My thoughts on KISS getting inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and album reviews coming

If you follow the world of rock/metal online, you’d be hard pressed not to know that KISS is finally getting inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on April 10, 2014 in Cleveland, Ohio. You’d also have to be living under a rock to not be aware of the controversy surrounding which members are (and are not) getting inducted. It’s become quite a mess. Gene & Paul are having it out in the press with Ace & Peter, Gene & Paul are having it out with the HOF’s induction process, the fans are having it out with Gene & Paul, etc. It goes on and on.

Here’s what we know: the Hall of Fame is inducting only Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss. The original four members of KISS and that’s it. They aren’t inducting anyone else and they don’t want anyone else (such as Tommy Thayer & Eric Singer) performing at the induction ceremony. Frankly, that’s silly, but look — KISS has been eligible for induction for a long time and for the Hall of Fame execs to put this restriction on the band is just their way to make the induction as painful as possible for KISS. It’s like they couldn’t put off leaving KISS out of the Hall any longer because the public was becoming too vocal about their exclusion but at the same time the Hall of Fame didn’t want to make it a fun/easy process for the band.

No one is arguing the founders shouldn’t be in but I think all members should be inducted and that they should be allowed to perform with Eric Singer and Tommy Thayer (which the Hall does not want). My dream scenario is that everyone who has ever been in KISS gets inducted and then the classic line-up plays and then the modern line-up plays and/or they have all six of those guys (plus Bruce Kulick) jam together.

It’s not a big deal to induct every single member of KISS, so I don’t see why the Hall is resisting it:

• No question, Eric Carr definitely deserves to be in. Great drummer and he contributed to the band for 11 years on many successful albums.
• Bruce Kulick — same situation. He was there for 8 years and played on a number of KISS albums that went gold/platinum.
• Vinnie Vincent. Not sure if anyone could even find this guy and he didn’t have the best relationship with Gene & Paul but even they would admit his guitar work and songwriting skills played a big hand in freshening up the band’s sound and giving them some of the best albums they’ve ever produced.
• Eric Singer first joined KISS in 1991 after Eric Carr’s death, had a short stint in the early 2000s filling in for Peter Criss and has been their drummer since 2004 when Peter Criss once again left and has sung lead vocals on a handful of KISS tracks.
• Tommy Thayer is a big force in the modern band. Great guitar player and he’s been playing with them since 2002 and has songwriting credits/vocal duties on the last two KISS albums. I could see someone maybe arguing against Tommy though given the time frame he joined, but I think he’s contributed enough to warrant the induction.
• Given his very short tenure, Mark St. John is probably the only KISS member you could question for HOF status and say that he didn’t contribute much to the band… provided you consider playing on a platinum-selling album as not contributing much.

It’s nice that the band is getting inducted into something called the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame when you consider the people who run the Hall and the list of people who have already been inducted, it’s anything but a legit rock hall. No one in their right mind would argue that if there is such a hall that KISS deserves to be there, but it’s sad that the RNR Hall of Fame is refusing to acknowledge the entire career of the band and wants to focus only on the 1970s.

It’s a tough pill to swallow for some KISS fans but I actually applaud Gene & Paul for refusing to give in and play strictly with Ace & Peter. They want all eras of KISS to be recognized and they think Eric & Tommy deserve to stand on stage. I agree. I know there is the whole Gene & Paul vs. Ace & Peter thing, and that’s sad, but I don’t have a problem with Gene & Paul’s “all or nothing” stance.

Now, I recently noticed there’s a surprising amount of KISS albums I haven’t yet reviewed. I could’ve sworn I reviewed them all! Well, with all the buzz regarding KISS these days thanks to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the fact that this year is the band’s 40th anniversary, there’s no better time than now to finish reviewing the band’s catalog! Be on the look out for those reviews in the coming weeks.

KISS – Monster [Review]

KISS – Monster [Limited Deluxe Edition]
(2012, Universal Music Enterprises/KISS Records)

1. “Hell or Hallelujah”
2. “Wall of Sound”
3. “Freak”
4. “Back to the Stone Age”
5. “Shout Mercy”
6. “Long Way Down”
7. “Eat Your Heart Out”
8. “The Devil Is Me”
9. “Outta This World”
10. “All for the Love of Rock & Roll”
11. “Take Me Down Below”
12. “Last Chance”

Band:
Paul Stanley – Lead Vocals, Rhythm Guitar, Backing Vocals
Gene Simmons – Lead Vocals, Bass, Backing Vocals
Tommy Thayer – Lead Guitar, Backing Vocals, Lead Vocals
Eric Singer – Drums, Backing Vocals, Lead Vocals

Producer: Paul Stanley & Greg Collins

I’m surprised KISS didn’t use the same business model as they did for Sonic Boom, which was an exclusive U.S. release through Wal-Mart. KISS may be wishing they had the muscle of Wal-Mart behind them again because even though Monster debuted at #3 on the Billboard charts, it only sold about 56,000 copies in its first week compared to Sonic Boom‘s 108,000 copies sold.

Although the album was not released exclusively through Wal-Mart, there is a limited deluxe edition that is exclusive to Wal-Mart. The CD comes with a 64-page booklet (it’s not really magazine-sized) full of photos, facts, features, interviews, lyrics and track-by-track commentary for the new album. I’m not sure if it can be picked up in stores. I got my copy on pre-order from Walmart.com. The CD doesn’t come bundled in its own digipak or even a jewel case. It’s inserted into the inside cover.

KISS is my favorite band so I’m definitely happy they released another new studio album but at times Monster feels a bit like “been there, heard that”. This is a good album but it sounds so familiar to Sonic Boom they might as well have labeled it Sonic Boom, Vol. 2: “Hell or Hallelujah” is “Modern Day Delilah”, “The Devil Is Me” is “I’m An Animal”, “Outta This World” is “When Lightning Strikes”, “All for the Love of Rock & Roll” is “All for the Glory”, etc. Okay, maybe it doesn’t all sound like Sonic Boom… “Eat Your Heart Out” sounds like a Gene number that could’ve been on Asylum!

“Hell or Hallelujah” and “All for the Love of Rock & Roll” were instant favorites for me but the rest has taken some time to grow on me, just as the last album did. Songs like “Wall of Sound”, “Freak” (which was supposedly intended for Lady Gaga according to another review I read online) and “Back to the Stone Age” didn’t grab me at first but there’s some good stuff going on there if you stick it out. I’m really starting to get pulled into the whole album the more I listen to it. Probably the only song on this album I don’t have any affection for is the closing track “Last Chance”. Not bad but it’s filler. Poor way to close an album and Monster would’ve benefited if they limited the album to 10 tracks.

Ultimately, I think if anyone liked Sonic Boom, they’ll like this album. I definitely think Monster is the more consistent of the two (Gene brought some real clunkers to the last album) but I also believe the strongest songs from Sonic Boom are better than the strongest songs from Monster, if that makes sense. Still, this is pure KISS — big dumb fun. “Back to the Stone Age” really embodies the band at this point. They aren’t looking to reinvent the wheel, write thoughtful lyrics or expand their musical horizons. Do I think KISS can do better? Yes. But if this was the final KISS album, would I be okay with that? Yes, I would.

There is a bonus track if you buy the album through iTunes (and you have to buy the entire album to get it) called “Right Here Right Now”. It’s one of the better songs from the album and sounds equal parts ’70s KISS and late ’80s KISS. It’s a shame you can’t buy the individual track on iTunes because I definitely would as it’s better than most of what’s on this album.

Highlights: “Hell or Hallelujah”, “Wall of Sound”, “Shout Mercy”, “Long Way Down”, “Eat Your Heart Out”, “The Devil Is Me”, “All for the Love of Rock & Roll”

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KISS – Smashes, Thrashes & Hits

KISS – Smashes, Thrashes & Hits (1988, Mercury Records)

1. “Let’s Put the X in Sex” … 3:48
2. “(You Make Me) Rock Hard” … 3:26
3. “Love Gun” … 3:31
4. “Detroit Rock City” … 3:45
5. “I Love It Loud” … 3:47
6. “Deuce” … 3:20
7. “Lick It Up” … 3:53
8. “Heaven’s on Fire”… 3:19
9. “Calling Dr. Love” … 3:38
10. “Strutter” … 3:38
11. “Beth” (Eric Carr vocal) … 2:46
12. “Tears Are Falling” … 3:54
13. “I Was Made for Lovin’ You” … 4:29
14. “Rock and Roll All Nite” … 2:56
15. “Shout It Out Loud” … 3:07

Smashes, Thrashes & Hits is a KISS compilation aimed at the MTV generation that had helped breathe new life into the band during the ’80s (this album itself would go onto double platinum status). There are five tracks that come from either Creatures of the Night, Lick It Up, Animalize or Asylum while eight tracks feature some of the band’s classic ’70s material. Most of the songs from the 1970s were remixed for this collection.

Basically, the remixes amount to nothing and I could care less whether I’m listening to original or “remixed” versions, they sound the same to my unrefined ears. In the case of “Beth”, the vocals were re-recorded with Eric Carr (who does quite a good job on the song). Two additional tracks were recorded for this album and along with having the Eric Carr version of “Beth”, they are the only reason I was interested in owning this album.

“Let’s Put the X in Sex” and “(You Make Me) Rock Hard” are definitely songs of the time and follow the same pattern of the Crazy Nights album that came out in 1987 (which, surprisingly, is not represented here at all). Very cheesy and sexually-driven and they’ve always sounded to me as if they could’ve been recorded by Aerosmith around the same time. That’s probably because frequent Aerosmith collaborator Desmond Child co-wrote these songs with Paul Stanley! Future Aerosmith collaborator Diane Warren (“I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing”) helped to co-write “(You Make Me) Rock Hard” as well.

Despite Paul Stanley swearing off both of these songs, I love them for the guilty pleasures that they are. I loved both of these songs from the first time I heard them and the lyrics are just plain cheesy hornball fun to me.

For an album that devotes half its space to the 1970s KISS catalog and half to their 1980s output, I think this is a solid compilation that does its job of representing both decades well. It’s not the compilation I would recommend for people wanting to discover the band but for the diehards that happen to love ’80s KISS? This is definitely worth picking up (can easily be found at a low price) for the two new tracks and Eric Carr’s take on “Beth”.

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Rare KISS videos now on YouTube

For KISS diehards, there’s some interesting videos posted on YouTube by EliteWorksATeBay (http://www.youtube.com/user/EliteWorksATeBay). I guess all of this footage is being released to draw attention to some KISS auctions on eBay, but who really cares about that? I just want to see the footage!

I’m not really sure what these videos were for but supposedly they were all outtakes. There’s interview footage of Gene & Paul from The Elder era, plus Creatures of the Night era clips and concert footage from the ’70s through 1980.

Well worth looking at for members of the KISS Army and I’m surprised none of this footage has shown up on a cheap unauthorized KISS DVD yet!

To get the ball rolling, here’s part one of an Elder interview:

KISS – Asylum of Death Interviews DVD

KISS – Asylum of Death Interviews (2006, MVD)

Another DVD I streamed on my PS3 courtesy of Netflix. You know, I’m really starting to enjoy the titles of these unauthorized videos. They make no sense but sound darn fun: first “Krazy Killer” and now “Asylum of Death”! If only those had been actually KISS albums.

This is a collection of interviews and TV news pieces but unlike the oddball collection on Krazy Killer, there’s a bit more continuity here as many of these clips are from the Dynasty era. This is fine by me because I always thought KISS looked pretty cool during their disco rock phase (or as Ace calls it during an interview “rock disco”). I found it funny during one interview Ace is asked why they decided to go disco. He explains that it’s really only “I Was Made For Lovin’ You” that is “rock disco” and somehow ties this into a statement that disco is dying then three sentences later he says “disco is hot right now”. Of course, Paul steps in as the consummate promoter and says they must have done something right because the song is “number one or number two all around the world”.

The very first clip features the infamous appearance by Gene on The Mike Douglas Show then we get into an “unmasked” interview featuring KISS except they all have their backs turned to the camera. Next up is a round of Dynasty period interviews and then the video jumps to ’91/’92 with what I guess is the British MTV doing an interview with some guy who runs the “KISS Museum” and is a collector and seller of their memorabilia.

The final piece is an interview in England, by the same MTV veejay who interviewed the museum guy, talking to Gene, Paul, Eric Singer and Bruce Kulick. Appears to have taken place shortly after the release of Revenge. It’s an interesting piece notable for when the discussion turns to Eric Carr and after a few somber answers from Gene & Paul, you could visibly see talking about this was getting to them and they told the interviewer it was time to change the subject because they’d rather not dwell on not having Eric and would much rather celebrate the times they did have with him. I’ve read a few negative things over the years knocking Gene & Paul for the way they handled matters while Eric was sick, if there’s ever any proof that these guys truly cared for Eric and it was a tough situation for them as well, this interview is it.

It is during this interview where Paul and Gene state Revenge is heavy and almost like a return to the first album. Paul goes onto say this is KISS being true to themselves and not following trends. Pretty funny when you consider 30 minutes earlier on this video he was defending their “rock disco” album! He also bashes the power ballad craze of the day and likened “Everytime I Look At You” to a Led Zeppelin or Rolling Stones ballad that has nothing in common with the pop metal (“pap” as he called it) ballads. Again, this is humorous because KISS did their best to fit into the ’80s pop metal (the very scene their “true” selves inspired)!

This is a solid collection that I’m sure hardcore KISS fans will appreciate. There’s even an interview conducted by Billy Crystal! The sound and picture quality varies, but it’s acceptable for clips that date back to the late ’70s. At one hour and available for less than ten bucks, this really isn’t a bad purchase for those that are huge KISS fans and it is definitely worth a rental at least.

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KISS – Krazy Killer DVD

KISS – Krazy Killer (2006, MVD)

Being the KISS fanatic that I am, I was aware of this DVD’s existence for quite some time but you couldn’t pay me to sit down and watch some extremely low-budget unauthorized disc such as this. Well… Times change and no, no one paid me to watch this but I’m also a Netflix fanatic and they just happened to have this available to stream to my TV. It was a slow night so I figured I would go ahead and see what this was all about. So while I like to review only what I own, for some reason, I’m making an exception for music-related DVDs. Netflix has more than a few releases I’d like to rent but have no interest in buying, so look for more of these reviews in the future and I’ll be sure to note whether I actually own it or not.

After all, the DVD description sure does make things sound exciting what with Gene & Paul storming at 1994 KISS Konvention and taking back their own merchandise. They should’ve given this release the tagline of “They took the law into their owns hands.” Sounds like a good tag line for some ’80s direct-to-video action movie, doesn’t it? In fact, I’m fairly certain that’s where I stole it from. Krazy Killer also sounds like some weirdo ’80s direct-to-video movie but I’m thinking that it would be more of a slasher film.

Anyway, at worst I figured I would have wasted a few minutes of my quiet night and turned the DVD off promptly as the first signed of complete boredom. But I kept watching… and watching… and watching. You know? Because this much ballyhooed “Konvention” raid doesn’t even take place until about an hour into this ninety-minute DVD. So what’s eating up so much time on Krazy Killer?

An uncut interview with the band circa 1982/1983. Apparently the interview was being conducted for USA Network’s “Night Flight” late night program. I don’t remember that show at all but I do remember its successor “Up All Night” hosted by Gilbert Gottfried and Rhonda Shear. No doubt, this nearly one hour interview was probably clipped down to a few soundbites for a 3 minute segment when all was said and done.

KISS – “(You Make Me) Rock Hard” Music Video

The second new song from Smashes, Thrashes & Hits. I have to say, I think this song is just as good as “Let’s Put The X In Sex”. Gene never looked comfortable with the glam look but this era suits Paul well and is it me or does it look like he’s trying his best to emulate David Lee Roth during these years in appearance and on-stage antics?

KISS – “Let’s Put The X In Sex” Music Video

I don’t care what Paul and Gene say — the two new songs that came off of 1988’s Smashes, Thrashes & Hits compilation are great. Pure ’80s pop metal cheese and what’s wrong with that?! I don’t even mind that this song and video totally rips off Robert Palmer’s “Addicted To Love”.

KISS – Nashville 1984

KISS – Nashville 1984 (CDR bootleg)
Recorded: January 11, 1984 at the Nashville Municipal Auditorium in Nashville, TN

Disc 1
1. “Creatures Of The Night” … 4:19
2. “Detroit Rock City” … 4:05
3. “Cold Gin” … 5:34
4. “Fits Like A Glove” … 4:35
5. “Firehouse” … 4:03
6. Paul Stanley Guitar Solo … 1:00
7. “Gimme More” … 3:44
8. Vinnie Vincent Guitar Solo … 5:12
9. “War Machine” … 4:06
10. Gene Simmons Bass Solo … 4:30
11. “I Love It Loud” … 3:15

Disc 2
1. “I Still Love You” … 5:44
2. Eric Carr Drum Solo … 6:35
3. “Young And Wasted” … 4:44
4. “Love Gun” … 3:55
5. “All Hell’s Breakin’ Loose” … 5:20
6. “Black Diamond” … 7:11
7. “Lick It Up” … 6:15
8. “Rock And Roll All Nite” … 7:37

Band:
Paul Stanley – Lead Vocals, Guitar, Backing Vocals
Gene Simmons – Lead Vocals, Bass, Backing Vocals
Vinnie Vincent – Guitar, Backing Vocals
Eric Carr – Drums, Backing Vocals

I’ve never made it a secret that I’m not the biggest fan of live albums. If I want to hear a band warts and all, I’ll go see them in concert. When it comes to listening to them at home or in my car, give me the perfected and produced version of their songs. Besides, 99% of all live albums usually fall somewhere in between live and studio making them completely obsolete.

That said, for my most favorite bands, I’ll sometimes check out the myriad of bootleg sites out there just to see what’s available. The seldom times I’ll download a bootleg, my main goal is to hear songs that these bands will never play live again. Plus with bootlegs… It really is love! No overdubs, no touch ups! Straight from some sneaky fan to the rest of us!

This brings me to this KISS bootleg called simply called Nashville 1984 but was apparently recorded for the old King Biscuit radio show. It finds the band in fine form with a set list dominated by then-recent Creatures of the Night and Lick It Up albums– two of KISS’ best. Coupled with the fact that Vinnie Vincent is on guitar, this was a must have for me. According to the site I found this this at, this bootleg is straight from the soundboard. I’m no audio expert, but that sounds about right me. Really good quality here.

The band is absolutely on fire for this show and full of energy. The Stanley/Simmons/Vincent/Carr line-up is probably the best the band ever had in terms of power, abilities and songwriting. Paul’s voice sounds great and near identical to what he was putting on the albums at the time. Definitely a far cry from how he sounds today. Gene sounds a bit off on this show though.

It’s really great to hear so many Lick It Up songs (five) and Creatures of the Night songs (four). This whole era was incredibly underrated. One thing that I find hilarious is that KISS plays all of their ’70s material at a quicker tempo. I’ve read they did that throughout the entire decade. I guess they felt they needed to compete with the heavy, speedier bands of the day. It’s a bit silly but what makes things even sillier is the new stuff is played faster too! Why didn’t they just record it the same way? For the record, the original tempos found on the albums are better than what they play live for both songs new and old.

Another quirky thing about this show is Paul’s over-the-top stage rap shtick. With New Year’s Eve only a few days behind them, the intro to “Cold Gin” is an odd one with Paul bragging about how drunk (“fucked up”) he got that night. Really, Paul? Did you really down 12 shots of tequila in ten seconds that night? Given Gene & Paul’s disdain for alcohol, I have to believe this was just Paul trying to have some type of bad boy image to compete with other ’80s metal acts. By the way, does anyone else think it’s weird that Gene sings a song (still to this day) praising alcohol?

Then for the rap right before “All Hell’s Breakin’ Loose”, Paul’s delivery of “there are some hot lookin’ girls here tonight!” cracks me up.

All in all, this is a classic live performance. Really makes you wish Gene & Paul would rethink their self-imposed setlist “obligations” of playing a show dominated by their 1970s material.

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KISS – Live In Las Vegas

KISS – Live In Las Vegas (2002, Pixelon.com)

1. “Shout It Out Loud”
2. “Love Gun”
3. “God of Thunder”
4. “Rock and Roll All Night” (as it is labeled on the DVD)

Band:
Paul Stanley – Lead Vocals, Guitar, Backing Vocals
Gene Simmons – Lead Vocals, Bass, Backing Vocals
Ace Frehley – Guitar, Backing Vocals
Peter Criss – Drums, Backing Vocals

Awful, awful, awful! Subtitled “The unseen concert”, I wish this one had remained unseen… by me! I was young and naive and wasted $14.99 on this DVD back on February 23, 2003 (the receipt was inside the DVD case). Live In Las Vegas is a cheap and unauthorized KISS DVD featuring the band’s four song “limited appearance” at Pixelon.com’s iBash ’99 from October 29, 1999 at the MGM Grand.

Pixelon was a fairly notorious dot-com company that got into the internet business by making ridiculous boasts about their video streaming technology and by throwing lots of money around to nab some big music names for their iBash launch party. Also notable is the company’s founder, who as it turned out, started the company under a false identity because he was wanted in Virginia for stock scams. The company only lasted a year before going bankrupt so I’m guessing this 2002 release was just a way to try to pay off some debts.

Paul Stanley issued a statement at one point saying “this DVD or Video has NOT been approved, endorsed or authorized by us”. I’m really surprised Gene & Paul would slip up to the point where someone else could market, own and release some concert footage of them. I thought they were pretty good about owning their performances, but I guess when someone is throwing an insane amount of cash at you to perform four songs, you tend to not worry about the details. Don’t feel bad for KISS only though, others were wowed by Pixelon as well. The iBash launch party also featured other big names like The Dixie Chicks, Tony Bennett, The Offspring, Faith Hill and The Who.

So why is this one bad? The performance is lip-synced, perhaps ripped straight from the albums themselves and then there’s the annoying issue of the video & audio not being sequenced correctly. Mouths are moving when they shouldn’t. The video is actually pretty good but the packaging of this DVD is very cheap. There is a director’s cut and a multicam cut to choose from. The director’s cut is horrible, there’s way too much jumping around from band member to crowd to band member. Your eyes never have time to settle and take in what you’re seeing. The multicam cut divides the screen in to quarters and those individual cameras are much more consistent, choosing to linger at different angles on the band as they play.

Surprisingly, there is a decent amount of special features. Perhaps Pixelon was feeling a bit bad about sticking us with a four song “concert”. I’m not sure how Pixelon got their hands on all of this extra KISS footage, but some of it is interesting.

Keeping with the failures of Pixelon, iBash was supposed to be broadcast over the internet, but the servers crashed at the last minute! Oops! Luckily, members of the KISS Army can now “finally see the concert that fate denied them the first time around”, as it says on the back of the DVD box.

But don’t bother, fate was looking out for you.