Which album are we talking about? Animalize ? If so, I don't think it's the mix that's the problem. It's the SONGS! Holy smokes talk about running on empty.
I know you mean this as a joke, but I wouldn't agree that Ace and Peter are dumb. They just had an unrealistic view of their career prospects outside of KISS. Peter in particular was way, way off base on his abilities as a solo artist. That's all I meant. P&G were smart enough to know that their career prospects were much better off within the confines of KISS. They better understood the value of that name, even during the down years. Which makes sense, because it was actually their vision from the get-go. They were always more focused on the bigger picture than either Ace or Peter were.
I would rather listen to HITS on repeat than listen to Psycho Circus, Sonic Boom and Monster in their entirety one more time. While I don't carry the same enmity towards them, I'd prefer to listen to HITS before Lick It Up or Asylum. Frankly, Revenge is about even with it, in my book - though maybe upgraded strictly on the weight of "Unholy," "God Gave...," "Domino," and "Carr Jam 1981."
Hopefully, my appreciation for CRAZY NIGHTS will improve when we go through it track-by-track, as will yours for HOT IN THE SHADE when we get there. I'm hoping that my characterization of the songwriting noticeably improving on HITS is borne out when we go through these in the manner in which we are. It's easier to see the peaks and valleys when we go through these as quickly as we are.
Please let it be the Jackson Ax bass! I love the imagery of that. Actually, I believe Ace used a Fender Precision for most of his solo album. I'd be surprised if he didn't use the same thing for his KISS tracks. No idea as to what Paul used.
The thing Peter should have understood is that even if he was the most gifted guy in the world (and he wasn't) he wasn't going to be able to sustain a career at anywhere near the level of KISS. You're the drummer from a band on their way down, entering a new decade, you don't write, you're already in your mid 30's.
Normally I'd say that my bottom four KISS albums (studio albums only) are Animalize, Asylum, Crazy Nights and Hot in the Shade, either in release order, or with the last two flipped. I haven't listened to either Crazy Nights or Hot in the Shade in long time, so I can't comment on them yet. Re Animalize, my opinion has pretty much remained the same as we've gone over each tune in this thread (and my opinion of it overall is fairly positive). I've already relistened to Asylum once recently (yesterday) to refresh my memory of it. I wasn't planning on doing that, but as there were a few tunes on Animalize that I didn't remember as well as I thought I would, I figured I'd better give Asylum a spin or two to refresh my memory of it (which turned out to be even shakier). Anyway, so my opinion definitely hasn't changed that I like Animalize more than Asylum. My opinion on my replay of Asylum on the other hand suggests that either Crazy Nights, Hot in the Shade or both might have a chance to pull in front of it. Asylum didn't really connect with me on my replay yesterday . . . But I'll get into details when we get there.
I will say that the Asylum songs stand a chance at getting better reviews since I will be listening to them in a daily 'one and done' fashion. To listen to the album as a whole is a giant generic-fest but this way might be beneficial. Maybe HITS and Carnival of Souls will benefit from this also. Of everything, it's Carnival of Souls that I'm least looking forward to.
I actually prefer Hot in the Shade. My embarrassing and bewildering review of that album is coming soon so stay tuned!
It's definitely near the bottom, bottom five for sure. It has three or four great songs and one that's universally hated that I actually don't mind. But it's too long and would barely be a really good E.P.. You know I strongly dislike Carnival of Souls but that's almost entirely because of the Paul songs. Gene's stuff is okay. So even though Paul's COS songs are the worst KISS stuff does that alone make it the worst KISS album? Worse than HITS? And I barely know Monster.
I haven't heard more than a handful of KISS songs, let alone full albums, post "Asylum". You guys have me thinking it's going to be as bad as I've always envisioned it must be.
So I'm going to give Crazy Nights and Hot in the Shade preliminary relistens now--I'll be able to give much better analyses of them and a more accurate opinion of them if I remember them better, and I can say that already I like the title track of Crazy Nights way more than anything on Asylum . . . I just started the relistens though.
I agree with all of this, especially the criticism of Paul's COS songs. Paul just can't pull off grunge. It doesn't work.
Well, while Hot in the Shade is no return to form it was a nice (if small) step in the right direction after the horrors of 87-88. Half of the tracks are horrid but half are listenable and I'm glad that KISS rediscovered rock'n'roll there.
I'd say Animalize is the worst Kiss album we've encountered so far, but IMO Lick It Up is only one or two Paul Stanley nipple hairs away from being just as wretched. I think I'm probably a minority in this view. The main difference between Animalize and Lick It Up is the lack of Simmons involvement on the former. Gene's songs on LIU (with the exception of the menacing Not For The Innocent) are pretty forgettable, and a couple are annoying as hell. There is no real difference in the quality of Paul's material between the 2 records - a couple of really good tunes, a couple of OK songs, and a stinker. The same formula on both Animalize and Lick It Up. The band doesn't miss Vinnie's songwriting much, because it wasn't all that great to begin with. Paul still got a couple of good songs out of Desmond Child anyway. Just my opinion though..... Actually, Animalize (well, Side 1, anyway) was a little better than I remembered it. It's still the worst album so far, but I did enjoy cranking up the first 5 tracks when I was drunk a few days ago.
I guess it's good that you are going into it with that mindset. I think if anything, you'll be pleasantly surprised. (That's not saying that the weeks ahead don't feature plenty of landmines, because they do!). But stick with us, we love your contributions, and you'll be hearing some good stuff now and then! (a few of these will probably help, as well!)
It's been fun going through these with you. I think you kinda like CRAZY NIGHTS, so hopefully I'll come around to your way of thinking. And here's hoping you'll find more gems than turds when we go through HITS, REVENGE and COS. I know you'll give them a fair shake! (and as I just said to Exile, don't forget to hoist a few of these! Or other libation of your choice.)
I think HITS and even Revenge suffer from being released in the golden age of the CD. There's no reason those albums need to be as long as they are except they could be. Way too much fat on both of them that should have been trimmed. We'll get to them soon enough though.
I realize my reaction to HITS is going to be different from many people's. After CN and S,T&H, I was halfway out the door. Had the next album been a stinker, that would have been it. Instead, as you said, there was a different feel to these songs, as soon as the needle went down on side one. For the first time in at least a few years, I didn't need to feel embarrassed to be a KISS fan! Yes, the album is too long, but there's enough good stuff there to make it a worthwhile addition to their catalog. At least that's the view from here....
