KISS: The Songs 1974-2012

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

  1. npgchris

    npgchris Forum Resident

    The first half of the solo is with the slide. The second half is not. And like the verse vs. chorus structure of the song, it's deliberate. There's a push-and-pull going on in the themes of the song (the loyalty shown to religious leaders vs. the dark underside of what that loyalty can engender), and that's reflected in the music, as well. The arrangement in this song is really well thought-out, and musically it's pretty ambitious for KISS, even moreso considering Ezrin was not involved in this!
     
  2. Exile On My Street

    Exile On My Street Senior Member

    Location:
    Long Island, NY
    Back 'atcha!

    I'm taking it slow, but Kyuss, Monster Magnet and the band Earthless that someone posted have really caught my attention. A few others did as well but it was a blessing for my wallet that they're so outlandishly high priced that I won't be pulling the trigger on those anytime soon. I say it's a blessing because I know there will be a lot more I'm going to want as I move along.

    Man, just when you think you've heard it all...
     
  3. Diamond Star Halo

    Diamond Star Halo Forum Resident

    Location:
    Vancouver
    Sorry, I didn't word that correctly....but yeah, I dig the slide solo (but not the wanky solo). I tip my hat to Gene for his ambition, and I understand what he was going for with the dichotomy thing (the lyrics are pretty good), but I just don't think the chorus works well from a musical standpoint.
     
  4. William Smart

    William Smart 21st Century Schizoid Man

    Location:
    North Haven, CT
    Bravo sir! That was the best explanation of this song's yin&yang thang! Dig it! I'm really serious despite my jive, you really nailed it sir! Pax
     
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  5. SammyJoe

    SammyJoe Up The Irons!

    Location:
    Finland
    "Seduction Of The Innocent", a nice little tune. This is something very different and total change of pace for the album, it surely needed this one. 60's psychedelic vibes are always cool to have.
    I think the eastern parts and flavors work nicely and bring it sort of trance feeling, almost you could feel like flowing away to it. Indian music just has this element and effect, no wonder why The Beatles (and George Harrison especially) also did it.
    Maybe SOTI would have worked better as neat, compact instrumental song. Like so many else here Im not too crazy or excited about the chorus and I agree that the chorus ain't really satisfying when thinking of how it could have been, now we were left a bit down. Eric provides great beats. This will be added to the "have to revisit more often" playlist that I have consisting of the forgotten and often overlooked songs.
    Anyways, I think SOTI is cool song and I like it.
     
    Last edited: Sep 22, 2017
    D.B., GodShifter, carlwm and 4 others like this.
  6. YardByrd

    YardByrd rock n roll citizen in a hip hop world

    Location:
    Europe
    One additional observation - don't dislike chorus but agree with others that it interrupts flow... Ditto second half of solo... Unnecessary
     
  7. Tree of Life

    Tree of Life Hysteria

    Location:
    Captiva Island, FL
    SEDUCTION OF THE INNOCENT

    I like it, don't love it.

    Like the Shifter Of Gods stated, it has a trance like eastern feel to it that's very different for a KISS tune.

    Plus, the "Cleaner" vocal approach would have made a world of difference to my ears.

    I had forgotten about this tune actually and love it when a band goes out of their comfort song for a tune now & then.

    For that reason, it's actually one of the better tunes off of COS.
     
  8. Curveboy

    Curveboy Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York City
    It should be.
    :D
     
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  9. Curveboy

    Curveboy Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York City
    Voodoo is my favorite Sabbath track...period.
    And Dehumaizer my favorite Sabbath album.
     
  10. Curveboy

    Curveboy Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York City
    A much, much better band without Ozzy.
     
  11. Curveboy

    Curveboy Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York City
    SEDUCTION OF THE INNOCENT

    I love this one! Eric Singers wall of drums and percussion is just fantastic, and the middle eastern vibe really works with Gene's voice. My only complaint is the mix...it needed to be more open. With everything swirling around it just sounds too flat and dry.

    @bartels76 I'd say She also has the same type of groove
     
  12. GodShifter

    GodShifter Forum Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Dallas, TX, USA
    :unhunh:
     
  13. johnny q

    johnny q Forum Resident

    Location:
    Bergen County, NJ
    You guys are going to make me re-evaluate this album. I am not saying this to be snarky or funny - I despised this album when it came out and that was after living with it for one full month. I think the time is right to listen again.

    Also - allow me to say that I think this is one of the coolest threads on the forums.
     
  14. Curveboy

    Curveboy Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York City
    Back to Heaven & Hell for a moment...The Devil You Know is certainly imperfect, especially because the three songs on The Dio Years were so, so strong. But there are several worthwhile tracks:

    Atom & Evil - a slow burner, but worth a spin
    Fear - one of the more uptempo tracks and is a solid addition to the Sabbath catalog
    Bible Black - one of the best Sabbath tunes ever!
    Rock & Roll Angel - not a favorite, but worth listening to for the insane Iommi lead
    Turn of the Screw - another flawed but still good track
    Follow The Tears - this is a great one
    Breaking Into Heaven - A bit too long but still very good.
     
  15. DTVOICES94

    DTVOICES94 Forum Resident

    Seduction of the Innocent
    Love the groove here (KISS goes Indian) and the vocal in the verses from Gene. Bruce's slide guitar works here too. As a change of pace tune, this one is really nice. It's almost hypnotic and then the chorus kicks in. The one thing I don't like is the production it's almost like there's a blanket over your speakers. I guess that's what they were going for with the stylistic departure but it's a negative for me. A good song is a good song though, and this is a good one. 8/10
    I wonder if this influenced Aerosmith's "Taste of India"...not that they would ever admit it.
     
  16. GodShifter

    GodShifter Forum Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Dallas, TX, USA


    I CONFESS 1997 (Simmons, Tamplin) (5:23)

    Written by Gene Simmons and Ken Tamplin (who had been in a Christian band called Magdallan with members of the Simmons’ produced band House of Lords) “I Confess” goes back to 1994 in its origins. Tamplin had come to the attention of Gene Simmons through Scott Van Zen who as a guitarist had worked with Tamplin on some of his solo work. Oddly, Tamplin being a Christian musician, agreed to work with Simmons and out of that collaboration came “I Confess” which is another one of Gene’s songs looking at religion with a jaundiced eye. Upon reflection, Tamplin says he was happy to work with KISS, but did not have good things to say about Simmons as a person (but we’ll leave that out of this review).

    Musically, “I Confess” furthers the somewhat odd path that Carnival of Souls sojourns with the previous song “Abduction of the Innocent”. The song starts out with almost a hint of Metallica’s “Welcome Home (Sanitarium)” with the dark strings and Gene comes in with a clean vocal with the bass guitar moving around a bit. At 0:38 we get a bit of Beatle like melody and at 0:51 the band kicks into full rock mode for the chorus with the strings still supporting which makes for kind of a weird juxtaposition (almost kind get kind of “I Am The Walrus” vibe here). I think Gene' vocal performance is excellent.

    The bridge is interesting as the guitars are doing a melodic pattern again close to “Sanitarium” and then with a compelling uptake the song launches into a effects heavy guitar solo which slices through some of the tension. The song then returns to the chorus and that’s pretty much the whole of the song outside of the “Kashmir” like rhythm ending sequence with Kulick adding some intentionally ugly, dark guitar over it.

    I find “I Confess” to be a pretty interesting song for Carnival of Souls but I can’t say I like it particularly. The arrangements are interesting (something like maybe Bob Ezrin might have done) and, again, it’s a song that is not in the vein of Alice In Chains or the Seattle sound at all. There are definitely some Beatlesque things going on in the song, but I definitely hear some Metallica as well. Ultimately, give me the crunchers like “Jungle” or “Hate” over more nuanced stuff like this. That said, variety is the spice of life and “I Confess” definitely provides some of that for the album.
     
    Last edited: Sep 22, 2017
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  17. Zoot Marimba

    Zoot Marimba And I’m The Critic Of The Group

    Location:
    Savannah, Georgia
    I Confess:
    This is a cool tune, I like it. I like the orchestral flourishes, Gene sings it really well, has some nice performances, I really like it.
     
  18. Curveboy

    Curveboy Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York City
    I CONFESS

    I hate to keep harping on it...but the mix the mix the mix...especially at 2:48 with the break before the lead.
    But damn I love this song. The chorus is great, and I love how Paul is present. Also the dark string section is a nice addition.

    Where I'd love to see them hand The Elder tracks to Ace to remix, COS should be handed off to Bruce.
     
  19. William Smart

    William Smart 21st Century Schizoid Man

    Location:
    North Haven, CT
    Different Strokes For Different Folks Brother! It's all groovy or gravy depending on one's tastes! Pax brother
     
  20. GodShifter

    GodShifter Forum Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Dallas, TX, USA
    One more thing here. I do hope you enjoy the thread and find some good music that turns you on, but I'll add the caveat that it's a pretty scattered affair. My original intention was to do a review of an album about once a week and it got away from me. It got busy and things just kind of went where they would. Still, there's some valuable content in the thread, but it's certainly not all me.
     
  21. npgchris

    npgchris Forum Resident

    Day Ten of our examination of CARNIVAL OF SOULS. Here are the lyrics to the song of the day, "I Confess"...
    [​IMG]
     
  22. YardByrd

    YardByrd rock n roll citizen in a hip hop world

    Location:
    Europe
    I Confess I'm a sucker for this kinda stuff... I like the melody and the way it opens when it gets to the chorus... Gene grew up on this and can do it in his sleep (when he can be bothered)... was just listening to the entire album on my iPod as I went for my evening walk and the dead spot of In My Head/It Never Goes Away really irks me, interrupting the flow of the album... but Gene recoups it with SOTI segueing into I Confess... and I think the album ends really strong with the next two... I do agree with @Curveboy about the mix on some of these choons overall, but I have to thank dog that the drums are mixed in the back and don't dominate... gimme guitar (said the guitar player) and this album's mix does... I'm really loving this album... vying for my current #2 spot with CotN, which has better songs but stoopider drums... studio album rankings are all askew since I started following this thread, thanks to you guys!
     
    Last edited: Sep 22, 2017
  23. DTVOICES94

    DTVOICES94 Forum Resident

    I Confess
    I was about to tear this song apart but I listened to it again. I like Gene's bass and vocal in the verses and the part from 2:38 until about the 3:00 mark. The chorus or at least the lead in to it is a bit jarring and makes the song feel pasted together. This is one track that doesn't totally work. The more I think about it, this album is the "Load" of the KISS catalog without Metallica's sales numbers. 5/10
     
  24. William Smart

    William Smart 21st Century Schizoid Man

    Location:
    North Haven, CT
    I Confess : If I said I liked this song it would be a lie. I love this song! I'm drawn in by the haunting,almost menacing strings. Then the bass and Gene starts singing and it's like sugar coated venom. Then it gets all nasty and hard. Back to sweet venom..... I love that back and forth of the verses and chorus. And with all that you feel some Beatlesque vibe weaving through it. Kind of "I Am The Walrus"
    The lyrics are heavy, full of the Demons cynicism. It could be taken as a self examination and not liking what's exposed, Or a too close look at faith and religion by one on the inside. Or even a taunt at Religion itself as the cause of so much evil done in its name. Any one of those are very Heavy, very Dark and at the same time can be very enlightening if one has the capacity to withstand that "look into the mirror ".
    One of Genes best if not The best he's ever done. I had forgotten how much I like this song until I heard that first nasty cello groan with all the weight of Heaven & Hell, Good & Evil. 100% Love this song!
    Well done Gene!

    PS damn those lyrics are at the front of my thoughts. Luv it!
    Pax
     
  25. Cheevyjames

    Cheevyjames Forum Resident

    Location:
    Graham, NC
    I Confess

    Vibe at the beginning reminds me of Only You. It's not a ripoff, but it hangs out in that area and I love that. This song is a happy surprise. Gene pulls off the "mellow verse/heavier chorus" here so much better than on the last song. To me this is Gene's next step from Unholy and I think he really wrote a great track here. The bridge is great and the slow tempo really works well on the rhythm behind the solo. I'm so glad he didn't "repeating-chorus" us to death, instead going for the cool change in that end section & solo. Really creative and a great way to use that riff that probably would've been a centerpiece of a different song, but not really strong enough on its own. Cool track!
     
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