"Double Platinum" (compilation)After careful consideration, I finally realized I would have to buy two Kiss compilations in order to get all the songs I like w/o resorting to buying their actual albums. This is the first seed in that project, an overview of their 70's glam hits that was originally released as a 2-record crappy vinyl set. Listening to it now, it's no wonder that I never liked the band. The recording quality is HORRIBLE (although recently remastered versions...which this disc is not...probably clear that up), and many of the tracks sound so stupid, it's like they just re-wrote Blue Oyster Cult's "Godzilla" to fit whatever mood they were in. The only tracks I really get into are "Deuce" (which Bathory did a helluva lot better on Octagon; it's also been covered by Overkill, Lenny Kravitz, and some no-talent band on the Bordello of Blood soundtrack), "Strutter", "Detroit Rock City", and "Black Diamond" (although that last one has a VERY annoying fade at the end!!) "Cold Gin" has been covered by Death Angel, and of course there's Poison's version of "Rock and Roll All Nite" from the Less Than Zero soundtrack (to this day, I haven't been able to decide which version sucks more.) Surprisingly, "Parasite" does not appear here, which is odd since Anthrax has covered it (yeah like that would matter!), and Morgana Lefay also did a trippy techno version on A Black Mark Tribute.
"Music from 'The Elder'"KISS goes progressive!!! Ain't it curious, though, how the only Kiss album I consider worth owning is widely considered to be their *worst* ever, as well as their worst-selling. (It's the only Kiss album that has NEVER been certified gold, let alone platinum!) Gotta admit, this is pretty BAD prog-rock, as far as prog-rock goes. But I just love the bookend tracks "The Oath" and "I" (which for a long time was the shortest song title ever, until Black Sabbath tied it on Dehumanizer.) The rest is overtly pompous and overblown, but hey, isn't that was progressive music is supposed to be? :)
And adding to the irony, I took quite an interest in this album when it was released in '81, long before I'd even HEARD of ELP, Yes, Rush, etc....hell, even Genesis was a mere glimmer on the horizon. Maybe if they had refined their progressive sound, and put out more albums like this, I would have given in to actually LIKING the band as a whole?? But of course, they quickly returned to their dopey cock-rock sound, and a couple years later ditched the makeup, and that was all she wrote...
"Creatures of the Night"My original plan was to buy the compilation Smashes, Thrashes & Hits in order to get the songs "I Was Made for Loving You" and "I Love it Loud" -- but the notion of paying money for all that non-makeup 80's cock rock held me back for a long time. Then I heard a few other songs from this album, and to my surprise, they were pretty good! And H-E-A-V-Y, to boot! (In fact, it was Iced Earth's killer cover of the title track that swayed me into buying this CD.) Most of the music here is as stupid and pointless as your typical KISS album, but "War Machine" kicks serious ass, and "Children of the Night" is quite a headbanger. This was their last album released before taking off their makeup, and for a long time the album was reissued with different, non-makeup artwork -- which has actually become quite a rarity now, as the CD version reverted to the original art. Not that it matters much to me, but real KISS fans should be aware of that. The best news, of course, is that with this album, plus obtaining an mp3 of "I Was Made for Loving You" for the Mixed Puppy #1 collection, I can now declare this gallery officially closed. :)
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