KISS

Like Sixes, I find that quite hard. Have seen them live with the classic line-up and when it comes to music I'll stick to The Elder and some stuff they did before that.
 
I've done it. Succumbed to the magnetism and history of Kiss and invested in their first few albums :p I doubt I'll explore much, if anything, outside their classic 70s stuff though, but we'll see..we'll see...

So far, let the exploration commence!
 
Cool deal, what did you get?

If you do want to get out of the early albums, 2 stand out to me. 1) Music from the Elder ... an odd album for Kiss and a commercial disaster, but musically quite good, their attempt at a concept album. 2) Ace Frehley's solo album. The others are iffy IMO, but Ace's is just fantastic, great riffs, really good solos. Ace does not have the greatest voice on earth, but it fits well with these songs.
 
I figured I would just start with their debut and explore their discography chronologically. So I got Kiss and Hotter Than Hell
 
Makes sense ... when you get up to Alive! ... let us know what you think of that compared to the studio versions (though quite a bit of Alive! was done in the studio)
 
Will do! I did a little bit of reading about the different albums and when I saw that Gene Simmons did a cover of When you Wish Upon a Star for his solo album I was like "No...no, no way :ahhh:" and the first studio album after all the solo ones being one without all original members I've basically made a cut-off point that says I'll explore and get the classic KISS..from Kiss to and including Alive 2, and that's it :D So far at least!
 
The album after the solo albums has all 4 members (Dynasty), though Peter Criss really only played on one song. Next was Unmasked which had Peter Criss listed, but he had nothing to do with the album. Anton Fig (of David Letterman fame and also a damn good drummer,his solo album Figments is good) played all the drums on Dynasty and Unmasked except for the song Dirty Livin' on Dynasty. Pretty similar to the album Creatures of the Night which has Ace on the cover and credits him, but he did not play a note on that record.
 
Thanks for clarifying! Is it right in saying though that Dynasty is where it started going downhill for them?

I want to listen to classic Rock N' Roll KISS so I thought after Alive 2 would be a good cut off point :D
 
Yeah, it did start to go down from there, Dynasty and Unmasked especially were produced like pop albums including some disco elements. At the same time, rock was moving towards bands like Judas Priest, Maiden, Ozzy, etc There are some good songs on those albums, which would be better if they were mixed differently.
 
Yeah I thought of "I was Made For Loving You" Very, 79' Saturday Night Fever :D

What is it about Kiss and their makeup/costumes? Something about it is just captivating. It speaks to the child in you too I think ;)
 
It sure does, I was 8 when I started getting into Kiss and they had a Super Hero aspect to them/mix in some sci fi/Star Wars with Ace ... they really hit on something at the right time. There is no way that could work today with the Internet/everyone carries a camera with them (in a phone), etc. Add to that, a move away from folk/protest music and the general gaudiness in 70s pop culture. They are certainly a case of right band at the right time
 
It is a bit of a mix of all the different styles of harder rock music that was out there in the early 70s, but there is definitely also more than a few nods to classic rockers of the 50s, 60s, Chuck Berry, Beatles, Stones, Little Richard etc...Which also appeals to me!

Almost through my first listen of the self titled. On 100, 000 years now.
 
Yeah, the early stuff is just good straight up rock and I like the different vocals they all brought to the table.
 
On Hotter Than Hell now. Goin' Blind definitely has a Beatles vibe. I didn't like the opening track that much (forgot it's name now) but Parasite was rocking!
 
Cool that you're liking it. The early albums up to Dynasty are definitely the most essential but even those are iffy. What you really want is Alive and Alive II. Every song on there destroys its studio counterpart. There's a lot of other great (and good video/audio quality) concert videos that are also worth watching.

After Dynasty there are still a few albums that are worth hearing. Elder is their attempt at being taken seriously by critics. The sentiment isn't great but ironically the album is. Creatures of the Night, the followup, is kind of a back to roots effort to win back the fans they lost with Elder. Released in 1982, it takes on the early 80's metal style and is their heaviest album so far. Some real gems on there. Lastly, I'd totally recommend Revenge. The heaviest Kiss album, and my personal favorite. It's awesome.
 
Mosh said:
Cool that you're liking it. The early albums up to Dynasty are definitely the most essential but even those are iffy. What you really want is Alive and Alive II. Every song on there destroys its studio counterpart. There's a lot of other great (and good video/audio quality) concert videos that are also worth watching.

After Dynasty there are still a few albums that are worth hearing. Elder is their attempt at being taken seriously by critics. The sentiment isn't great but ironically the album is. Creatures of the Night, the followup, is kind of a back to roots effort to win back the fans they lost with Elder. Released in 1982, it takes on the early 80's metal style and is their heaviest album so far. Some real gems on there. Lastly, I'd totally recommend Revenge. The heaviest Kiss album, and my personal favorite. It's awesome.
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Good calls, though I would say people that like Creatures probably would like Lick It Up as well, some good tunes on that one.
 
I haven't heard Lick It Up in such a long time that I barely remember any of the material. But yea I do remember them being similar. I love the title song and All Hell's Breaking Loose.
 
Never seen Kiss and for the first time ever they are coming to Vancouver Island.
Worth a pricey ticket? Or are they too far past their prime?
 
While it's been 9 years since I saw them, from what I understand they still put on the exact same show. Setlist, stage, lineup. I guess it's been the same since they decided they weren't going to quit after the farewell tour. I'd say it's probably worth seeing once if you like Kiss.
 
I like their Unplugged. Is actually one of the three Kiss albums i own.
 
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