Today is the 43rd anniversary of the KISS album that sits at #2 on my list. #2 but in reality it’s probably #1, Love Gun. It was my first KISS album. It was the one that was fresh (other than Alive II and the solo albums) when I discovered the band that I call my favorite of all time and that I have formulated an entire podcast, along with two of my cousins, around. I will be getting into this album more in the weeks and months ahead when we discuss it on the podcast. I’ll tell you more about that podcast later, too. Incidentally, it is also the 43rd anniversary of KISS putting their blood in the ink at the Marvel Comics printing plant. This was a “sleeper” on the album and when I was a kid, I rarely listened to it, but as I got older, I realized that this was pretty much the epitome of Gene, outside of “God of Thunder” (which oddly enough, he didn’t write, Paul did). I really love this tune and it seems this is the second time they did it live, so Paul says. Enjoy!
Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!
— “I’m almost human, can’t help feeling strange. The moon is out, I think I’m gonna change. You’re so smooth and tender, a living, breathing dream. I’ve got to have you, baby, I’m listening for your scream. (I’m almost human) I’m almost a man.” – “Almost Human” (Simmons)
So, I’m backdating this for yesterday, but full disclosure, I am writing this on Thursday. The internet in our house was out yesterday from around 245p and didn’t come back on until around 10p. Yeah, that’s time to get a blog post in but I had everything else I had to get to that I missed while the ‘net was down. Anywhat! I am still drawing from Thursday for this post because, frankly, there wasn’t anything I wanted to talk about from Wednesday. So, “tomorrow” will be the 38th anniversary of Peter Criss’ second true solo album, Let Me Rock You. I will be completely honest with you, here… I’ve never heard anything from this album. But, it has a lot of guest writers (duh) and guest players. I mean Gene wrote a song for this – and Peter had been gone for a few years at this point. Vini Poncia produced it, but he did Peter’s 1978 KISS “solo album,” Dynasty and Unmasked. That’s important because Vini had a bit to do with Peter leaving the band because his playing wasn’t up to par and Vini kind of pushed him out and had Anton Fig in his place. This song is performed by the man (one of them) that actually wrote the song and it’s a bit different from what is on the album. And, yes, that is Vincent Cusano, aka Vinnie Vincent. Enjoy!
Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!
— “A master of the beat, you got my number in your hands. A killer on the streets. you got your, your action plan. But somewhere in your heart, there must be a place for me, ’cause, sweetheart, I think I see.” – “Tears” (Cusano/Mitchell)
Another Saturday passes that we didn’t get to darken the door of Underdog Records. That doesn’t mean Underdog isn’t busy. Heck no! Jonathan is running himself ragged to make deliveries and has extended the reach to Greensboro, High Point and other places. So, definitely watch the Underdog Records Facebook and Instagram and watch what he’s releasing. Purchasing is first-come-first-serve so be on the lookout. Also, you can purchase new vinyl anytime day or night on the website. If you’re outside of the delivery area or just don’t want Jonathan to drop stuff off at your door, then he offers “unlimited” LPs (I’m sure it’s a little limited) for a flat rate $4.
This week’s “listens” were abundant. 22 albums I got through from Monday-Friday.
And, per usual, this week’s streaming listens comes from Discogs’ shuffle feature and it has to be an album that I own on vinyl (outside of peripheral things like Beeswax Vinyl & More listens), that way it’s like listening to my vinyl but with headphones from my computer whilst The BCPF works 10 feet away. Here’s the list (this is in order of listens):
Whew! A long listening list indeed! It was spread out, too. The BCPF remarked how I went from Streisand to Megadeth. It worked. I love Streisand and I’m not afraid to admit that. But, I was ready for something heavy after having gone through The Mamas and the Papas and Streisand back to back. It worked, as I said.
Well, yesterday, here’s what The BCPF and I listened to, actually on vinyl:
All-in-all, it was a great listening week. I just hope to get into Underdog Records soon to rummage through the used vinyl.
Again, check out Underdog Records’ social and web stuffs. Buy records. Use Discogs to keep track of your collection and use it’s groovy (see what I did there) shuffle feature.
Until tomorrow, keep spinnin’…
Scorp out!
— “I was seventeen, you were just a dream. I was mesmerized, I felt scared inside. You broke my heart and I still can feel the pain. I’ve been counted out, I’ve had fear and doubt. I’ve been starry-eyed, never satisfied. Because late at night I still need you just the same.” – “Sure Know Something” (Stanley/Poncia)
Today is the 41st anniversary of KISS’ Dynasty album. I have, of course, written about it before. You can actually read my account of it here. Since it’s a “Sounds Like Saturday” post, I’ll just post a tune. Hahbahdat? This is one of my faves on the album and it’s from before Paul lost his powerful voice. He still holds up today but he’s showing like a 70-year old that has sung with power (perhaps pushing it too far) for his entire life. Anywhat! Enjoy!
It’s also the sixth anniversary of KISS 40 which was a compilation album to commemorate the 40 years of KISS. That’s all I’m going to mention of that.
Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!
— “And in the night in the crowd, she’ll be there as she prances by your watch. While your dreams fade away.” – “Magic Touch” (Stanley)
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!
— “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)
Like I said last night, today is the 28th anniversary of KISS’ Revenge album. I wrote this for my “KISS album rankings last year: Released after Eric Carr’s passing, KISS went into “heavy mode” to right the wrongs that their direction had taken. The did the same in 1982, yes, 10 years earlier. It’s like they had started to veer and needed to correct. The album is a monster (more so than the one actually titled that) and while there are heavy tunes, there are also some Paul cheese. Paul cheese generally isn’t a bad thing. It’s just that, cheese. The album that the Alive III tour was recorded for, I saw this tour and it was great!
KISS brought in Bob Ezrin to produce this album. Ezrin was, before this, producer of the band’s most popular and most ridiculed albums, Destroyer and Music From ‘The Elder,’ respectively. He was tough on them for Destroyer and was so drug-ridden for ‘Elder’ that the album was a disaster. The disaster wasn’t his fault, completely, but it didn’t help. Apparently, he cleaned up and had new vim and lit a fire under the band for their tribute to Eric Carr. One of my favorite non-makeup albums with some great non-makeup tunes. But, like my assessment was last year, there was a fair amount of cheese, too. I like cheese. Some of that cheese, right here from the same concert that they recorded Alive III from. Enjoy!
Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!
— “I got a body built for sin and an appetite for passion. Yeah I can see the road to ruin and I’m lookin’ for some action. I got my finger on the trigger and a match to the fuse. I’ll make someone an offer that’s too big to refuse. Tired of tryin’ to be what I’ll never be, baby, you could never see that I don’t want a romance, I don’t want to dance, I just want to forget you. Time to take my chances, find somebody new. I just want to for (fuh), I just want to for (fuh), I just want to forget you.” – “I Just Wanna” (Stanley/Vincent)
Today is the 27th anniversary of KISS Alive III. Does this “live” album give me the same feelings that Alive! and Alive II gave me? Well, yes, actually. But, in a totally different way. As I’ve said before, I didn’t get to see any concerts until 1990 (right before my 20th birthday) and it was KISS on the Hot in the Shade tour. That was Eric Carr’s last tour.
For the Revenge album that came out in 1992 (its anniversary is tomorrow), KISS came to Charlotte and Fayettville in NC for that tour, but I missed both of those. So, my friend Fred “Seven” Goza and I drove to Greenville, SC to see them on “Election Day” in 1992. That day Bill Clinton beat Bush I. I had joined a band called The Blue the week before this, Fred was in that band.
Fred and I rode down without buying any tickets ahead of time. We got to the Greenville Memorial Auditorium, which was actually kind of small with only a 7500 person capacity, stood in a long line to get to the ticket counter, wondering if we’d even be able to get tix, and then when we got there, got two GA (that’s general admission) tix for the floor for $10. Heck, the fees for tix today is twice that.
Trixter and Jackyl were the openers. It was the only night for the whole tour that Jackyl was the second band. Two nights later, in Atlanta, Great White joined Trixter as the openers. Three nights prior it was Faster Pussycat and Trixter. I would have much rather seen either Faster Pussycat or Great White than Jackyl. I have never been a fan of them or Jesse James DuPree. Oddly enough, I had to sit through JJD when he opened for Queensryche in Raleigh several years later. Anywhat! I was bored with Jackyl. Trixter was pretty good, though. And, oddly enough (again) with that, two members of Trixter is now in a non-makeup KISS Kover band in which I played their “debut” song in Friday’s video. Heck even before all of that Danger Danger was the opener in the second part of the tour. I loved them on the first show I saw KISS. I’d have dug seeing them.
KISS came on and rocked the house. Alive III was recorded Black Friday weekend in Cleveland, Detroit and Indianapolis. Just a few weeks after I saw them. I kind of wished they would have done what they did with the first two live albums and only had the songs in which fit the era they were in. But, I get why they didn’t. They had to have stuff to appease the “purists.” I think these are very good performances, overdubbed or not. On that, to my knowledge, the only song we know wasn’t “live” was “I Was Made for Lovin’ You” which, like “Hard Luck Woman” and “Tomorrow and Tonight” were recorded during soundcheck with crowd noise laid on top. I don’t care, it still rocked.
Do I think it is as good as the first two? Maybe. Did it have the same energy? Certainly not as raw as the first and not at their height like II, but its own groove. Do I think I am in the majority? Nope. But, remember, my KISS tastes are weird compared to most others’. Anywhat, this is the song I chose for today. It is one of my favorite post-Alive II songs from one of my favorite post-Alive II albums. This is from one of those recorded shows, although I don’t think this is the version (unedited) that ended up on Alive III. Enjoy!
Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!
— “I am the incubus. I lay the egg in you. The worm that burrows through your brain. But you are the beast that calls me by my name. You send your children to war to serve bastards and whores. So now you know, you created me on the day that you were born.” – “Unholy” (Simmons/Vincent)
Today is the 46th anniversary of KISS. The band started in 1973 but this album came out on February 18, 1974. Only eight months older than its successor, Hotter Than Hell which was only five months before its successor, Dressed To Kill. This isn’t my top KISS album but came in at #3 on my rankings (you can read “Part I” or “Part II” of my ranking list by clicking those links). It had the lion’s share of the spots on the first Alive! album, too (7 of the 16 tracks were from this album).
Instead of looking out for some half-good cover version, I’m pulling out one of the most famous videos of this song. It was the version featured in the KISS Xposed video and is with Gene doing the blood thing. It rocks! Enjoy!
Until tomorrow, keep KISSin’!
Scorp out!
— “And baby, won’t you let me? I think I’m going out of my head. I’m just about to, ooh yeah!” – “100,000 Years” (Stanley/Simmons)
I had told Jonathan that The BCPF and I wouldn’t be coming to Underdog Records for the Record Store Day – Black Friday event, and technically, we weren’t there at the opening for the bum-rush doorbuster event, but we did wait until about noon and went by and the store had settled down. We still found pretty much all we would have gotten had we gotten there in the wee hours of the evening, which surprised us. If this had been the April version of RSD, I would have camped out and been one of the first three in the line and in the door. But, since we went on Friday and spent a good bit of money we didn’t go on Saturday, so this reflects Friday and two that I got on Wednesday. Here ya go:
Cheap Trick – Are You Ready? Live 12/31/1979 — This is supposedly an infamous show from The Forum in Los Angeles, New Year’s Eve 1979. The “supposedly” is the infamous part. The hype sticker states it’s from a few different mixes and the first few songs in the set are really crappy production. The sonic quality picks up after the first little bit. Robin Zander’s voice, which I’ve always found strong was a bit shaky in some spots, too. I think they had played a few shows before and he needed a break. Still, it sounds pretty good overall; lots of energy. It was an RSD exclusive, limited to 3500 copies worldwide, and I picked up the last one that Jonathan had. 2xLP. New.
John Linnell – State Songs — One half of They Might Be Giants, John Linnell, plays a lot of original songs about 15 different states and one about all 50. I’m a fan of TMBG but sometimes they’re a bit much for me to take. I think this is good for comedic purposes but overall? I didn’t really think it was that great. RSD exclusive, first time on vinyl on green-marbled wax, limited to 1500 copies worldwide. New.
Frehley’s Comet – Live… — Not to be confused with Live+1 that came out in 1988, which was recorded in Chicago in 1987 and had two live KISS tunes (Ace’s) and two live from Frehley’s Comet’s self-titled debut and one studio demo track. This was recorded in March 1988 in London and has all the live tracks from the previously mentioned EP along with “Cold Gin” and “Shock Me.” This also had Jamie Oldaker playing drums instead of Anton Fig. A really good sounding recording. I don’t know how many more songs they did and if these were the only ones that made it, or if he only did six songs…? RSD “first,” limited to 2700 copies worldwide, first time on vinyl; orange. New.
Jeff Buckley – Live At KCRW: Morning Becomes Eclectic — I will say again that when the world lost Jeff Buckley, we lost a true musical genius and talent. His ability to jump his voice from heavy to heavenly at the drop of a hat was amazing. This EP has five songs done at KCRW sometime in the 90s. RSD exclusive limited to 3750 copies worldwide. New.
John Coltrane – A Love Supreme: The Complete Masters — #47 on the RS list, this is a 3xLP reissue from 2015 that I purchased on Wednesday. Coltrane is a “local boy done good.” He was born in Hamlet, NC in the south-central part of the state and grew up in High Point, just down the road from WSNC. This version includes the original album, a quartet session and a sextet session. Good stuff. VG+.
The Rolling Stones – Love You Live — Love You Live was recorded on the “Tour of Americas” from 1975, the “Tour of Europe” in 1976 and from the El Mocambo nightclub concert venue in Toronto in 1977. It was overdubbed and mixed from late May to mid-June 1977. So, I didn’t think they could have done that good of a job live. But, the final result was pretty good considering it is the Stones and it is a “live” album. VG+.
Heart – Greatest Hits / Live — This is a compilation album of greatest hits, live recordings and new tracks released in 1980. I like Heart. I’ll probably like this. VG+.
Streetband Featuring Paul Young – Streetband Featuring Paul Young — I get the feeling that this was a record company money grab as it “features” Paul Young. This is before “Every Time You Go Away,” before “Come Back and Stay,” even before the Q-Tips. His time in Streetband wasn’t very long in the late 1970s. But, he has a great voice, let’s hear how this works out, eh? 2xLP. VG+.
Marty Balin – Balin — The other LP that I picked up on Wednesday. Every time I hear “Hearts,” I think of my friend Jim Young. I really don’t know why other than we once had a conversation about it. Same with “Personally” from Karla Bonoff. But, this, Balin’s debut solo album after Jefferson Starship, has “Hearts” and it was only $2 and was in NM condition, although I give the outer sleeve VG++.
John Philip Sousa – The Music Of John Philip Sousa On Parade — We say the Piedmont Wind Symphony do Sousa songs early last month and we never knew how much style was in those marches. I thought of them as being boring but one we saw it live, I can’t say that any longer. The BCPF picked this one out. It’s from the National Geographic Society. VG+.
Jonathan said that the Record Store Day – Black Friday Edition was a success, even more than he expected. He did a great job getting it all set up and we are all thankful that he provides us record collectors with a “candy store” we can be proud of. Underdog Records has a good selection of used stereo equipment for sale and don’t forget gift certificates, they come on old 45s. Listen to each new episode of The Less Desirables to hear the TLD/UR special of the week/month. Also, use Discogs to track your music collection no matter the format (other than digital and maybe even then).
Until tomorrow, keep spinnin’…
Scorp out!
— “Hearts can break and never mend together. Love can fade away. Hearts can cry when love won’t stay forever. Hearts can be that way.” – “Hearts” (Barish)
Yesterday was the 28th anniversary of not one but two major rock stars (at least in my mind). Let’s get the big elephant out of the way, first. Usually, I wait for this one and focus on the other and I will, still. The big one was Freddie Mercury, the first major music star to pass away from HIV/AIDS. Not long after there was a huge benefit/memorial concert that featured a star-studded lineup paying tribute to Freddie. It was a great show and he deserved it.
But, the one that meant more to me was the passing on the same exact day of Eric Carr, the drummer (still my favorite) of (again, still my favorite) KISS. I had had the flu on my birthday, four days prior and I took Nyquil and while I did “sleep” it was like I was in a comatose, half-awake state. I dreamt in green. I dreamt that Eric Carr had passed away. I had read that he had been sick but I didn’t know that he was that sick. He died of an aneurysm and complications of brain cancer.
The news had swirled around all day on MTV about Freddie’s passing. I had gone to the liquor store, as again, I had the flu on my birthday. It was my 21st birthday. So, I hadn’t yet felt like going to legally purchase alcohol for the first time. I didn’t know what to buy as I had never been to a liquor store before. I recognized the name Wild Turkey, so I bought that. I also went to the grocery store and bought a 2 liter of Moutain Dew.
I was settled in my bedroom/living room (still at Ma Rents’ house, much to their chagrin, I’m sure) and watching MTV when it came through that Eric had passed away. I stared at the TV and didn’t think about the dreaming until the next day. I pushed the Mt Dew out of the way and started taking huge chugs of Turkey.
Somehow, I ended up in my bathtub and the girlfriend I had at the time found me there. It was bad. I didn’t have a hangover. I’ve never had one.
But that was a huge day in KISStory and not one of the good ones. I have thought a lot about Eric and what would have happened over time if he had lived. Would the original lineup have gotten back together? I don’t think they would have. Perhaps with Ace, probably not with the makeup. I don’t know this for sure, but no one does. We never got to that point.
RIP Eric and Freddie. We miss the heck out of you both.
Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!
— “I can’t wait to get out. It’s been much too long, I don’t like being home. I’d rather play. This tour is going to be really big. We’re gonna have the biggest show we can have. It’s gonna be different not like the old KISS shows.” – Eric Carr
