KISS -- Dressed to Kill

Dressed to Kill has always been a favorite KISS of mine. It's noted for its very short run time (fifteen minutes each side and almost no guitar solos). The cover isn't one of the most attractive I've seen (the guys are wearing business suits and posing on a street corner in New York), but the songs are awesome. Two of them, Love Her All I Can and She are songs from Wicked Lester Days (a band Paul and Gene were in together) and appeared on the Wicked Lester album.

Paul and Gene hated the Wicked Lester album so much they scraped together the money and bought the rights to the album back from the record company, who panned to release it when KISS started hitting, just so the album would never be see the light of day. Happily, they saw fit to use two of the tunes, which turned out excellent on the Dressed to Kill..

Dressed to Kill also features a killer Peter Criss vocal on a song penned by Ace Frehley called Getaway. Two kick ass Gene Simmons tracks, Ladies in Waiting and Two Timer are also present. Paul puts in top notch performances with Anything for My Baby and one of my favorite tracks, Room Service.

The album also features Rock Bottom, C'mon and Love Me (which became a big KISS classic, and, of course, Rock and Roll All Nite (which hit its stride on the Alive album).

The album was rushed because KISS were on tour and being urged to keep the records coming out at the same time, hence the inclusion of a couple tracks already written and the short running time of the songs. What could have been a big mistake turned out, I think, to be one of KISS' jewels.

KISS Behind the Mask: The Official Authorized Biography

I've read this book so many times I almost have it memorized. KISS Behind the Mask: The Official Authorized Biography by David Leaf and Ken Sharp is really two books in one, both collected together in to create the ultimate KISS book for KISS fans. The first third of the book (the biography part) was written by David Leaf in 1979, at a time when the original members of the band were still together and the tides of the KISS waves had yet to turn. The narrative takes a pull-no-punches approach and is not just some glossed-over glamorous take on who KISS is. There's a lot to be discovered here, even by the most die-hard KISS fan, and some of it is quite surprising.

The last part of the book (maybe my favorite part) is an album by album, song by song breakdown added by Ken Sharp and augmented with comments from the guys in the band and others involved with KISS at the time of each of the albums. The book covers every record beginning with the Wicked Lester album and going all the way up to Carnival of Souls: the Final Sessions. This part of the book is essential reading not only for KISS fans, but for songwriters in general. The insight into how every song was written, how the albums were made, and what everybody involved thought at the time is just incredible.

For instance, the guys in KISS rate all of the albums on a scale of one to five. It's interesting to read what they think of each album and what they rate them, particularly when they rate each others' solo albums.

I can't stress this enough, if you are a musician or songwriter (and any sort of KISS fan), reading Ken Sharp's portion of this book is essential and you'll find it enjoyable.

There are two covers for this book. The first is the print version. The second is the e-book version. I have a copy of the book in both editions. If you are a KISS fan or a musician/songwriter that likes a real behind-the-scenes look at the process of a band as big as KISS, you have to grab a copy of KISS Behind the Mask: The Official Authorized Biography. You'll read it more than once.

Individual Kisses

Kiss Solo Covers

Does anybody remember 1978 and the KISS solo albums? Of course you do. This marked the first time in rock history that all members of a band would release solo albums on the same day. Although the albums were solo (none of the members played on each others' album), the albums were released collectively as KISS albums. The goal was to give band members a platform for expressing themselves musically outside of KISS while maintaining a group project feel. How wise a decision this was is up for debate. Some fans believe it was the beginning of the end for the original line-up. It doesn't matter. These albums are classic.

If you were a die-hard KISS fan at the time, the solo records were something to drool about. I did my fair share of slobbering and had to wipe the album covers clean numerous times.

The question is this: Which of the solo albums was your favorite or which do you feel was best? I loved Ace's the most when the solo records came out, but over the years I have loved and grown to appreciate each of the records on its own terms. If you ask me which is my favorite today and then ask me next week, you are likely to get two different answers.

For now:

Paul Stanley.                          

Gene Simmons

Ace Frehley

Peter Criss

Paul's record was the most KISS-like in sound. Ace was my favorite dude in KISS at the time, hence his solo album was my favorite. If Ace hadn't been my favorite KISS member, it's likely Paul's solo album would have been my favorite. No musical acrobatics here, but there doesn't have to be. Songs like It's Alright, Wouldn't You Like to Know Me, Move On, and the cool ballad Hold Me, Touch Me speak for themselves.

Gene's record was odd for me at the time. I liked most of the stuff on it, but I was still too young and too much into the KISS sound to appreciate True Confessions, Burning up with Fever and Gene's rendition of When You Wish Upon a Star. I understand them better now. I can certainly dig the uptempo ballads like Mr. Make Believe, See You Tonight, and Always Near You/Nowhere to Hide as well as the gritty grind of Radioactive and Living in Sin.

Since I thought Ace was the coolest guy in the group, his album was my favorite by default. It wasn't just that, though. Rip It Out, Speedin' back to My Baby, What's on Your Mind, and New York Groove were near masterpieces. A couple of the songs on Ace's album could have been KISS songs, but he got a little further away from the sound than Paul did. Good stuff for sure.

Peter's album is the last on my list, but that doesn't mean I don't like it. Peter strayed farthest from the KISS sound and was booed for the effort by KISS fans. Wasn't that the point, to express yourself musically outside of KISS? Peter did a stunning job of that and ended up with the least successful of the solo records. Although his album is last on my list today, it has been at the top of my list on other occasions. There are some beautiful songs here. I Can't Stop the Rain and Easy Thing are wonderful ballads, Hooked on Rock 'N' Roll and Rock Me, Baby are ass-kicking foot stompers, and That's the Kinda Sugar Papa Likes and I'm Gonna Love You burst with an R&B groove that keeps you moving. It's always been claimed that Pete is tone deaf and can't sing in tune. I have never heard him out of tune and I love the tone of his voice.

Let me see your comments. Which KISS do you like best?