KISS: The Songs 1974-2012

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

  1. nodeerforamonth

    nodeerforamonth Consistently misunderstood

    Location:
    San Diego,CA USA
    Ok. I can take this thread seriously, since KISS is done correctly.

    I love Kissin' Time. I play it a lot when I deejay. No idea why the band hates it so much and think it was a mistake.

    Deuce has the best opening line of all time by any band. Fantastic song.
     
  2. SizzleVonSizzleton

    SizzleVonSizzleton The Last Yeti

    I never really cared for Deuce. I know it's known as the fiery opening song on the incendiary Alive, but I never owned Alive. I STILL don't own Alive. When I got into KISS in the mid 80's the debut album was basically just Strutter and Deuce, one of which is a rock and roll classic that should be as overplayed on radio as Stairway To Heaven, and the other is Deuce.

    All these years later I've come around to liking it, it's a solid song. But it'll never be a classic for me. Easily behind Strutter, Cold Gin, Firehouse, Black Diamond, 100,000 Years and maybe even Love Theme From KISS.
     
    GodShifter likes this.
  3. SammyJoe

    SammyJoe Up The Irons!

    Location:
    Finland
    "Deuce" great steamrolling and sweating song, which presents just how groovy, energetic and in fury early Kiss really is.
    I like it and it's still one of my alltime favorites from Kiss, that's for sure.
    The song starts with that classic riff and the groove goes on for the whole song, and it does not slip away or let loose at all.
    I like the coreography they did on this song on stage, many has tried similar but Kiss managed to do it really cool.
    Some of the early Kiss songs have little remembrance or very little similarity to some Stones, atleast Deuce has it.
    Indeed there's maybe some sort of little connection to Rolling Stones here as the riff might even suit them.
    I can even imagine them playing something very similar, in their own style and fashion of course.
     
    Cachiva, npgchris and GodShifter like this.
  4. GMcGilli

    GMcGilli Forum Resident

    Location:
    Richmond BC Canada
    I got the KISS album in '76 when I was 4 year old. I air-guitared that song a million times growing up - In 2016 - I decided it was time to look up the lyrics to see what that line actually said.
     
    GodShifter likes this.
  5. npgchris

    npgchris Forum Resident

    I think as a kid I would have ranked "Deuce" as a good (but not great) KISS tune.

    Like many others, as we get older our musical tastes expand (hopefully) as we get into other genres and artists. At some point, I went back and revisited a bunch of KISS' material (I guess it would have been when a bunch of their catalog was first put on CD in 86 or so. I definitely re-evaluated some of their material when the 97 remasters came out). Anyway, at that point, it was like being hit over the head when I heard this tune again with fresh ears. The song absolutely kills and is really perfection in its own way. The fact that Ace, who had nothing to do with the creation of the song, still plays it live in his solo shows is pretty telling. I've heard him say on more than one occasion that it's his all-time favorite KISS song, and it's easy to see why. A stone cold classic, and easily in my top 10 favorite KISS songs, if not top 5 (I've never bothered to rank them).
     
    Cachiva and GodShifter like this.
  6. Deuce66

    Deuce66 Senior Member

    Location:
    Canada
    Hindsight and personal opinions are always 20/20 so....I would give Paul and Gene a little more credit in terms of knowing the business end at that point in time, yes they hooked up with Aucoin and gave him a chance to get KISS signed, mission accomplished on that end. When it comes to KISS' music this is where I think they kind of fail by not focusing on it way more than they did. Given that they managed to secure Eddie Kramer!!! for their demos I don't understand to this day why they didn't use him for the debut, the relationship was already there, it's clear that they could work together, was it a money saving measure or was EK simply not available? that's where they kind of dropped the ball imo + they also left some far superior material off the album in exchange for Let Me Know, Love Theme and Kissin' Time on later versions, weak. Also I'm not a fan of the cover at all.
     
  7. Zoot Marimba

    Zoot Marimba And I’m The Critic Of The Group

    Location:
    Savannah, Georgia
    Deuce, one of my favorite KISS songs, great solo by Ace, catchy song with lyrics fun to sing along yet despite being incredibly dumb when you say it out loud, this song is worth a deuce
     
    GodShifter likes this.
  8. Deuce66

    Deuce66 Senior Member

    Location:
    Canada
    That's not what he claimed the song was about, back in those days a lot of women stayed home to take care of the kids/household while the man went out to earn the $$$$, without the $$$$ as Gene tells it, there's no house, no food, no car etc....so it's worth at least double whatever she might doing at home, it was something to that effect.
     
    Cachiva likes this.
  9. vamborules

    vamborules Forum Resident

    Location:
    CT
    He's said different things about it at different time. As with most things Gene says, it's hard to know which version is true.

    He's also said he has no idea what it's about. That's the most believable to me.
     
  10. npgchris

    npgchris Forum Resident


    Having Eddie Kramer produce the debut is definitely a no-brainer! I'm not 100% sure on this (the info is obviously out there), but I think getting Eddie for the demos was kind of a happy accident. I know they were owed money from when Wicked Lester closed shop, and I think Paul and Gene were reimbursed with studio time in lieu of cash. I think Eddie happened to be there at the time, so they jumped at the chance to have him produce them. But obviously he didn't know them from a hole-in-the-wall at that point. He has stated he was impressed with their work ethic at that point, but it wasn't until later that they formed a relationship with him. At least that's my memory of what went down. But I'll admit I might be hazy on a few details.

    Anyway, I don't think having him produce the debut was ever a possibility, money-wise if nothing else. Casablanca's budget for KISS would have been fairly low at that point, and I'm sure hiring Eddie (if he had even been available) would have been financially impossible.

    We'll agree to disagree on "Let Me Know" and the album cover. I think "Let Me Know" is severely under-rated, but that's just me. "Kissin' Time" isn't their fault, because they didn't like it and it was recorded at Bogart's insistence, who was thinking like a promotional person at that point and thought it might get them some much-needed publicity.

    No doubt the cover could have been better, but again, they were doing this on a shoestring at that point, and like-it-or-not that image became iconic for several years afterward (if not longer). You're right, hindsight is 20/20, and I'm not trying to sound like an apologist. I didn't disagree with you about the label and management making mistakes, I just thought the band themselves didn't really deserve much blame at that point. To a very large extent they were just doing what they were told.
     
  11. Deuce66

    Deuce66 Senior Member

    Location:
    Canada
    Here's my first time hearing Deuce live with the band in full makeup, Montreal 1996 Reunion Tour, talk about energy in that building....it was nuts.

     
  12. Cachiva

    Cachiva Forum Resident

    Location:
    Houston, Texas
    Here is a lively discussion about the possible meaning of "Deuce,"
    with about 10 different suggestions! (rough language warning)

    KissFAQ.COM • View topic - Meaning of the song title "Deuce"...

    And here are the boys from 1974, in San Francisco performing "Deuce."
    This features the choreography GodShifter mentions in post #47.

     
    Wil1972, GodShifter and Deuce66 like this.
  13. GodShifter

    GodShifter Forum Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Dallas, TX, USA
    Gotta admit I got a giggle out of that board exchange per the lyrics. Knowing Gene, I'd bet it means his woman owes him a double (whatever) because he's the money maker.
     
    Cachiva likes this.
  14. GodShifter

    GodShifter Forum Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Dallas, TX, USA
    Curveboy and SizzleVonSizzleton like this.
  15. jon9091

    jon9091 Master Of Reality

    Location:
    Midwest
    That could be his take on Love Me Two Times...
     
  16. GodShifter

    GodShifter Forum Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Dallas, TX, USA
    Never really thought about the lyrics of that (or any song really). I don't pay attention to lyrics much.
     
    nodeerforamonth likes this.
  17. Chew

    Chew Casual Stalker

    I always thought Deuce should have stayed the opening track on side two after adding Kissin Time (which IMO, would have fit better sequenced between Love Theme from Kiss and 100,000 Years).
     
    GodShifter likes this.
  18. johnny q

    johnny q Forum Resident

    Location:
    Bergen County, NJ
    That was funny! :) But I never knew the lyrics to "Deuce" were so open to interpretation. I always assumed that lyrically, it was the Kiss version of the sentiment expressed in The Doors "Love Me Two Times."
     
    Cachiva and GodShifter like this.
  19. GMcGilli

    GMcGilli Forum Resident

    Location:
    Richmond BC Canada
    I always thought he meant She was worth $200 a night....
     
    Cachiva and GodShifter like this.
  20. SizzleVonSizzleton

    SizzleVonSizzleton The Last Yeti

    I never thought of the Deuce lyrics as being worth spending ten seconds thinking about. Not criticizing, I like plenty of songs that lyrically aren't making Bob Dylan nervous.
     
  21. moops

    moops Senior Member

    Location:
    Geebung, Australia
    D.B. and GodShifter like this.
  22. bartels76

    bartels76 Forum Hall Of Fame

    Location:
    CT
    What are we on? Deuce?

    This song must be in my Top 5 and maybe Gene's best?? I never get tired of it live as it's such an energetic song. I love the extra flourishes that Ace started to do during the Reunion tour. I can't really describe it in guitar terms but he does some extra strumming towards end of the song during the riff. Ace's guitar work is just stellar in this song overall.

    Around the 2:50-3:10 mark here...I don't really hear that during the 70's tour unless I missed it.


    Deuce demo which trumps the album version
    Kiss Deuce Demo
     
  23. ModernDayWarrior

    ModernDayWarrior Senior Member

    I never paid attention but you're right. It sounds like it could have fit on Hotter Than Hell sonically. Good call on that.
     
    Haggis Wampovich likes this.
  24. ModernDayWarrior

    ModernDayWarrior Senior Member

    For some reason I always thought the lyric was "Get up and get your Grime all out of here."
     
    jon9091 likes this.
  25. GodShifter

    GodShifter Forum Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Dallas, TX, USA
    Haha, for years I could never quite figure what he was saying. After a time I became curious and found out it was grandma and was like, wtf :confused:
     
    M321115, Marble Index and jon9091 like this.

Share This Page

molar-endocrine