Official KISS Thread Pt II

ultmetal wrote:

According to Wikipedia,
Trouble Walking: October 13, 1989
Hot in the Shade: October 17, 1989

Wikipedia is mixing up release dates here. October 13, 1989 was a Friday and October 17 was a Tuesday. I think the Trouble Walking date is actually the European release date and the Hot In The Shade date is the US release date. My guess would be that Trouble Walking was released on the 17th in the US as well.

I saw KISS for the first time on the Hot In The Shade tour. That album never did much for me at all, but it was a great show. It was the last show of the tour, and since Eric Carr died about a year later, that means it was also Eric's last show, period.

I haven't heard Trouble Walkin' since the cassette era (cuz I never have upgraded that one to CD) but back in the day, oh yes, Ace's album definitely beat the pants off of H.I.T.S.

Here's Molly's version. Eh, it's ok I guess. Seems like an odd tune for a Southern rock band to cover. Guess they were looking for a radio hit.

glassprison wrote:

"Hide Your Heart" is a great song, in my view--easily my favorite on Hot in the Shade. Ace's recording is good as well, but Paul's vocals fit the pop chorus of the song better. It was really cool to see him play that on the Live To Win tour. And rumor has it that they've been rehearsing it as a potential addition to the setlist for the upcoming tour. That would be cool, but I'm anticipating the restricted set time of the co-headlining bill will keep them from adding any songs to the usual set.

Looks like they've already performed it last October on the KISS Kruise...

ultmetal wrote:

According to Wikipedia,
Trouble Walking: October 13, 1989
Hot in the Shade: October 17, 1989

From what I have read, Hot in the Shade was rushed and is mostly made up of demos, so much so that no one really knows who played on what. According to KissMonster.com, this is the list of players on that album.


Players:
Paul Stanley ··· Rhythm guitar/slide guitar on A1/lead vocals on A1, A3, A5, A7, A8, B2 & B4/backing vocals
Gene Simmons ··· Bass/lead vocals on A2, A4, B1, B3, B5 & B7/backing vocals
Eric Carr ··· Drums/lead vocals on B6/bass on B6/backing vocals
Bruce Kulick ··· Lead & rhythm guitar/bass on A7, backing vocals
Phil Ashley ··· Keyboards on A3 & A7
Tommy Thayer ··· Acoustic guitar on A2 & B3 (likely), backing vocals
Eric Singer ··· Drums on A5 (likely)
Kevin Valentine ··· Drums on B2 & B4 (likely)
Jesse Damon ··· Backing vocals on A4
Charlotte Crossley ··· Backing vocals on A7
Valerie Pinkston ··· Backing vocals on A7
Kim Edwards-Brown ··· Backing vocals on A7
Pat Regan ··· Brass on B1

I can't remember which KISS or KISS related book I read it in, but the demos where supposed to be just demos (they were recorded in a demo studio) and KISS were going to re-record them in a better studio. The record company heard them and the execs felt the songs were good enough and they weren't going to give Paul and Gene any more money to re-record the album. They wanted it out quickly since KISS hadn't released a studio album since Crazy Nights. They also didn't want to invest a ton of money since Crazy Nights was an expensive album and it didn't sell as well as they had expected. Mercury expected it to sell at Heart levels (KISS used the same producer) and it didn't - it also took a while for it to hit platinum.

So, they made the demos sound more professional in the mix and released it. Gene and Paul went on the interview circuit proclaiming they wanted the album to sound the way it does and they wanted to work in a smaller, lower budget studio to "capture the vibe" of the first three KISS albums.

Molly Hatchet were trying to go for the mainstream .38 Special sound on a couple albums with the record company bringing in songwriters and such. Though this song isn't bad, it's no good either. Molly Hatchet were better mixing heavy metal and southern rock like they did all through the 70's and early 80's. Once they got away from that it was a disaster. Their newer albums from the last decade or so are great though.

ultmetal wrote:

Molly Hatchet were trying to go for the mainstream .38 Special sound on a couple albums with the record company bringing in songwriters and such. Though this song isn't bad, it's no good either. Molly Hatchet were better mixing heavy metal and southern rock like they did all through the 70's and early 80's. Once they got away from that it was a disaster. Their newer albums from the last decade or so are great though.

I personally disagree, I think "The Deed Is Done" is a solid and catchy album.

When is Gene and Paul going to sue Ace for album cover Ace is going to use?

MetalGuy71 wrote:

Wow, only days apart. That must've really burnt the leather britches of Misters Stanley & Simmons. I've never heard Hot in the Shade in it's entirety, but I'm going to go ahead and declare Trouble Walkin' as the overall better album.

It is.
Every song on Trouble Walkin' was good or great,
but I can't remember more than 2 or 3 songs from Hot in the Shade even immediately after playing the vinyl.

KISS Behind The Mask The Official Authorized Biography
by David Leaf and Ken Sharp (2003) [Warner Books]
goes over all the albums with band members' comments.

mlotek wrote:

KISS Behind The Mask The Official Authorized Biography
by David Leaf and Ken Sharp (2003) [Warner Books]
goes over all the albums with band members' comments.

That's a really interesting read. I borrowed it from a friend a few months ago.

I think both albums are good.

Vexer6 wrote:

ultmetal wrote:

Molly Hatchet were trying to go for the mainstream .38 Special sound on a couple albums with the record company bringing in songwriters and such. Though this song isn't bad, it's no good either. Molly Hatchet were better mixing heavy metal and southern rock like they did all through the 70's and early 80's. Once they got away from that it was a disaster. Their newer albums from the last decade or so are great though.

I personally disagree, I think "The Deed Is Done" is a solid and catchy album.

The Deed is Done isn't bad. I like it. I should clarify, it was disastrous for the band in terms of sales and popularity.

ultmetal wrote:

Vexer6 wrote:

ultmetal wrote:

Molly Hatchet were trying to go for the mainstream .38 Special sound on a couple albums with the record company bringing in songwriters and such. Though this song isn't bad, it's no good either. Molly Hatchet were better mixing heavy metal and southern rock like they did all through the 70's and early 80's. Once they got away from that it was a disaster. Their newer albums from the last decade or so are great though.

I personally disagree, I think "The Deed Is Done" is a solid and catchy album.

The Deed is Done isn't bad. I like it. I should clarify, it was disastrous for the band in terms of sales and popularity.

Your review makes it sound like you hated it though, perhaps you should update it?

I did hate it when it first came out. It wasn't that same heavy Southern rock they were known for. However, I have grown to appreciate it over the years. Perhaps I should revisit it.

Opening night setlist:

King of the Night Time World
Cold Gin
War Machine
Hide Your Heart
Christine Sixteen
Shout It Out Loud
I Love It Loud
Makin' Love
Psycho Circus
Let Me Go, Rock 'N' Roll
Black Diamond
Detroit Rock City
Rock and Roll All Night

Looks good to me! I'm a little surprised by some of the inclusions over "Love Gun" and "Lick It Up," and also that there is nothing from Monster or Sonic Boom, and yet Psycho Circus is still represented. No real complaints here though; Hopefully they stick with this set.



Nothing different at all from Def Leppard, aside from the choice of opener:

Let it Go
Rocket
Animal
Foolin'
Love Bites
Let's Get Rocked
Two Steps Behind
Bringin' on the Heartbreak
Switch 625
Hysteria
Armageddon It
Pour Some Sugar on Me
Rock of Ages
Photograph

Hide Your Heart? Wow...

Nice set list by KISS but I'd get rid of Christine Sixteen. Was never a big fan of that tune.

This makes me even more excited for the concert.

Me too... even though Def Leppard is one of my top 5 bands, I'm more looking forward to Kiss's setlist.

Which show are you going to, MS?

glassprison wrote:

Me too... even though Def Leppard is one of my top 5 bands, I'm more looking forward to Kiss's setlist.

Which show are you going to, MS?

July 20 in Raleigh. You?

Aug. 17, Minneapolis

Looks like "Cold Gin" and "Makin' Love" may have been replaced by the usual suspects already:

King of the Night Time World
Deuce
Psycho Circus
War Machine
Shout It Out Loud
Christine Sixteen
Lick It Up
I Love It Loud
Hide Your Heart
Let Me Go, Rock 'N' Roll
Love Gun
Black Diamond
Detroit Rock City
Rock and Roll All Night

Still a pretty good set. It'll be cool to hear "Hide Your Heart" and also I think "King of the Night Time World" is a great choice for the opening song.


The pre-show meet and greet acoustic set is:

Do You Love Me
Calling Dr. Love
Shandi
Beth
Got to Choose

007 wrote:

Nice set list by KISS but I'd get rid of Christine Sixteen. Was never a big fan of that tune.

Gene must really love that tune. It shows up in their set-list and on comp albums all the time. Sure, it was a different time when they wrote it, but hearing 60 year old men singing it now in 2014 pushes the needle on the creep-o-meter into the red.

"I don't usually say things like this to girls your age
But when I saw you coming out of the school that day
That day I knew, I knew, I've got to have you, I've got to have you"

Quote :

hearing 60 year old men singing it now in 2014 pushes the needle on the creep-o-meter into the red.

On the other hand, the older Gene gets, the line "I'm ninety-three, you're sixteen" in "Goin' Blind" becomes more and more accurate.