I think it's just "Keith Richards 101" guitar. He's adding the 6th and the sus 4 over the root. The riff is very much like "Brown Suger" "Start me up" As a riff, it could have been transplanted to a Rolling Stones record and no one would any the wiser.
The song isn't that bad. It's the LYRICS that make it so polarizing. Also the chorus is pretty ball-less.
Great post. I agree with this. I met the band three times and Gene is really nice and friendly, while Paul has this "aura of cool" around him. He is nice, but I feel he likes to keep a distance. Don't know how to describe it. Gene's more like: "come here, let's have a hug". I don't know why Gene keeps this "bigger than thou-ego image" in the press, when in real life he is so much more likeable.
Bruce Kulick mentioned more than a few times that there are two Genes, one is the mucho bravado rock star persona that most people appear to hate and the private Gene which sounds like the one you described and far more likeable. As for Paul Stanley he always had that vibe of "my **** doesn't stink", kind of aloof and not very approachable. Is he playing the rock star role? or is it his genuine personality?
I'd say at this point it's his genuine personality. Even Gene has gotten angry with him during interviews for saying insensitive things and not really caring how he makes others look with his comments.
I tend to believe it is his genuine personality. From his books you learn that he was/is very insecure, so I think that's why he is like that. There was this interview where Paul told about a party, he didn't dare to go inside and so he sat outside in his car. That's why he created the Starchild, "someone" he could hide behind. Just my 0.02 cents.
It's a persona. He's highly insecure and that's his mask to cover it. It's always been that way. EDIT: Just now read the post above this one saying the same thing. I guess Paul has learned something from Gene. Unfortunately it was this.
Paraphrasing here... "I urge folks struggling with depression to jump off a building. Seriously, I'll be there watching and clapping..." Not Gene's finest hour, surely.
That article says nothing about fans reaction. It says it will upset them. People don't know how to write what their headline promises.
They did not update the drums on I Was Made For Lovin' You, Lick It Up, Heaven's On Fire, and Tears (also Crazy Nights or Reason To Live for those who have the Euro ST&H version). Yes the drums were replaced/remixed/added on the rest of the tracks save for Beth.
Paul has the best voice by far. Gene and Peter are somewhere near each other as singers. Paul didn't get to do Phantom of the Opera for nothing.
Agreed. I regarded Coming Home as pure filler until I heard it on Unplugged. Maybe it's a song that just needed to be acoustic.
Probably just an ego thing where they wanted more of their songs on the playlists. Other than Cold Gin and Parasite (which were just too good to deny), none of Frehley's solo compositions really got played live until Shock Me, which again was too good to be denied. When Ace isn't in the band, his songs go back into storage.
Having read three out of four KISS biographies (I have no need to read Gene tell me how great he is), Peter was done in as much by the excesses of being a touring rock musician as he was from infighting with the band. It had nothing to do with different musical tastes, as Peter never played in a big band combo or a latin jazz band in his life. They were all varying kinds of rock and roll. Frankly, Peter wouldn't have had the chops to be in any kind of jazz outfit no matter his tastes. If Peter hadn't had substance abuse problems and his playing had remained on par, he probably could have been with the band much longer than he was.
Just listened to it for maybe the first time ever (I wasn't much into KISS after Ace left). Eric and Bruce have impeccable metronome like senses of time. But Eric definitely doesn't swing, which serves the verse part of Watching You better than his straight-ahead 4/4 playing (which isn't bad by any stretch, it's just not as good as the album version).
It's about the lineup of groupies after the show. The band used to put them all in their own room and then have their pick of who they wanted. This song would be a throwaway in my opinion except that the groove is so goddamn good. The drum pattern is a little unusual with the snare on 2 and 3 and the bass on the upbeats of 1 and 4, before settling into a standard 4/4 groove at the end of the verse. Then back to the verse groove for the chorus. So Peter. That's the special something that he added to the band that most rock drummers wouldn't have. Not technically complicated, but so tasty.
If Ace played the bass on the song, so be it. To my ear, it sounds very much like a lot of Gene basslines, as opposed to typical Ace basslines that just follow the rhythm guitar note for note. Either way, the bass is what takes this otherwise ordinary song to another level. Terrific bass playing on the verse and the bridge. Peter does a nice job on the vocals. It's definitely one of my favorite songs on the album and one of my favorite KISS songs period.
When you listen to the Wicked Lester versions of songs and then listen to the KISS versions, it's just so obvious how much Ace and Peter added to the songs. Steve Coronel was a really boring bland guitar player and there's nothing special about the drummer at all. I never would have thought there was a great song hiding in here until these guys added their bits. Really creative cowbell playing by Peter on this track and Ace slays with his guitar solo and really all of the little bits he adds during the song.
Most everything that can be said about this track has been said. I'll only add a few things. Unlike most people, I prefer and will always prefer the studio version. I don't love Ace's guitar solo on Alive! (or really having any guitar solo on it at all and having it over the verse just feels wrong to me). Plus the drums are way more interesting to me on the studio version. Check out the drumming after the first "You keep on shouting, you keep on shouting!" and when it gets to just the drums after the chorus is sung the first time. Such a good groove. Gene's bassline for this song is killer too, but that is present in all versions.
