Great Metal Albums of 1983: KISS- Lick It Up

Coming out of the marines in 1983, I was a much different person than when I went in four years earlier. Not only had I changed but a lot of things in the world around had changed too. Around the four month mark after becoming a civilian, while watching the TV show, “Video Rock,” a song with a vaguely sounding voice began singing a song that to me sounded rather promising. Then the programme flashed up the artist and song title and it was at this point, I learned that KISS had come out of make up and that would forever be what I would most remember 1983 for in the musical sense.

I had already warmed to KISS after hearing their previous album, “Creatures of the Night” so the song played on the video, “Lick It Up” was no surprise and I quite liked it. Therefore, KISS continued their journey back into my acknowledgement. Before that and though I never really mentioned here but have done so in other blogs, I ignored KISS during the late 1970s. Some could argue that they didn’t put out anything worthy during that time but that wasn’t it for me. I ignored them because I was going through deep religious phase back then. One of my fellow Christians stated that KISS was an anagram for Knights In Satan’s Service and I believed it. So, I avoided them on the misguided belief they were Satan worshipers. I won’t go into details here but if you want to read more about it then here it is:  https://peacefulrampage.wordpress.com/2017/01/18/my-confusion-of-religion-and-music/

I’ve heard all the talk about the unmasked 80s KISS not being the best period in their history. I won’t enter into that debate. I would be the first to admit that “Lick It Up” doesn’t quite reach the heights of classics like “Destroyer” or even “Creatures of the Night” but for me, “Lick It Up” was the right album at the right time. Plus, say what you like, but it’s better than their attempts at sounding more commercial in the early 198os.

Something I have always loved about any album is when the ‘hit’ single is not the best track on it. Although there are plenty of albums I like that are exception to this. “Lick It Up” is not the best song on the album that bears its name. There are several tracks which are better. Let’s start with my personal favourite, “Young and Wasted.” Of course the song title brought me much amusement, especially that they applied to me quite a bit during that time. However, I like the more aggressive intro this and several other songs on the album I rate higher than the title track. For “Young and Wasted,” it just seems to be done the best. On “Not for the Innocent” and “Gimme More,” I can hear the Vinnie Vincent influence on the guitar. “Dance All Over Your Face” is a really cool tune and “And on the Eighth Day” closes the album out rather well. A great majority of the songs on “Lick It Up” just seem to be in your face cool rockers. Say what you will about this album, but I quite like it.

Track Listing:

1. Exciter
2. Not for the Innocent
3. Lick It Up
4. Young and Wasted
5. Gimme More
6. All Hell’s Breakin’ Loose
7. A Million to One
8. Fist Like a Glove
9. Dance All Over Your Face
10. And On the Eight Day

KISS

Paul Stanley- rhythm guitar, lead vocals

Gene Simmons- bass, lead vocals

Eric Carr- drums, backing vocals

Vinnie Vincent- lead guitar, backing vocals

Vinnie Vincent would leave KISS after this album. According to which camp you belong to, he was either fired or left on his own accord. He would go onto put out a solo record which I will definitely visit when I hit 1986. As for KISS, for me, “Lick It Up” was their way completely back into my attention and they would continue to be there for a long time.

Next post: Metallica- Kill’Em All

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Great? Rock/Metal Albums of 1981: KISS- Music From The Elder

Of the four albums I have visited in this rock/metal segment, this 1981 offering from the legendary KISS totally passed me by in the year. I can’t even blame it on being in the marines. The reason this album not only passed me by but many others as well was due to the fact it disappeared almost as soon as it was released. According to history, it was reviled by many fans and although it did receive some positive feedback from the critics, “Music From The Elder” was voted the 44th worst album of all time by Q Magazine and 6th in the category “When great rock bands lost the plot.” Nevertheless, being a fair minded bloke, I thought I would give the album a listen and decide for myself. Still, I would welcome any comments, especially from fellow metal blogger and self confessed KISS-a-holic, Stone from Metal Odyssey fame.

Let me be totally frank, “Music From the Elder” is nowhere near a patch on great KISS albums like “Destroyer,” “Love Gun,” “Alive” or even some of the albums they made following this one like “Creatures of the Night.” However, the album isn’t as terrible as I feared it was going to be. The opener, “The Oath” was an attempt to create the earlier KISS sound at least as far back as “Dynasty” anyway and it is a notable effort on their part. Then came the instrumental “Fanfare” which had me thinking “WTF?” Fortunately, things return to normal, well sort of. I am sure that with “Just a Boy,” that KISS are trying to sound like The Who here and while not a bad song, it doesn’t leave me thinking, “Okay, cool.” Ace Frehley and Gene Simmons manage to rescue things a bit with the tracks “Dark Light,” “Only You” and “Under the Rose” but then comes the ballad “A World Without Heroes” and I am left saying to myself “No” and that if I was listening this back in 1981, I would say, “Leave the ballads to Peter Criss.” “Dr Blackwell” does go a good long way to redeem things and I do like the guitar solo on this song. Then after another instrumental which isn’t too bad, they try to be creative with “Odyssey.” Not sure if it works though. At the end, barring a very short instrumental which perhaps shouldn’t be on there was a pleasant surprise for me. I have heard the the track “I” before. It wasn’t recorded by KISS but covered in 2000 by the band Hair of the Dog on their album “Rise.” For them, “I” was a great closer for a great metal album and there is little comparison to it and the version done by KISS on this album. I think that the song was good enough for Hair of the Dog to record it just like the way it is done here. That song should have been the closer.

I guess I should mention that “Music From the Elder” was the first KISS album to fully feature new drummer Eric Carr who replaced Peter Criss when he left the band a year earlier. Most of you probably already knew that.

Track Listing:

1. The Oath

2. Fanfare

3. Just a Boy

4. Dark Light

5. Only You

6. Under the Rose

7. A World Without Heroes

8. Dr Blackwell

9. Escape From the Island

10. Odyssey

11. I

12. Finale

KISS

Paul Stanley- rhythm guitar,vocals

Gene Simmons- bass, vocals

Ace Frehley- lead guitar, vocals

Eric Carr- drums, percussion, backing vocals

My final verdict here is that if KISS had remained more true to their hard rocking roots, I think “Music From the Elder” would have been a much better album. I have no problem with an album telling a story through its songs, King Diamond”s “Abigail” does that beautifully. It doesn’t mean a band has to go all progressive to do so and that’s where this album falls down. The other thing I can see with the album, with the aid of hindsight, that KISS were beginning to move away from Gene Simmons’ 1980 boast that KISS were four guys equally covering for each other towards simply becoming Paul and Gene’s band.

Next post: Ozzy Osbourne- The Blizzard of Oz

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Great Rock Albums of the 70s: KISS- Destroyer

If there are any albums which I can site as being an album that converted me to metal, this would definitely be one of them. I wasn’t quite fifteen when this album came out and it would be a few months after its initial release before I actually heard any of it, but when I did, I was hooked. Before, I heard this album, my idea of hard rock was Bachman Turner Overdrive but KISS’s “Destroyer” album completely blew me away. This was in spite of my religious upbringing and some people trying to tell me that KISS were admitted Satan worshippers.

Track Listing:

1. Detroit Rock City

2. King of the Nighttime World

3. God of Thunder

4. Great Expectations

5. Flamming Youth

6. Sweet Pain

7. Shout It Out Loud

8. Beth

9. Do You Love Me

10. Rock and Roll Party

“Detroit Rock City” became a show opener for KISS for nearly the next ten years. I saw them in 85 and have the video of their 1984 tour and they opened both concerts with this song. Upon hearing it, I can definitely see why and is also why I include lyrics from the song in “Rock And Roll Children.” Of course the album includes the ballad Beth which, as I mentioned in previous postings, is the song that young rockers like me played to their girlfriends in the hopes it would lead to paradise.

KISS:

Paul Stanley- rhythm guitar, vocals

Gene Simmons- bass, vocals

Ace Frehley- lead guitar, vocals

Peter Criss- drums, vocals

While KISS would dominate rock throughout the rest of the decade and go on to be a chief influence for many of the 80s metal bands, I’m afraid my religious affiliations would prevent me from getting into more of their music after this. However, although fear of hellfire at the time didn’t allow me to admit it, this album would always stick in my mind and be a big influence on me. But it just wasn’t me, many other great bands have covered songs from this album including Iced Earth, White Zombie and even Nirvana. But my favourite cover is Hammerfall’s cover of “Detroit Rock City.” If anyone wants to know where it all began, this album was one of the doorways.

Next Post: Led Zepplin: Physical Graffiti

To buy Rock and Roll Children, go to: www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/RockAndRollChildren.html

Also available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Froogle