KISS Discography - My Life As a Kiss Fan

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

I've already listened to Kiss and HTH this morning.  I'm on DTK right now.  Ace was really on fire back then, as was Peter.  It went to crap fast.  Ace could have been really much bigger than he was, but he really shit the bed.

[TAC]

A couple other pics (I've posted these before):

My grandmother (who was the best BTW!) made me a KISS Cake when I was a kid:



Also, here is me and my brother, 1979 I believe, for Halloween. I'm Gene, in my mother's boots, hockey stock guitar, and aluminum foil demon hider!

[Stadler]

I agree with you Tim.  Paul, Peter's was a whinefest.  He's the type of guy that blames everyone but himself. He's his own worst enemy.

You almost have to read Peter's for the others to make sense though.   I always thought that Gene was very unfair to Pete and Ace (with the "addict" references and what not) but I had a breakthrough after reading Peter's, and now I am FIRMLY in the Paul and Gene camp.  I'm not like Gene in thinking that ALL addiction is "choice", but certainly in the case of Peter, he plowed his own row.  He's responsible for where he found himself, full stop.  Ace knew better too, but he delivered.  He did the promo for the Creatures material, because he had his issues but he didn't make others pay for them.   I've said this before, but Peter lost all credibility with me with his performance on the Aerosmith/Kiss tour.  It was EMBARASSING.   

I too would love to know more about Gene and Paul.  At times, they are like real brothers, but there is a discernible coldness there that I would love to have explained in more detail than just "we're brothers but sometimes we disagree", and Paul's book didn't do it. 

[TAC]

Stadler, does Gene's book address his relationship with Paul? I'm sure it doesn't and I have no real desire to read Gene tell me how great he (Gene) is.

[ZirconBlue]

Paul wrote in his Bio (which is amazing BTW) that he wanted to take the make up off for Creatures. I really wish they had. It really is an amazing album.

I got the 1985 reissue which had a non-makeup cover that for some reason has Bruce on it! 

[Stadler]

I've thought this before, but after watching the '75 show that Stadler mentions, and spinning Dressed To Kill this morning, what a waste of talent Ace was. He really wasn't a bad guitar player. But he came nowhere close to his potential. And I'd say the same thing about Peter. I mean, does anyone really have a problem with his drumming, especially on those first few albums? And his voice was fantastic.

I like (not love) his voice, though I don't like his vocal stylings (the whispered, "to you, babe" after the horrid "I Finally Found My Way", but I will tell you, his playing on HTH is the stuff of legend.  I don't drum, so it may be "sloppy", it may be something Mike (both of them) could play in their sleep, but in terms of listening, it just PROPELS the music.   It's easily his greatest work, in my opinion. 

I think Ace had sprinklings throughout; the first record was key; he's on fire on HTH, I think he's okay on DTK, nonexistent on Destroyer, I think he's on fire again on RnRO, and from then on, he's great on his stuff, and I think for the most part phones it in on the other members' songs. 

I am definitely in the camp that agrees that Peter and Ace had the opportunity and didn't make the most of it. 

[Stadler]

Stadler, does Gene's book address his relationship with Paul? I'm sure it doesn't and I have no real desire to read Gene tell me how great he (Gene) is.

No, except in the most generic of terms.  Gene has nothing bad to say about Paul, but - as is typical with Gene - there isn't a lot of digging deep.   Gene has a way of saying an awful lot, sharing what seems like deep details, but not really revealing much of real substance, and that is the case.  Though it's a great book and not all "self-aggrandizing" as it may be assumed to be. 

[Stadler]

Trivia Answers: 
Who did Gene meet for the first time during the recording of “I Love It Loud”?   Bruce Kulick, who would (in 1985) join the band officially as the lead guitar player (in what many consider the best lineup, musically). 

What famous actress is the subject of Paul’s song “I Still Love You”?   Donna "Mrs. Dan Ackroyd" Dixon, the super-, mega-hot actress who left Paul for Ackroyd (to whom she is still married to, to this day; she's still gorgeous, by the way). 

What are the two “mistakes” on the front cover [of Hotter Than Hell]?  The Japanese lettering in the upper right doesn't say "Hotter Than Hell", it says "Hell's Shout" or "the Shout of Hell" (which is still pretty cool) and the lettering adjacent to Ace's name says "Ace Fury", not "Ace Frehley" (which is also pretty cool).

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

the lettering adjacent to Ace's name says "Ace Frehrey", not "Ace Frehley" (which is also pretty cool).

FTFY

[TAC]

I saw this awhile back, but thought of it this morning. It's quite funny.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3s6OV9QjOQ

[TAC]

I'm listening to Monster on Spotify, and damn, this is excellent.

Just ordered VERY CHEAP used versions of Monster and Sonic Boom from Amazon.

[King Postwhore]

I agree with you Tim.  Paul, Peter's was a whinefest.  He's the type of guy that blames everyone but himself. He's his own worst enemy.

You almost have to read Peter's for the others to make sense though.   I always thought that Gene was very unfair to Pete and Ace (with the "addict" references and what not) but I had a breakthrough after reading Peter's, and now I am FIRMLY in the Paul and Gene camp.  I'm not like Gene in thinking that ALL addiction is "choice", but certainly in the case of Peter, he plowed his own row.  He's responsible for where he found himself, full stop.  Ace knew better too, but he delivered.  He did the promo for the Creatures material, because he had his issues but he didn't make others pay for them.   I've said this before, but Peter lost all credibility with me with his performance on the Aerosmith/Kiss tour.  It was EMBARASSING.   

I too would love to know more about Gene and Paul.  At times, they are like real brothers, but there is a discernible coldness there that I would love to have explained in more detail than just "we're brothers but sometimes we disagree", and Paul's book didn't do it.

Well, I think they always looked as Kiss as a brand to build on and Ace and Peter loved playing and having their fun. It's easy to look down at Peter because he was such a maniac.  I was shocked they dealt with him for so long.  I do agree that I loved his playing early on. The "swing" to his playing added a different dimension to the rock songs.

[King Postwhore]

I'm listening to Monster on Spotify, and damn, this is excellent.

Just ordered VERY CHEAP used versions of Monster and Sonic Boom from Amazon.

I knew you'd like them Tim.  They both are modern versions of the old style of Kiss.  They put their time into the writing and the recording.

[TAC]

Eat Your Heart Out (which I'm hearing now for the first time) sounds like they ripped it right off of Asylum.

[Stadler]

[Can of worms being opened]:  Does your version of Sonic Boom have the old songs re-recorded by the new band?

Personally, I think they are EXCELLENT and I defy any band after 35 years to re-record songs from their debut album and have them sound so good. 

[Orbert]

What are the two “mistakes” on the front cover [of Hotter Than Hell]?  The Japanese lettering in the upper right doesn't say "Hotter Than Hell", it says "Hell's Shout" or "the Shout of Hell" (which is still pretty cool) and the lettering adjacent to Ace's name says "Ace Fury", not "Ace Frehley" (which is also pretty cool).

I wouldn't consider the second one a mistake, technically.  Asian names have their own symbols, of course, but if it's not an Asian name, only the ones which had made their way into the vernacular will have an ideogram.  Essentially, each symbol = one word/concept/idea.

When translating Western names into Asian ideograms, there are several options.  (1) If the name already exists in Chinese/Japanese and there's already a symbol for it, you use it.  Obviously this would be the best option.  (2) If the name is synonymous with something for which a symbol exists, use that.  For example, a Japanese comic with Nick Fury might use the symbol for "fury" (extreme anger) and the symbol for "nick" (a small cut).  But it wouldn't be quite correct to say that these are the symbols for the name.  (3) If the name sounds close enough to a word for which there's a symbol, use that.  There is no symbol for Frehley; it's not an Asian name, and it's not a synonym for anything, so they just picked something close enough, and Silly Americans won't know the difference.

[BlobVanDam]

[Can of worms being opened]:  Does your version of Sonic Boom have the old songs re-recorded by the new band?

Personally, I think they are EXCELLENT and I defy any band after 35 years to re-record songs from their debut album and have them sound so good. 

I was worried you were going to say they sucked, but I agree with you! Some are better than others, but overall it's a great listen. I even prefer that recording of HTH to the original.

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

Flaming Youth should've been the opener on Destroyer.  Basically Side 2 should be Side 1.

[dtvoices94]

     What stuck me about KISS (and still does to this day) was their diversity and song quality.  You got a NYC street rock S/T debut followed up with a grungy, foreboding HTH, capped off by the glam rock assault of DTK.  They tie it all together nicely with a live album and a re-packaging of the first three (The Originals).
     From there, Bob Ezrin enters the picture and you get the slick, orchestrated Destroyer.  Next, you get the meat and potatoes foot stomping rockers RARO and Love Gun.  They tie all this together with Alive II and a re-packaging of the next 3 albums (The Originals II).  For good measure, they also release the compilation album Double Platinum (and a made for TV movie).
     Then you get 4 solo albums...Peter's rock/R&B/disco hybrid , Gene's everything but the kitchen sink hodgepodge, Paul's close to the vest rocker, and from out of left field a masterpiece in rock guitar from the Space Ace.
     To end their run, you got a disco infused rocker-Dynasty,  followed by a power pop extravaganza-Unmasked.  This is all from 1974-1980...and you can easily fill up two discs worth of classics.  Too many people listened with their eyes and this band never got (or gets) the credit they deserve (save for Tom Morello's induction speech which BTW gave me chills and had me ready to re-enlist in the KISS Army).

[TAC]

Later on, they've apparently done full performances of The Oath on a couple Kiss Kruises.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6sbALlzUzQ

When the song starts, the crowd absolutely loses their shit.

That is fantasticly amazing!!!!

Just watched the Friday's clips from the DVD. Those three Elder tunes are top notch.

[jammindude]

I've been waiting for the Creatures discussion.   But sitting in a bar waiting for Dream Theater is not the best time or place.  But I'll try to summarize.

Why is the info on the Creatures era so tight lipped?     I mean...it seems like we known a lot of the drama surrounding the breakup of the original band between the solo albums and The Elder.   But for some reason, the true behind the scenes grit that has bubbled to the surface on that era is strangely absent in the VV years.  Ace in particular has not ONE WORD to say about this album...which seems odd.   Because it was the album he had been bitching that he wanted all along.   And what was his comment when Kiss finally released the rockin album that he had always told them they should?  "I never ever heard it."   That is, in essence, his only commentary on the album.  Which is bull crap anyway....because he at least played I Love It Loud on several occasions. 

It's just hard for me to believe that....even with relations being as bad as they were...Ace didn't even give a fair listen to an amazing album.   *IF* he would have given it a fair shake, maybe he could have just walked up to Paul and Gene during the video shoot, or even before a show, and just said...."THIS album is more of what I wanted.  Do you think we can get back on track if we keep doing this stuff?"  The fact that he didn't do that, seriously damages any credibility he has about leaving because the band was going in a direction he didn't like.

[King Postwhore]

You don't get that he wasn't on the album and it pissed him on?  Why would he want to comment on something he didn't play on?

[TAC]

It would piss me on too! On and on!!

[King Postwhore]

Lol off dammit. I'll piss on you buddy. Lol

[King Postwhore]

It would piss me on too! On and on!!

Also, you agree adding the "off"?!  Lol

[bl5150]

there are plenty of women I have met in my time who turn me on and piss me off at the same time.

"piss me on" 

[TAC]

there are plenty of women I have met in my time who turn me on and piss me off at the same time.

"piss me on" 

But what they're saying about you is "turn me off'.

[King Postwhore]

I think Brent you would like that.

[bl5150]

 

I need to go back over this thread properly as I have only been skimming.  I can't argue too much about these top albums.  I always loved Creatures in particular .  As a kid I could not stand War Machine (which seems to be a fan fave) but grew to like it after seeing it live.    From the deep cuts Danger was always a favourite - Paul's vocal performance is outstanding.

[King Postwhore]

Well it's on my "crank at work tomorrow " list.

[TAC]

I listened to Creatures today while cutting the front lawn. War Machine is awesome.

[King Postwhore]

Better watch oooouuuttteee!

At least that's what I sounds like. 

[dtvoices94]

Creatures is so overrated.  The title track is great but for the most part, the rest is filler.  I Still Love You drags unmercifully as does I Love It Loud (once the initial shine wears off).  Killer and War Machine are standouts but the rest is forgotten at best.  By this time, Ace was so far gone in a drunk/drug haze...even Paul tried to convince him to stay but he has no recollection of it.  Bill Aucoin had been fired and KISS was a ship without a captain.  Enter Vinnie Vincent.

[jjrock88]

I listened to Creatures today while cutting the front lawn. War Machine is awesome.

 

[Cyclopssss]

I've read some very interesting stuff in this thread but haven't been contributing very much to my shame. That is, off course, because as a once avid KISS fan, I sort of shut off my love for the band after the whole unmasked thing, and the unmasked period. I stopped buying their records, so I sort of have nothing to offer on them, which in hindsight is a damn shame. Because they made some pretty fucking great records AFTER their hayday.

But lets talk some more on the live KISS for a moment. I've listened to their early studio recordings and thought they couldn't top those versions. Untill I heard Alive.
Sure KISS was a show-band, the show element was VERY important. But once they started to groove, man, that was it! Listen to got to choose, when Peter start hitting that cowbell. Are you kidding me?! Firehouse? Cold Gin? Strutter? Get the fuck out! And then we start getting into stellar levels with Black Diamond and 100.000 Years. Sure when you start listening close, you hear the sloppiness and all that.
I don't care. When they got in that pocket, they f' in'  ROCKED.

Also, to all you guys 'in the know', I would love to hear about the whole Eric Carr drama. I knew about his death off course, but the circomstances are a bit murky to me.