ONE LIVE KISS (2008)

"Only the power of rock'n roll can defeat these evil zombies!"...

Paul Stanley solo live album!

More like Paul Stanley with a band, but you know what I mean. A fairly decent mix of songs from the '78 solo album, Live to Win and various Kiss classics. With lots of backing vocals and shredding guitar. And keyboards. Which sound weird in Got to Choose.

Other than some clown doing stupid shredding all through the Kiss classics, this is all pretty standard. What holds it back from being anything special is this is 2008 Paul Stanley, whose vocal powers are greatly diminished at 56. Don't get me wrong - he can still sing, it's just a solo performance from him would have been so much more powerful about 15 years earlier. I would have loved to hear 1992 Paul Stanley singing Move On or Tonight You Belong to Me. Or especially Goodbye. And someone else on guitar with him, like Slash. Someone makes this happen!

But with his vocals not being amazing, he falls back to relying on the band to be impressive. And that shredder dude is only awesome when battling the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Especially in the latest incarnation - man he is all kinds of badassery. I'm not a great fan of the actual design, but personality-wise he is exactly what you want from an evil Ninja master.


Highlights:
That episode where Shredder defeated the turtles, injured Leonardo and left Splinter for dead. That shit had me on the edge of my seat.

Lowlights:
A Million to One, I Want You, Lift



Verdict = 3 Smoking Les Paul Guitars

ALIVE! (1975)

The final photo shoot for America's Next Top Model was a simple affair...

Take some of the awesome songs from the first 3 albums, add in the energy of a live Kiss concert and don't edit out the explosions, and what do you get? Something like this album, I'm sure...

I'm not sure there is much to say, other than this is the album that put Kiss on the map and every home should have a copy. Most of the songs benefit from the live setting, apart from Rock Bottom. If I had a time machine I would go back to 1975 with a copy of Kiss Unplugged and explain to Paul and Gene that the song is capable of sounding much better. I'd also explain to them they are tools, and then I'd just get loaded with Ace and jam all night, before inventing the microwave and becoming a millionaire. That would be super.

And gosh, Gene's vocals on Nothin' to Lose are just awful. Especially considering most of this was re-recorded in the studio or something. Oh, and there is a 10 minute drum solo in 100,000 Years that serves no purpose other than to make it really annoying when wanting to listen to this particular version of the song. Also great when you want to play really boring music that goes nowhere. Because that's the goal, right?

Luckily, that's all I have to complain about. Well, it's me so I could find plenty to complain about (the weather, my clothes, tired, blah blah bitch bitch moan moan), but in this case I won't because Kiss are awesome and this album is a great excuse to pick up a guitar and do my best Ace Frehley impersonation.


Highlights:
Rock'n Roll All Nite, Let Me Go Rock'n Roll, C'mon and Love Me, most of the album

Lowlights:
Rock Bottom, The drum solo on 100,000 Years that takes 3 months off your life


Verdict = 5 Smoking Les Paul Guitars

HOTTER THAN HELL (1974)

Sunbathing time in the Kiss house...

This album sounds like it was recorded in a garage at the back of a cabin in the middle of Greymouth during winter. Or just by someone incompetent who then buried the tapes in a pile of mud thinking it would improve the sound. It didn't. Which is a shame, because the songs on this album are just the absolute business. Got to Choose is so awesome and the guitar solo stands as one of my all-time favourites. Parasite is probably the heaviest Kiss song and totally badass. Goin' Blind is somewhat of a ballad, I guess, but is still good. If the guitar didn't sound so weird and Gene's vocals didn't sound so forced, it would sound much better. Mainline is kinda groovy and kinda lame at the same time. I don't know how that works. The rest is all dark and brooding and levels of badassery one can only hope to attain when dressed in crazy outfits and pretending to be from another planet while surrounded by all sorts of explosions. The best of times...


Highlights:
Got to Choose, Parasite, Hotter Than Hell, Let Me Go Rock'n Roll, All the Way, Comin' Home, Strange Ways

Lowlights:
The album production being inferior to a 4-track tape recorder being run through a pile of cow dung.


Verdict = 4 Smoking Les Paul Guitars and a thumbs up!