Where do I begin with this legendary brand?
It’s probably best to explain why many didn’t like them to begin with, and why they are still the butt of many jokes today. Perhaps rock’s best kept secret despite selling out stadiums all over the world, Kiss’s lack of radio play prevented many young people post-1990 to really take them seriously. They were depicted as dad rock before dad rock was even a thing, and most younger folks looked at them like a joke as a result. That’s true even to this day!
But like my man DubQ up there pointed it out, there’s a reason why so many musicians who were around for their prime looked up to them. The fact that they’ve carved out the place that they have in the canon of rock history despite getting almost no help from radio stations or journalist hacks is probably the ultimate testament to their greatness.
Without Ace, Gene and Paul are just a superband featuring a rotating cast of accomplished players. Which is funny to say, but it just shows how epic Kiss really was in its prime.
I’ll post some more thoughts later about specific albums that I personally enjoy the most. But I have to say, listening to the debut album, it was immediately clear that this band was way cooler than what many had been let in on. Cold Gin is Trans Am rock at its best produced, and has such a classic fucking riff. It’s a shame about Ace’s shyness around this time period, as a song about drinking needs to be sung by a guy who has cold gin running in his veins 24/7, not someone who is basically dry. Still a great song though.
Btw, when Ace told me about his shyness problems, I helped him meditate. it just didn’t take though, he told me drinking was just so much easier for him to let his guard down. I never asked what his problems were, but I was as shocked as anyone when I heard about the drunk driving incident depicted in Rock Soldiers. Of course he told me about it before he told you guys, and I helped him see the demons in his behaviour that he referenced in his lyrics. It’s extremely personal about a crazy real life incident with an anthemic riff and bass drum. What a great track.
But I digress. The debut album sounds like it was produced in an auto shop, and I mean that in a good way. It also shows the diversity in styles and influence in their song structures. Nothin’ To Lose has a bluesy feel, Strutter is a great opener with a catchy hook and a fun beat you can dance to. The chugging riff of Firehouse is great for when you wanna zone out and get taken on a sweet ride to that era to see what rockin' out was supposed to feel like. And that's probably the best way to describe this album, as the sound, song styles, hooks and lyrics make it feel like quintessential classic rock.
What a great debut, a showcase of what this quartet with a tight sound and a budding knack for pop songwriting were capable of. Too bad the media and radio stations didn’t see it that way, but my man Kamala already covered all that.
Come back to this thread to hear more hot takes about other Kiss albums, including the revelation of my favorite one. I’ll give you a hint, it’s not what you expect from ya boy.
