KISS: Ultimate albums on VH1....or some shit.

[rustoffa]

I'm sitting here watching it, and I really don't have the answers.

They're throwing around "stabbing hippie rock in the head" references, followed up with "Borrowing from the British glam and New York glitter movements" references.

It's cuntfusing.

Personally, I think Gene Simmons had an over-the-top Grand Funk idea in his head, along with gold bricks....that's far from an answer.

I'm not hatin'.....the live shows were flabbergastering @ the time (before they broke), and "Rock And Roll Over" vindicated whatever years later IMO.

Discuss, and feel free to bash the living fuck out of Gene Simmons.

[Rikk]

I think GENE SIMMONS is a fucking asshole. And I'm tired of him destroying the street legacy the band had. Their 70s records sound so dangerous, and they made some good records after then too.

Frankly, there are few hard rock records that have the balls of DRESSED TO KILL, HOTTER THAN HELL or ROCK 'N' ROLL OVER. Those are classic albums. Too bad Simmons re-writes history all the time to suit his latest marketing campaign.

[Redballjets88]

personally i dont see why kiss got so popular i have their greatest hits and i have listened to it a handful of times and i only like about 4 songs on it

[ThrillsNSpills]

I saw this show and I liked the music on the burger king commercial better honestly.
It was bizarre seeing Gene do his fire trick and suddenly it looked like his face was on fire.

[Mr Badguy]

Yes, Simmons is an asshole.

He`d tell you that himself.

However, if you had a cash cow like he had, you`d also milk it dry.

If Kiss fans are stupid enough to buy everything related to Kiss then fuck them.

PS KISS ROOLS!

[blueturk]

Originally posted by rustoffa
I'm sitting here watching it, and I really don't have the answers.

They're throwing around "stabbing hippie rock in the head" references, followed up with "Borrowing from the British glam and New York glitter movements" references.

It's cuntfusing.

Personally, I think Gene Simmons had an over-the-top Grand Funk idea in his head, along with gold bricks....that's far from an answer.

I'm not hatin'.....the live shows were flabbergastering @ the time (before they broke), and "Rock And Roll Over" vindicated whatever years later IMO.

Discuss, and feel free to bash the living fuck out of Gene Simmons.

I think you were watching "When Kiss Ruled The World". I'm waiting for "When Van Halen Ruled The World".

[Terry]

Simmons' own sense of importance is so overblown that it's comical. But it's also matched by Paul Stanley's general blandness; this guy offers one cliched explanation after another for just about any question asked of him.

The VH1 Ultimate Albums thing on Kiss Alive was interesting, mostly for seeing Eddie Kramer talk about how the album was made. Had thought the crowd reactions were authentic, even if they were turned up in the mix. Now we come to find that audience responses were cut and pasted into various parts of the album in addition to being brought up in the mix. Had been aware for a while that Kiss Alive 2 was subjected to an extensive amount of post-production and overdubbing, but was always in denial when it came to Alive. Now we find out the same thing went on there, too. All of which is fine. Doesn't diminish my enjoyment of the record, but seeing Simmons, Stanley and Kramer admit to this and THEN go on to say that it is still a true representation of what the band sounded like live...not so much. Can't have it both ways.

Far as Kiss's 'street cred' goes, they may have had some pre-Destroyer. Once the band kicked into merchandising overdrive around the point of Love Gun, it was a little lopsided because the band became too focused on grabbing for dollars. Still enjoy their stuff up until about Dynasty, but the rough edge the group had in the early days was willingly replaced by a cartoonish image as the Seventies wound down.

Gene...pretty much whatever. Guy makes a lot of money. Good for him. Same goes for the 10,000 women he fucked. KISS is all done, anyway. Have no qualms with them reuniting in 1996. They gave their fans what they wanted, and made a pile of loot in the process. But the band by that point was good for little else OTHER than a nostalgia trip, and that has been going on now for close to a decade. They can't write any new, worthwhile material. Simmons' solo album Asshole flat out stunk, and it's obvious the title was an attempt to get some publicity. I dunno...once Ace and Peter decided not to continue with the endless farewell tour, Gene and Paul should have packed it in. Seems apparent they're not gonna as long as there's a nickel to be made bilking their past. By 1999, the reunited KISS already overstayed their welcome.

[light 'em up!]

Originally posted by Terry
Simmons' own sense of importance is so overblown that it's comical.

You nailed it.

Personally I don't take rock stars seriously. When they exalt themselves to god-like status like Gene Simmons frequesntly does, it makes me chuckle. I used to love Kiss when I was 13, and I still have fond memories, but let's put things in perspective; Gene Simmons made his fortune running around in clownface, dangling his tongue at people, and playing very simple musical progressions. One day he's going to die just like the rest of us.

[Terry]

Ah, yes. Death. The ultimate equalizer.

[Bill Lumbergh]

Kiss 73-79was great.........I also dig the 81-83 era.........I've made my feelings on Gene known many, many, times here.

[Unchainme]

I Like KISS, There not my Favorite band but at least they listen to their fans. at least they reunited with there orignal line up unlike the VH Bros.

[Unchainme]

Ace is my Favorite Member in the band, I just can really feel that he influenced CVH a lot while he was in the band. I bet Ed was a big fan of his.

[Va Beach VH Fan]

Originally posted by Redballjets88
personally i dont see why kiss got so popular i have their greatest hits and i have listened to it a handful of times and i only like about 4 songs on it

Because you're only LISTENING to it bro....

KISS' claim to fame was, is, and will always be their live show, which to this day remains the best in the business...

You know what you're in for when you go see a KISS show, that being a LOUD show, great pyrotechnics and light show, and Gene's spittin' blood and fire.... Also, along with most major acts, they've really taken advantage of the improvments in the video capabilities....

What you DON'T (or shouldn't) expect to see at a KISS show (at least with the original crew) is anything resembling guitar wizardry nor Peart-like drum skills....

It's simply a very good rock show to see in concert.....

I took my 11 year old son to their show here last year, and he had a blast...

Matter of fact, their DVD of that tour is coming out in October, and they filmed here that night... One of the cameraman focused on my son for about 15 seconds, so I hope he gets on the DVD....

[Mr Badguy]

We`ve all heard the "Alive!" was overbudded story.

However, if you watch the video clips of those early shows on the Kiss video releases then you will notice that a lot of the live stuff doesn`t sound all that different from "Alive!", particulaly the black and white show from Winterland `75 and Cobo Hall `76.

So it`s overdubbed.

So what?

The album is really what it`s titled: "Alive!".

[rustoffa]

Originally posted by blueturk
I think you were watching "When Kiss Ruled The World". I'm waiting for "When Van Halen Ruled The World".

You're probably right. By the time I had finished my forty-o of absinthe, it had bled over into ultimate albums. I was sitting here for like 30 minutes to 2 hours going, "wasntdth thatb thang called roooled the worldd?"

Now that I'm back to beer (B2B), I clearly remember my disillusionment stemming from the "ruled the world" deal.