BY ANDREW MATTE, FOR THE LEADER-POST JULY 16, 2013
KISS
(with Shinedown)
When: Tonight, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Brandt Centre
It's all about explosions, projectile bleeding and performers made to look like cartoon characters.
Subtlety doesn't exist in the world of Kiss, the American rock band that built its own culture by producing circus-like concerts and finding ways to generate revenue like no other musical act.
Af ter four decades, founders Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley continue to play catchy rock songs in the shadow of a frantic light show, a simple but successful formula they developed as young New York musicians.
Today, Kiss no longer releases albums that resonate with the public, which means the band exists as a celebration of its reputation for delivering groundbreaking rock spectacles. And without fellow founders Peter Criss and Ace Frehley, long ago replaced with Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer, debate rages whether the faces behind the face paint even matter or whether the modern-era Kiss is merely a half-tribute act. Judging by the size of the crowds, it appears the issue isn't enough to keep fans from buying tickets.
Audiences in 2013 are made up of fans with grey temples and memories of hearing songs like Beth and Hard Luck Woman on the radio. Younger music fans buy tickets out of a sense of duty, curiosity and respect for Kiss's place in rock history.
While it's easy to poke fun at the old guys who wear makeup, spit pretend blood and wear costumes that look like football padding spraypainted silver, dismissing their success is impossible.
Kiss shares company with the likes of The Who, The Beach Boys and Bob Dylan when it comes to album sales, and is in its own category when it comes to success in the retail world.
With more than $500-million in sales in merchandise in 3,000 categories, maximizing profit is as much a priority for Kiss as its artistic endeavours.
But for many fans, the focus is the music. Built from a foundation of performance and stage production, Kiss songs are often viewed as an afterthought, or something that merely facilitates the more important visual component. But there are enough members in the Kiss Army fan club who argue Kiss's contribution to music is just as worthy of acknowledgment as its success in the music business. Kiss members aren't exactly known as rock's leading musicians or for experimenting musically like they have with fire, lasers or stage-platform hydraulics. However, many view Stanley's voice as one of the enduring in rock history and more than a few musicians say they were influenced by Frehley's freewheeling guitar work.
Nobody argues that songs like Rock and Roll All Nite, Detroit Rock City or Shout It Out Loud are anything but stand-alone, rock-anthem jewels.
But with 20 studio albums, many believe there is enough great material that isn't known in the same way, songs like Shock Me, God of Thunder or Lick It Up. There are enough songs, however, that are difficult to forget for the opposite reason.
Musical missteps include Shandi from 1980s Unmasked album, Dance All Over Your Face from 1983's Lick It Up, or anything on the 1981 album Music From The Elder.
Here's a list of buried treasures, a guide to the best of the rest.
(song: album: year)
1. She: Dressed To Kill: 1975 Perhaps the best Kiss song not on the usual Top 10 lists, this is a blues-inspired song based on riffs that sound as fresh today as they did nearly more than 30 years ago. It works because it's moody but has the energy of a song twice its tempo.
2. Rocket Ride: Kiss Alive II: 1977 One of a few new studio songs to appear on this iconic live album, Rocket Ride is a nice illustration of Frehley's contribution as a songwriter and vocalist. It's no Cold Gin or Parasite, but this boogie-rock tune and space theme is a neat backdrop to Frehley's vocals.
3. Raise Your Glasses: Psycho Circus: 1998 From this underrated Kiss record, Raise Your Glasses has a chorus that is as cheesy and fabulous as they come. Like much of the album, the songs commemorate the resignings of Criss and Frehley. It's overproduced, but the glam-rock approach and energy make it worth a listen, or two.
4. Firehouse: Hotter Than Hell: 1974 Firehouse is a perfect illustration of the Kiss mandate to write songs meant for the stage. It fell out of favour after the better anthems came, but Firehouse still works on its own. And like all Kiss songs, the live version, which appears on Kiss Alive, makes for a better listen. Plus, the concert version includes sirens!
5. Rock and Roll Hell: Creatures of the Night, 1982 The song's story is worthy of inclusion on this list because it's a re-worked Lynyrd Skynyrd-like version recorded by Winnipeg's BTO in 1979. Simmons asked songwriters Jim Vallance and Bryan Adams for a heavier version and demanded writing credit, and royalties, after adding words of his own. If that's not Klassic Kiss, what is?
6. Paralyzed: Revenge: 1992 Like Psycho Circus, Revenge was meant to move the band to a new chapter. With renewed attention to songwriting, Revenge is heavier and better produced than the previous stinker Hot In The Shade. Domino was the best song Kiss had recorded in years, but Paralyzed was similarly raunchy and good.
7. Got To Choose: Hotter Than Hell: 1974 This song might be old, but its rawness and stark production work. This studio version seems uncommonly slow by Kiss comparison, so comparing it with the live version is a good idea. Stanley's voice was being expanded beyond the rock growl fans heard so much of in the 1970s.
8. Do You Love Me: Destroyer: 1976 Kiss lyrics are among the most mundane and cliched in music, which is why many fans love them. This one's a beauty because the sugary chorus works as a cool contrast to traditional rock verses. When Stanley sings about love in this song about groupies, the irony is idiotic, but fabulous.
9. Fits Like a Glove: Lick It Up: 1983 A song from the first postmakeup era, this Simmonsauthored speedy rocker doesn't stray from the fourchord formula. But this fourminute song plows through the sex-heavy lyrics with quick guitar work. By this time, Kiss was relying heavily on guest musicians, particularly in the case of Frehley's sporadic availability.
10. Plaster Caster: Love Gun: 1977 Written as a tribute to Cynthia Plaster Caster, a groupie who became famous for making moulds of the manly parts of her favourite musicians, the song has lilting melodies and a pop-rock feel. The lyrics are idiotic and the subject matter isn't song-worthy, but even that isn't enough to spoil the music.
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