Post by Kapitan on Aug 7, 2019 23:20:45 GMT
Great memories/anecdotes. As I think you know--and if not, please know it now--I REALLY love stories like that. And all the more so if they're from eras or areas I couldn't access.
I agree totally about the production. I don't want to put the cart before the horse, but while Destroyer was great, as time went on I began to feel it was overproduced, maybe too far a departure for the band. Fine as a one-off, but not a formula. KISS was a solid template for their formula.
Also, "Kissin' Time" wasn't on the album? I've never heard that it wasn't always a part of the album. Any info on that?
Re the makeup ... if you don't mind my asking, how old were you at the time? For me, I began getting into KISS when I was about 11 or so, so the makeup was really, really (REALLY) cool. Then as I got into later high school, it was an embarrassment to me because it seemed childish for a mature, 17-year-old man of the world! (Granted, they weren't wearing it anymore, but you get the picture.)
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Aug 7, 2019 23:56:15 GMT
I was 16 years old in 1974. That was right in the middle of the whole Glam Rock era. And while I could appreciate the looks and stage appearances of David Bowie, Lou Reed, Slade, The New York Dolls, KISS, and others, it wasn't what sold me. It was the music. I wanted to look like Jim Morrison!
Here's another old story...In 1976, we had a talent show at my high school. And there were these four guys who came on and performed as KISS. They put on the makeup perfectly; the outfits were a little questionable. They were so loud they almost blew the roof off the gymnasium. The song they performed was "Rock And Roll All Nite". Honestly, they weren't that good, but they had the right attitude and the right spirit. And they had guts, more guts than I had. And I remember the reactions of the people watching and listening. Some of the students were laughing at them. Some of the teachers were laughing - and frowning - at them. I was smiling. Proudly. Like I said, they weren't that good - hey, it was a bad mix, the sound, what can I tell you. But a big part of me loved it. THAT'S what I wanted to do. That should've been me up there. I thought I was the biggest KISS fan in the school. Little did I know.
"Kissin' Time" was recorded and released as a single a few months AFTER the first album was released. "Kissin' Time" was added to the first album when the album was reissued.
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Post by Kapitan on Aug 8, 2019 0:10:41 GMT
"Kissin' Time" was recorded and released as a single a few months AFTER the first album was released. "Kissin' Time" was added to the first album when the album was reissued. I had no idea. Thanks for that info.
(Great stories, by the way.)
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