So here is an album that many fans consider to be the definitive Kiss album while others think it's overrated. Kiss had a major hit with Alive (1975) and they were poised to become even bigger with the next album. Strangely enough "Beth" would be the single from this album that would really hit. My question about this album is can it be great even though it has two poor songs on it? You can argue and tell me you like Beth, but to me I just can't see liking this song unless your wife or girlfriend is named Beth. My wife is not named Beth so I think it's a weak song, but Great Expectations is worse, actually it's far worse. Outside of those two the rest is good to great as we open with "Detroit Rock City" which is probably one of the two most recognizable Kiss songs ever done. "King of the night time world" isn't hugely different from anything they had done before, but it succeeds with some energy and enthusiasm. "God of thunder" is so awesome that it almost wipes out all of crappy things that Gene has done over the years, the key word being almost. "Flaming youth" is maybe a little overlooked and it shouldn't be, it's an example of Kiss being slick without being too polished. "Sweet Pain" is good with some nice vocals, but nothing fancy. "Shout it out loud" is a great anthem and perhaps even the second or third best song on the album. "Do you love me" is a typical Paul song to some extent, but always seemed to me to be a great closing track for the album.
So, yes I will say it's a great album despite two weak songs. If nothing else the fantastic cover and the fact that the huge majority of the album sounds so good thirty years later puts it over the hump and into the great category. I used to be a big Kiss fan, but the last ten years have been trying. However all I need to do is listen to one of the first six studio albums and I realize why I like them so much and why they still have an audience today.
Nice review! I, too, think "Great Expectations" belongs in some off-Broadway show, not on a Kiss album. I agree with your assessments overall, though I tend ot think the orchestration on this album minimizes the potential impact. But that's me.
ReplyDeleteOne other thing: Destroyer actually came after Alive, not Alive 2.
I would love, down the road, to hear how you think the Kiss debut album has held up 30+ years later. I keep going back and forth between "timeless" and "sounding stale."
-- david
Ranea-I have owned it on all of those except 8 track.
ReplyDeleteDavid- The 2 was a slip of the finger, it has been removed.
I tend to rank the first six kiss albums in this order.
1-Dressed to kill
2-Lovegun
3-Destroyer
4-Rock and roll over
5-Hotter than hell
6-Kiss
I have probably not heard the debut in it's entirety in at least ten years. Creatures of the night is another one I need to hear again. I have normally thought it to be the best seventh best Kiss studio album after this six I listed above. However, I have not listened to it in over ten years.
Vicious Steve-I only have Creatures of the night on vinyl which is why I don't get to listen to it too often. I had it ranked in the top ten albums of 1982. I remember it being simple, but heavy. A good comeback considering how poor some of their previous albums were.
ReplyDeleteI personally liked Great Expectations and could live without Flaming Youth but to each his own. Destroyer is probably my favorite Kiss Album but Revenge runs a close second for me. The album that didn't hit the mark for me at all was Symphony Alive IV. The symphony thing might have worked for Metallica but I didn't think either Kiss or the Scorps pulled that trick off.
ReplyDeleteGreat review. In reference to vicious steve's comment about the story that radio stations ignored "Detroit Rock City" on the A-side of the single, well...I actually have a copy of the 45 and he's right. "Beth" is the A-side with "Detroit Rock City" on the flipside.
ReplyDeleteAnd Mark, I agree about "God of Thunder" being Gene's finest moment. It should be noted that the song was actually written by Paul, and the original demo with Paul on vocals is on the box set that came out a couple of years ago. It changes the song completely.
Okay...I putting Destroyer on as I write this. I love the intro of the guy listening to the radio!
ReplyDeleteI agree 100% with your review. Those two songs are crappy but the rest of the album is good to great.
One thing, you said that God of Thunder wipes away a lot of the bad stuff that Gene has produced. I happen to have the boxed Kiss set with the original version of the song on it. It is horrible. Bob Ezrin must have stepped in at some point. The original version is...believe it or not...wimpy. If you don't own the boxed set, email me and I will send you an MP3 of it.
I remember my friend playing this on vinyl in his basement. Doesn't seem that long ago...but I guess it's been over 20 years.
ReplyDeleteSteve, I also remember something about the single being re-released differently, so it is very possible that the version I have was not the initial release. I'm not a huge collecor, either, this was just something I happened to have from my youth and held on to.
ReplyDeleteThere's a great website, kissfaq.com, that I just checked out. It confirms that Beth was released initially as a b-side to "DRC," and then again as the a-side.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a big fan of Destroyer, even if KISS is my favorite band. I mean, Detroit Rock City, King Of The Night Time World and Shout It Out Loud are essential KISS tunes, really great, but the rest... Great Expectations and Sweet Pain are awful, Do You Love Me and Flaming Youth are listenable and God Of Thunder is too slow, too depressive, I prefer the Alive II version.
ReplyDelete