I thought it’d be good to do some “fun” posts, while this blog is still in it’s infancy. With that, I welcome you to my new review series: The Good & The Bad!
In case the title didn’t make it clear, I’ll be discussing things I both like and dislike regarding a specific topic. Something that I feel isn’t highlighted often enough (at least not in my social sphere) is the fact that both positive and negative attributes can be found in, well, pretty much anything. I feel like there’s a lot of people that either blindly love something too much or blindly hate it too much (sometimes both). I’ve been guilty of this toxic thought process myself in the past, and part of my goal for this blog is to try to move myself as far away from that mindset as possible.
Furthermore, there will be no ratings, rankings, etc. I used to do rankings and whatnot all the time, but I’ve recently grown more towards the attitude that art can’t really be “quantified” like that. Besides, my opinions on things change often, so who am I to tell you what to like and what not to like?
Now that we got all of that out of the way, let’s dive into today’s topic; the hottest band in the land… Kiss!
Ah, Kiss… I remember the first time I laid eyes on these characters! It was the early 2000’s. I was a little kid, watching a copy of Austin Powers 2 on VHS that my parents had lying around (probably by accident), when suddenly a trailer for the Detroit Rock City film came on during the previews section of the tape. I remember being blown away by the very sight of Gene Simmons, but what blew my mind even more was the song that was playing; Rock And Roll All Nite…
And so, my fascination with this band began! Like most fans, however, I went through my “phase” of thinking of them as a joke when I was a teenager. Now as an adult, however, I’ve learned to appreciate them and what they represent for rock history more than ever. Not only that, but with more time on my hands during quarantine now, I’ve actually made the effort to explore all of their albums in full for the first time ever (I had only really been familiar with the hit singles before). And fuck, was I missing out!
Many people seem to think of this band as nothing more than a “gimmick” with a few good songs here and there, but once you take the time to actually dive deep into their work, you begin to realize that they’re so much more than that! As a matter of fact, I chose this band specifically as my first to review in the hopes that I can highlight their massively underrated catalog to at least one other person out there (if not more than one).
For today, we will just be looking at the studio albums from the original lineup. I’ll probably go through the non-original lineup albums, the 1978 solo albums, and the live albums (or at least the Alive! ones) in separate posts. Before we begin, however, there are a few quick caveats to address:
1. Yes, I know Peter Criss only plays on one song on Dynasty and no songs on Unmasked, and he and Ace only play on a couple of songs on Psycho Circus. However, those were all still “marketed” as original lineup studio albums, hence why I am including them here.
2. Like with many rock bands from times of old, some of Kiss’s lyrical content can be seen by today’s standards as a little bit, well, “racy” (for lack of a better term). My advice to those exploring their deep cuts for the first time would be to just not really take any of it too seriously, in that regard (it was a different time, after all).
3.Yes, I know these guys are pretty much all assholes, in some way or another. Newsflash: We all have flaws. Sometimes you just gotta separate the art from the artist…
So, now that we finally have all of that out of the way, let’s jump right in!
1.Kiss (1974)
THE GOOD: Every song on here (yes, even the controversial cover of Kissing Time and the bizarre instrumental Love Theme From Kiss) showcases a promising start to a great and important legacy!
THE BAD: Some songs here probably sound a little too similar to one another. That being said, this is still one of my favorite studio albums of theirs.
2.Hotter Than Hell (1974)
THE GOOD: They wanted to get heavy, and heavy they got! Some of my favorite tracks are on here (the title track, Parasite, Watchin’ You and Strange Ways, just to name a few). In some ways, this album can be seen as a “grunge prototype,” of sorts.
THE BAD: While I particularly enjoy the “proto-grunge” production style on this record, I could see it being a bit of a turnoff for some. Thankfully, a good portion of these songs were redone for the acclaimed “live” album Alive! (1975) with much better production, courtesy of Eddie Kramer.
3.Dressed To Kill (1975)
THE GOOD: Once again, some of the band’s best songs are on here (Come On And Love Me, She, Rock And Roll All Nite, etc.), but they would all go on to sound much better on Alive!. This album also features the underrated gem Love Her All I Can, which unfortunately never appeared anywhere else.
THE BAD: The writing and recording process of this entire album was rushed due to tight record label demands, which led to a very “raw” production that may be off-putting at first (it grows on you, though!).
4.Destroyer (1976)
THE GOOD: After finally achieving success with Alive!, the band needed to prove that they could get “big and epic” in the studio as well, and with the help of producer Bob Ezrin, they pulled it off! As a matter of fact, I even kinda like the “weird” songs on here like Great Expectations and the minute-long “satanic” track Rock And Roll Party. Sure, the album is a little too “commercial,” and not really an authentic representation of the band’s “true” sound, but still a solid “entry point” for general audiences who may be trying to get into the band for the first time... Oh, also, check out the Destroyer: Resurrected remix album from 2011. In some ways, I actually like that version better than the original one!
THE BAD: Many die hard fans would argue that Ezrin’s influence prevented this record from sounding like “true Kiss.” Personally, I feel like this was absolutely the type of record they needed to make after Alive!, but I can only speak for myself, I guess.
5.Rock And Roll Over (1976)
THE GOOD: While I think some people these days are too hard on Destroyer, I’m still glad it was poorly received when it first came out, or else we wouldn’t have ever gotten this brilliant follow-up. Basically, it was here on this album where the band found a way to combine the “raw” sound of their earlier records with some of the songwriting techniques that they had learned with Ezrin on Destroyer, proving to everyone that they could deliver the best of both “feels.” One need look no further than the seminal ballad Hard Luck Woman, which is pretty much what Beth would’ve sounded like had it been done for one of the earlier albums, instead of Destroyer. Nearly all of the other tracks on here kick ass in pretty much the same way.
THE BAD: Love ’Em and Leave ’Em is a little boring.
6.Love Gun (1977)
THE GOOD: Almost everything that was great about Rock And Roll Over was carried over onto this album. Furthermore, we finally got to here Ace on lead vocals, and what better way to introduce his voice to the world than on the flagship track Shock Me!
THE BAD: In ways I can’t quite explain, you can kinda already hear the band “dying” a little bit on this LP. After all, this was the last full album that all four original members actually made together, and honestly, I’m not surprised. I don’t know what it is, but there was just some sort of “chemistry” that they had on all previous albums that just isn’t quite as palpable on this one… Oh, also, whoever had the idea of including the gender-bent cover Then She Kissed Me on here needs to be punished!
7.Dynasty (1979)
THE GOOD: An album chock-full of guilty pleasures (for me, at least)!
THE BAD: Unfortunately, this album also marks the start of when Kiss began trying way too hard to market themselves to little kids (well, technically the Phantom of the Park movie and the comic series and merch that started running a year prior was the start of that, but this is where the phase began as far as the albums are concerned). From this point onward, it seemed as though they didn't really know who their audience was anymore. Furthermore, this album also marked the start of when Kiss began trying (and again, way too hard) to chase whatever genre was “trendy” at the time. That meant trying to go disco, for this album in particular. If you’re one of those people that absolutely loathes disco, then this album probably isn’t gonna work for you.
8.Unmasked (1980)
THE GOOD: There’s a few good tracks here and there… The songs Easy As It Seems and Naked City have always been favorites of mine, in particular, and tracks like Shandi and What Makes The World Go ‘Round are guilty pleasures.
THE BAD: The thin production leaves a lot to be desired. Also, all of the lyrics here are extremely cheesy, even by Kiss standards! The “cheesy-ness” of the lyrics on all the previous albums felt intentional (as if the band was “in on the joke”). Here, almost all of the lyrics are just downright embarrassing! Even Ace feels like he’s being forced to sing lines that sound more “poppy” than what he would really like to be singing...
9.Psycho Circus (1998)
THE GOOD: This “reunion” album of the original lineup has some underrated gems; those being the title track, the song that Ace sings, the song that ripped off Alice Cooper, the closing track, and the Japanese bonus track.
THE BAD: Unfortunately, the rest of the songs sound like a bunch of failed attempts at trying to be the Kiss version of Queen’s We Are The Champions. Don’t get me wrong, I like that song… But not when Kiss is trying to do their own “version” of it, let alone six times in a row! Different band members blame different people for this. I don't know who to believe anymore, and at this point, I don't really care.
So there we have it! All in all, the original lineup of Kiss is a band that started out very strong, but unfortunately lost the plot, and then never quite found it again. Nevertheless, their good records are really good, and definitely deserve a spin! If you were a skeptical non-believer before, hopefully this post has helped you to recognize the fact that maybe this band is actually more than “just a gimmick,” as everyone says.
Peace!
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