Salutations™!!
Today is the 40th anniversary of one of my favorite KISS albums, Unmasked. Now, like most of my favorite KISS albums, we have to look past the fact that these are actual KISS albums and just look at the music as a, at least, in this case, pop record. The fact that it is KISS is a whole other thing. Peter was no longer in the band and David Letterman’s drummer, Anton Fig, stood in for him. It was a whole different kind of drumming.
Here’s what I wrote about it in my KISS album rankings: Unofficially the first album after Peter’s “departure.” But, realistically, it was. Dynasty held that last thread with a Peter tune, but this was not Peter and although I could tell the drumming was different (I was 9) I didn’t know it wasn’t actually Peter until several years later. Some pan this record, a lot. But, as I’ve had to tell one person and probably a few others, don’t think of it as a hard KISS record because it certainly isn’t. Think of it as a good pop record. It has a lot of cool tunes on it if you’ll give them the chance. I always loved the cover, too.
Here’s my choice for video today. It’s not my favorite song off the album even though it was the most popular. But, this is a great version. Enjoy!
Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!
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“We’ve been holding on so tight, we’re afraid to let it go. Shake it loose, we both could use the ride. Here’s another mess I got myself in, and when you touch me you ain’t helping.” – “Shandi” (Stanley/Poncia)