I like this comparison. Alive is their pinnacle for me. Also, The idea of a double album with a side each that represents the individual members seems like such a no brainer in hindsight.
OMG...if we are going by single song...yikes...something like this: Paul - I Want You Gene - Thou Shalt Not Peter - Baby Driver Ace - Shock Me
Seconded. I came here the first time in the wake of learning that Rhino was releasing double-disc versions for the first four albums and I wanted more information on the new unreleased tracks to be added. I honestly can't remember how I found out about the site. But it felt like home almost immediately - and it's been time well-spent ("well-wasted?" ) for over ten years now. I think there are some natural connections between Monkees and KISS fandom. It's evidenced in the podcasting community, particularly via Ken Mills who runs Zilch (the premier Monkees podcast) and PodKISSt. Both KISS and the Monkees are acts that inspire tremendous passion and conviction in their audience in part as a reaction to negative press or erroneous conventional wisdom. Their initial images were built on fantasy/character-building - KISS, the make-up/personae and stage show; The Monkees, four musician/actors playing themselves in name - but not really - on a TV show - which tended to create antipathy from the "Establishment." Both were seen as less than "legitimate," despite the fact that they have durable, multi-generational fanbases and enduring song catalogs. KISS finally got their due in the Jann Wenner HOF. I hope the Monkees will someday, too - hopefully before another member takes his leave. Do I think Michael Nesmith is a genius? You're g.d. right I do.
I keep going back and looking at this picture. It intrigues me. I would assume this was their get up when Gene came out on the "Mike Douglas Show"? I seem to remember him having on the skull shirt when he said he was "evil incarnate". Maybe this was taken before the TMDS performance? Probably not, but what a great picture. Gene looks so different (young!) and Ace looks pretty effeminate but still pulls off that cool look.
SOMEWHERE BETWEEN HEAVEN & HELL 1989 (Simmons, Poncia) (3:52) This track written by Gene Simmons and Vini Poncia has strong overtones of Peter Gabriel’s “Sledgehammer”. According to Bruce Kulick the song does not feature Eric Carr at all. It’s a drum machine laying down the beat for this one. Kulick states he’s not even sure if the song has bass guitar and a keyboard is supplying the bass line. I’m not sure what Simmons was thinking with this one as the Peter Gabriel lift is pretty obvious in the verses. The song starts out like it’s going to be pretty heavy with the down tuned riff and the pick scrapes but then we hit 0:17 and the bass line goes into a heavy staccato rhythm and the “Sledgehammer” deal starts. Gene’s vocal is very confident here and he pulls it off well. The background vocals aren’t over powering here (pretty sure I can hear Paul in mix with these), but, man, is this a lazy, lazy song. It sounds like it was just thrown together and that very well might be the case: no real drums, synth bass, and whatever else. This song is a real bummer. Which gets me to thinking, "who exactly was this song directed at in terms of a listening audience?" It's very a bland, almost dance influenced number with the pulsing beat and so forth. Did Gene or KISS believe this was what their audience wanted to hear? I just keep hearing songs on HitS that don't seem to have much direction or conviction in them. So much of this just sounds like a band going through the motions.
SOMEWHERE BETWEEN HEAVEN & HELL This is another really good Gene tune. I love the bass sound on this song! Interesting if it is a keyboard... If this is supposed to be a rip-off of Sledgehammer Gene did the impossible; made that horrible tune listenable! I love the little guitar bit at 1:23 then that heavy bass sound...really nicely arranged. And Gene does some nice harmonies with himself. My only issue is the end. The song keeps building...adding more stuff in the rhythms up to the break, but then at 2:50 it sounds like an edit or they just dropped stuff out of the mix and it's kind of a dull end. It needed something more.
SOMEWHERE BETWEEN HEAVEN & HELL While I'm not enthused by the drum machine replacing Eric, this is neck and neck with "Love's A Slap In The Face" for my second favorite Gene song on the album. As @GodShifter suggests, there is a dancier groove element to it, with the tempo being a few BPM off "Let's Put The X In Sex." Retrospectively, this feels like another case where Gene was writing with a potential single in mind - low sex kitsch factor lyrically, acceptable pop groove, restrained vocal performance. It certainly would have been a better fourth single choice than "Read My Body," had push come to shove. The similarity to the "Sledgehammer" verse honestly never occurred to me, but the pre-verse/middle eight riff is a dry run for "Unholy." The notes are just flip-flopped a little bit. I really like the way Gene comes back in after the solo ("don't need your lovin'...") and when Paul & Eric punctuate it with a sassy "don't need a friend." I also like how he stutters against the drum line going into the last chorus ("I...I...I'm..."), with the backing vocals dropping out on the first "somewhere between heaven and hell." Bruce's rhythm guitar has a nasty, cutting tone to it - and, lo and behold, he plays another solo that is not too far out of the Ace Frehley wheelhouse. Don't need your sympathy, I like this one a lot. Thanks for trying again, Gene.
Somewhere Between Heaven & Hell Because the verses are such a direct rip of Sledgehammer I'm almost embarrassed to admit that I find this song pretty decent. Yes, I even shock myself as I'm typing this. It doesn't rock my world or anything, it's not going to force me to reassess this very long and bland album but I like Gene's vocal and Kulick's solo. I also find the chorus rather melodic. For originality I give it a 1 but overall I would probably hand this a 6.5/10. Acceptable but no great shakes.
OMG I thought we did this one already. I was all ready for Little Caesar Shows you how these songs run together.
Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell - Completely forgettable, but still decent. I am struggling to find something - anything - to say about this track. I suppose that is the issue in a nutshell. Not crappy enough to criticize, but not good enough to praise. It's just kind of there. The song title sums it up pretty succinctly, actually. Musical purgatory.
SOMEWHERE BETWEEN HEAVEN & HELL I never heard the Sledgehammer similarity until folks here mentioned it but I don't think I ever listened closely to this song ever. The song is just there and I said earlier I thought we did this one already because it sounds like some of the other songs on the album. This is probably another song I would chop off.
You know that bit in Fear & Loathing, where the kid gets the astronaut's autograph and then rips it to pieces in front of him? Remember what the kid says afterwards? "Not everybody loves you, man" Seriously though...my comment concerned their albums. They're not very good. I liked most of their singles - some of my earliest musical memories up to around 1966 - and the occasional album track. But their albums did nothing for me; some (Help, Revolver, Abbey Road) have more good songs than others, but from 67 onwards, their albums pale into insignificance when compared to the truly great albums of the era. IMO.
SBHH What was that GENE song from what seems like an eternity ago which was ok apart from the chorus? Would this chorus fit in there instead? Because this chorus is okay, but the rest of the song sucks. Are we nearly there yet?
I have to admit I love everything, but I especially favor from Revolver back the most. The White album was as I said a bit bloated and over indulgent. It has a few real good gems such as glass onion, happiness is a warm gun and few others. It's all groovy! Peace
Since I don't have much to say about today's song, here is the moment we've all been waiting for - the streamlined HITS track list: Rise To It Betrayed Hide Your Heart Love's A Slap In The Face King Of Hearts Cadillac Dreams Read My Body Little Caesar Forever Silver Spoon Forever b/w Prisoner Of Love Hide Your Heart b/w Somewhere Between H&H King Of Hearts b/w The Street Giveth Love's A Slap in The Face b/w Boomerang IMO it would have been better to release Forever as the first single. Then, follow it up with Hide Your Heart. I think HYH could have been a hit single.....and if it had followed Forever, radio programmers may have been inclined to play it. Also, re-allocating some of the HITS filler as b-sides might have enticed fans to buy the singles.
This was the only Beatles album I had access to while growing up. My sister brought it back while spending a month in England. I really liked the first 3 sides and played it frequently. That said, I don't really call myself a Beatles fan and may only pull them up once every 3 yrs or so. (I have many of their recordings.) 1967–1970 - Wikipedia
I did watch the Monkees show as a kid and always liked their "performances" at the end of the show. "Head" was a shocker for me. I listen to them about every 4th session. Last Train to Clarksville I'm a Believer Vallerie Pleasant Valley Sunday Not your Stepping Stone
