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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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CRISS – Cat #1
Criss – Cat #1 (1994, Tony Nicole Tony Records)
1. “Bad Attitude” … 4:35
2. “Walk the Line” … 3:49
3. “Truth” … 4:54
4. “Bad People Burn in Hell” … 3:47
5. “Show Me” … 4:04
6. “Good Times” … 4:36
7. “Strike” … 4:45
8. “Blue Moon Over Brooklyn” … 5:23
9. “Down with the Sun” … 4:37
10. “We Want You” … 3:48
11. “Beth” … 2:48
Band:
Peter Criss – Lead Vocals, Drums, Percussion
Mike Stone – Guitar, Lead Vocals
Mike McLaughlin – Guitar, Backing Vocals
Mark Montague – Bass, Backing Vocals
Additional Musicians:
Ace Frehley – Guitar (“Bad Attitude”, “Walk the Line”, “Blue Moon Over Brooklyn”)
Wayne Johnson – Acoustic Guitar
Doug Shawe, Dito Godwin – Piano
Kirk Miller – Guitar
Stephen Presley – Keyboards
Producer: Dito Godwin & Peter Criss
Peter’s non-KISS material has always been the least enjoyable of the original four members of KISS. His self-titled KISS album is pretty lame and I’ve read that 2007′s One For All was even worse. Of the five solo albums he’s released to date, I think Cat #1 is easily the best. Yeah, I know “Criss” is the name of the band and it’s commendable that he tried to get a real band going but let’s call a spade a spade and just say this is a Peter Criss album (even though guitarist Mike Stone handles vocals on “Show Me” and “We Want You”). This album may have gotten a bit more notice had it been titled as such.
You won’t find any of Peter’s jazz, R&B, big band or crooning influences here. This is a hard rock ‘n’ roll album that sounds like it came out of the late ’70s or early ’80s. In short, it’s the type of album he should’ve made back then during that very time frame!
There’s some great rockers like “Bad Attitude”, “Show Me” and “The Truth” and then some cool ballads as well (“Good Times”, “Blue Moon Over Brooklyn”). Peter’s always had a great soulful voice and it’s in fine form throughout the album. For KISS fans, I think this is worth seeking out, especially if you’re a fan of the original line-up and not only because of Peter Criss but because Ace plays guitar on a few of these songs.
Highlights: “Bad Attitude”, “The Truth”, “Bad People Burn in Hell”, “Good Times”, “Blue Moon Over Brooklyn”
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 – 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.
KISS – Killers
KISS – Killers (1997, Mercury Records – German Import)
Original Release: 1982, Phonogram Records
1. “I’m A Legend Tonight” … 4:00
2. “Down On Your Knees” … 3:31
3. “Cold Gin” … 4:20
4. “Love Gun” … 3:17
5. “Shout It Out Loud” … 2:39
6. “Sure Know Something” … 4:01
7. “Nowhere To Run” … 4:33
8. “Partners In Crime” … 3:48
9. “Detroit Rock City” … 3:56
10. “God Of Thunder” … 4:11
11. “I Was Made For Loving You” … 4:20
12. “Rock and Roll All Night (live)” … 3:59
Band:
Paul Stanley – Lead Vocals, Rhythm Guitar
Gene Simmons – Lead Vocals, Bass
Ace Frehley – Lead Guitar, Backing Vocals
Eric Carr – Drums
Peter Criss – Drums
Additional Musicians:
Bob Kulick – Lead Guitar (Tracks 1, 2, 7, 8; uncredited)
Producer: Michael James Jackson (Tracks 1, 2, 7, 8 )
I don’t care for compilations these days. Sure, I own tons of them, but I only bought them as an introduction to a band, I didn’t and don’t buy them in order to have a complete collection from an artist. Even if there was a band I was curious about, I wouldn’t dare go for the compilation in this day and age, I would just start with the album that is generally considered as their best and proceed from there.
Even the now standard trick of “let’s record one or two new songs to get longtime fans to buy it” doesn’t work on me, but for this 1982 KISS compilation, I have been willing to make an exception ever since I heard to four new songs that were written for it. After the great, but poorly received and poorly timed “fantasy rock” of Music From “The Elder”, the international side of KISS’ label wanted a compilation package to reaffirm to the world that they were indeed a hard rock act. Forgetting about the four new tracks, this is a great listing for a KISS compilation.
It was only by chance that I found it while rummaging through a used record store across from the Michigan State University, but for $10, it was money well spent on this German import (notice the KISS logo). It was decided that 1976′s The Originals and 1978′s Double Platinum were already more than enough compiled KISS for America to handle, so that is why this album was only released in Japan and Europe. Which is a shame, but it still doesn’t explain why Japan got it on CD in ’93, Germany in ’97 and the U.S. still hasn’t gotten a proper release! Also, could someone explain why this type of “let’s not flood the market with compilations” thinking has fallen to the wayside post-’96 reunion?
To my knowledge, none of the four new songs have ever been performed live and only “Nowhere To Run” has shown up elsewhere (2001′s box set).
KISS – Peter Criss
KISS – Peter Criss [Remastered] (1997, Mercury Records/Casablanca Records)
Original Release: 1978, Casablanca Records
1. “I’m Gonna Love You” … 3:19
2. “You Matter to Me” … 3:17
3. “Tossin’ and Turnin’” … 4:01
4. “Don’t You Let Me Down” … 3:43
5. “That’s the Kind of Sugar Papa Likes” … 3:01
6. “Easy Thing” … 3:54
7. “Rock Me Baby” … 2:53
8. “Kiss the Girl Goodbye” … 2:46
9. “Hooked on Rock ‘n’ Roll … 3:37
10. “I Can’t Stop the Rain” … 4:26
Musicians:
Peter Criss – Lead Vocals, Drums, Percussion
Art Munson – Guitar
Stan Penridge – Guitar
Elliot Randall – Guitar
John Tropea – Guitar
Brendan Harkin – Guitar
Steve Lukather – Guitar
Bill Bodine – Bass
Neil Jason – Bass
Allen Schwartzberg – Drums
Bill Cuomo – Keyboards
Richard Gerstein – Keyboards
Michael Carnahan – Saxophone, Baritone Sax
Producer: Vini Poncia
With the coolest album cover of the ’78 KISS solo releases, Peter delivers the worst music. But hey, it shipped platinum, so what do I know?
I believe this was the last of the solo albums I bought, I had put it off because I kept reading about how bad it was. I’ve always loved Peter’s voice and I couldn’t believe it was a bad as people were saying it was. Well, after about two or three spins to get a good grasp on the album, I’m pretty sure I never reached for this album again unless I was in a SERIOUS KISS mode.
Really, it’s not horrible and if you like this style of music, it may be quite good, but I don’t have much of a taste for this hybrid of soft rock, big band, jazz and R&B music. A majority of this material was written in Peter’s previous band Lips. Oh well, for my own personal tastes, Peter would have better albums to come (but they also have been buried by critics and fans alike).
Despite being the most panned and least selling album of the four releases, KISS would enlist producer Vini Poncia for the next TWO KISS albums, Dynasty and Unmasked (generally considered the two worst KISS records), in an attempt to keep Peter happy and in the band.
Highlights: “I’m Gonna Love You”, “Tossin’ and Turnin’”, “That’s the Kind of Sugar Papa Likes”, “I Can’t Stop the Rain”
KISS – Love Gun
KISS – Love Gun [Remastered] (1997, Mercury Records/Casablanca Records)
Original Release: 1977, Casablanca Records
1. “I Stole Your Love” (3:04 )
2. “Christine Sixteen” (3:14 )
3. “Got Love for Sale’ (3:27 )
4. “Shock Me” (3:46)
5. “Tomorrow and Tonight” (3:38)
6. “Love Gun” (3:18)
7. “Hooligan” (2:59)
8. “Almost Human” (2:47)
9. “Plaster Caster” (3:28 )
10. “Then She Kissed Me” (3:02)
Band:
Paul Stanley – Lead Vocals, Guitar, Bass (“Love Gun”)
Gene Simmons – Lead Vocals, Bass
Ace Frehley – Guitar, Vocals
Peter Criss – Drums, Percussion, Vocals
Produced by: Eddie Kramer
An iconic hard rock record from an iconic hard rock band… And hey, guess what? The album sports an iconic album cover!
The great thing about KISS’ 1970s output was that the albums were short and sweet. The songs didn’t overstay their welcome (nothing touches the 4 minute mark here) and they usually kept the albums at 10 songs, so it really cut out the chance for filler.
Some of the band’s most well-known songs are here: “I Stole Your Love”, “Christine Sixteen”, “Plaster Caster”, “Shock Me” and of course my favorite KISS song — “Love Gun” (Paul has often said it’s his favorite as well).
“Hooligan” is another great lead vocal track by Peter Criss. I’ve always loved his voice and his songs always deliver on the KISS albums. It’s when he’s left to his own devices that his music becomes spotty. “Tomorrow and Tonight”, I have to admit, is pretty lame. It’s basically the band going for another “Rock And Roll All Nite” (“tomorrow and tonight, tomorrow and tonight, we can rock all day, we can roll all night…”). “Then She Kissed Me” is a re-working of The Crystals’ “Then He Kissed Me”. A lot of people have given this song a thumbs down over the years, but I think it’s pretty cool.
I don’t care much for “Plaster Caster” either, to be honest. It was written about Cynthia Plaster Caster, who was famous for making casts of um… male body parts. I’ve read rumors that this was written by Gene as a way to entice Cynthia to cast him, but I’m pretty sure if he called her up and asked, she would have done it. More than likely, it was just a song written to grab a few headlines and nothing more.
Highlights: “I Stole Your Love”, “Love Gun”, “Hooligan”, “Almost Human”, “Then She Kissed Me”
KISS – Unmasked
KISS – Unmasked [Remastered] (1997, Mercury Records/Casablanca Records)
Original Release: 1980, Casablanca Records
1. “Is That You?” … 3:57
2. “Shandi” … 3:35
3. “Talk to Me” … 4:01
4. “Naked City” … 3:50
5. “What Makes the World Go ’round” … 4:12
6. “Tomorrow” … 3:16
7. “Two Sides of the Coin” … 3:15
8. “She’s So European” … 3:30
9. “Easy as It Seems” … 3:24
10.”Torpedo Girl” … 3:44
11.”You’re All That I Want” … 3:02
Band:
Gene Simmons – Lead Vocals, Bass
Paul Stanley – Lead Vocals, Guitar, Bass
Ace Frehley – Guitar, Lead Vocals, Bass
Peter Criss – Drums (credited, did not play)
Additional Musicians:
Anton Fig – Drums (uncredited)
Vini Poncia – Keyboards, Backing Vocals, Percussion
Holly Knight – Keyboards (“Shandi”)
Produced by: Vini Poncia
There’s not a single KISS album that I don’t like. KISS is my favorite band and despite the disco pop found on this album, I still like it. It’s funny because if this was released by an actual disco/pop act, I’d have no interest it it. So, I know, I know… I’m biased. If pressed, I will admit that this is my least favorite KISS album, but it’s a guilty pleasure and I’ve always enjoyed the goofy comic book cover. Unmasked would’ve been a great album title for Lick It Up. Given that it would be another 3 years before they actually did unmasked, the title doesn’t really make a lot of sense (and all suspense that the title would bring is erased by the cover art).
With the success of “I Was Made for Lovin’ You” from Dynasty, KISS basically decided to an all album full of “I Was Made for Lovin’ Yous” and Dynasty producer Vini Poncia was back again to help the band achieve that.
This was the final album from the original four members, until the reunion. Peter Criss was not involved in the recording/writing of this album at all and he was gone from the band shortly after Unmasked was released (Anton Fig recorded the drums and Eric Carr would play on the ensuing tour).
Many of these songs could have actually been solid rockers had the album’s production not been given a disco pop sheen. I especially think “What Makes the World Go ’round” and “Easy As It Seems” could’ve been great traditional KISS rockers.
Though the album went gold in the U.S. in short order, it was not a success at all and the album’s lone single, “Shandi” failed to break the Top 40. Apparently, the album went over well internationally and “Shandi” was a HUGE hit for the band in Australia (where they played it every time they tour there).
Highlights: “Is That You?”, “Shandi”, “Talk to Me”, “Naked City”, “What Makes the World Go ’round”, “Easy As It Seems”
