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KISS Discography - My Life As a Kiss Fan

Started by Stadler, April 18, 2016, 08:52:41 AM

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Stadler

I'm pretty sure I saw Cold Gin at The Sting in New Britain, CT around '94, '95 if that is possible.   I don't know if those are the guys you played with or not, but they were good.  Whoever it was, I can remember being blown away by their version of "She".   

I thought that video you posted was pretty cool.  Nice solo, and you looked good.

King Postwhore

It's really weird to knock down a few beers with Coz when he's in his Ace Costume.  ACK!


I kid!  I kid!


That would be fun though.
"I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down'." - Bon Newhart.

cfmoran13

Coz, while in Cold Gin, did you ever play any of the NJ/NY KISS Expos in Hackensack?  I could've sworn they played one of the conventions I went to back in the mid/late 90's.

Sir GuitarCozmo

Quote from: Stadler on May 05, 2016, 09:06:42 AM
I'm pretty sure I saw Cold Gin at The Sting in New Britain, CT around '94, '95 if that is possible.   I don't know if those are the guys you played with or not, but they were good.  Whoever it was, I can remember being blown away by their version of "She".   

I thought that video you posted was pretty cool.  Nice solo, and you looked good.

Thanks!  I joined the band in '97.  March 1, 1997 was my first show, in my own hometown, no less.  :lol  Only place I ever played in Connecticut was a wide spot in the road called Baltic, just above Norwich.  The band had been around for a lot longer than I was, so it's very possible it was the same band.

Funny enough, I had a She moment in Baltic, CT.  We'd decided at some point during the set that we weren't going to take a break, we were just going to do one LONG set.  Somewhere at the beginning of that end coda section to She (the pasted on part that came from Let Me Know), I broke my D string.  The riff relies heavily on it.  I had to immediately rework the entire riff in my head to play all the D string notes on the A string and keep it going.  We finished the song and decided we'd take a break after all, so I could change the string.  My singer told me later how impressed he was that I'd reworked it all on the spot like that.

Also, here's a Google Maps thing I did, pinpointing every place I've played.  I did a lot of Kiss gigs in PA, as well as gigs with several other bands.  But if it's outside PA, it was a Kiss gig.  Also, the Mexico pinpoint I only put there for fun, we didn't play there.  :lol  The Panama City, Panama pinpoint WAS an actual gig though.  Each pin has accompanying text if you click it, usually about random stuff I remembered.

https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?hl=en&mid=1cmJG_XoFTQ36AyDIHwNFtYYqkz4

Quote from: cfmoran13 on May 05, 2016, 09:16:45 AMCoz, while in Cold Gin, did you ever play any of the NJ/NY KISS Expos in Hackensack?  I could've sworn they played one of the conventions I went to back in the mid/late 90's.

I did not.  It's possible the earlier iteration of the band did, but in the late 90's Kiss Tributes were huge.  There were lots of them and a few of them were based out of NY.

TAC

#319
Thanks to you assholes I listened The Elder on the way to work today! ;D

I would love to have heard this with a Lick It Up style production. All the life is sucked out of these tracks by the production.
Ezrin was pretty fucked up himself during this time period.
Quote from: wkiml on June 08, 2012, 09:06:35 AMwould have thought the same thing but seeing the OP was TAC i immediately thought Maiden or DT related
Quote from: DTwwbwMP on October 10, 2024, 11:26:46 AMDISAPPOINTED.. I hoped for something more along the lines of ADTOE.

Sir GuitarCozmo


Stadler

WOW.  Not to be confrontational or to prolong the controversy, but the production is one of the things I LOVE about ...The Elder, especially as compared to the next two with Michael "Not the 'Beat It' Guy" Jackson.  I always though Lick It Up was a shade too thin.  I'm kinda glad they didn't use the drum sound from "Creatures" (I get that it was inspirational, but it's a shade over the top for me) but I still think the Ezrin produced records are as a group the best SOUNDING of the Kiss records (the Eddie Kramer records are next). 

Stadler

6. Lick It Up (1983):   One of the more famous of the post-originals albums, this is the first one released after the epic unveiling on September 18, 1983 (my first reaction:  "I would have put on makeup too") of Kiss without their makeup (actually, the album was released on the same day).  The album was a hit, though Paul has famously said "the fans were listening with their eyes", because the record is in a lot of ways more a sequel to the previous years' "Creatures of the Night", even down to the personnel.  Co-writing all but two songs, Vinnie Vincent continued to bring his melodic sensibility to the band, and here he instilled a positive energy and a confidence in the group, one of only three albums to have no outside writers on it.  The title track is one of the very few non-makeup songs to remain in the setlist after the makeup reunion, and is one of only two non-makeup songs played by the original band on the reunion tours.  Controversial statement:  I think Gene is on fire on this record.  I could do without "Young and Wasted", but "Not For The Innocent" and the last three songs on the record are classic Gene.  I'm less enamored with the Paul songs; these don't sound like the classic Paul from the solo album and are a lot more.... whiny-er, for lack of a better word.   Paul starts to sing in a higher register here and it's not my favorite but the songs are strong.   I may not LOVE every song, but the only truly weak moment is the "what be this, and what be that?" part of the "All Hell's..." rap.  But I actually like the rest of the song (the second of only three songs credited to the four current members of the band).  The worst part of this album is by far the videos; for such a visual band on stage, the videos for this record are comical and cringe-inducing. 

Trivia:  What are the three Eric Carr-era songs played by the original band live?   What are the other two albums in the catalogue to have NO outside writers, only current band members?

5. Kiss (1974):  Where the fire started, and still burns today.   It's not a coincidence that seven of the ten songs were also on the seminal "Alive!" record (and the remaining three were known to be played live), and anywhere from two to four of the songs regularly appear in the set list to this day.   The album contains one of my top three favorite Kiss tunes ever ("Deuce") and several others that are still strong favorites ("Cold Gin", "Black Diamond", "100,000 Years", "Firehouse").  I think the fact that many of these songs had been played for years prior to their recording really shows.   The solo in "100,000 Years" is by far my favorite by Ace.  Even the two 'filler' tunes – "Kissin' Time", a cover recorded and added to the record after its initial release, and "Love Theme From Kiss", an instrumental fragment from a live staple (the first of only three songs credited to the four current members of the band) – are listenable.  Sometimes the production gets knocked, but I actually LOVE the sound of this record, and for me, it is in large part what I think of when I think of Kiss.   The cover – an homage to "With The Beatles" – shows the makeup in transition for Ace and Gene, and Peter's was done by an outside makeup professional for the first and only time.

Trivia:  What song did Paul play for Gene upon their first meeting?  What was the first song that Ace played with the band?  What is the third of the three songs in the catalogue credited to all four current members at the time? 

Sir GuitarCozmo

3 Eric Carr songs played by the original band?  I'm gonna go with Lick It Up, Heaven's on Fire, and I Love It Loud.

I think the first song Paul played for Gene was Sunday Driver, which became Let Me Know.  First song Ace played with the band was Deuce.

Stadler

Quote from: Sir GuitarCozmo on May 05, 2016, 10:47:52 AM
3 Eric Carr songs played by the original band?  I'm gonna go with Lick It Up, Heaven's on Fire, and I Love It Loud.

I think the first song Paul played for Gene was Sunday Driver, which became Let Me Know.  First song Ace played with the band was Deuce.

You're disqualified. :)    Seriously, nice job.  They have played a fair amount from Creatures with the current lineup, but you are right:  Peter and Ace have only played LIU, HOF and ILIL live. 

Sir GuitarCozmo

 :biggrin:

HOF and ILIL were guesses, actually.  I knew LIU was the obvious one and HOF seemed fairly obvious.  Both are pretty easy songs to play, so Peter and Ace could handle them.  I knew it couldn't have been Tears are Falling, because Ace could never come close to touching a solo like that.  :lol

Sir GuitarCozmo

Also, regarding 100,000 years, I remember reading a quote from Ace about that solo in Guitar World a long time ago.  Fortunately Wikipedia has it:

"I spent a lot of time listening to and relearning a lot of the solos I used to do," remarked Frehley during the band's 1996 reunion. "Like the one in '100,000 Years' – I was listening to it before the tour started, thinking it was just about the nuttiest solo I'd ever heard. I'd never write something like that today."

vazquez

Quote from: Stadler on May 05, 2016, 10:44:07 AM
[...] this is the first one released after the epic unveiling on September 18, 1983 (my first reaction:  "I would have put on makeup too")

:rollin

Lowdz

I love the whole of Lick It Up. I'm a huge VV fan, just a shame he's a complete nutter. I probably like more songs on this than Creatures, but CotN's highs are higher. And I agree about the gene songs, some very good ones. I don't mind the production.

First album is a classic for good reason.

I Better start rating the albums, you're nearly done  :biggrin:

Sir GuitarCozmo

Quote from: Lowdz on May 05, 2016, 11:46:58 AMI'm a huge VV fan, just a shame he's a complete nutter.

All Systems Go is ridiculously fucking awesome.

hefdaddy42

I was pretty put off the first time I listened to Elder.

But then, I recently listened to it again, and I thought it was just awful.
Quote from: BlobVanDam on December 11, 2014, 08:19:46 PMHef is right on all things. Except for when I disagree with him. In which case he's probably still right.

King Postwhore

Sooooooo there's still a chance Hef? :lol

Line it up with the Peter Criss solo album and you'll feel much better.
"I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down'." - Bon Newhart.

hefdaddy42

Quote from: kingshmegland on May 05, 2016, 01:30:53 PM
Sooooooo there's still a chance Hef? :lol

Line it up with the Peter Criss solo album and you'll feel much better.
Not much of a chance. For either one.
Quote from: BlobVanDam on December 11, 2014, 08:19:46 PMHef is right on all things. Except for when I disagree with him. In which case he's probably still right.

King Postwhore

I have not played the Peter Criss solo album since I bought the remaster in the 90's.
"I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down'." - Bon Newhart.

Stadler

^^^^ HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!  You bought the remaster!!! HAHAHAHAHA!

I'm kidding, though I will say that it is the ONLY Kiss album pre-CD that I have only bought one copy of.  Meaning, I have replaced every piece of vinyl (f*** you Howard) with CD EXCEPT for Peter's solo album. 

Stadler

I'm down to four, and I will say this; I've made it a point to listen to every album I've ranked here at least once during this process, for a fresh take, and like Schroedinger's Cat, the final four could be anything until they are published.   That's not really true, as I know the number one, but 2 through 4 are subject to change over the next 24 hours.   

King Postwhore

Quote from: Stadler on May 05, 2016, 01:58:18 PM
^^^^ HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!  You bought the remaster!!! HAHAHAHAHA!

I'm kidding, though I will say that it is the ONLY Kiss album pre-CD that I have only bought one copy of.  Meaning, I have replaced every piece of vinyl (f*** you Howard) with CD EXCEPT for Peter's solo album.

At the time I only had the newer albums on CD so for $6.99 each it was an easy call.  Hell, I paid $6.99 to never play Peter's CD! :lol
"I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down'." - Bon Newhart.

Lowdz

Quote from: Sir GuitarCozmo on May 05, 2016, 11:53:54 AM
Quote from: Lowdz on May 05, 2016, 11:46:58 AMI'm a huge VV fan, just a shame he's a complete nutter.

All Systems Go is ridiculously fucking awesome.

I prefer the 1st one for the complete over the top mentalness of it. Plus, Slaughter's voice grates like nails on a black board.

King Postwhore

Slaughter's voice is a million times better than Robert Fleischman.  I hated his voice.
"I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down'." - Bon Newhart.

TAC

Quote from: Stadler on May 05, 2016, 10:42:00 AM
WOW.  Not to be confrontational or to prolong the controversy, but the production is one of the things I LOVE about ...The Elder, 
Well, but of course you do! :lol

It has no balls.

I love the 80's run of Paul's opening tracks:
The Oath
Creatures Of The Night
Exciter
I've Had Enough
King Of The Mountain

as for the first alum, Black Diamond and 100,000 Years are Top 10 KISS tracks for me.

Quote from: wkiml on June 08, 2012, 09:06:35 AMwould have thought the same thing but seeing the OP was TAC i immediately thought Maiden or DT related
Quote from: DTwwbwMP on October 10, 2024, 11:26:46 AMDISAPPOINTED.. I hoped for something more along the lines of ADTOE.

Sir GuitarCozmo

Quote from: kingshmegland on May 05, 2016, 02:51:22 PM
Slaughter's voice is a million times better than Robert Fleischman.  I hated his voice.

This, though I wouldn't say I hated Fleischman's voice. He had some similarity to Slaughter.

TAC

They both are pretty bad, but I prefer the Flieshman album.

Twisted  :metal
Quote from: wkiml on June 08, 2012, 09:06:35 AMwould have thought the same thing but seeing the OP was TAC i immediately thought Maiden or DT related
Quote from: DTwwbwMP on October 10, 2024, 11:26:46 AMDISAPPOINTED.. I hoped for something more along the lines of ADTOE.

Stadler


King Postwhore

"I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down'." - Bon Newhart.

BlobVanDam

I still haven't actually heard Lick It Up, but I love the title track. The debut album is great. The studios versions of those songs sound a bit bare and weak compared to the Alive versions, but the production is good, and I still enjoy listening to it. So many great songs.

Lowdz

Quote from: kingshmegland on May 05, 2016, 02:51:22 PM
Slaughter's voice is a million times better than Robert Fleischman.  I hated his voice.

We'll have to agree to disagree on that. I don't love Fleishmans voice but I just prefer it to Slaughter. It fit the OTT nature of that first VVI album.
ASG toned everything down and whilst it was a decent album, that 1st one is special.

Mladen


DragonAttack

#347
Debut LP:  Whether there are warts or not, I still like the album after all these years.  I enjoyed hearing the studio versions almost a year after 'Alive', though the end of 'Black Diamond' for the first time (and second and third....) was a WTF moment.  That was/is different.....but it works in such a strange way.  Loved the 'easter egg'  solo at the end of 'Let Me Know' that was used live at the end of 'She'.  It was only a year ago when making a 'best of' cdr for a friend that I learned of the 'Kissin' Time' addition. 
Quote from: frogprog on January 05, 2023, 05:45:48 PM...going along with Dragon Attack's Queen discography thread has been like taking a free class in Queen knowledge. Where else are you gonna find info like that?!
QUEEN DISCOGRAPHY      "www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php/topic,57201.0.html"

Sir GuitarCozmo

Here's an interesting thing - when I first bought the debut album, on cassette, for some reason Nothin' to Lose was the version from Alive.  For many, many years, I'd never heard the actual studio version, because nothing I owned had it.

Lynxo

KISS debut album may be my favorite debut out of any band. It just has so many classic songs, with Black Diamond and 100.000 Years being my two favorites.