KISS: The Songs 1974-2012

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by GodShifter, Feb 7, 2017.

  1. npgchris

    npgchris Forum Resident

    You and I can still be "brothers in KISS" and disagree on "Odyssey" and "X In Sex"! :cheers:

    I'm quite sure there will be more than a few songs that I will champion, that you will dislike. There probably have already been at least a handful, but I can't remember. Actually, now that I think about it, I believe you were down on a bunch of Ace tunes that I liked quite a bit on the last few albums.
     
  2. yarbles

    yarbles Too sick to pray

    Sorry, I didn't post much about MFTE as I've been depressed/apathetic...been reading, but not really taking much in. Thanks to everyone for the entertainment!

    Fwiw, here's my assessment:

    The Oath 8.5/10
    Under The Rose 8/10
    Dark Light 8/10
    Just A Boy 7.5/10
    Only You 7/10
    Mr Blackwell 6/10
    A World Without Heroes 5/10
    I 4/10
    Escape From The Island 2/10
    Fanfare 0/10
    Odyssey -666/10

    Moving onto Killers, I didn't buy this album, and although 2/4 of the new songs are on my sole KISS studio CD (the 2cd 'Gold' comp), I think I've only heard them all once before. Well, twice now...and they all suck, IMO. Nowhere To Run is the least offensive of the 3 so far, but OMG what's that falsetto all about? Embarrassing, frankly.

    Roll on COTN :goodie:
     
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  3. npgchris

    npgchris Forum Resident

    NOWHERE TO RUN

    I love this song. I don't need to give it the back-handed compliment of "good by KILLERS standards". It's just a good song, period. I guess Paul's vocal delivery is overdone for a lot of people here, but not to me. I hear more passion in Paul's voice on this one than the other new tunes here, by far. This song seems worlds away from the uncomfortable Paul I sensed on THE ELDER. He absolutely nails this one, in my estimation. Proof that we all hear things a little differently! The only way the song could be improved would be for it to have a nice Ace solo on it. Not that Bob's is bad, but it lacks emotion.

    So the version included on the 2001 Box Set is the remix that was considered for CREATURES? It's very hard to tell a difference between them. The drum sound does not match the bombastic tone of the CREATURES album. Am I missing something? :confused:

    I guess you can put me down as this thread's most unabashed champion of this song. I love it! 9/10
     
  4. Terrapin Station

    Terrapin Station Master Guns

    Location:
    NYC Man/Joy-Z City
    Just to clarify, I don't hate the new tunes on Killers . . . they just don't resonate with me and they seem pretty generic and too quirk-free in my opinion.

    "See You in Your Dreams" and "Rockin' in the USA" I love. "Tomorrow and Tonight" would be one of my lower-ranked 70s KISS tunes, but I still like it.

    Re different eras being a factor, the thing is that for most of the 80s, I only feel indifferent towards the Killers tracks. We're getting into spoiler territory here maybe, but both Creatures of the Night and Lick It Up I rank very highly--I love both. I mentioned that Dynasty starts my favorite five-album run of KISS albums. Well, Creatures and Lick It Up are the fourth and fifth albums in that run. And while I wouldn't rank either Animalize or Asylum as highly, I mostly love both. Crazy Nights and Hot in the Shade were always my two least-favorite KISS albums, but I still like plenty on both, and there's very little that I simply feel indifferent two on them. Then once we get to Revenge, everything is right back on track in my opinion.

    So really, it's just something about the Killers tunes that doesn't work for me. If "Down on Your Knees" were on Crazy Nights of Hot in the Shade, I'd probably think it's the worst tune on either (well, barring the other two tunes on Killers and a couple tunes on both Crazy Nights and Hot in the Shade that I haven't heard in a long time).
     
  5. Terrapin Station

    Terrapin Station Master Guns

    Location:
    NYC Man/Joy-Z City
    "Nowhere to Run"

    I hadn't heard any of the Killers tunes in a long time--I don't actually own Killers, and never did. I had friends who owned it--I've had a ton of KISS fanatic friends in my life, and I had the four new tunes on a homemade cassette containing a bunch of rare KISS tracks, demos, etc. It's been years since I heard that cassette though.

    Anyway, so the whole point of mentioning that is that this tune is quite a bit better than I remembered.

    At that, I wouldn't say that this is a lost gem or anything like that, and it strikes me both as if (a) it would have been a Paul solo album leftover and (b) that "Thrills in the Night" is more or less a rewrite of this one. Presumably this was the one new track on this compilation that Paul regretted getting lost in the shuffle, but they didn't want to simply rerecord it, so "Thrills in the Night" is a transformed version of it.

    The important thing is that this one isn't half-assed. It's nicely arranged and performed, with some good vocal work from Paul, too.
     
  6. The Slug Man

    The Slug Man Forum Resident

    Location:
    North Carolina
    NOWHERE TO RUN

    "Nowhere To Run," like someone else said, will probably be considered the best of the four Killers tunes. I like this song because I do think of it as a Paul Stanley solo album leftover. In a certain way, Paul's solo album, like Ace's, has kind of a "timeless" feel to it (where it could have been made anywhere from the late 70s to early 90s, at least), so a lot of Paul's better songs from 79-92 definitely sound in that vein. By contrast, Gene's and Peter's are VERY 1978, for better or worse.

    I like the mix of electric and acoustic on "Nowhere," plus the part of the verses that has an almost Motown-ish melody. The falsetto doesn't bother me. God knows I'll take this song over the long (feels like 20 minutes) "I Still Love You."

    PS...I prefer "Tomorrow And Tonight" over "Rock and Roll All Nite," but I was just a lurker here until we got to Dynasty.
     
  7. SizzleVonSizzleton

    SizzleVonSizzleton The Last Yeti

    We all might need therapy after listening to it!

    :D
     
  8. The Slug Man

    The Slug Man Forum Resident

    Location:
    North Carolina
    Unless it's the rendition done by that chick who sometimes appears on Three Sides of The Coin.
     
  9. intv7

    intv7 Senior Member

    Location:
    Boston, MA, USA
    Thanks. Been floating in and out.

    Kinda like my once rabid Kiss fanhood, over the past decade or so. :laugh:
     
  10. intv7

    intv7 Senior Member

    Location:
    Boston, MA, USA
    NOWHERE TO RUN

    I absolutely adore this song. I think it's far and away the best of the four -- a really well-crafted track, top to bottom.

    However, I do wonder if Paul was listening to a lot of Motown the week he wrote it -- namely Martha and the Vandellas ("Nowhere to Run to, baby, nowhere to hide") and The Supremes ("Back In My Arms Again"). The melody of the line "I was there with a shoulder to lean on / It's not gonna happen twice" seems awfully similar to "I lost him once through friends' advice / But it's not gonna happen twice". Every single time that line comes up in the song, I hear Diana Ross. Maybe it was by osmosis, as she was hanging around with Gene in those days, but it was probably just an unconscious lift in the vein of George Harrison a la "My Sweet Lord". Am I the only one who hears this similarity?
     
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  11. William Smart

    William Smart 21st Century Schizoid Man

    Location:
    North Haven, CT
    I was 20 when I discovered them in 74, so you may be right. After Love Gun things were different. Dynasty made eyebrows rise and heads to be scratched. The solos were greeted with mixed feelings. Not every album was as good as others. Some didn't sound like KISS at all ( not that they were supposed to). But it was still our band. BUT what came after? Most of my friends just gave up on them. So yeah in the 80s a whole new generation was discovering them. Makes a lot of sense bro. While I never liked whole albums there were songs I loved during this time. I do however love COS & Revenge, but that's a decade away. See you're right my opinion is prejudiced because I discovered them when they were GREAT! Lol peace
     
  12. GodShifter

    GodShifter Forum Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Dallas, TX, USA
    I hate it beyond comprehension.
     
  13. William Smart

    William Smart 21st Century Schizoid Man

    Location:
    North Haven, CT
    therapy? I think you came to the right place! we happen to have some mental health specialist in the house. gentlemen he's all yours! e z p z lemon squeezey
     
  14. npgchris

    npgchris Forum Resident

    I hadn't consciously made the connection until you pointed it out. Nice job!

    This song always resonated with me to a greater degree than many other KISS tracks from around this time, and that classic r&b influence is no doubt one of the factors! Now that I've gotten way into The Move (a heavy influence on Paul), I can hear similarities to them, as well. (And of course, The Move were heavily influenced by American r&b in their early days. It all comes full circle.)
    :cheers:
     
  15. Cooks420

    Cooks420 Forum Resident

    Location:
    NY
    Can't wait to read your blurb on the song, and I can't wait to further debate the point with you. I'm so glad I found you guys :)
     
  16. William Smart

    William Smart 21st Century Schizoid Man

    Location:
    North Haven, CT
    You're in the psycho circus
    Yeah I say welcome to the show!

    Oh BTW I'm with @GodShifter on this one. Horrid is to kind, but if I can really say how I feel .... ***** ***k and **** s***!
    But that's just me and I'm legally insane... Why else would I be here? Just ask the professionals.:goodie:
     
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  17. Juggsnelson

    Juggsnelson Senior Member

    Location:
    Long Island
    Lol! Yeah the lyrics are dumb.....and that synth sound is wimpy.....but I just love it!
     
  18. Cheevyjames

    Cheevyjames Forum Resident

    Location:
    Graham, NC
    It's going to be so much fun going through the albums from Animalize through Hot in the Shade. Please, @GodShifter , don't hold back.
     
  19. Zoot Marimba

    Zoot Marimba And I’m The Critic Of The Group

    Location:
    Savannah, Georgia
    I sure as hell won't
     
  20. Paulo Alm

    Paulo Alm Forum Resident

    Location:
    In The Light
    I like Nowhere To Run quite a bit, and I find Paul's vocals quite remarkable here. He'd really found a new, fresh approach to his singing, which I dig. I only have issues with his vocals post 1984.

    As a song, Nowhere To Run isn't all that great, but I'd still rank it as above average for Paul during that period.

    The acoustic and electric guitars blend nicely, the bass/drums are solid enough. The choruses are pretty cool, with Paul's voice also all over the backing vocals. The solo is very much in the vein of what Bob Kulick brought to Paul's 1978 solo album. Solid, but that's about it.

    I also like that slow part after the solo, Paul's vocals are great there... and the buildup to the chorus and fade out are both excellent.

    Nowhere To Run
    is a very good track, even if a bit on the generic side of things. In the end, it's actually a shame it's not on a proper album.
     
  21. bartels76

    bartels76 Forum Hall Of Fame

    Location:
    CT
    I don't know where the info of it being considered for Creatures comes from as there is no direct quote from the band or Michael James Jackson that it was supposed to be. Multiple sources (books, etc) say that they were but give no sourcing.

    Here is someone on Kissfaq explaining everything:
    No it was not. This track (and "Nowhere To Run") was remixed by Steve Thompson and Michael Barbiero in 1989. Therefore there is no way the remix was done to fit on "Creatures".

    "Partners In Crime" remix was only available on the following:

    FIRST KISS... LAST LICKS ('90 U.S. Promo)
    FOREVER ('90 European CD Single)
    EVERYTIME I LOOK AT YOU ('92 European CD Single)
    I WAS MADE FOR LOVIN' YOU- LIVE ('93 European CD Single)

    "Nowhere To Run" remix was only available on the following:

    FIRST KISS... LAST LICKS ('90 U.S. Promo)
    THE KISS BOX SET ('01 Everywhere)

    Also, the remix I posted wasn't the remix despite it being labeled as such! Grrr.. so here it is.
    I think you can hear it better here...some echo especially the slow part in the middle and more defined bass. Also half the riffing towards the end is cut on the remix.
    Remix:


    Killers version:
    Kiss - Killers (1982) - Nowhere To Run
     
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  22. William Smart

    William Smart 21st Century Schizoid Man

    Location:
    North Haven, CT
    Nowhere To Run : I can't say anything bad about it. I actually like it, that said this is definitely not old KISS. This is new, slick, big production KISS. All those nice rough edges that made them.... cool, scary to parents etc are all gone. Paul the rocker becomes Paul the VOICE! It's like two different bands. The first band I love everything up to Love Gun except Kissing Time, Rock & Roll All Night (had to play that too many times) and Beth. Dynasty I like most it seems after all, the solos.... well 50/50, I like all the Elder except Blackwell, from there on? It's getting sketchy. 1 here 1 there. But who knows maybe I'll find my tastes have changed and I'll like more than I thought. Just like Die Nasty I mean Dynasty. Sorry:D Pax
     
  23. nodeerforamonth

    nodeerforamonth Consistently misunderstood

    Location:
    San Diego,CA USA
    Nowhere To Run: ok. 5.7/10
    Down On Your Knees: better. 6.2/10

    These four songs are all new to me, as far as I can remember. I don't think I ever known them to exist. When did this come out? '82? By that time, while still into AC/DC and Van Halen, I had discovered Raven, Venom, Mercyful Fate, and Witchfinder General, which basically changed my whole perception on music (yet again).
     
  24. Tippy

    Tippy Well-Known Member

    This quote just reminded me of a story that floated around my hometown about KISS, probably from around '90-'92, but possibly earlier. I heard it from two different sources, both pretty reputable, in fact one guy is one of my best friends, but they may have gotten the story from the same source as they are all musicians. I would love to confirm this story either way by an independent source.

    Supposedly, Gene and Paul joined one of the local acts on stage in a small (but nice) down-town bar for a set. Apparently the lead singer of the band struck up a conversation with them, and jokingly asked them if they wanted to play. They actually said "Yes." So the singer went back to the band, discussed it, and returned to Gene and Paul and said "we think we can play these KISS songs." Gene then replied "I don't want to play any of that hokey s***" or something to that affect, and asked to see the bands setlist. They (Gene and Paul) then proceeded to go through the setlist and picked a few songs to play, all Motown covers, with Gene playing bass and Paul singing. Apparently it went over huge and the backing band was very impressed that they knew the songs.

    To me, after my initial excitement about hearing it, I have always been a bit skeptical. The place in question is a small city in upstate NY (not sure if I should reveal more than that), and the band was supposedly staying overnight in a nearby hotel. Knowing that G&P are notoriously private, why would they be hanging out together in a very public place?
     
  25. Diamond Star Halo

    Diamond Star Halo Forum Resident

    Location:
    Vancouver
    Nowhere To Run -

    This is the best of the 4 new Killers tracks. It's pretty catchy, a good arrangement with lots of dynamics (quiet/loud). Nice hook. Paul seems to be going for a heavy metal vocal here, with a bit of falsetto thrown on the break down section. I like the backing vocals in the chorus. This song is no Detroit Rock City, but as a typical good-but-kind-of-generic 80's pop rock song it does the trick. I like it, but this is the beginning of what I see as the "professional pop metal" phase of Kiss, one that lacks the ramshackle magic of the glorious 74-77 run. Ace is conspicuous in his absence.

    As an aside - Paul used his falsetto frequently from Dynasty through Killers......then rarely afterwards. Does anyone know of any post-1982 Kiss songs that feature Paul on falsetto? I can only come up with Modern Day Delilah (after the bridge).

    It is interesting that Paul abruptly abandoned his falsetto, especially since he employed it so frequently 1979-82.
     

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