My 1st rock band, 1st rock concert, 1st rock record, 1st rock everything. KISS introduced me to heavy metal and hard rock. If it wasn't for KISS (and Ace) I would have never got into the guitar.

Timmy84 said:

KISS is one of those bands that you respect for what they did to the genre but the flamboyance always outweighed the music. I do like some of their music though. "Detroit Rock City", "Firehouse", "Rock & Roll All Night", etc. But they've have done some songs that have me like

[Edited 6/25/10 11:01am]

Ow man you are right on the ball lol

I Love there 80's output and well some of these song's i am about to mention are like.... guility pleasures lol but they still make me think WTF KISS REALLY?

You make me {Rock hard}

Uh! All night

Fits Like A Glove=0

Let's Put The X In Sex lol

Bang Bang You

Lick It Up

Gunsnhalen said:

I Love there 80's output and well some of these song's i am about to mention are like.... guility pleasures lol but they still make me think WTF KISS REALLY?

You make me {Rock hard}

Uh! All night

Fits Like A Glove=0

Let's Put The X In Sex lol

Bang Bang You

Lick It Up

CRAP

You make me {Rock hard}

Let's Put The X In Sex lol

Bang Bang You

CLASSICS

Lick It Up

Uh! All night

Fits Like A Glove

That said, I'm gonna post my personal Top10 of their very worst songs:

1.Bang Bang You (1987)

2.My Way (1987)

3.Cadillac Dreams (1989)

4.Read My Body (1989)

5.Secretly Cruel (1985)

6.I Finally Found My Way (1998)

7.We Are One (1998)

8.While the City Sleeps (1984)

9.Odyssey (1981)

10.Naked City (1980)

JoeTyler said:

Gunsnhalen said:

I Love there 80's output and well some of these song's i am about to mention are like.... guility pleasures lol but they still make me think WTF KISS REALLY?

You make me {Rock hard}

Uh! All night

Fits Like A Glove=0

Let's Put The X In Sex lol

Bang Bang You

Lick It Up

CRAP

You make me {Rock hard}

Let's Put The X In Sex lol

Bang Bang You

CLASSICS

Lick It Up

Uh! All night

Fits Like A Glove

That said, I'm gonna post my personal Top10 of their very worst songs:

1.Bang Bang You (1987)

2.My Way (1987)

3.Cadillac Dreams (1989)

4.Read My Body (1989)

5.Secretly Cruel (1985)

6.I Finally Found My Way (1998)

7.We Are One (1998)

8.While the City Sleeps (1984)

9.Odyssey (1981)

10.Naked City (1980)

AHAHAHHH OMG!

Forgot about Read My Body biggest rip off of Pour some sugar on me ever and the lyrics ow my

Damn it i just must secretly admit i love there makeup less output the cheesy videos and song's are guility pleasures to the max i feel so dirty know=[

Gunsnhalen said:

Damn it i just must secretly admit i love there makeup less output the cheesy videos and song's are guility pleasures to the max i feel so dirty know=[

Here's one of my faves from their 80's era:

Man I just got through watching Kissolgy volume1 when I saw this thread. HUGE fan, saw the farewell tour & rock the nation in 2004. sorry to say even though I love the orginal line-up (Ace & Peter) they are a tighter band now, and the shows are just as amazing. have most of their 70"s albums (alive, AliveII, Love gun, & Rock & Roll over) But my favorite Album is creatures of the night kick ass from start to finish. Love these guys!!

Big Kiss fan here but they did record a lot of mediocre music. I know Gene is an easy target but he really let the band and the fans down in the '80s, particularly circa 1984-1989. I don't believe there were any singles that were written and sung by Gene in that era and for the most part he was writing very poor material. Paul Stanley basically single handedly carried the band for most of that decade. However, I will give Gene credit for Revenge, arguably the first, and only, Kiss album where his contributions were better than Paul's. For me, Revenge is one of their very best albums and along with Creatures of the Night the only post '70s album to stand proudly with their earlier material. It's kind of sad that they don't get the respect that they deserve but on the other hand that is a largely self-inflicted wound. Still, it's a joke that they were not inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame years ago.

rialb said:

Big Kiss fan here but they did record a lot of mediocre music. I know Gene is an easy target but he really let the band and the fans down in the '80s, particularly circa 1984-1989. I don't believe there were any singles that were written and sung by Gene in that era and for the most part he was writing very poor material. Paul Stanley basically single handedly carried the band for most of that decade. However, I will give Gene credit for Revenge, arguably the first, and only, Kiss album where his contributions were better than Paul's. For me, Revenge is one of their very best albums and along with Creatures of the Night the only post '70s album to stand proudly with their earlier material. It's kind of sad that they don't get the respect that they deserve but on the other hand that is a largely self-inflicted wound. Still, it's a joke that they were not inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame years ago.

To me, the reason they're not in the RRHOF right now is that it's music writers and citics who decide who gets in and when they do. Kiss had (and still have) a bigger following with fans than they do with critics.

Gene was trying to be an actor in the 80s. He had parts in movies and TV shows then, maybe that's why Paul had to carry the band at that time.

Gene DID come back strong on "Revenge". I think "Unholy" is one of their best songs:

DerekH said:

rialb said:

Big Kiss fan here but they did record a lot of mediocre music. I know Gene is an easy target but he really let the band and the fans down in the '80s, particularly circa 1984-1989. I don't believe there were any singles that were written and sung by Gene in that era and for the most part he was writing very poor material. Paul Stanley basically single handedly carried the band for most of that decade. However, I will give Gene credit for Revenge, arguably the first, and only, Kiss album where his contributions were better than Paul's. For me, Revenge is one of their very best albums and along with Creatures of the Night the only post '70s album to stand proudly with their earlier material. It's kind of sad that they don't get the respect that they deserve but on the other hand that is a largely self-inflicted wound. Still, it's a joke that they were not inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame years ago.

To me, the reason they're not in the RRHOF right now is that it's music writers and citics who decide who gets in and when they do. Kiss had (and still have) a bigger following with fans than they do with critics.

Gene was trying to be an actor in the 80s. He had parts in movies and TV shows then, maybe that's why Paul had to carry the band at that time.

Gene DID come back strong on "Revenge". I think "Unholy" is one of their best songs:

Gene suffered his first writer's block in 1979; his tracks for the Dynasty LP were pretty forgettable (X-Ray Eyes, Charisma) and his contributions for Unmasked (1980) were even worse; then he made an impressive comeback during the 1981-1983 era (Only You, A World Without Heroes, War Machine, I Love It Loud, Rock N' Roll Hell, Killer, Fits Like a Glove, Not For the Innocent, And on the 8th Day, etc.), but after that he hitted (again) an all time low with crappy songs like Lonely Is the Hunter, Secretly Cruel, God Girl Gone Bad, etc. Hell, Hot in the Shade could have been a decent album, but of course Gene destroyed the album's flow and credibility with his songs, all of them pure filler, pure crap...

But yeah, in 1992 he made another huge comeback with Revenge (Unholy, Domino, etc.). Hmm, I wonder if the title "Revenge" was chosen to reflect the band's back to form after years of cheesy singles and dreadful filler ...

In other words, Paul is, BY FAR, a more consistent songwriter than Gene.

Anyway, I'm sure that Kiss would have disbanded after 1982 if not for Paul and his whole idea of "let's drop the makeup for a while..."

[Edited 6/26/10 17:44pm]

I like Kiss, specifically their live material. Parasite live make me stain my pants.

JoeTyler said:

DerekH said:

To me, the reason they're not in the RRHOF right now is that it's music writers and citics who decide who gets in and when they do. Kiss had (and still have) a bigger following with fans than they do with critics.

Gene was trying to be an actor in the 80s. He had parts in movies and TV shows then, maybe that's why Paul had to carry the band at that time.

Gene DID come back strong on "Revenge". I think "Unholy" is one of their best songs:

Gene suffered his first writer's block in 1979; his tracks for the Dynasty LP were pretty forgettable (X-Ray Eyes, Charisma) and his contributions for Unmasked (1980) were even worse; then he made an impressive comeback during the 1981-1983 era (Only You, A World Without Heroes, War Machine, I Love It Loud, Rock N' Roll Hell, Killer, Fits Like a Glove, Not For the Innocent, And on the 8th Day, etc.), but after that he hitted (again) an all time low with crappy songs like Lonely Is the Hunter, Secretly Cruel, God Girl Gone Bad, etc. Hell, Hot in the Shade could have been a decent album, but of course Gene destroyed the album's flow and credibility with his songs, all of them pure filler, pure crap...

But yeah, in 1992 he made another huge comeback with Revenge (Unholy, Domino, etc.). Hmm, I wonder if the title "Revenge" was chosen to reflect the band's back to form after years of cheesy singles and dreadful filler ...

In other words, Paul is, BY FAR, a more consistent songwriter than Gene.

Anyway, I'm sure that Kiss would have disbanded after 1982 if not for Paul and his whole idea of "let's drop the makeup for a while..."

[Edited 6/26/10 17:44pm]

agreed!

Revenge was quite a return to form even Vinnie Vincent helped write songs for awhile!

God Gave Rock N Roll To You, Unholy, Domino, I Just Wanna, Paralyzed and car jam are some gems

Didn't Paul write most of the songs during KISS' heyday anyways?

I also think he was the "baby face" of the group and without the makeup they're kinda like "hmm interesting looking guys".

Timmy84 said:

Didn't Paul write most of the songs during KISS' heyday anyways?

I also think he was the "baby face" of the group and without the makeup they're kinda like "hmm interesting looking guys".

It's kind of tough to judge. I think if you look at 1974-1977 it's pretty even as far as the number of songs they each wrote. Gene sang some of Ace's early songs so that probably gives Paul a slight edge. The quality of Gene's stuff in those days was also much closer to the quality of Paul's. As was pointed out it wasn't really until Dynasty that Gene's songs started to take a dip in quality. If you use Alive and Alive II as examples (they are basically live best of albums) you can get an idea of who wrote their best songs of the era.

Some of the songs below were co-written by Gene and Paul but I think that in most cases it is safe to assume that the person who sung the song was the main writer.

songs sung by Gene:

Deuce

Nothin' To Lose (w/ Peter)

She

Watchin' You

Rock And Roll All Nite

Let Me Go, Rock 'n' Roll

Ladies' Room

Calling Dr. Love

Christine Sixteen

songs sung by Gene but written by Ace or Paul:

Parasite (written by Ace)

Cold Gin (written by Ace)

God Of Thunder (written by Paul)

songs sung by Paul:

Strutter

Got To Choose

Hotter Than Hell

Firehouse

C'mon And Love Me

100,000 Years

Rock Bottom

Detroit Rock City

King Of The Night Time World

Makin' Love

Love Gun

Tomorrow And Tonight

I Stole Your Love

I Want You

sung by Gene and Paul:

Shout It Out Loud

songs sung by Peter that were written by Paul:

Black Diamond (Paul wrote it and sang the intro)

Hard Luck Woman (written by Paul)

It's interesting that "God of Thunder" is Gene's signature song but it was actually written by Paul.

[Edited 6/27/10 13:46pm]

Gene is one bad ass bass player.

Among the best ever in rock.

You wouldnt think so,...as he really doesnt talk about music nor play up musicanship, but he has always had an extremely distinctive tone. He doesnt just sound like anybody else.

Peter Criss was one of the deepest, downest, rawest, most purest rock vocalists of ALL TIME.

It was like they had Wilson Pickett as their drummer!

Also you cant really talk about Kiss in a consistant continum. Because they are really 4 different bands in 4 different incarnations.

Musically, the original Kiss was a primarily a groove oriented rock band.

After Peter Criss and then Ace left, they became less groove oriented, and more aggressive, booming heavy metal.

After Eric passed, ...they were lost and experimented with different musical styles. But still affected a heavy metal sound.

Then finally during the reunion with Psycho Circus and after Eric Singer and the other guy came in, they were no longer an organic band anymore.

They didnt return to their groove roots. They wound up misinterpreting their original style and sounded more instead like a million dollar bar band!

They wound up becoming their own best tribute act!

Unfortunate, because that original vison and incarnation with its mix of songwriting, musicianship and showmanship was pioneering and hugely influential.

[Edited 6/27/10 15:49pm]

sexyfunkystrange said:

Gene is one bad ass bass player.

Among the best ever in rock.

You wouldnt think so,...as he really doesnt talk about music nor play up musicanship, but he has always had an extremely distinctive tone. He doesnt just sound like anybody else.

[Edited 6/27/10 15:41pm]

You know, that's a good point. I wouldn't go too far in praising his bass playing ability but certainly in the '70s he was coming up with more interesting basslines than most of his contemporaries. I briefly flirted with the bass and I had a lot of fun learning his parts in songs like "Cold Gin," "Love Gun" and "Sure Know Something." Unfortunately I think it's safe to say that by the early-mid '80s his basslines became much more basic but in the early days he was pretty creative.

Im not really talking about his actual basslines though. Im talking about his sound..or tone.

JoeTyler said:

Any fans (or members of the Kiss Army) out there? Hottest band in the world...greatest american band of all time ... KISS!

Led Zeppelin is better, I think Kiss is just god awful

RKJCNE said:

JoeTyler said:

Any fans (or members of the Kiss Army) out there? Hottest band in the world...greatest american band of all time ... KISS!

Led Zeppelin is better, I think Kiss is just god awful

dude, Zeppelin were british, and Kiss god awful? listen to some classics like Strutter or Detroit Rock City and you'll realize what you're missing...

RKJCNE said:

JoeTyler said:

Any fans (or members of the Kiss Army) out there? Hottest band in the world...greatest american band of all time ... KISS!

Led Zeppelin is better, I think Kiss is just god awful

Led Zep "borrowed" songs from other musicians and took credit for it:

Yes, serving KP in the Kiss Army since 1976. Seen em live 7 times starting in that year.

But I'm pretty picky. I didn't get into their 80s/ 90s output at all, with the exception of some enjoyment from Music From The Elder's unintentional humor. But the records that came out when I was ten years old or younger, I still like. I mainly listen to Alive and Alive II; two nearly perfect albums.

I don't know why they get so much crap for being "stupid" or "lousy musicians." I've heard the demos they did as Wicked Lester in 1972 and guess what? The musicianship is BETTER than Kiss' musicianship! It's also a lot more sleepy and uninspiring. It's like NYC session guys playing a pristine but very bland sounding version of She. Then you compare that to the Eddie Kramer KISS demo from a year later, and it all make sense. They CHOSE not to have it be about the quality of the playing. They went for a simple, stripped down kind of thing that would hit at the most basic level.

unexpected...and sad

I'm a pretty big fan but definitely not a fanatic.

But they have some killer songs for sure..

Black Diamond and Hard Luck Woman are my favorites.

I love some of their 80s stuff too, some of it is uber-cheesy of course, but its Kiss.. heh

Tears are Falling... Forever.... Heaven's on Fire.... that kinda stuff. Good tunes.

The "Alive" albums are the best, especially I and II. The first disc of Alive II (staring with Detroit Rock City) is my absolute favorite.

JoeTyler said:

RKJCNE said:

Led Zeppelin is better, I think Kiss is just god awful

dude, Zeppelin were british, and Kiss god awful? listen to some classics like Strutter or Detroit Rock City and you'll realize what you're missing...

Strutter, for me, represents the best of the best. This everything that's good about KISS - muscle, melody, punch, groove, simplicity, bombast. Over the years, KISS dabbled in other types of hard rock, pop, metal without ever really abandoning the basic concept: volume, melody, and impact over technical precision and skill. That's why it's not really fair to compare KISS to Zeppelin, who are arguably more musical. As Paul Stanley once said (and I paraphrase), KISS was never about changing the world of music, only about selling the very best hamburger to the most people. Like McDonalds.

Sure, there was hard rock before KISS but KISS' niche was that they rocked hard like Deep Purple, were theatrical like Alice Cooper, and had a Beatlesque knack for melodies and simplicity in their songs. The formula was: take four basic chords, add a catchy melody, and turn the volume up to 11. I would argue that, in strictly musical terms, the success of KISS made Foreigner, Bon Jovi, Motley Crue, Def Leppard and countless other melodic hard rock bands possible. For better or worse. And Strutter, still a great song, remains the blueprint.

I appreciate every hair on Paul Stanley's chest and would like to be able to appreciate the ones on his dick if he'd show it.

Harlepolis said:

God knows, I tried to take them seriously.....

I like some of their songs though(esp from the Love Child album) but the bulk of their stuff still remain hit & miss to me.

it is not easy to take a band like them seriously. I'm not sure they take themselves seriously even.

But as horrible as they can be, their stuff is actually kinda catchy, I just wonder if they even wrote this or paid some professional songwriter

[Edited 7/7/10 14:49pm]

^God Gave Rock n Roll to You is KISS' interpolation of a song by Argent (hence the "II" in the title). Mostly though, KISS has written its own material over the years, sometimes with help from other songwriters (Bryan Adams, Jim Vallance, Desmond Child).

As far as I know, Stanley/Simmons wrote the 95% of the classics of the band during their golden era (74-77)...

two GREAT and underrated songwriters, that's for sure

and God Gave RN'R to You II is a god awful song that destroyed the credibility of Revenge, their heaviest, meanest and most exciting record in a decade ...catchy tune anyway...