Hokeyboy

From KISS ON FIRE: a new 4-CD compilation... this time arranged by band member.

Interesting idea... but here comes yet another compilation. Probably a good way to show the different approaches/influences each member brought to the band. And at least it's not another Greatest Hits collection... well OK it sorta is.

The Cow

Problem is that it's organized really by just who sang those songs, not who wrote them. I can see the marketing behind it, but I'm not fond of yet another release of the tunes.

If I wanted something like this, I'd just make playlists. Ugh.

Hokeyboy

I doubt the collection is geared towards the hardcore fans, but rather the casual-curious types. Certainly there's plenty of the "GREATEST HITS" represented here as well plenty of other tunes that non-hardcore-fans wouldn't necessarily be exposed to. I doubt most "Greatest Hits"-styled fans are aware of, say, Strange Ways, Almost Human, Charisma (icch), Take Me, What's On Your Mind, Hard Times, etc.

Not exactly the collection I'd put together, but an interesting idea nonetheless.

Hokeyboy

BTW I don't mean to go off-topic, but I figure this is the de facto "All Things Kiss" thread...

Rocketdog2000

Yep, it's called KISS : IKONS, here's the cover pics...



What's annoying is that they had to include solo album tracks - which are technically still KISS albums - to even these out for each member. Gene and Paul each have one, while Ace has five, and Peter has four. Also likely why only Ace and Peter have their songs off of Pyscho Circus included, yet there are none from Paul or Gene off that album.

I also have to echo The Cow's statement, that whoever put this together did it by who's singing, not who wrote which song. So you've got members who wrote songs, but didn't sing them, having those tunes show up on the other members discs. I.E. - Ace, who wrote "Strange Ways", "Getaway" (Peter), "Parasite" and "Cold Gin" (Gene); and Paul, who wrote "God Of Thunder" (Gene), "Black Diamond", "Mainline" and "Hard Luck Woman" (Peter). I guess they figured that since some of the other tunes - mostly ones that Ace and Peter sang - were covers, it really didn't so much matter who wrote what, but which song seems more associated with whom.

DaveWadding

Have you guys seen some of the cool stuff they're doing with Vans?





I totally want the Dressed to Kill and Ace solo kicks.

B5Erik

.


OK, it looks like we've run the course with Dynasty.

So on to 1980 when KISS was...

UNMASKED

Released on May 20, 1980.


Track Listing:

1. Is That You?
2. Shandi
3. Talk To Me
4. Naked City
5. What Makes The World Go 'Round
6. Tomorrow
7. Two Sides Of The Coin
8. She's So European
9. Easy As It Seems
10. Torpedo Girl
11. You're All That I Want

Produced by Vini Poncia, Engineered by Jay Messina.

Line Up: Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, and Ace Frehley. Drums on all tracks - Anton Fig.


The free poster:


The Music:

Is That You..........................................................................Talk To Me
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Tomorrow.......................................................................Naked City
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Shandi.......................................................................Easy As It Seems
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The 1980 Line-Up:

Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley, Gene Simmons, and Eric Carr.


Unmasked went a long way towards killing whatever credibility KISS had left with Hard Rock and Heavy Metal fans in 1980. The album leaned towards Power Pop and bore little resemblance to the crunchy, hard hitting music that they were playing just 3 years earlier. The music on Unmasked wasn't totally wimpy - the guitars are front and center in the mix, and the guitar tone is pretty good - but it was so slick, so radio friendly (many songs featuring keyboards) that it just didn't sit well with many of their long time fans. And then, of course there was, "Shandi," which was the slickest, poppiest song KISS had done to that point. Not particularly hard or heavy, and without much of an edge this song really went a long way in turning off KISS' long time fan base. But it was a huge hit in Australia....

For me, personally, I've always liked Unmasked. "Is That You," is a great album opener, and songs like "Naked City," "Tomorrow," "Talk To Me," and "Easy As It Seems," are all very well written, well performed Poppy Hard Rock tracks that hold up well even today.

Unmasked was the last album to feature Peter Criss' image on the cover - although he had nothing to do with the album whatsoever - and it would be the last original KISS album to feature the original line-up on the cover (in one form or another) until Psycho Circus in 1998.

Unmasked was a huge hit in Europe and Australia, but was the first KISS album since Dressed To Kill not to go Platinum in the U.S. (it peaked out with sales around 800,000 copies - not bad, but a huge drop off for them).

Rocketdog2000

I'm gonna paraphrase a bit here, but in one of the KISS video docs, Gene stated something to the effect of - "When you get that first taste of really big success, It's kinda like a drug, and you just want more and more of it. In our efforts to get more, KISS stopped being a 'Rock' band, and became a 'Pop' band."

Unmasked certainly isn't even close to being the kind of hard rock effort fans of KISS were used to enjoying. It's a straight up pop record - no ifs, ands or buts about it. But taken in that context, it's still a damn good pop album, for what it is.

Along with Dynasty, I still really like Unmasked quite a bit. It may be lighter fare, the production is often thin as hell, and there's really nothing here with teeth that hasn't been filled down - however, it's saved because the tunes are still great in my book. Really, just about the only song I don't care for is "Torpedo Girl", because it's just too damn odd. Everything else though - particularly "Tomorrow", "Is That You?", "Naked City", "Two Sides Of The Coin" and "You're All That I Want" - I enjoy.

I'd love to hear these songs re-done in a more straightforward "rock" style - without the keyboards, disco trappings, and "sanitized for your protection" feel - but I can deal with it as is.

Giantrobo

I don't think I've ever even listened to the whole UNMASKED album. Shit...did I?

Giantrobo

We need a KISS Costume Discussion thread.

Spiderbite

Unmasked is probably the most underrated album by KISS. Every song is well done and catchy but I can see where it would turn some KISS fans off. It doesn't have the hard rock edge that their earlier albums has and you could definitely see the beginnings of 80's pop "hair metal" with this very album.

Of course a Gene song is my favorite of the album (Naked City) but "Is That You?" (which wasn't written by any KISS member...was that a first?) is a close runner-up.

Actually there isn't a bad song in the bunch if you like pop-rock. Shandi is such a silly but infectious song that it is hard to dislike it. Ace's 3 songs, while not as guitar hard edged as is usual offerings, are still some of the strongest and catchiest stuff he ever did...even Torpedo Girl.

Another awesome cover. I know many hate the "comic book" cover but as a kid, of course I loved it. It was one of those covers that I would read over and over in the record store every visit and seeing it on CD size does not do it justice.

I didn't own this album until the 90's so that may be why it sounds so fresh to me. It is one of my most reached for KISS discs today.

My rating: ****1/2 out of *****

The liner notes on the remastered series states, "With producer Vini Poncia once again at the soundboard, tracks like 'Tomorrow,' 'Naked City,' and 'Talk To Me' were stripped of their pulse-pounding effect and polished with a pop sound that paled in comparison."

I agree with Rocketdog2000 in stating that it would be cool to hear the original intentions of these songs. I also agree with the KISS costume discussion thread...what the hell? The worst costumes of their career quite possibly in the pic above.

Rocketdog2000

Well, depends on how you look at it.

First off, is a song that was written by an outside writer, but not previously recorded/released by themselves still a cover when another artist gets around to recording it? I don't know if there ever was a previous version of "Is That You?" out before KISS recorded it - so that would be another question to be answered.

Second, if you are counting songs that are covers, then it's most definitely not a first. The band had already done "Kissin' Time", ""The She Kissed Me", "Anyway You Want It" and "2,000 Man" - and if you include the solo albums, "New York Groove", "When You Wish Upon A Star" and half a dozen on Peter's, too.

Lastly, if you count outside member co-writes, there are too many to mention.


Wow. I got the day it came out. But I can see how that would affect your perspective more positively. It's not quite the same, but where I came into KISS around the time of Alive!/Destroyer, the style shift wasn't quite as drastic to me, as a fan who had been there from the beginning. Plus, I was still younger, so I didn't care as much. I just loved everything the band did at that point.

Hell yes, someone bring that on! And while I agree on with your statement, it hold's true for everyone but Eric. Love the Fox costume.

cactusoly

The worst Kiss album... The only song I like is Talk To Me

cultshock

I believe the song only existed in recorded demo form before KISS recorded it. The song's writer, Gerard McMahon, was looking for a producer and considered Vini Poncia as a possibility, so he sent him some demo tapes. Poncia liked "Is That You?" and brought it to KISS during the Unmasked sessions. Paul loved the song and wanted to record it. I think it's a great opener for the album.

Count me in as someone who didn't buy the album when it first came out, Dynasty was the last album I bought during my first KISS phase. I discovered it as an adult (first bought and listened to it around 1987) and instantly liked it. Sure it's poppy, but it still stands as one of my favourites. Very catchy and underrated. And three Ace songs makes it even better for me.

BTW, notice Peter winking in the poster picture (he isn't winking on the album cover's version of the same picture). It's been said that was done as an inside joke, considering Peter isn't even on the album.

Rocketdog2000

Just did a little internet research, and found out Gerard McMahon has been around for awhile, releasing solo albums since the 70's. You are also correct that he never put his own version of the song out on any of them. He also didn't really become more well known until after he changed the spelling of his last name to McMann, and started getting his songs onto the soundtracks of movies like Fast Times At Ridgemont High, Spring Break, and most notably, The Lost Boys ("Cry Little Sister"). I always wondered if it was the same guy, just never did the leg work before to find out. He now goes by the band name of G Tom Mac.

Spiderbite

I was talking about it as an original song that didn't have any writing involvement in the band. Of course I know about the earlier covers.

I was a fan of KISS as a kid but never owned Unmasked until I was an adult. I have no idea why but just never picked it up. I actually don't even remember hearing any of the tracks off the album until I heard Paul sing Shandi at the KISS Konvention and was wondering what the hell was that song?

It's not like any song off of it was well known and played a lot but then again, my parents wouldn't let me own a KISS album as a kid and I had to live off tapes of my friend's albums until I was a late teenager. Seeing as how beggars couldn't be choosers, I took what I could get from my friends and NONE of them owned Unmasked and all were huge KISS fans. What does that tell you?

B5Erik

The story of "Is That You."
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Spiderbite

Cool find Erik.

cultshock

Yeah, that was a cool clip to watch, thanks for posting it Erik.

Rocketdog2000

Indeed, very cool. Amazing the stuff you can find when you actually take the time, or make the effort to look for it. Nice catch, Erik.

Sonny Corinthos

Does this have a release date yet?

Rocketdog2000

October 21st. Also, in case anyone's interested, the same day they are releasing this...



ONE LIVE KISS

Paul's long-anticipated "Live To Win" tour movie is slated for a DVD release on October 21 under the title, "ONE LIVE KISS," via New Door / Universal.

Hokeyboy

So now we're talking Unmasked -- KISS's biggest commercial disappointment since they went from underground legend to worldwide sensation. Coming off the heels of the multiplatinum DYNASTY, the album would be relegated to the annals off KISS's discography as one of their weakest, most forgettable endeavors.

Too bad. As a "hard rock/metal" KISS album, it's Vini Poncia yet again bringing out the pop hooks and removing any hard edges whatsoever. And, as Paul and Gene remarked multiple times, nobody said a *thing* to oppose him. They wanted this.

The result? A good album regardless. A continued evolution of KISS's sound, but a VERY listenable one. There is an influence of both 70s Power Pop and what became 80s Pop Rock here; the result may not be as pleasing to the ear for "hardcore" KISS fans, but the result is a melodic and consistent album throughout.

"Is That You?" is a strong opener, a rockin' toe tapper with a strange falsetto bridge. It moves right into "Shandi", an infectious ballad with a patented sing-a-long chorus. It's KISS's softest work since "Beth" (not counting the solo ballads), but as a single it works (well, maybe only in Australia, but...)

Then we get to "Talk To Me"... one of Ace's best songs ever, a really well crafted pop song. Of his 3 contributions to the album, this is easily the best of the bunch. Ace never really had another song like this with KISS, not even close. "Naked City" is the first kinda OK track, it's not bad but not one of Gene's best. "What Makes The World Go Round" is also in that OK but forgettable realm.

OK, I love "Tomorrow". This is Paul at his bubblegum heights, behind an up-tempo, poppy, sing-along, melodic happy-time. This sounds like something Rick Springfield would have recorded in 1982, which, depending on your tastes, is reason to appreciate or run screaming.

"Two Sides of the Coin"... I hate this fucking song. It's moronic, it doesn't have much of a melody, nothing catchy about it whatsoever, and the lyrics are fucking juvenile. Other than that, it's "great". Blecch. And it leads into an even WORSE song, "She's So European", Gene's adaption of a previous song, "Stanley The Parrot", one that even he thinks totally blows.

"Easy As It Seems" is a return to disco for Paul, and it's decent. It's definitely not quite up there with IWMFLY or SKS from "Dynasty", but its got hooks and a definite beat.

Finally, there's "Torpedo Girl", one of the simply oddest songs KISS has ever released. That bass riff at the opening is awesome. Ace is being a goofball here but I totally dig the funky, playful vibe. Plus the song sounds great live.

The album finished with "You're All That I Want", another Gene dud. You could sort of tell, his heart really wasn't into the last two albums.

So overall we have a total KISS pop album. In comparison, DYNASTY almost sounds like "Hotter Than Hell" in some ways; if you didnt like the slick production and softer edge of that album, you're gonna loathe UNMASKED. But I like the album a great deal. Six good-to-great cuts, two OK-to-forgettable ones, three pieces of crap. Like Dynasty, Unmasked gets * * * 1/2 out of * * * * *.

DAMN I can't wait until we get to THE ELDER.

My current rankings:

Kiss: * * * * *
Hotter Than Hell: * * * * 1/2
Dressed To Kill: * * * 1/2
Alive!: * * * * *
Destroyer: * * * 1/2
Rock And Roll Over: * * *
Love Gun: * * * *
Alive II: * * *
Peter Criss: *
Ace Frehley: * * * *
Gene Simmons: * *
Paul Stanley: * * * 1/2
Dynasty: * * * 1/2
Unmasked: * * * 1/2

B5Erik

.


Before we discuss The Elder I think it would be kind of interesting to discuss the album KISS almost made in 1981.

Following the relative U.S. commercial failure of Unmasked Gene and Paul got back to writing and demoing up new songs. The direction of the new songs was harder, rawer, and closer in style to Rock and Roll Over and Love Gun than Unmasked or Dynasty, but they still had that very late 70's/early 80's sheen that differentiated them from their early material.

Here's my favorite of the unreleased tracks: "Deadly Weapons."
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"Nowhere to Run" (Originally written for the 1981 album, but put on the shelf and later dusted off for Killers.)
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The next two give an idea of the transition phase when they were coming up with the "Elder" concept, but hadn't yet given up the idea of a straight ahead Hard Rock album...
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Judging from these demos, and a couple others that I've heard, this could have been one of KISS' better albums, and may have gone a long way towards rebuilding that fan base that had been lost with Dynasty and Unmasked. Hell, it might have been an outright hit, who knows?

But they gave up on it in favor of the more ambitious Elder concept album. Both Ace and Eric expressed their support for the straight ahead Hard Rock album instead of the concept album, but as Eric didn't have a vote Ace was outvoted by Gene and Paul.

(We'll discuss The Elder soon enough, but what about the album that ALMOST happened? What do you think of the material?)

cactusoly

I love the new tracks on Killers... take those and about half of the Elder and you have a good album.