Listened through Unmasked yesterday, and all in all, it's alright. As someone who got into KISS for their heavier stuff the production left something to be desired, especially the guitars on a few tracks, but it doesn't ruin the experience for me. Most of the songs are catchy and good listens, at worst they're just boring. Apart from the quiet guitars the instrumentation is solid, some good Ace solos in there. Not great as their albums go, but for what it is its decent. (Will give additional thoughts later)
Is That You: Good opener, not fast but good thumpin' rhythm, decent lead work Shandi: Sweet, not too bad, Is the the girl's name? Interesting if it is. Talk To Me: My favorite song on this album, Ace's singing voice really fits the premise of the song, good riff, just LOVE that solo (though I would like to hear it without that effect out on the guitar) Naked City: Bass is very loud on this one Tomorrow: Another upbeat number, fun with a wild solo Two Side of the Coin: I think I just like songs where Ace sings lead because of how different his voice is. Somehow I can't figure out how the Coin relates to the rest of the lyrics. She's So European: Bouncy, like that keyboard riff, catchy chorus, lyrics have me a bit confused Easy As it Seems: Prominent bass and bongos(?), that's kinda cool, keyboards give it a nice atmosphere Torpedo Girl: Ridiculous and fun; love it. Wish there was a music video to go with it. Might just me but I noticed a rapid kick drum during the fadeout Other two songs are just kinda meh
I think he’s saying one side of the coin is a date and the other is a mate. Which will he choose? I agree with you about Ace songs and his voice. But “Two Sides of the Coin” is probably my least favorite of his.
Another guilty pleasure of mine. (I'm admittedly a sucker for a good riff and a catchy chorus) I will admit the riff sounds like Mr Speed, but I'll let that slide because that's one of my favorites. Enjoy Eric's singing, and I really like the solo. I like it. (Hope that doesn't offend any long time fans)
This is a good one, for sure. Love Eric's voice. The whole Monster album is growing on me. Always thought it was okay but I find myself reaching for it more often these days.
Been avoiding Monster and SB until now (mainly because of the Eric and Tommy problem) but now they're on my "to listen to" list. I'll give my thoughts on both eventually.
I can't off the top of my head remember them all, but in addition to some that were mentioned above, a couple examples would be the riff at the beginning of "Nothin' to Lose" (which they return to later as a tag), which is in 7/4. Or the big "metally" riffs in "Under the Rose" which are in an unusually-phrased 6/4--it gives the impression of more complicated time signatures that alternate bars, but it's actually all in 6/4 (and it was probably influenced by "Happiness Is a Warm Gun") They actually do quite a bit of rhythmic displacement and unusual phrasing, even though overall a tune might still be in 4 or something close to it. For a couple examples, the very riff of "Strange Ways" is phrased very oddly, with what would usually be a pick-up falling on the downbeat instead. Another blatant example is "Hard Times". And even something like "Baby Driver" is weird in the way that it's pounding in upbeats so much. I know there are examples of odd times that I'm not thinking of off the top of my head, but it's not as if they're a progressive rock band. Of course, there is 6 or 12/8 (including most of "Only You" mentioned above), bars of 2/4 here and there, etc., but those aren't exactly odd times. 6 or 12/8 typically are just 4 with a shuffle feel for example. With KISS it's usually more subtle stuff that's quirky rhythmically, like the phrasing I was talking about above. That sort of stuff is all over the place in their music, and it even arises in larger-scale phrasing, such as how many bars there are in a section, how many bars will be in one mode versus another as they modulate (they actual do a fair amount of modal modulation), and so on.
Detroit Rock City, as it occurred to me after reading this. Always thought there was something weird about Baby Driver. Thanks for the insight Terrapin.
Well, I finally picked up an original pressing of the debut lp without Kissin’ Time and it’s a fantastic listen. If you’re a vinyl person, I recommend finding a copy. I haven’t a/b’d this with later versions but I’m impressed with the drums... they have a nice body to the sound. It’s funny, the snare sounds like the one used on Hotter than Hell without the swampy treatment. It’s no sonic marvel or anything (it’s quite tame actually) but there is a consistency there. Anyway, I’m glad I finally pulled the trigger on this. I managed to find it for $30.00 US.
Random: but I once calculated the debut's runtime without Kissin Time and Black Diamond's ending, and it came out to about 29 and a half minutes.
Felt like saying some things: 1. My list of songs using one specific lick should be done in the next few days. 2. A congratulations to Godshifter (and all who've posted here) for this thread reaching 27,000 posts. (Just sharing my what's on my mind )
Just watched the Psycho Circus video, an excellent "WTF is going on here" moment. What I'm most intrigued by is the flying guitar space fight. Also love how it ends with everything just exploding (what else?) The song: decent, nice creepy(ish) vibe, nothing amazing about the lyrics but some good lead work. Good opening track.
Noticed 2 things about Peter the other day: 1. The earring(?) he wears on the cover of Dynasty. 2. How some of the songs he sings lead on have a recurring theme of troubled life/hard times (Black Diamond, Hooligan, Dirty Livin', maybe others)
He had the voice to sing those songs where they sounded authentic, but he could also croon ballads like Beth and Hard Luck Woman. While Peter's drums may have been replaceable, his voice wasn't, and that was a key ingredient in the diversity of KISS records in the 70's that went missing after his departure. I used to stare at Peter's earring and the Dynasty cover as a kid. I think it reminded me of The Flintstones..LOL
Assessment of Ace Frehley's Soloing #1 The first commonly used lick in Ace's solos, and his playing in general, had several variations, including: A. An upward bend on the 3rd string into a double stop on the 1st/2nd strings B. The higher strings being picked in an ascending order instead of together C. Using both single notes and double stops D. The 3rd string bend played as a unison bend (with the same note on the 2nd string) When this lick is used multiple times in a row, Ace seems to add some hammer on/pull off into the movement. Other solos it only appears once (easy to miss in those cases) Songs Featuring It Strutter (Outro Solo) Let Me Know Deuce 100,000 Years Black Diamond (2nd Solo) Let Me Go, Rock 'N Roll Two Timer Love Her All I Can (Outro Solo) RNRAN Alive Version Love 'Em Leave 'Em Mr. Speed See You In Your Dreams Shock Me Plaster Caster (Outro Solo) Rip It Out Speedin' Back to My Baby Snow Blind 2000 Man Tomorrow ----------------------------------------------------- Hope you all enjoy this (took me weeks of repeated listening) Thanks to the creator of the Kiss Assylum Website's guitar tab section (it was a great help). Please let me know of any errors or songs I missed.
Great list and great work! I have an idea for one I would like to do.....songs where Ace uses triplets in rhythmic displacement style.
