The Kiss "Songwriter List" 1974-1996

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by If I Can Dream_23, Aug 11, 2016.

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  1. If I Can Dream_23

    If I Can Dream_23 Forum Resident Thread Starter

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    Just for the pure fun of it, I went through Kiss's commercially released songs between the 1974 debut and the 1996 Unplugged reunion and arranged the tracks by specific songwriters. I thought it might be interesting to see which members provided the most tracks as lone writers and as parts of various co-writer collaborations.

    The groups listed below are in no particular order. They are largely random. Yet at the end of the list I have listed the "most song entries by writer(s)" between 1974 and 1996. This archive does not include songs since the Unplugged reunion nor does it include songs Paul or Gene may have written/co-written for other artists or the numerous songs that lie in their personal vaults which were never finished or worked on for commercial release.


    PAUL STANLEY / GENE SIMMONS
    Strutter
    100,000 Years
    Let Me Go, Rock n Roll
    Rock And Roll All Nite

    GENE SIMMONS / STEPHEN CORONEL
    Goin Blind
    She

    GENE SIMMONS
    Nothin To Lose
    Deuce
    All The Way
    Watchin You
    Two Timer
    Ladies In Waiting
    Sweet Pain
    Calling Dr Love
    Ladies Room
    Love Em And Leave Em
    See You In Your Dreams
    Christine Sixteen
    Got Love For Sale
    Almost Human
    Plaster Caster
    Rockin In The USA
    Larger Than Life
    Love Is Blind
    Radioactive
    Burning Up With Fever
    See You Tonite
    Tunnel Of Love
    True Confessions
    Always Near You / Nowhere To Hide
    Man Of A 1000 Faces
    Mr Make Believe
    See You In Your Dreams (1978 Version)
    X-Ray Eyes
    Only You
    Fits Like A Glove
    Dance All Over Your Face
    Burn Bitch Burn
    Lonely Is The Hunter
    Secretly Cruel
    Domino

    GENE SIMMONS / ERIC CARR
    Under The Rose

    GENE SIMMONS / LOU REED
    Mr Blackwell

    GERARD MCMAHON
    Is That You?

    NED WASHINGTON / LEIGH HARLINE
    When You Wish Upon A Star

    GENE SIMMONS / SEAN DELANEY / HOWARD MARKS
    Living In Sin

    GENE SIMMONS / HOWARD MARKS
    Charisma

    GENE SIMMONS / VINI PONCIA / BOB KULICK / PEPE CASTRO
    Naked City

    GENE SIMMONS / VINI PONCIA
    She's So European
    You're All That I Want
    Love's A Slap In The Face
    Cadillac Dreams
    Somewhere Between Heaven And Hell

    GENE SIMMONS / MIKEL JAPP
    Saint And Sinner

    GENE SIMMONS / BRUCE KULICK
    Trial By Fire
    Hell Or High Water
    Prisoner Of Love
    Boomerang

    GENE SIMMONS / ERIC CARR / BRUCE KULICK
    No No No

    GENE SIMMONS / BRYAN ADAMS / JIM VALLANCE
    Rock And Roll Hell
    War Machine

    GENE SIMMONS / VINNIE VINCENT
    I Love It Loud
    Killer
    Not For The Innocent
    Young And Wasted
    And On The 8th Day
    Unholy

    GENE SIMMONS / MITCH WEISSMAN
    While The City Sleeps
    Murder In High Heels
    Thief In The Night

    GENE SIMMONS / HOWARD RICE
    Any Way You Slice It

    GENE SIMMONS / DAVITT SIGERSON / PETER DIGGINS
    Good Girl Gone Bad

    GENE SIMMONS / TOMMY THAYER
    Betrayed
    The Street Giveth And The Street Taketh Away

    GENE SIMMONS / JESSE DAMON
    Thou Shalt Not

    GENE SIMMONS / PAUL STANLEY / SCOTT VAN ZEN
    Spit

    PAUL STANLEY
    Firehouse
    Let Me Know
    Black Diamond
    Got To Choose
    Hotter Than Hell
    Mainline
    Room Service
    C'mon And Love Me
    Anything For My Baby
    Love Her All I Can
    Doncha Hesitate
    God Of Thunder
    I Want You
    Hard Luck Woman
    I Stole Your Love
    Tomorrow And Tonight
    Love Gun
    Tonight You Belong To Me
    Wouldn't You Like To Know Me
    It's Alright
    Hold Me, Touch Me (Think Of Me When We're Apart)
    Love In Chains
    Goodbye
    Magic Touch
    Nowhere To Run
    Tears Are Falling

    PAUL STANLEY / VINI PONCIA / DESMOND CHILD
    I Was Made For Lovin You

    PAUL STANLEY / VINI PONCIA
    Sure Know Something
    Shandi
    Tomorrow
    Easy As It Seems
    Silver Spoon
    King Of Hearts

    PAUL STANLEY / GENE SIMMONS / BOB EZRIN / LOU REED
    A World Without Heroes

    PAUL STANLEY / MICHAEL BOLTON
    Forever

    MICK JAGGER / KEITH RICHARDS
    2000 Man

    PAUL STANLEY / MIKEL JAPP
    Move On
    Ain't Quite Right
    Take Me Away (Together As One)

    PAUL STANLEY / MIKEL JAPP / BRYAN ADAMS
    Down On Your Knees

    PAUL STANLEY / BRUCE KULICK / DESMOND CHILD
    King Of The Mountain
    I'm Alive

    PAUL STANLEY / BRUCE KULICK / ADAM MITCHELL
    I'll Fight Hell To Hold You
    When Your Walls Come Down

    PAUL STANLEY / GENE SIMMONS / ROD SWENSON / WES BEECH
    Love's A Deadly Weapon

    PAUL STANLEY / DESMOND CHILD / JEAN BEAUVOIR
    Who Wants To Be Lonely
    Uh! All Night

    PAUL STANLEY / DESMOND CHILD / HOLLY KNIGHT
    Hide Your Heart

    PAUL STANLEY / DESMOND CHILD / BRUCE TURGON
    My Way

    PAUL STANLEY / SEAN DELANEY
    Take Me
    Mr Speed
    Makin Love
    All American Man

    PAUL STANLEY / ADAM MITCHELL
    I'm A Legend Tonight
    Partners In Crime
    Creatures Of The Night
    Keep Me Comin
    Danger
    Crazy Crazy Nights

    PAUL STANLEY / MITCH WEISSMAN
    Get All You Can Take

    PAUL STANLEY / JEAN BEAUVOIR
    Thrills In The Night

    PAUL STANLEY / DIANNE WARREN
    Turn On The Night

    PAUL STANLEY / VINNIE VINCENT
    I Still Love You
    Exciter
    Lick It Up
    Gimme More
    A Million To One
    I Just Wanna

    PAUL STANLEY / VINNIE VINCENT / BOB EZRIN
    Heart Of Chrome

    JEFF BARRY, ELLIE GREENWICH, PHIL SPECTOR
    Then She Kissed Me

    ERIC CARR / PAUL STANLEY / GENE SIMMONS / VINNIE VINCENT
    All Hell's Breakin Loose

    PAUL STANLEY / BOB EZRIN
    Detroit Rock City
    The Oath
    Fanfare
    Just A Boy
    Every Time I Look At You

    PAUL STANLEY / BOB EZRIN / KANE ROBERTS
    Take It Off

    PAUL STANLEY / BRUCE KULICK / BOB EZRIN
    Tough Love

    PAUL STANLEY / DESMOND CHILD
    I've Had a Enough (Into The Fire)
    Heaven's On Fire
    Radar For Love
    Bang Bang You
    Reason To Live
    Time Traveler
    You Love Me To Hate You

    PAUL STANLEY / BOB HALLIGAN JR
    Rise To It
    Read My Body

    PAUL STANLEY / ERIC CARR / DESMOND CHILD
    Under The Gun

    PAUL STANLEY / GENE SIMMONS / BOB EZRIN
    Shout It Out Loud
    "Rock And Roll Party" Loop

    PETER CRISS / STAN PENRIDGE / BOB EZRIN
    Beth

    PETER CRISS / STAN PENRIDGE / VINI PONCIA
    Dirty Livin

    PETER CRISS / STAN PENRIDGE
    Baby Driver
    Hooligan
    I'm Gonna Love You
    Don't You Let Me Down
    That's The Kind Of Sugar Papa Likes
    Easy Thing
    Kiss The Girl Goodbye
    Hooked On Rock And Roll

    SEAN DELANEY
    Rock Me Baby
    I Can't Stop The Rain

    VINI PONCIA / JOHN VANSTANO
    You Matter To Me

    RITCHIE ADAMS / MALOU RENE
    Tossin And Turnin

    PAUL STANLEY / KIM FOWLEY / MARK ANTHONY / BOB EZRIN
    King Of The Nighttime World

    PAUL STANLEY / KIM FOWLEY / BOB EZRIN
    Do You Love Me

    GENE SIMMONS / BOB EZRIN
    Great Expectations
    I
    Paralyzed

    PAUL STANLEY / GENE SIMMONS / ACE FREHLEY / BOB EZRIN
    Flaming Youth

    ACE FREHLEY
    Cold Gin
    Parasite
    Strange Ways
    Getaway
    Shock Me
    Rocket Ride
    Snow Blind
    Ozone
    What's On Your Mind?
    I'm In Need Of Love
    Wiped-Out
    Fractured Mirror
    Hard Times
    Save Your Love
    Talk To Me
    Two Sides Of The Coin

    ACE FREHLEY / VINI PONCIA
    Torpedo Girl

    ACE FREHLEY / ERIC CARR / BOB EZRIN
    Escape From The Island

    TONY POWERS
    Odyssey

    RUSS BALLARD
    New York Groove
    God Gave Rock n Roll To You II

    ACE FREHLEY / LARRY KELLY
    Rip It Out

    ACE FREHLEY / JEANETTE FREHLEY
    Speedin Back To My Baby

    ACE FREHLEY / GENE SIMMONS / ANTON FIGG / LOU REED
    Dark Light

    ERIC CARR / GENE SIMMONS / ADAM MITCHELL
    Little Ceasar

    DAVE CLARK
    Any Way You Want It

    PAUL STANLEY / ACE FREHLEY
    Comin Home
    Rock Bottom

    PAUL STANLEY / GENE SIMMONS / ACE FREHLEY / PETER CRISS
    Love Theme From Kiss

    KAL MANN / BERNIE LOWE
    Kissin Time

    ERIC CARR
    Carr Jam 1981


    MOST COMMON SPECIFIC SONGWRITING CREDITS IN THE KISS CATALOGUE...

    Gene Simmons 35
    Paul Stanley 26
    Ace Frehley 16
    Peter Criss / Stan Penridge 8
    Paul Stanley / Desmond Child 7

    SOME PERSONAL THOUGHTS...

    - While it is evident that each member (and even some NON-members) wrote signature Kiss songs, looking over Paul's contributions makes you realize just how good he is and how much of Kiss's "range and spirit" comes from him. When you think of the likes of "Black Diamond" and the surprisingly out of character "God Of Thunder" all the way to things like "Hard Luck Woman" and "Hold Me Touch Me", you notice the real melodic scope of Paul's writing talents and sensibilities. It's no surprise that he has always been my favorite member of Kiss from a spirit and songwriting standpoint.

    - It is perhaps surprising that only four songs in the catalog are credited precisely to Stanley / Simmons together. Yet they are memorable ones! It's curious, or maybe fitting, that the founders had a knack for writing the group's anthems by and large (Let Me Go, Rock n Roll and Rock And Roll All Nite). With the likes of "Shout It Out Loud" having a credit of Stanley / Simmons and Ezrin, and "Tomorrow And Tonight" being a lone Stanley credit.

    - It dawns on me that some collaborative writing pairings produced particularly great Kiss songs. The team of Paul Stanley / Vini Poncia (though originally one of Peter's assets on his 1978 solo album) worked amazingly well, producing in my opinion several of Kiss's all-time greatest songs (see Sure Know Something, Shandi and Tomorrow, just for starters).

    - The songwriting pair of Stanley / Delaney also was infrequent yet provided Kiss with three of my all-time favorites - Take Me, Makin Love and All American Man.

    Here are some curious "one song wonder" songs that originated from a unique or one-time writing pairing:

    - Stanley / Bolton
    Paul Stanley and Michael Bolton created Kiss's second biggest all-time song in the smash hit, Forever.

    - Gerard McMahon actually penned Kiss's lead-off track on Unmasked, "Is That You?". It sure fooled me. Years before I started paying close attention to label credits, I naturally assumed it was penned by Paul. It perfectly fits him and the song is no less special.

    - The unusual team of Stanley / Simmons / Ezrin / Reed came together to write one of Kiss's most enduring songs in the reflective "A World Without Heroes". The last writer being the unusual part. Then again, Gene wrote a song with Bob Dylan too so maybe nothing is that unusual in the Kiss world? :)

    - "Love Theme From Kiss" marks the only ocassion that all four members of the original Kiss lineup wrote a song together. Yet most aren't a fan of it! Go figure...

    - Gene teams up with Paul's co-writing friend, Mikel Japp, who co-wrote three songs with Paul on his 1978 solo album to write "Saint And Sinner" for Creatures Of The Night. The song is radically different from the style of material Japp and Stanley wrote for the solo album.
     
    Last edited: Aug 11, 2016
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  2. xcqn

    xcqn Audiophile

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    Stanley def wrote the best songs!
     
  3. If I Can Dream_23

    If I Can Dream_23 Forum Resident Thread Starter

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    Just remembered an error I made in my songwriting tallies. I forgot "Let's Put The X In Sex" and "(You Make Me) Rock Hard". How dare me...:cussing:

    So, adding those two songs into the mix, we have...

    PAUL STANLEY / DESMOND CHILD
    Let's Put The X In Sex

    PAUL STANLEY / DESMOND CHILD / DIANNE WARREN
    (You Make Me) Rock Hard

    That brings the "Stanley / Child" Kiss entries to EIGHT, not seven. That's now tied with "Criss / Penridge" as the most common Kiss songwriting duo. Simmons (35), Stanley (26) and Frehley (16) still lead the way in terms of lone songwriter credits within the catalog. Several duos have six entries - Stanley / Vincent, Stanley / Adam Mitchell, Stanley / Poncia, and Simmons / Vincent.
     
  4. Moonbeam Skies

    Moonbeam Skies Forum Resident

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    Phoenix, Arizona
    The fact that Paul Stanley wrote God of Thunder, a demonic song sung by Gene who is the demon of Kiss, has always amazed me as a Bizarro World moment in rock history. It is like Jimmy Page writing Beck's Bolero instead of Jeff Beck. Or Paul McCartney writing Helter Skelter (rather than John Lennon as many people still think).
    Awesome post by the OP.
     
  5. Marble Index

    Marble Index Forum Resident

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    Norway
    My desert island disc. :cool:
     
  6. If I Can Dream_23

    If I Can Dream_23 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
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    Thanks.

    Yeah, "God Of Thunder" is such a definitive Gene song that it's still hard to fathom he didn't write it. He wrote so many quintessential Kiss gems and even wrote many songs that some might be "surprised" he could write - Mr Make Believe, See You Tonite, Love Is Blind, etc. Yet the one song that you would guess is an obvious Simmons song actually isn't. :uhhuh:
     
  7. If I Can Dream_23

    If I Can Dream_23 Forum Resident Thread Starter

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    That gives me the idea to craft some "fantasy albums" based just on the songwriting teams. I might explore a few myself. I'll post a couple if I get them finished. :)
     
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  8. Holy Diver

    Holy Diver Senior Member

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    USA
    Yeah. I love Ace so much.
     
  9. If I Can Dream_23

    If I Can Dream_23 Forum Resident Thread Starter

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    Here's a quick one I crafted featuring ten songs that were written exclusively / originally without any Kiss member.

    You must remember this, a kiss is not a "Kiss"...

    SIDE ONE
    Is That You? (Gerard McMahon)
    You Matter To Me (Vini Poncia / John Vanstano)
    Rock Me Baby (Sean Delaney)
    Any Way You Want It (Dave Clark)
    When You Wish Upon A Star (Ned Washington / Leigh Harline)

    SIDE TWO
    Kissin Time (Kal Mann / Bernie Lowe) * Kiss did do a modern re-write of the song though
    2000 Man (Mick Jagger / Keith Richards)
    Odyssey (Tony Powers)
    Then She Kissed Me (Jeff Barry / Ellie Greenwich / Phil Spector)
    I Can't Stop The Rain (Sean Delaney)

    While the above is, technically, not a Kiss-written album, it still feels very Kiss-like and very comfortable. The band still made these songs their own. And a writer such as Sean Delaney was indeed a fifth member of Kiss (well, maybe a seventh member, behind Bill Aucoin and Neil Bogart). :)
     
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  10. If I Can Dream_23

    If I Can Dream_23 Forum Resident Thread Starter

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    "The One-A-Year Mix"

    This might sound like the title of a Gene Simmons groupies memoirs book. But that would have to be called "The 200-A-Year Mix"... :shtiphat:

    No, this is just a humble compilation that includes ONE Kiss song per year (when applicable) up through the Unplugged reunion. And regardless of songwriter or songwriter teams...

    16 TRACK DISC
    1974 Let Me Go, Rock n Roll (Stanley / Simmons)
    1975 Doncha Hesitate (Stanley)
    1976 Hard Luck Woman (Stanley)
    1977 Got Love For Sale (Simmons)
    1978 Take Me Away (Together As One) Stanley / Japp
    1979 Sure Know Something (Stanley / Poncia)
    1980 Tomorrow (Stanley / Poncia)
    1981 A World Without Heroes (Stanley / Simmons / Ezrin / Reed)
    1982 I Love It Loud (Simmons / Vincent)
    1983 Exciter (Stanley / Vincent)
    1984 Thrills In The Night (Stanley / Beauvoir)
    1985 Any Way You Slice It (Simmons / Rice)
    1986-87 Reason To Live (Stanley / Child)
    1988 Let's Put The X In Sex (Stanley / Child)
    1989 Forever (Stanley / Bolton)
    1992 Every Time I Look At You (Stanley / Ezrin)

    I didn't intend for this to be my "Kiss song of the year" in terms of its focus, yet it's probably fair to say it resembles that "pretty" closely. I could probably do another one of these depending on the style that is sought. For instance, if the goal was to not to pick the "best" Kiss song of the year but simply make a hard-rocking disc with no let ups, then my choices may differ some.

    Yes, it's Paul-heavy but then again there's good reason for that. :)
     
    Last edited: Aug 11, 2016
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  11. SizzleVonSizzleton

    SizzleVonSizzleton The Last Yeti

    You're an anti-Simmite??

    :D
     
  12. If I Can Dream_23

    If I Can Dream_23 Forum Resident Thread Starter

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    Oh no. I'm an equal opportunity Kiss lover. :)

    If anything, I felt bad that I couldn't squeeze an Ace-penned track somewhere. If I was making that "all-flash and volume" style of compilation, I'm sure I would have added one of his songs. I'd like to add a "Criss / Penridge" track somewhere too. Yet Stanley and Simmons just seem to hold my top song of the year in virtually every instance.
     
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  13. SizzleVonSizzleton

    SizzleVonSizzleton The Last Yeti

    Got Love For Sale over I Stole Your Love? And if I wanted Ace in there, in 1977 he had Rocket Ride and Shock Me, both of which are better than Got Love For Sale.

    It's not even an anti-Gene thing because for 1977 I'd pick Christine 16, Almost Human, Plaster Caster or Larger Than Life before GLFS.

    Fun stuff!
     
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  14. If I Can Dream_23

    If I Can Dream_23 Forum Resident Thread Starter

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    Yeah, all fans seem to have their personal favorites.

    I love em all, yet "Got Love For Sale" has been my favorite off Love Gun for as long as I can remember and is probably somewhere in my all-time Top 5 for Kiss as a whole. It's definitive in every way for me. Brisk, rocking, seamless, a charged opening, signature lyrics, great chorus harmonies, one of Ace's finest solos ever put on record, and Gene's grizzly bear vocals in trademark form. :)

    It's just an all-around gem. I never tire of hearing it.

    Then again, I never tire of the entire album. I think it was the band's best work from a peak and jelling standpoint.
     
  15. Juggsnelson

    Juggsnelson Senior Member

    Location:
    Long Island
    Looking at your well put together list, I notice I am really not a huge fan of Bruce and Gene writing together! "Hell or High Water" is their high water mark for me!
     
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  16. If I Can Dream_23

    If I Can Dream_23 Forum Resident Thread Starter

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    Yeah, perhaps Gene and Bruce don't mix quite as well as Paul and Bruce. I do love "I'm Alive", in particular, which is actually a Stanley / Kulick / Child song, probably more than anything Gene / Bruce wrote. Surely some of the writers / members Paul and Gene partnered with seem to have produced more memorable songs than other partnerships. Which would be expected I suppose.
     
    Last edited: Aug 11, 2016
  17. Jackstar74

    Jackstar74 Forum Resident

    Rocket Ride is actually Ace and Sean Delaney
     
  18. Weirdomusic

    Weirdomusic Forum Resident

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    The Netherlands
    Cool list, thanks for compiling it!

    Say what you will about KISS, but Paul and Gene are very underrated as songwriters AND they have a great ear to pick the right "outside" writers to contribute to whatever project they are working on if needed.
     
  19. If I Can Dream_23

    If I Can Dream_23 Forum Resident Thread Starter

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    Thanks for catching that. I must have missed Delaney's credit somehow. I guess with all these writing credits I was bound to mess something up. :)
     
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  20. If I Can Dream_23

    If I Can Dream_23 Forum Resident Thread Starter

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    Thank you.

    Indeed, Paul and Gene have a wonderful ability to write without pretension and to "write for the sake of the song". They are big on melody and punch and it's the school they grew up on. Kiss is often mocked for being overly-simple in their playing, yet I've always believed it's much harder to write something immediately catchy, melodic or recognizable than to just add layers and complexity into a song just for complexity's sake.
     
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  21. BluesOvertookMe

    BluesOvertookMe Forum Resident

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    Houston, TX, USA
    Those are their best songs!:realmad:


    :laugh:
     
  22. If I Can Dream_23

    If I Can Dream_23 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
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    I can't quite go that far but I will admit that I do tend to like those two tracks more than most! :uhhuh:
     
    905 likes this.
  23. If I Can Dream_23

    If I Can Dream_23 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
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    On a related note, Bruce Kulick made a great point about how, sometimes, they as a band are the "worst" judges of what material the fans go for. He once said something to the effect that a song like "Let's Put The X In Sex" was not one of his favorites and that he thought it was kind of disposable and derivative of the times. Yet he said they went to a convention and that was the song that got everybody up and dancing. So you never know what songs will grab the listener.

    The band also frequently sneers at their work on the likes of "Unmasked" or "The Elder" and yet those are the albums have a perhaps sporadic yet passionate fan base! Myself included. :)

    I think the beauty of Kiss, assuming you do enjoy it all, is that there is something for everybody. You like basic rock, it's there. If you like metal-tinged rock, it's there. If you like bubblegum-rock, it's there. If you like touches of dance-rock, it is there. If you like glam/hair rock, it's there. If you like touches of easy listening, even that is there.

    It's the reason it's so colorful and rewarding to be a fan of the band!

    It's like Baskin & Robbins - you get 31 flavors. All of it ice cream but all of it different. :)
     
    Last edited: Aug 12, 2016
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  24. Jackstar74

    Jackstar74 Forum Resident

    It was a very detailed post. I love things like this, especially on KISS. Thanks for putting it together!
     
  25. Baby Driver

    Baby Driver Forum Resident

    when you listen to the demo with Paul singing it, you'll hear what it was like before it was "Gene-fied". it wasn't half as dark & gloomy. much more upbeat with an almost disco drum beat.
     
    GodShifter likes this.
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