KISS Reader Comments

RockSteady - I don't know why some people seem ashamed to say the love the music of KISS. Rock and Roll ain't brain surgery. If you wanna hear about politics, turn on C-Span. Rock and Roll is supposed to be about sex. That's where the term "rock and roll" came from and it dates back to R&B music of the 30's and 40's and 50's.
Just glanced through some of the reviews on that site. To each his own, some are well written, but I don't know how anyone could slam Dressed To Kill. It's a great rock album from start to finish and the production is great too. Sounds like it was recorded yesterday, yet it still has a raw edge to it. It's killer. Also, Beth is a great song. Always was and always will be!

Ian's Music Reviews - Dressed To Kill is a pretty weak album, in my opinion. KISS simply didn't have enough material to fill out a whole album - it was too soon after Hotter Than Hell.

Anonymous - Nice site but I don't know about the reviews. Any review that gives Double Platinum a 10 rating and fails to mention that the tunes are all remixed (in some instances even re-made with some nice cut-and-paste) is kind of missing the point in my book. I'm all for personal opinion, which a review always has to be, but some basic facts need to be addressed in reviews that you failed to take into consideration.

Ian's Music Reviews - Actually, I agree with your point. I should have mentioned that the tracks are re-mixed. On the other hand, this detail would probably only be of interest to diehard KISS fans like yourself, and not most casual fans who would be reading the reviews. Are the remixes very different from the original mixes? Not really. Most people wouldn't notice any variation at all. It's not like they overdubbed horn arrangements, choirs, or Bantu drumming troops - all changes on Double Platinum are subtle (except for Strutter '78, which is the only song that sounds particularly different). Also, if you were to browse my other artist pages you would notice that I generally do not review "compilations," and on the rare occasions when I do, the reviews are not nearly as detailed as my album reviews. Generally speaking, I don't like "greatest hits" or "best of collections." If the band is crappy and only has a handful of good tunes then sure, compilations are the way to go, but for groups with an extensive catalog of great material I would recommend delving into the original albums instead.

Lugnut - I tend to disagree with a lot of your KISS reviews, but not nearly as much as I imagine most diehard fans will. (My beefs had more to do with liking specific songs you hated and such - no love for Baby Driver? Blasphemy! And I'd put "I" on the 'skip it' list of The Elder and move pretty much the rest of the album to the 'play it' column. And I'd have to put "Who Wants to Be Lonely" on Asylum's play it list too... OK I'll stop now....)
But that aside, I'd call it a selection of well-written reviews, though sometimes it seems maybe you're expecting a little too much in terms of some sort of serious musical statement. This is KISS, after all.
By the way, these had me cracking up:

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...as well as the dark album finale 'Black Diamond,' which proves that drummer Peter Criss has a fairly decent rock and roll voice (although the coda is absolutely dreadful, with the engineer slowing down the tape until the band sounds like an unidentifiable gastric disease).

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KISS without makeup is not exactly the most attractive of visual propositions: Gene Simmons looks like an escaped sex offender with a bad toupee (which, to a certain extent, he is)

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...while the latter tune is easily the stupidest thing that ever popped out of Paul Stanley's ass - and I literally mean it fell out of his colon.

Ian's Music Reviews - Thanks for the feedback!