I disagree. Fig played for years in David Letterman's "World's Most Dangerous Band" with some serious session pros in company. That band has played with a ton of musicians playing a ton of music styles. Fig is far more versatile and complete than Carr ever was. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed Eric Carr's playing; he was a pounder and had a ton of energy, but he wasn't the well rounded pro that is Anton Fig.
Are you aware that Eric cut his teeth in disco bands in the 70s along with doing new wave covers? He was a very, very well rounded player that didn't get to show everything he had in the confines of KISS. But during the 80's he was THE reason lots of people went to the shows. His drum solos were a thing of beauty.
More versatile doesn't mean you are better. For the type of music KISS did Eric was a better drummer. If I was looking for someone who could play several different styles I probably would pick Anton.
I have the HD version and I think it sounds good but I don't have the 97 remaster I only have the original CD to compare it to but I really haven't spent much time doing that.
Dude, I was as big of a KISS fan as you at one time (the difference being I didn't remain one like you have; I still like them, but see them for what they are -- no offense), but, yeah, I caught both the Lick It Up and Animalize tours and saw Carr first hand. Good drummer, no question, but I wouldn't put him up there in pantheon of all-time greats. Better than Peter Criss?, abso-freaking-lutely. Btw, I appreciate your demeanor on here. I often belittle stuff you like and you never stoop to my level . I do appreciate your knowledge and enthusiasm no matter how much I might disagree with you. Cheers
Oh I can be evil and bitchy when I want to be...I just tend to stay out of the threads that would set me off (Chili Peppers, Dylan, etc.)
I adore Carr. Shame he had to go so soon That being said, his drum solos are the only ones in rock that I never skip over when listening to live shows. That includes Zeppelin and Rush.
High praise. Somebody direct me to a Carr live drum solo I can check out. Obviously, it's been years and years since I've heard one. Do I just do a YouTube search? Any recommendations ?
How the hell can you call Silver Spoon bad?!?! That's one of the highlights of HITS!! :O Also, I know it's crap, but I love Read My Body. A nice, short, catchy, "Pour Some Sugar On Me" ripoff, lol Also, why does EVERYONE seem to hate Burn Bitch Burn? That's one of my all-time favorites. Definitely a keeper as far as I'm concerned - those lyrics are genius!
Look up Detroit, 1990, God Of Thunder. That's what song his drum solo was in during that tour. Great stuff. I mean, a drum solo is just a drum solo, but his were kind of like songs within themselves with his trigger-pad sequences and stuff.
I LOVE Crazy Nights. The songs are mostly much better than what the album turned out to be. Comparing it to Unmasked is pretty interesting - I've never thought of that, but when you put it that way it is very similar. Also, where the hell is the title track on your tracklisting?!?!? I freaking love CCN!!! Also, am I the only one that thinks Rock Hard is better than X in Sex? For some reason it gets stuck in my head way easier.
Wrong. Reason To Live is the only power ballad I can stomach sometimes, haha. It's at least got a positive message instead of the typical "you broke my heart" stuff.
I love Hot In The Shade. Sonically, it took me forever (no pun intended) to get used to it as those are, by far, the LOUDEST drums I've ever heard (besides Dylan's Knocked Out Loaded). There is your typical amount of chaff but its mostly all enjoyable. Forever is a diamond. Silver Spoon, Betrayed, Rise To It, Hide Your Heart, King Of Hearts, The Street Giveth..... Lots of enjoyable songs. Not great, but at least they made a rather "raw" (by 1989 standards) straight up rock record with minimal synths and ********.
Personally, I think a lot of Gene's material circa '77-'81 is at least as bad as the supposed bad things from the '80s.
I'm hot and cold on Love Gun. It's a weird album in that, like Iron Maiden's Powerslave, it's highs are so high that you forget the copious amount of filler. I mean, for my money, here are the highlights and the filler: Highlights - I Stole Your Love Christine Sixteen Shock Me Love Gun Filler - Got Love For Sale Tomorrow and Tonight Then She Kissed Me Plaster Caster Hooligan Either/Or (depending on my mood) - Almost Human So, as you can see, imo, it's a fantastic EP padded out with a side's worth of crap (enjoyable crap, might I add, but crap nonetheless)
Anyone else a huge fan of Carnival Of Souls? Aside from parts of "Rain" and a couple other tracks, I think its a great take on the mid-90s Alice In Chains/Smashing Pumpkins/whatever brand of hard rock. Of course, they shouldn't've been trying to ape anyone else to begin with, but for a "copy job", I think its great. Besides, I love, love, love, I Walk Alone. Look at all these rockin' songs: Hate Master and Slave I Will Be There Jungle In My Head I Confess I Walk Alone At least those 7 songs are favorites of mine on the albums. That's more than can be said for the Love Gun album (runs and hides in bomb shelter)
Carnival is a great album, easily Kiss' most underrated, particularly by Kiss fans. Great songs, no songs about sex, love guns & partying - more interesting lyrical content, a dark & brooding beast. This was easily Kiss' best album since Creatures. Solid contributions from both Paul & Gene, not to mention Bruce Kulick. In fact I rank it as one of Kiss' top 5 albums.
Top 5 is a stretch, but I dig it. Shows the band was more capable than what most perceive them to be, although like many 90's albums, it would've been better served by being about 10-15 minutes shorter. Honestly, I listen to it more in 2015 than most of the mid-90's grunge albums they were trying to ape stylistically, so that says something, I suppose.
I think you may be overrating it a bit, but its DEFINITELY extremely underrated and unfairly hated. As much as I will defend '80s KISS to the death, Carnival Of Souls, song for song, is definitely stronger or at least as good as Asylum, Animalize and Lick It Up. I think Revenge deserves all of its accolades and I think COS is a natural progression from that to the '90s. Revenge was still very much in that late '80s, hair metal vein but COS was much more modern.
I appreciate this is going to be controversial, but I'm going to say it. Eric Carr was a fine drummer, a powerhouse, his playing was a significant part of the Creatures album. Apparently he was a helluva of a nice guy as well. However, he was not the right drummer for Kiss, I think they made a mistake. He was a superior drummer to Peter Criss, but didn't swing being more a metal type drummer. I was interested to learn recently that it was a rushed decision. Kiss need a drummer that swings. Anton Fig would have been a perfect fit, it almost happened, but I suspect his friendship with Ace cost him the gig. It actually forced Kiss to change their sound (not necessarily for the better). Eric Singer on the other hand was a very nice match. It was no accident that Kiss found themselves again with Revenge. It all started from the new rhythm section. A recent response by Paul Stanley to a fan on Twitter was interesting. When asked if Eric Carr would still be in Kiss if he had not passed, Stanley's response was: probably not, for a few reasons.
I love and adore Carr. That being said, I can see why some might think he wasn't right - you list very valid points. However, I think he was a great drummer and gave KISS a much needed kick in the ass musically (along with Vinnie Vincent) in getting them away from the pop and back to the rock. I'm always surprised Anton Fig never became the drummer. That woulda been pretty sick, eh? Killer drummer. As far as Eric goes, I love him a lot because he was a great drummer (regardless of whether one thinks he was right for KISS) and also because he was a great guy. He was apparently a real sweetheart of a guy and there's nothing I hate more than a stuck up *******. As far as Paul Stanley's response, I think it probably has something to do with the fact that Eirc Carr was NEVER satisfied in KISS. He always felt unfairly held back (which he was, quite often) and carried a lot of negative thoughts around regarding the fact that he wasn't the original drummer of the band and also his hired gun status. From what I've heard and read, he was quite often rather depressing and bitchy to be around because of all these pent up emotions. I don't mean that as an attack on him - just an observation. So that being said, I definitely feel all that would've come to a head down the line resulting in at least a confrontation about it. Hell, on the Hot In The Shade tour in 1990, he wasn't speaking to Paul for a month at one point because they didn't want his drum solo on the first half of the tour. For me, I've always thought that it's not so much that he wasn't right for KISS, but rather KISS wasn't right for him.
Some childish petulance by Eric at times it seems. He'd also seek counsel from Peter Criss! The sacked drummer he replaced. If you look at one of the live videos from Kissology, it was a Hot In The Shade tour show, his playing in general was terrible (overplaying and speeding up dramatically) which indicates there were issues.
