80's Kiss anyone ?

Bryant

Bryant

Mr. Sleepy
Apr 14, 2002
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While I am probably not the biggest fan of hair-metal here (I think that honor belongs to Trix,) I think the 80's Kiss was easily their best era. There were numerous songs from the 70's that were so bad, they were laughable and several of the 80's discs are pretty solid cover to cover. I am curious why Kiss, though still very popular in the 80's waas a bit shunned by the fans that were with them in the 70's.


Bryant
 
KISS of the 70's was original, hungry and dangerous. As the 80's kicked in they became a circus act for the whole family losing the dangerous appeal with disco hits. (Dynasty, Unmasked) Realizing they had come from the streets and ended up as some version of Barnum Bailey they tried to get back to the original concept (Creatures of the Night) but the lure of success (hit records) was to enticing. They decided that taking off the makeup and modeling themselves after the other hair bands of the day, that they had actually influenced, unfortunately, was the way to go. The band (any version)since the 70's has actually been posing ever since. (Disco, non-makeup, Re-union, new members, etc.) I am a huge KISS fan so I am not dissing the band its just the truth.

:rock:

NP: RAGE - Speak of the Dead
 
Sorry Bryant, but I think their best stuff came out of the 70s. Like Rokk said, Dynasty and Unmasked were pretty bad (although Dynasty was actually '79). If they had done nothing more than release Alive and Alive II in the 70s I would still think that was the best era for them.

I stopped paying attention to them after Hot in the Shade but was pretty much done with them after Asylum. Animalize is OK but it's a little too radio ready for my taste. Lick it Up is still a favorite of mine as is Creatures. Music from the Elder is still one of their best albums, ever.

So, basically, and in my humble opinion, they had three good albums in the 80s and only one bad in the 70s. I can forgive a lot of Dynasty just for Ace's version of 2000 Man.
 
Me too. I always though that Hotter Than Hell is a seriously
overlooked album for most kiss fans around here in Indy.
But Goin' Blind is one of my favorite kiss songs of all time
you folks should check The Melvins version of that song.
 
Hmmmm...... I don't care about what "image" they tried to portray when they removed the makeup in the 80's. I am talking about quality music. I actually think Animalize, Crazy Nights and Asylum were three of the best releases they have made. I certainly appreciate all of your opinions, but it is more about appreciating 80's Kiss than discluding what Kiss did in the 70's.


Bryant
 
Bryant said:
Hmmmm...... I don't care about what "image" they tried to portray when they removed the makeup in the 80's. I am talking about quality music. I actually think Animalize, Crazy Nights and Asylum were three of the best releases they have made. I certainly appreciate all of your opinions, but it is more about appreciating 80's Kiss than discluding what Kiss did in the 70's.
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We better start getting together an UMOS charity fund for your plane ticket to AZ so you can come kick my ass, Bryant. 'Cause you're all wrong! :p Animalize, Crazy Nights and Asylum are bland bubble-gum rock to my ears. KISS never was a "deep" band (except on their greatest and most enigmatic album The Elder), but at least they had a really hard edge and a unique sound in the 70s. I consider much of their early stuff landmark music, something I can't say for anything after Creatures of the Night.

I vote NO on 80s KISS.

YES on 70s and The Elder!

NP: Astral Doors - Astralism
 
Trans-Siberian Outcast said:
I consider much of their early stuff landmark music, something I can't say for anything after Creatures of the Night.
Click to expand...

I am all with you on this quote ! The 70s stuff rocks, and is the true and best Kiss IMO. Also Dynasty and Unmasked, although very different, I find great. As long as the music is good, I have no problem if they play it on the radio or if enters the charts. Lick it up (one of my very favorite) and Creatures are a different style again, very much harder, but again, great albums :rock: ! The Elder is unique, good album. However, everything after Creatures I hardly play. Asylum I find a very boring album. Crazy nights has some awsome songs, so that album and Psyco Circus I find ok.

Generally, there is nothing wrong with trying to do something new/ different after a couple of years. IMO it was good for the so called Kiss "disco albums" and the heavier two albums after that. I am not a musician, so can´t really talk about the quality of their skills. But as I read, they never claimed to be geniuses on their instruments. Kiss is just about entertaining, and everything up to Cretaures entertains me.
 
Bryant said:
See the beauty of the world my friend. The beauty of Kiss has always been the vocals of Paul Stanley. His best work was the 80's stuff.
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Okay, Bryant, your invitation to Arizona is officially revoked. I just decided the climate here is too arid for dickweeds. :lol: The beauty of KISS is Paul Stanley's vocals? I like Kiss IN SPITE OF Paul's vocals, not BECAUSE of. I find his voice a bit challenging, especially on the overproduced albums of the 80s when he just sang in the same trebley tone of the guitars...no contrast, no good. :yuk: I always preferred Gene's vocals (God of Thunder!) or even Ace's deadpan delivery to Paul's grating voice.

Let's see, you like Paul Stanley. You like Andy Kuntz. Would I be safe to assume you also like Joe Elliott?

NP: Jorn - The Duke
 
I never got into studio albums of Kiss alot, I do like their "Alive" albums, much rawer than the studio stuff... But I guess these also were 70's ????
 
Bryant said:
See the beauty of the world my friend. The beauty of Kiss has always been the vocals of Paul Stanley. His best work was the 80's stuff.


Bryant
Click to expand...

This is my answer exactly. :)

Paul Stanley's songs are nearly ALWAYS the highlights of every KISS album (apart from the occasional Simmons gem like Calling Dr Love or War Machine). His voice is underrated and he is a top notch songwriter and has a great gift for melody. This is the main reason I prefer '80s KISS by far!!

'70s Kiss had a pretty even mix of Paul & Gene songs with also Ace & Peter songs mixed in as well, whereas the '80s era was made up mostly of that great signature Stanley melodic hard rock - well produced, well played (with better musicians in the band), extremely well written, not much filler on the albums (maybe 2-3 Simmons throw-aways) and his voice was by FAR at its peak, unbelievable at times in my opinion!

And beyond the songs & albums, I also thought the videos were better, the image was excellent (I even LOVE the Asylum outfits!), Paul's stage persona was a little more unpredictable and edgy (kinda Roth influenced) than in the makeup era, and the setlists were more interesting as well.

To me, yes '70s KISS is Klassic, I love it and its had a huge impact on hard rock & metal and music in general, and on my life too! So many great songs, great shows, great everything. Magical era. But when I'm reaching for a KISS album to listen to, 90% of the time its from 1983-1989!!! That's my preferred era by far!!!
 
I still prefer the 70s classics.....less cheese, I guess.

For me, the hardest thing about Kiss - aside from the silly image, etc - is accepting Paul and/or Gene's vocals. IMO, both are bitter pills to swallow. Gene simply has an ugly voice and Paul's is highly annoying (in the nasaly, whiny way).

With that said, 80s Kiss is responsible for some cool tunes (All Hells Breaking Loose, You Love Me To Hate You, Thrills in the Night, Who Wants to Be Lonely).
 
The best of 1980's Kiss was coming from Paul Stanley, after 1983.

From 1984-1990, Gene was off doing movies and making business deals. He essentially fucked the band. Were it not for Paul, the 1980s albums would have completely sucked.

Kiss in the 1970s was good because they were hungry, though they weren't necessarily original. If anything, like Paul Stanley has said, they were trying to be a Heavy Metal version of the Beatles. However, it was their music - not their image - that got them signed.

Kiss of the 1980s was busy trying to fit in with the pack of Bon Jovis and Motley Crues that sprang up.

What happens when you try to keep up? You get lost, which is what happened to Kiss and, sadly, they never recovered.
 
Trans-Siberian Outcast said:
Okay, Bryant, your invitation to Arizona is officially revoked. I just decided the climate here is too arid for dickweeds. :lol: The beauty of KISS is Paul Stanley's vocals? I like Kiss IN SPITE OF Paul's vocals, not BECAUSE of. I find his voice a bit challenging, especially on the overproduced albums of the 80s when he just sang in the same trebley tone of the guitars...no contrast, no good. :yuk: I always preferred Gene's vocals (God of Thunder!) or even Ace's deadpan delivery to Paul's grating voice.

Let's see, you like Paul Stanley. You like Andy Kuntz. Would I be safe to assume you also like Joe Elliott?
Click to expand...

Finally.... Brother Trix came and got my back on this one. Yes I love Kuntz's vocals as well as Stanley's. I also put Bruce Kulick in my top thirty guitarists as well. Ace, despite owning my respect as an originator, does not fall nearly as high. "I'll Fight Hell to Hold You" from the "Crazy Nights" release is easily one of the best vocal performances I have ever heard by Stanley and certainly the best when compared to any other member.
I am also not judging this purely by technical aspects. I find "Crazy Nights" and "Asylum" to be their most consistant releases with good songs throughout. If ya'll don't agree, then it simply means I am right and the rest of the fucking world is fucking wrong. :lol: :lol:


Bryant
 
Paul Stanley's vocals rule! He should have been the lead singer. I can listen to a bad Kiss song and enjoy it because of Paul's vocals. His solo album was fantastic, as well.
 
rokk said:
KISS of the 70's was original, hungry and dangerous. As the 80's kicked in they became a circus act for the whole family losing the dangerous appeal with disco hits. (Dynasty, Unmasked) Realizing they had come from the streets and ended up as some version of Barnum Bailey they tried to get back to the original concept (Creatures of the Night) but the lure of success (hit records) was to enticing. They decided that taking off the makeup and modeling themselves after the other hair bands of the day, that they had actually influenced, unfortunately, was the way to go. The band (any version)since the 70's has actually been posing ever since. (Disco, non-makeup, Re-union, new members, etc.) I am a huge KISS fan so I am not dissing the band its just the truth.
Click to expand...



Yeah, I guess you're right.

But I'm listening to Dynasty right now and frankly it's really, really, really mediocre and half of it is just flat out disco music.

The '80's albums are all just more listenable than this. Maybe there are no tunes as classic as "Firehouse" or "Strutter" or "100,000 Years" but they're still something I would listen to compared to anything after "Rock and Roll Over" but before "Lick It Up."
 
never liked them.. though i liked a song here and there... God of Thunder comes to mind... best album IMO was Destroyer album.. as for 70's or 80's.. no doubt 70's....
 
sumairetsu said:
Even more:

:OMG: Live performances of The Oath and I from (Music From) The Elder:
Click to expand...
Awesome, never seen much for live footage of The Elder. Only one video for World Without Heroes. Way cool!

Too bad the dumbed down audience is just standing there like stone sentinels while KISS plays some the the most creative songs they ever wrote.
 
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