Saint N Sinner : Love Eric's drum groove, nice sticking on the hats, really tasteful, also some nice guitar work. The more I read while listening to the songs, I've found myself liking some posts that have been at odds with each other and my own thoughts. At times, the reverb heavy sound suits certain songs but other times it wears my ears out...i also think it depends on the song itself. Anyways, Rock 'N' Roll Hell : Ahh, KISS' version is big and bombastic and it isn't bad..but I kinda prefer BTO's drier-sounding, less full-on version (total bias here as my Dad used to blast BTO constantly so it's 'the' version for me). Good vocal from Gene. Agree with the poster who said this album wasn't so much a return to form as a big change of direction, as this was the next album I heard after Dynasty, it was a surprise to me how heavy this sounded. I had no idea Unmasked/Elder existed. 'Keep Me Coming' : My better half thinks this has a sexy vibe. I agree, although I very much prefer the sexy vibe it gives my better half. 'Danger' : Agree with others that the chorus is a bit of a let down, but i like the rest of it. The playing is solid and I agree with the poster who said it's nice when Vinnie isn't so Vinnie sometimes, or words to that effect. I don't dislike his playing, i just prefer it when he shows restraint and busts out some tasteful licks, as sometimes his more shred-type stuff doesn't really hit home with me on KISS stuff. 'I Love It Loud' : Perfect no-brainer rawk anthem. I think the drum sound suits this song just perfect and it's another meaty vocal by Gene, he really does push himself throughout this record, i've gotta say. This was the only song besides the title track I could remember after years of not hearing this album. Listened to some of Eric's solo drum tracks tonight too, good stuff. Ears fatigued tho. 'I Still Love You' : Not a fan of power ballads but I didn't mind this...although quite wiry sounding, the guitars do some really cool progressions and I really like the solo. Pauls vocal is also pretty good. The drum sound does bug me on this though, some of the toms hits at the chorus are like combat boots in a washing machine. Why 'never again', that is, if you don't mind me asking? And hey, i know only too well what it's like to be up to your plums and having to prioritise your time, I'm in the same boat. Your efforts are certainly appreciated by one and all here and if you feel you have to take some time out, you do just that!! Word. 'Not Fragile' is sh!t hot, they really had some beautiful guitar sounds on that record, plus the drum sounds is right up my street. 'Second Hand' is proto Soundgarden, pure killer leads at the end. Aw man, that made me laugh like a drain
I STILL LOVE YOU Actually one of my favs on the album, again, revitalized after Unplugged. I don't see it as much of a power ballad as others, I think it's a little darker. Nice chord changes and I like it's placement on the album.
Re AC/DC: I just never got around to seeing them again. No real reason as I continued to like them (especially Flick of the Switch). Just dropped the ball. Thanks for the kind words!
I especially remember listening to ISLY with headphones when it came out and being blown away by its intimate and yet huge quality...still love it!
That was an interesting case and revolved around sampling and not just copping riffs... How Allen Klein Made the Rolling Stones Millions From 'Bitter Sweet Symphony' - Exclusive Excerpt
Right now I'm listening to Hot In the Shade and I have to admit it is somewhat better than I remember. Oh it still sucks but I did find two more songs that I dig.
also though singer wasn't asked to do that with those bands. Sabbath and alice cooper had loads of different drummers before singer came so it makes no sense they would ask that. kiss however as a guy who was in the band from 1991-1996 to dress like a guy who was in the band from 1973-1980 and again from 1996-2004 and oh btw paul and gene seem to dislike the person they are asking eric to dress up as. they do this because they know the fans don't want eric singer they want the catman. hence why I agree with peters comment whoever it was phrased.
I Still Love You - I simply love this song and the original version is the one for me, without question! Loved it then, love it now! The Unplugged version is pretty solid, but I'd still rather listen to versions from either the Creatures Of The Night or the Lick It Up tour. Those are much closer to what I like about it, and Vinnie is always spot on! Paul is so brilliant on this, really impressive vocals! Great, great delivery! This is Paul before it simply got too much. Still unadulterated, Starchild perfection here! There's a distinctive blues feel to this track which is quite welcome, if you ask me. The backing track is super tight, very well arranged and spotless. I love those guitars, Eric is amazing again, great playing on the choruses and the middle bit before the solo and fade out.... intense! As for the solos, they are all tasty and bluesy. Excellent. I wouldn't change anything on this track, simple as that. 10/10 I think there's a bit of Trapeze on I Still Love You... This is great track from 1970, by the way!
shocked no mention of this GENE SIMMONS And ACE FREHLEY Collaborate On Two New Songs For Ex-KISS Guitarist's Next Solo Album
Definitely a good track! Reminds me of Captain Beyond from the same time period. And a bit of Uriah Heep. Very nice indeed
And this is a current picture of Ace... He hasn't looked this slim for a long time! What's going on?!?
"I Still Love You", great ballad and indeed a bit darker like @RelayerNJ mentioned earlier (melancholy and nostalgia, feeling down is what we Finns know a lot, it's in our blood and heritage). Paul just shines on this one, he truly nails it with great vocals, it might be one of his best ever. I really like the mood, blues and intimate darkness that's present in the song. This has to be the track that resembles most of the roots and Led Zeppelin. The album version is great and so is the MTV Unplugged-version aswell, I like both of them. All the performances are great and fitting in this song, I like the solos as they have that certain bluesy feeling. This is just pure perfection and I wouldn't change a thing in it.
Happy to see Ace looking so well!! He must be hitting the gym, showing off those biceps!! And wait a second!!!!!!! Is his hair growing back?? Has the spaceman taken a rocket ride back in time?? Hey, whatever it is he is doing I hope he keeps it up!
Welcome to our little corner of the 'net, my friend! I for one will enjoy reading your comments on albums we've already covered as we move forward. It's a breath of fresh air, to be honest! A quick thing on the payola question: in all honesty, it didn't really have much of an effect on KISS' career. KISS were an exception to the industry rule at that time, since their success was built on their live show, and not on radio airplay or fawning press coverage. But placement on the record charts was seen as an important ingredient to success, so Casablanca engaged in payola (as did virtually every other label) in the hopes of having their artist's songs played on the radio more frequently, and in an effort to get better record sales reported to Billboard, so that the charts would reflect that yes, this band is "hot" and "in demand". In retrospect, it was all B.S., but it was part of the game back then. Casablanca would have been better served to have saved their $ and their blow for other purposes, other than giving it away to losers in the industry who ultimately weren't going to do much to further KISS' success, anyway. I'm sure there are many others who are far more knowledgeable about all of the ins and outs of payola than I am, and no doubt it played a big part in artists success back in the 70's. But ultimately it did very little for KISS. Man, this made me laugh so hard this morning, that I just had to tip my hat to you! Good stuff! Again, as Paul says in "Psycho Circus"... "welcome to the show!" And you're right, this thread would make a good book! I look forward to reading more of your reviews as we move on!
Hired Gun: a documentary about sidemen Eric is in this new documentary that opens in theatres tomorrow. Too bad VV isn't...
KILLER 1982 (Simmons, Cusano) (3:19) Another collaboration between Vinnie and Gene, “Killer” was a song being worked on in the studio while Creatures of the Night was being recorded. Cusano came up with the original riff and some ideas for the structure of the song while Gene, according to Vinnie, added some “good stuff” and the song came about. “Killer” has a very NWOBHM riff to it (almost sounding like Saxon or Def Leppard some band of that ilk) but a surprisingly funky and slinky bass line to it. It’s one of Gene’s more adventuresome bass lines on the verses (if he’s actually playing on it) and it drives the song as much as Carr’s drums. There parts of the chorus riff that remind me of “War Machine” in terms of the chord structure. The song takes a decided downturn at 1:37 (which serves at the bridge) where the song just seems to go into autopilot and goes into a decidedly more pop oriented vibe. At 2:31 Vinnie puts down a solo that for some reason reminds me of something Brian Robertson of Thin Lizzy would lay down. The song returns to the verse with Vinnie doing kind of a soaring aping of the riff higher on the neck and the song comes to an abrupt end with Carr crashing on his kit. I think “Killer” is a song that is really little better than filler but I dig the bass line and Robbo like solo. I like Gene’s Lemmy vocal impersonation, too. Otherwise, I find this song to be pretty average. One thing I’ll say is that if it is, indeed, Gene on bass he does a cracking job on this as his lines are fluid, have tons of groove, and are played with a wealth of taste (which makes me think this isn’t Gene on this - it just doesn’t sound like him to me, but I could be wrong). The lyrics are pretty stupid.
Your reasoning seems to be all over the map here. Bottom line: for better or worse, P&G have decided that they are going to present a "classic KISS" show for the remainder of their career. So Eric is fulfilling the role within those parameters. Presenting a "classic KISS" show, with Eric approaching his role the way he did during the REVENGE era, would be completely incompatible with the style of show they perform. How P&G may feel about Peter personally has no bearing on the look or the sound of the show they are putting on now.
About Ace and Gene writing two songs together. Gene says they did that 'two days ago', meaning it obviously didn't take long, and I'd venture Gene didn't take a room for the night so it was a one day thing. Then he turns around and says making a KISS album would be a years worth of work. Sorry Demon, this does not compute. He only needs to contribute five or six (co-writing possible for Tommy and Eric) songs to any KISS album, and there's no way this band should be spending a month recording an album let alone a year. And it's hard for me to get excited about this song writing anyway because at any given time Ace Frehley could go 20 years between albums. On another note, some props. Thank you to @Paulo Alm for the Trapeze link. I've heard of them forever because of being a Judas Priest fan but never heard a note. I really like that song you posted and damn if it doesn't seem stylistically a LOT like the Dreamer Deceiver by Priest. Thank you to @Musicman1998 for the Vinnie Vincent youtube link because I really dig that Treasure album that I'd never heard of before.
KILLER Gene sings the hell outta this song and it more than makes up for the lack of or the stupidity of the lyrics IMO.
