Official KISS thread

[King Postwhore]

Dressed To Kiss is such a great album and that is a killer cover for an album.

[Lowdz]

Have always LOVED Goin' Blind. Hugely underrated.

Hotter Than Hell has really clicked for me on this marathon. I like the heavier, dirty sound.

Great album, shit production. Side 2 is just awesome but usually ignored live.

[King Postwhore]

Side one and side two.  Words rarely used these days.

[BlobVanDam]

That's because they've become irrelevant.

I agree Hotter Than Hell is a pretty good album, although the production is balls. The live versions of all Alive 1 songs are far superior, and the definitive versions.
The second half of the album only has Watchin' You. The rest is ignored live for a good reason.

[King Postwhore]

You should know youngster impersonating and old fogey.

[Orbert]

We used to play Goin' Blind in a band way back in junior high.  Since it wasn't from Alive! I didn't know the song, so the lead guitarist lent me his copy of Hotter Than Hell so I could learn it.  It was my first venture into studio KISS, and to this day, I still prefer Hotter Than Hell over the rest of the early studio stuff.  Except probably Destroyer.  Destroyer is great.

[jammindude]

Have always LOVED Goin' Blind. Hugely underrated.

Hotter Than Hell has really clicked for me on this marathon. I like the heavier, dirty sound.

This is why Hotter Than Hell was always my favorite of the early albums.

[rickhawk80]

The rest is ignored live for a good reason.

Whoa -- totally disagree!!  I'll grant you that Mainline is weak ... but Strange Ways?  Coming Home?  All The Way?  Love them all!! 

My favorite of the early trio of albums is "Dressed to Kill."  Always loved that one. 

[Lowdz]

The rest is ignored live for a good reason.

Whoa -- totally disagree!!  I'll grant you that Mainline is weak ... but Strange Ways?  Coming Home?  All The Way?  Love them all!! 

My favorite of the early trio of albums is "Dressed to Kill."  Always loved that one. 

Hey- I even love Mainline! Not a poor song on dressed.

[rickhawk80]

Don't worry, Lowdz, I'm such a biased KISS fanatic that I love Mainline, too, but I can admit it's the weakest song on side 2.   

[King Postwhore]

I am a Kiss nut but I will never say I like "Read My Body".

[rickhawk80]

I am a Kiss nut but I will never say I like "Read My Body".

Thanks, king .... now it's running on repeat in my head.....   

[TAC]

Hotter Than Hell made The TAC Top 50.  Strange Ways is a Top 5 Kiss track for me.

[BlobVanDam]

The rest is ignored live for a good reason.

Whoa -- totally disagree!!  I'll grant you that Mainline is weak ... but Strange Ways?  Coming Home?  All The Way?  Love them all!! 

My favorite of the early trio of albums is "Dressed to Kill."  Always loved that one. 

Coming Home's a good song, although there's too much other Alive era material that I'd rather hear. I hate Mainline and Strange Ways, and can't really remember All The Way off the top of my head.

[Mladen]

All the way and Strange ways are my favorites on Hotter than hell, along with Parasite. 

[Lowdz]

I'd love for KISS to do a theatre tour and do an alternate setlist. All those great songs they've ignored for decades. My favourite KISS songs are not represented in the greatest hits tours of the last 20 years.

[bl5150]

This one wasn't bad

https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/kiss/2004/palais-theatre-melbourne-australia-3d405ef.html

[BlobVanDam]

This one wasn't bad

https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/kiss/2004/palais-theatre-melbourne-australia-3d405ef.html

I saw them at the Sydney show of that tour, my first gig.
https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/kiss/2004/sydney-superdome-sydney-australia-13d545bd.html

Great setlist, but I'm still pissed that Perth got Creatures of the Night, and we got shitty King of the Night Time World as the opener instead. Aside from that, I loved the setlist.

https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/kiss/2004/waca-ground-perth-australia-33d4b895.html

And what an amazing setlist that is! They were playing a more varied setlist when they first started with Tommy and Eric, before settling into the more familiar setlists.

[King Postwhore]

Well, I've been lucky enough to see Kiss on these tours.

1979 - Dynasty tour (11 years old and poor dad sat through it all)
1984 - Anilmalize tour (w/ Queensryche opening)
1985/86-- Asylum tour --  my least favorite tour.
1990 -- Hot In The Shade tour -- worst album but best tour of the non makeup shows until Revenge. (2 that tour w/ Slaughter and Winger)
1992 -- Revenge  -- Pure awesomeness
1996 - Alive Worldwide tour -- Reunion tour which was awesome.
1998 Psycho Circus tour  -- The cracks were showing
2010 -- Sonic Boom tour -- Great, great tour.  Musically they were so tight.

[Jaq]

Hotter Than Hell made The TAC Top 50.  Strange Ways is a Top 5 Kiss track for me.

Made my top 100, in the 70s. Easily the best of the first three Kiss albums by a mile.

[BlobVanDam]

Hotter Than Hell made The TAC Top 50.  Strange Ways is a Top 5 Kiss track for me.

Made my top 100, in the 70s. Easily the best of the first three Kiss albums by a mile.

I'd rank the debut slightly higher for songs, and way higher for production. Dressed To Kill is easily the weaker of the first 3 albums though.

[jammindude]

Hotter Than Hell made The TAC Top 50.  Strange Ways is a Top 5 Kiss track for me.

Made my top 100, in the 70s. Easily the best of the first three Kiss albums by a mile.

I'd rank the debut slightly higher for songs, and way higher for production. Dressed To Kill is easily the weaker of the first 3 albums though.

I agree.   More filler on DtK than the other two.   And while Destroyer is still good, it's my least favorite of the first 6.   Too polished, and too many songs I just don't care for that much. 

Hotter Than Hell
Kiss
Love Gun
Dressed to Kill
Rock n Roll Over
Destroyer

[BlobVanDam]

I thought I was the only one who didn't think Destroyer was one of their best. I don't mind the polished sound, but there are only a few songs on there I love, and too much deviating from the standard hard rock. It didn't suit them.

[bl5150]

I thought I was the only one who didn't think Destroyer was one of their best. I don't mind the polished sound, but there are only a few songs on there I love, and too much deviating from the standard hard rock. It didn't suit them.

I'm about the same - always thought Destroyer's status was overdone.  I really only listen to 2-3 tracks from it ...........Detroit Rock City is of course a ripper.

[King Postwhore]

I think some have been tainted from Destroyer because we found out who really played on some of the album but truthfully isn't that the case with most of their albums?

Really is was a jarring change of style but I still love the album though RNRO is my favorite.

[BlobVanDam]

I think some have been tainted from Destroyer because we found out who really played on some of the album but truthfully isn't that the case with most of their albums?

That hasn't tainted any KISS album for me, it's just an expectation and assumption!
I do believe RNRO is just the members of KISS though, and I rank that highest of the Alive 2 albums, ahead of Love Gun, and lastly Destroyer.

[jammindude]

I think some have been tainted from Destroyer because we found out who really played on some of the album but truthfully isn't that the case with most of their albums?

That hasn't tainted any KISS album for me, it's just an expectation and assumption!
I do believe RNRO is just the members of KISS though, and I rank that highest of the Alive 2 albums, ahead of Love Gun, and lastly Destroyer.

At least they all actually did play on the first six albums.      

But ya.   I really love Love Gun, so I'm glad the that the true original era went out with a bang.    As far as Destroyer goes... Beth, Sweet Pain, Great Expectations, and Flaming Youth are all pretty weak to me.   Shout it Out Loud is OK, but like some Kiss songs, it can suffer from "overdoing it"...   The rest is awesome.

[BlobVanDam]

I think some have been tainted from Destroyer because we found out who really played on some of the album but truthfully isn't that the case with most of their albums?

That hasn't tainted any KISS album for me, it's just an expectation and assumption!
I do believe RNRO is just the members of KISS though, and I rank that highest of the Alive 2 albums, ahead of Love Gun, and lastly Destroyer.

At least they all actually did play on the first six albums.      

Ah, KISS. I excuse them from many things that I wouldn't tolerate from any other band.
Given the flaky nature of Ace and Peter in later years, it doesn't bother me one bit though.
And they weren't fooling anyone with COTN. Yeah, that sounded just like Ace.

[jammindude]

I think some have been tainted from Destroyer because we found out who really played on some of the album but truthfully isn't that the case with most of their albums?

That hasn't tainted any KISS album for me, it's just an expectation and assumption!
I do believe RNRO is just the members of KISS though, and I rank that highest of the Alive 2 albums, ahead of Love Gun, and lastly Destroyer.

At least they all actually did play on the first six albums.      

Ah, KISS. I excuse them from many things that I wouldn't tolerate from any other band.
Given the flaky nature of Ace and Peter in later years, it doesn't bother me one bit though.
And they weren't fooling anyone with COTN. Yeah, that sounded just like Ace.

That whole thing really irks me...mostly just because the bridges hadn't *really* been burned yet (well, emotionally maybe, but the contract was still in place obviously) and it seems like CotN was *exactly* the album that Ace always bitched about wanting to do.     I would like to think that at any given moment, Ace *COULD* have walked up to Gene and Paul and at least said, "Hey, you know what?  I was really disillusioned with the last 2 or 3 albums, but this new direction is really cool.  Maybe we can work out moving forward..."     

I know I was complaining not too long ago that we've never heard Ace make a comment on the CotN material...which is strange because he would have AT LEAST heard I Love it Loud since he appeared in the music video.      They're in a room together and making press appearances together and they can't have a conversation?   Baffling...

[King Postwhore]

Come on guys.  That was totally Peter Criss playing drums on "Torpedo Girl."

[Lowdz]

This one wasn't bad

https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/kiss/2004/palais-theatre-melbourne-australia-3d405ef.html

That's a great setlist for KISS but I hate I Love It Loud. And Blob, KOTNW is one of my favourite ever KISS songs and is no way "shitty"!

And first 6?

Hotter Than Hell
Love Gun
KISS
RnRO
Dressed To Kill
Destroyer

[King Postwhore]

I still remember loosing my shit when on the HITS tour they started to play I Want You.  Paul let out that huge, "IIIIIIISSSSSSSSS"!!

[ThatcrazyKISSfan]

Really dig Mainline and all of HTH, and don't like Read My Body, nor the vast majority of HITS. That early part of the 2004 Downunder was pretty cool. Really wish they would do more like that. I haven't seen them in years as a result. I've seen pretty much the exact same show 3 times.

[BlobVanDam]

This one wasn't bad

https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/kiss/2004/palais-theatre-melbourne-australia-3d405ef.html

That's a great setlist for KISS but I hate I Love It Loud. And Blob, KOTNW is one of my favourite ever KISS songs and is no way "shitty"!

I Love it Loud is way better than KOTNW. Your opinion is invalid!

[Jaq]

As Destroyer made my top 15, I'm just gonna have to stick my fingers in my ears and go "LA LA LA I CAN'T HEAR YOU."