Official KISS thread

[bl5150]

Hopefully the brothers sorted out their issues before he passed - it was getting pretty nasty not all that long ago.  Bob came across as a rather cutting personality but he played great on the first album I  owned in my life (and the only one for about 2 years) KISS Killers - so he has a big part in my musical journey.

RIP

[TAC]

Hopefully the brothers sorted out their issues before he passed - it was getting pretty nasty not all that long ago. 

Yeah, I wasn't aware of that. He accused Bruce of some stuff regarding copyright, or something like that?

He played on the first album I ever owned too. KISS Alive II.

[TAC]

Wow!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0vHollF30I

[King Postwhore]

No shit.  I didn't know of the riff.

[Stadler]

King, what riff? 

The video is awesome (for what it is).  The cuts to the "highlight" parts - the fire, the blood, the drum solo - doesn't do the band justice, though.  There's a snippet at about 18:00 or so where they're in the jam part of 100,000 years, and that was really the best part of the show (in my opinion) back then.  They were a really good live band.  She, 100,000 Years, Let Me Go Rock and Roll... those were so strong as live songs.

In case anyone wants more of this era, the next night, the 26th (also at Cobo Hall) is on Kissology Vol. 1, and is an equally good performance.    There are two shows on that Kissology set - the Cobo Hall show, and a year before at Winterland in San Francisco - that are just INCENDIARY.   I mean, they are ON FIRE (well, literally, since Gene lit his hair on fire at the Cobo show!).   They were a really good band live before - and this is my opinion only - Peter got too big for his britches (as arrogant as Gene and Paul can be, they deliver live.  In 40 years of being a fan, I don't think I've ever seen a show that Paul has phoned in.  The Kiss/Aerosmith show I saw in 2004 or so, the performance by Peter may be the worst performance I've ever seen out of an arena headliner.)

Oh, and Paul can go f--- himself for the dig at Hartford, CT at 23:00; he does that the next night, too.  Dick.   

[King Postwhore]

Meant rift.  Between the Kulick brothers.

[TAC]

The video is awesome (for what it is).  The cuts to the "highlight" parts - the fire, the blood, the drum solo - doesn't do the band justice, though.  There's a snippet at about 18:00 or so where they're in the jam part of 100,000 years, and that was really the best part of the show (in my opinion) back then.  They were a really good live band.  She, 100,000 Years, Let Me Go Rock and Roll... those were so strong as live songs.


Oh, and Paul can go f--- himself for the dig at Hartford, CT at 23:00; he does that the next night, too.  Dick.   

It's why I love bootleg videos. You can really see that band as they really are. No fancy cuts.
This video is a real find.


Of course it was in Hartford where I actually saw Paul Stanley.

[jjrock88]

Watched one of the side video where the band talks about Kiss Meets the Phantom Park.

Seriously that movie needs a true blu ray release so people can witness it's complete cheesy glory.  The acting, the lasers, Ace's stunt double 

[Orbert]

One of my treasured VHS tapes.  We don't have a lot, but we have that one.  Processed American Cheese Food.

[TAC]

My VHS tapes became dumpster food many years ago. I do have the DVD though.

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

I transferred my VHS of Kiss Meets the Phantom to mp4 last year. So cheesy. So awful.

[bl5150]

I love KISS and I love cheese but I still couldn't bring myself to watch that 

[jjrock88]

I love KISS and I love cheese but I still couldn't bring myself to watch that 

You have to be able to appreciate extreme cheesy movies to appreciate Kiss Meets the Phamtom Park to enjoy it.  And likely being high as a kite or drunk as f%k.

[Stadler]

When I ripped the DVDs to my hard drive (some of those live shows are excellent as "live albums") I ripped the snippet of Pete singing Beth to Paul's acoustic guitar. 

The "Kiss Meets The Phantom" side of the band is the side I like least, but it's still entertaining for what it is.   How they kept a straight face is beyond me.   And poor Anthony Zerbe and Carmine Cardini, legit actors (the latter was in two of the three Godfather movies, and was an original contender for Sonny, 'cept he was too tall).   They have no excuse! 

[DTA]

What's everyone's thoughts on Psycho Circus?

I'm nearing the end of checking out the entire Kiss catalog and I only have Monster, Sonic Boom, and Peter Criss left to listen to. Currently I'm on Psycho Circus and I'm actually surprised by how much I like it considering the negative things I've heard (though it seems the ones I hear the most negative shit about wind up being ones I like a lot). I know the title track already quite well and it's probably one of my favorite songs of theirs, and I'm really enjoying the rest of the tracks. Overall, the album sounds and feels a lot like Revenge which is a top-tier Kiss album for me.

[jjrock88]

What's everyone's thoughts on Psycho Circus?

I'm nearing the end of checking out the entire Kiss catalog and I only have Monster, Sonic Boom, and Peter Criss left to listen to. Currently I'm on Psycho Circus and I'm actually surprised by how much I like it considering the negative things I've heard (though it seems the ones I hear the most negative shit about wind up being ones I like a lot). I know the title track already quite well and it's probably one of my favorite songs of theirs, and I'm really enjoying the rest of the tracks. Overall, the album sounds and feels a lot like Revenge which is a top-tier Kiss album for me.

The title track and Dreamin are top notch Kiss.  The rest is pretty good, but not top tier Kiss for me.

[King Postwhore]

Completely agree. Wasted opportunity.

[TAC]

Psycho Circus is actually pretty decent. Other than the cringeworthy I Finally Found My Way, the album is really good.

[Lowdz]

Wow, I’m agreeing with Tim again. Not about Keel though 😀

[King Postwhore]

I just found it average.  You can tell Ace and Peter barely play on the album.

The only song they all play on together is "Into The Void."

[Stadler]

I just found it average.  You can tell Ace and Peter barely play on the album.

The only song they all play on together is "Into The Void."

Yeah, but at least as for Peter Criss, you'd actually say that was a good thing.  I've written this before, but he's up there - if not the winner - for "Worst performances by a member of a headlining band" that I've ever seen.   It was the Kiss-Aerosmith tour, and "phoned it in" is being polite.  I'm convinced to this day that there was a drummer behind the curtain, because there as zero energy from him and he was barely moving his arms.   Yet the show itself was pretty darn good. 

Me, I like not love Psycho Circus.  The title track is awesome except for the chorus, but I really dig the Gene songs on that album; Within and Journey of a 1,000 Years are excellent, We Are One is better than it should be, In Your Face (sung by Ace; not on the album proper, but a b-side) is pretty good.

I second that "I Finally Found My Way" is cringe-worthy, and it was second to last (see above) nail in the "I hate Peter Criss" coffin.  I especially hate the cheesy, whispered "to you" at the end, like Peter thinks he's fucking Tony Bennett.

For TAC:   Paul and Bruce (the writers) had to settle out of court with Alice Cooper over "Dreamin'", since it was too close to "I'm Eighteen".   I don't think  the credits were changed, though, so it must have been a lump sum payment, which was probably smart on Alice's part (haha).   

Paul hated making this album; he didn't like Bruce Fairbairn's contributions and pledged that if there were ever any more Kiss records, the band would self-produce or nothing.  It was also the beginning of the end of the "reunion" band, since he felt the other two (Ace and Peter) were coasting already.   

DTA, I'm VERY curious as to what you think of Sonic Boom and Monster.  Sonic Boom is one of my favorites in the catalogue, and I think rivals some of the classic era in spots (I certainly listen to it as much as the early stuff).   

[Lowdz]

I enjoyed Sonic Boom and Monster but I don't go back to them very often. Too many excellent albums in the catalogue to settle for ok. They were a big surprise though.

[King Postwhore]

Sonic Boom and Monster are much more coherent albums from start to finish.

[Cintus Supremus]

The title track and Dreamin are top notch Kiss.  The rest is pretty good, but not top tier Kiss for me.

Those are some of my faves too. I also really like Raise Your Glasses and Journey of 1,000 Years, which has become one of my favourite Gene tunes of all time.

[Mladen]

I've first heard Sonic boom and Monster about a year and a half ago, and I was pleasantly surprised by how consistent Sonic boom was. Pretty much every song is a solid rocker with fine melodies and choruses. On the other hand, I don't remember a single song off of Monster.

[DTA]

Psycho Circus is actually pretty decent. Other than the cringeworthy I Finally Found My Way, the album is really good.

Yeah that song is brutal, but every other song is really catchy which is pretty much all I can ask for for a bunch of old guys.

DTA, I'm VERY curious as to what you think of Sonic Boom and Monster.  Sonic Boom is one of my favorites in the catalogue, and I think rivals some of the classic era in spots (I certainly listen to it as much as the early stuff).   

I usually play an album through 10x before I move onto the next one and I'm currently working my way through 4 new albums (including Psycho Circus) so it's going to be a bit before I get to those. I was thinking of hitting Peter's solo album first then finishing off with Sonic Boom and Monster but you have me intrigued about SB so maybe I'll do that, then PC, then Monster. I pretty much love every album I've heard of theirs so far (except Carnival of Souls, Destroyer, and Love Gun) so I'm sure these two won't be any different.

[TAC]

There is no need to hit Peter's solo album. Never mind 10 f'n times.

For TAC:   Paul and Bruce (the writers) had to settle out of court with Alice Cooper over "Dreamin'", since it was too close to "I'm Eighteen".   I don't think  the credits were changed, though, so it must have been a lump sum payment, which was probably smart on Alice's part (haha).   

Really?? Wow, that's interesting.

It's been ages since I listened to Psycho Circus, but I never made the connection with I'm Eighteen. Huh? Gonna listen now.

EDIT: HOLY SHIT!

Sonic Boom is one of my favorites in the catalogue, and I think rivals some of the classic era in spots (I certainly listen to it as much as the early stuff).   

Stadler, what the hell is wrong with you?

[DTA]

There is no need to hit Peter's solo album. Never mind 10 f'n times.

I'm dreading it...

[King Postwhore]

I only listen to 1 song on Peter's album and it's been forever! Lol

[Mladen]

It's worth giving it a listen for You matter to me and Don't you let me down. Sure, they do not sound like KISS at all, but that wasn't the point of solo albums anyway. If I were to combine highlights of the solo albums into one KISS album, those two songs would probably make it. The rest of the record can be thrown away, though.

[DTA]

I've learned not to take most fans opinions into account too much. I was told Hot In The Shade/Crazy Nights are the absolute bottom of the barrel, but I love them both and they get much more play than Destroyer which is always ranked at #1. I've enjoyed all the solo albums so far, and I'm sure Peter's will have a things I really like and a few things that suck (which is pretty standard for every single album of theirs).

[Stadler]

I've learned not to take most fans opinions into account too much. I was told Hot In The Shade/Crazy Nights are the absolute bottom of the barrel, but I love them both and they get much more play than Destroyer which is always ranked at #1. I've enjoyed all the solo albums so far, and I'm sure Peter's will have a things I really like and a few things that suck (which is pretty standard for every single album of theirs).

I get Carnival of Souls - not high on my list either - but what DON'T you like about Destroyer and Love Gun?   I mean, the former is overplayed by half, but King..., Flaming Youth, Shout It Out Loud, and Do You Love Me are excellent.   As for Love Gun, it's a very good SOUNDING record, and even though the lyrics are dodgy, the Gene songs on that album are some of my favorites.   The only song that well and truly blows on either album is "Hooligan" which is just dreadful. 

[jjrock88]

I was wondering the exact same thing. Carnival of Souls, no question I understand not digging that one. But Destroyer and Love Gun are quintessential 70s Kiss

[Orbert]

I still think of Destroyer and Love Gun as the first "clean and shiny" KISS albums.  Alive! was their big breakthrough, and was where a lot of people (myself included) got on the train.  Their studio work up to that point had a certain charm to it, but it was definitely rough and raw as far as production went.  And that was perfectly fine for the music they were making at the time.

Then came Alive! of course, and then when Destroyer came out, sure enough, you could literally hear how much bigger the budget was.  Wasn't that the first Bob Ezrin album for them?

[Stadler]

I still think of Destroyer and Love Gun as the first "clean and shiny" KISS albums.  Alive! was their big breakthrough, and was where a lot of people (myself included) got on the train.  Their studio work up to that point had a certain charm to it, but it was definitely rough and raw as far as production went.  And that was perfectly fine for the music they were making at the time.

Then came Alive! of course, and then when Destroyer came out, sure enough, you could literally hear how much bigger the budget was.  Wasn't that the first Bob Ezrin album for them?

Yes it was. 

Kenny Kerner and Richie Wise produced the first two (and later "apologized" for the production on "Hotter Than Hell")
"Neil Bogart" produced the third (in quotes because by all accounts he basically did coke and let the band produce themselves)
Eddie Kramer produced Alive!
Bob Ezrin produced Destroyer
Eddie Kramer produced Rock And Roll Over and Love Gun