Like @GodShifter said at the beginning of Keep Me Comin', I was ready to put the boots to this song but I'm actually enjoying it more than I remember. Really I think Paul is the weak link here, his Plant-ishness and over singing are the low point for me. Not a deal breaker but it's the music that carries the day; I'd love to hear a version of Keep Me Comin' without the vocals and I bet I'd listen to it way more often than this. You'd have a hard time offending me with language but at the same time the use of the word "comin'" is just icky in this case. Which seemed like a nicer way of saying sexy Paul rubs me the wrong way! I love the way the guitar comes roaring into the song. I like the machine gun-like notes in the bridge. Machine gun guitar notes (sometimes I think Metallica got that from Achilles Last Stand) are right up there with pick scrapes for me. Good song, weakest of the bunch so far.
Hey brother! See some one said you would not be back! Shame on them! Lol all's well I hope. Peace, Iam
KEEP ME COMIN' The only song on Creatures about sex, the lyrics always made me laugh as a teen: "I know your plans, where you're keeping you hands, I know it's taking its toll"--even though I used to think it was "I know your PANTS, where you're keeping your hands." Either way, arguably their most overtly "dirty" song since..."Take Me"? "Plaster Caster"? (Insert wisecrack about "Dirty Livin' here). One Zep connection I haven't seen anyone pick up on: the opening of the guitar solo seems to quote the harmonized guitar solo in LZ II's "Ramble On." A fun track, but not one of my top 3 for the album.
Is that anything like a 7 Keep Me Comin out of 10? Sorry I'll go hide over there in the corner with Bill Stoopid
"Painkiller" is one of the greatest metal albums of all time; this is a fact not open to subjectivity.
Creatures of the Night - This one is okay I guess but something about it just seems off to me, like they're trying for something that just isn't really them. I know people really love this one, and I can't really say it's bad...it's not. But to me it come off sort of forced and not genuine. And nothing against Eric Carr as a drummer, but I really don't like the bombastic '80s drum sound on this record. His playing is good but I can't get into that sound. Saint and Sinner - This one I have to say I like. I still have a problem with it not sounding like 'my' KISS. Meaning 70s KISS. That's my own hangup, I know, but it's hard thing for me to get past. I don't like them sounding so 80s. But this is a good catchy song and I do kind of like it. Gene's vocal is really good. Keep Me Coming - This is just pure cheese. Can't dig this at all.
Thanks for sharing that. That's really interesting. This is the short version of what happened to my teacher's band: They were called Red Alert and were a very popular CT hard rock band in the early 80s. As I mentioned earlier they were an early version of the band Steelheart. No one ever believes me and I don't have any links to prove it but they were a much better band in this incarnation. Anyhow, they hooked up with Leka in early '85 probably, he helped them get signed to CBS, and they started recording at the Mansion. And then at some point the CBS thing somehow fell through but they were still signed to him. And so I guess he lost interest in working with them, but he also wouldn't let them out of the deal. So they were stuck and couldn't do anything. This whole thing kept them tied up for about five years. And of course by the early 90s their style of music was on its way out commercially. So while they did ultimately have some success, if they could have put out an album in the mid 80s they would have probably been a lot bigger, because the timing would have been right, and they were a lot better then. btw, I'm familiar with The Dads too. The late Bryan Harvey was in that band. That whole thing is way too sad and disturbing to get into here, but for those that don't know who he was here's a link Bryan Harvey (musician) - Wikipedia
Interesting, as I would rate Motley Crue as one of the very best rock/metal albums of that entire decade... certainly one of the best-produced albums I've yet heard. Many bands would give up their first-born to make an album that good... Amen. Now back to KISS, already in progress...
Keep Me Comin' This song really sounds like a harbinger of the "KISS sound" of the 80's. Paul's vocal features a huge Robert Plant influence, especially in the chorus. The small bridge that bookends the solo also sounds like pure Zep. There's not much substance in the song and the chorus is repeated WAY too much. I like the pre-chorus how it's toned down a bit. Eric's drums sound huge as usual, which is something I love about this whole album. Unfortunately there's just not enough in this song to really hold my attention. I'd rather listen to Plant than hear Paul's attempt at that vocal style.
Gene says he just wrote two new songs with Ace! Funny this is happening now when we're all here discussing a time when they just wouldn't, and Ace was leaving the band. Wasn't really expecting something like that, great news! https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10155583159303678 Around the 18 minute mark.
Catching up with the thread (my few words of the song and I can't really add too much of what's been talked around here): "Creatures Of The Night", song and album so this is back to their prime and more heavier sound. Powerful and groovying track, still digging this one a lot. Drums sound so epic on this track and whole album. Now going to the heavier stuff, it surely was both necessary and welcome direction to take after the last couple albums which suffered sort of no direction and Kiss was getting to softer soundscapes. I think the production and sounds are top notch, it really was surprising to hear this album when I first heard it in my childhood. All in all, one of their best albums and it still sounds really good. The cover of the album really describes mood of days sun have gone down and you're wandering around the streets, but you aren't supposed to meet these creatures of the night. The song is just the perfect dose of heaviness and it's great way to open the album, back in the day it must have had sort really surprising effect as one might have waited for quite different sounding stuff. "Saint And Sinner", really cool tune and Gene sounds really good on this one. Gene must have gotten motivation as when he's going for the job and doing it, it just is great as this song. Another home run song after the title-track, so this is album is going with really nice pace and feeling. Also have to mention that very good solo from Vinnie Vincent. "Keep Me Comin'", great groovy song with great verses, the riffs and rhytmn section are tight. Big, monster pounding drums yet again, they just are so great. Tongue in cheek lyrics that's for sure. There's that little bend hook in the solo, which reminds me a bit of that similar thing also present on "She" (that was taken from The Doors' Five To One solo and then other people copied it from Kiss aswell). I agree with @Paulo Alm that there's definitely some Led Zeppelin feeling in the song and performances. Great solo again from Vinnie. Good song really once again.
ROCK AND ROLL HELL 1982 (Vallance, Adams, Simmons) (4:08) The short(er) story of the “Rock and Roll Hell” is that the song was originally written by Jim Vallance and recorded by Bachman-Turner Overdrive for their 1979 album Rock ’n’ Roll Nights. Vallance produced the album and had written or co-written several other songs for the album. Bryan Adams also supplied a song for the album as well. Adams and Vallance worked up the song a year or so later giving it a harder approach and it wound not resembling the BTO song much at all outside of the choruses. Adams and Vallance sent the song along with “War Machine” to KISS for consideration of the band using one or both songs for their new album. Gene Simmons listened to the songs and really liked them. Vallance and Adams received a call from Simmons saying he wanted to use “Rock and Roll Hell” for Creatures of the Night but he wanted to add a third verse. Vallance and Adams didn’t feel the song needed it as it was complete. Simmons replied back that the song did need a third verse and he was going to write it. The implication was that Simmons wasn’t going to use the song unless he got a co-writing credit. Basically, the call came down to royalties and Vallance and Adams had to decide if they wanted to relinquish some of those to Simmons or not let him use the song. Ultimately they decided to let Gene have a co-write credit because they felt the song would do well on a KISS album that would sell well and they needed the money. Sadly, for them, Creatures didn’t sell that well at all and their hopes weren’t realized for “Rock and Roll Hell” in terms of success. Fortunately for Bryan Adams, he’d go on to have great success as a performer and songwriter very shortly so it worked out for him anyway. Looking at the KISS version of the song “Rock and Roll Hell” the bass line resembles Black Sabbath’s “Heaven and Hell” exactly in terms of its cadence on the choruses but does change octaves several times. The song changes between verse and chorus fairly often and it works in terms of the transitions. Gene’s vocals sell the song and the guitars add the right amount of tension and release to his singing. The drums, of course, blast away providing good heaviness. I think one of the things I like about the song is the little nuances that Cusano provides with his harmonics and little adds he does during the verses. Cusano adds a pretty tasteful solo over the pre-chorus riff and I really like it. For some reason, this song reminds me of Foreigner's "Juke Box Hero" in terms of its theme and the production of it. As much as I like Creatures production there is something about it that bugs me a bit. I guess it's that there is a bit too much reverb on the guitars and drums. I get why the drums were so soaked in reverb as to achieve the huge sound they have, but I don't quite understand why the guitars had to have so much added to them. I think the songs on the album would have been better served with more pure distortion and less effects. It's a minor quibble, but I think songs like "Rock and Roll Hell" suffer a bit due to this factor. That said, I like this song. It's a good rocker. Anyway, to finish up the story of "Rock and Roll Hell", its really unknown what Gene's "third verse" entailed as nobody had heard the re-write that Adams and Vallance had done from the BTO version so how much or how little Simmons added for his credit is up in the air. Vallance and Adams do state, however, they learned a valuable lesson from working with Simmons and wouldn't ever compromise their principles again for anyone.
Anyone wondering what Creatures might have sounded like with Ace, look no further than Ace's own cover of "Rock and Roll Hell" from last year.
ROCK AND ROLL HELL Another good Gene song. I think his vocals sound like a more refined Lemmy in places. The line "he might even steal a guitar" makes me think, ooh what a rebel. What's the expression? "Arrested for arson, murder, and jaywalking." Rhythm-wise, I always thought of it as slowed-down Iron Maiden, but the "Heaven and Hell" comparison is more apt.
