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Post by Kapitan on Aug 16, 2019 19:24:55 GMT
I think the only ones I've listened to in full at any time in the past 10 years were probably the two arguable greatest of their studio albums, Love Gun and Destroyer, as well as a personal favorite of mine, Unmasked. Also Ace's and Gene's '78 solo albums, if not in their entirety, at least sampled from time to time. But the whole 10 song, 30-minute experience? That's been a while for most of these!
(By the way, I LOVE that their albums tended to be roughly 10 songs and 30 minutes. That's heaven for me. I almost never want or need 4- or 5-minute rock and roll songs, and while I don't mind more songs if they're good, they often aren't. I like efficient albums. Because, you know, rock and roll is known for its ... efficiency?)
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Post by kds on Aug 17, 2019 0:27:25 GMT
I think the only ones I've listened to in full at any time in the past 10 years were probably the two arguable greatest of their studio albums, Love Gun and Destroyer, as well as a personal favorite of mine, Unmasked. Also Ace's and Gene's '78 solo albums, if not in their entirety, at least sampled from time to time. But the whole 10 song, 30-minute experience? That's been a while for most of these!
(By the way, I LOVE that their albums tended to be roughly 10 songs and 30 minutes. That's heaven for me. I almost never want or need 4- or 5-minute rock and roll songs, and while I don't mind more songs if they're good, they often aren't. I like efficient albums. Because, you know, rock and roll is known for its ... efficiency?)
I'm with you about efficient albums. Although I do tend to like longer songs, so a lot of my favorite albums tend to be in the 35-50 minute range.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Aug 17, 2019 16:42:56 GMT
High school baseball can be very cold. Back in the early spring of 1975, we had a weekday baseball game cancelled because of snow, and the makeup game was scheduled for Saturday. Because it was a Saturday, that meant my parents weren't working, and I had access to the family car - a 1973 Ford Galaxy. So, after playing the Saturday game, I didn't really feel like going straight home - I had a car! Instead I made a trip to the local mall, specifically to the record store. I remember walking through the mall with my baseball suit on, including stirrups, and attracting a few stares. And when I got to the record store - surprise, surprise, surprise! KISS had a new album out, and stunningly, I had enough money in my wallet to purchase it.
Upon first listen, I liked Dressed To Kill a lot, and it became a personal favorite. It was my kind of album, my kind of KISS album - 10 two and a half/three minute songs. No children background singers, no sound effects, no symphony orchestras. Just ten songs, ten different ways for Paul and Gene to tell me how they love their women, and how I can get/love mine.
Even though Hotter Than Hell is considered a quickie, Dressed To Kill has more of that feel than Hotter Than Hell. Dressed To Kill barely clocks in at 30 minutes. I was gonna list my favorite songs, but it's almost all of them. Oh, what the heck - "Room Service" (a direct ripoff of The MC5's "High School", but that's OK), "Ladies In Waiting", "Getaway", "Rock Bottom", "She", and my favorite, "C'Mon And Love Me". While I like "Rock And Roll All Night", it was never a big favorite.
As usual Paul sounds great on vocals, the band is tight, they had perfected their "formula". The album cover also has that quickie feel to it - put on a couple of suits, snap a photograph. Done. But I like it, especially the expression on Gene's face. In some ways, the album cover epitomizes the actual album. Just four guys, a band still trying to make it, standing on a street corner in New York City, no special effects, about to play some kick-ass rock & roll. And that's what Dressed To Kill is, and I love it!
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Post by Kapitan on Aug 17, 2019 16:56:33 GMT
Two things:
- Did tips from Gene and Paul's lyrics help with the girls? Seems ... risky.
- Fun fact I learned while jotting down some album info: Peter Criss owned his own suit and wore it; nobody else owned one, so they had to borrow suits from manager Bill Aucoin. (Gene had been a public school teacher but didn't own a suit? That's a little surprising.)
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Aug 17, 2019 17:05:31 GMT
- Did tips from Gene and Paul's lyrics help with the girls? Seems ... risky.
As someone who was walking through the local mall with a baseball uniform on, driving a Ford Galaxie 4-door...yellow, and barely enough money in my moldy wallet to buy KISS's new album - I could use all the help I could get!
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Aug 17, 2019 17:29:47 GMT
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Aug 18, 2019 22:49:06 GMT
I'm past my prime wearing rock & roll T-shirts (well, not altogether ), but I like these two:
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Post by Kapitan on Aug 22, 2019 21:37:52 GMT
Kind of forgot about this but plan to move on to Alive tomorrow. After that we get into my favorite run of albums, the ‘76-‘80 era
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Post by Kapitan on Aug 23, 2019 13:20:49 GMT
KISS Alive!, 1975
September 10, 1975--19 months and three albums into their recording career--KISS finally scores that elusive hit with what turns out to be not just one of their most iconic albums, but one of the standouts of the live album format and an undeniable hard rock classic album. Alive! may not be all that live, though the extent of the studio corrective work is debated, it may offer very little beyond the album versions beyond some very, very corny banter ... but it doesn't matter. For whatever reason, these same songs jump out with a muscle and energy that they lacked in many cases on the original versions.
The album reached #9 in the U.S. (and #3 in Canada, and top 50 in several other countries) and stayed on the charts for two years. The album's version of "Rock and Roll All Nite" peaked at #12 on the singles chart.
It's not a favorite of mine--though to be fair, neither are live albums in general--but even as I listen now, I feel good. I can only imagine (or remember, I guess) how much more it would be affecting me if I were 13 instead of 43. The electricity of these risque rawkers was undeniable to this impressionable young mind.
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Post by kds on Aug 25, 2019 14:44:29 GMT
Alive, however live or may or may not be, is an essential KISS album since, as Kap mentioned, it offers more energetic versions of key tracks from the first three LPs.
Although, getting ahead of myself, I actually prefer Alive II.
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Post by Kapitan on Aug 25, 2019 16:40:32 GMT
Although, getting ahead of myself, I actually prefer Alive II. Me, too ... by FAR, actually.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Aug 25, 2019 20:20:31 GMT
KISS Alive is a great album, but I struggled with it in 1975 and I still struggle a little bit with it today. Great tracklist, great performances, and great energy. I didn't know back then that it was "sweetened", and I never really cared. The album was the big breakthrough for the band, one which they worked hard for, and I was happy for their success. Where were all of these fans before?
When I first heard the album, it was bit of a shock. So many of the songs were ingrained in my head, that when I heard them being performed...faster...it took some getting used to. I love live albums and I can appreciate different takes on songs, so I gave this album a chance. Some of the songs definitely benefit from the tempo increase, no doubt about it. Some I don't prefer.
Paul and Gene are brilliant on vocals as usual, and Ace shines in the live setting. I have no problems with Peter Criss. I thought he was a fine drummer. Perfect album cover, too. All in all, what's not to like about KISS Alive? Well, I'll tell you. No, actually I'll ask you. Does anybody hear distortion on the lead vocals? I hear this - I don't know what other term to use - distortion or scratchiness or crackling on the singing. I used to think it was just the vinyl; maybe it was recorded or mastered poorly, or maybe Casablanca used cheap vinyl. But I also hear the same distortion on the digital versions.
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Post by Kapitan on Aug 25, 2019 20:57:20 GMT
I am not sure what you mean about the vocals. Are there specific points that it occurs, or do you mean more generally? If it's more general, I definitely don't hear any distortion. If it is in specific spots, can you point to a few?
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Aug 25, 2019 21:34:25 GMT
I am not sure what you mean about the vocals. Are there specific points that it occurs, or do you mean more generally? If it's more general, I definitely don't hear any distortion. If it is in specific spots, can you point to a few? It's probably just me. I'm speaking specifically about the lead vocals; it would be at the end of the word or phrase. I hear a distorting sound, a non-crispness, which was reminiscent of many vinyl records back in the 60's and 70's. I also thought it could've been my stylus or something. But I still hear it on digital. No problem...continue on!
I wanted to mention that this was the last KISS album I purchased except for Alive II. When 1976 rolled around, things changed for me, especially financially. College was on the horizon and I was saving money for that. I bought my first car (a 1970 Dodge Dart),and, oh, a band called The Beach Boys came along. All of a sudden I found myself purchasing a lot of their records. What a back catalogue that was along with a flurry of new releases! I also started to get into other groups like Slade, The Ramones, The Dictators, Ted Nugent, The Stranglers, The Beatles, Bob Dylan - and Frank Sinatra!
I don't know if any of you experienced this in your record collecting, but with some groups, after buying a few of their albums that sound kinda alike, I made the decision, again mostly a financial one, to move on from the group. This occurred with groups like The Ramones, Blue Oyster Cult after Spectres, Nugent after Free For All/Double Live Gonzo, and KISS after Alive. I had a good friend who was into KISS more than me, and he continued to buy their albums. So, I simply went over to his house and listened to them on his stereo. I enjoyed the next couple of albums very much, and eventually broke down and purchased Alive II.
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Post by Kapitan on Aug 25, 2019 22:21:18 GMT
I don’t know about the vocals, then. They’ve definitely got presence, especially Gene.
DEFINITELY know what you mean about moving on from bands. That might be a thread of its own.
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