Music Banter - View Single Post - KISS- why not retire??

Screen13 · 08-31-2013, 03:24 PM

Re: this whole Zeppelin/Kiss stuff happening here...
Paul's point taken, and added with tricks Jimmy Page learned while he was a Yardbird, but in the end with better albums later on, Zeppelin had the wattage, swagger, and kick ass drumming that formed a sound that was like a brute who you knew would win the fight. Zeppelin 1 was the Blues-print for what happened next - a warm up that was already heating up (sorry for the very bad pun, but there it is).

Kiss were just as derivative, more so in my opinion, but instead were Exploitation Movie Directors about it by taking things and rearranging them from the title and maybe reversing the riffs and covering it up in the circus show manner that would get attention. They developed their inner CEOs on that first album enough not to go beyond loud stomping songs about back stage sex and teen dreams - when they did, they may have showed their true talents, but lost their listeners. The best songwriting plan was to take a song they knew had elements that would make a good simple song, even if it's just the title filled with calculated riffs that obviosuly were influenced from somewhere lese and turn it into their own - As for turning titles into their own songs: Think Springsteen's "Sandy" and turn it into "Shandi", think the Move's "Fire Brigade" and turn it into "Firehouse" and so on - Paul Stanley even admitted to that strategy on their second set of their DVD collection. Kiss may have wrote most of their stuff (although at times they did enlist the help of established songwriters like Kim Fowley on "King of the Night Time World" and Desmond Child on several others), but it was strictly in the grand tradition of Bubblegum on steroids - no wonder why Neil Bogart took a liking to them. Their debut was the blue print for them just repeating themselves through the next few albums. Good ones that require no brain power to get into, but still very repetitive - you get what you pay for.

My opinions - What about the ballad "Beth"? - To me it's kind of like a Rocker's version of a Barry Manilow style. Going Disco on "I Was Made For Loving You" co written with Desmond Child? I view it as a Banana Splits song took to Studio 54.

Same swipe, but different ways of applying that swipe. Not a criticism or complaint, just an observation.

08-31-2013, 03:24 PM	#457 (permalink)
Screen13 Music Addict Join Date: Jan 2010 Posts: 1,388	Re: this whole Zeppelin/Kiss stuff happening here... Paul's point taken, and added with tricks Jimmy Page learned while he was a Yardbird, but in the end with better albums later on, Zeppelin had the wattage, swagger, and kick ass drumming that formed a sound that was like a brute who you knew would win the fight. Zeppelin 1 was the Blues-print for what happened next - a warm up that was already heating up (sorry for the very bad pun, but there it is). Kiss were just as derivative, more so in my opinion, but instead were Exploitation Movie Directors about it by taking things and rearranging them from the title and maybe reversing the riffs and covering it up in the circus show manner that would get attention. They developed their inner CEOs on that first album enough not to go beyond loud stomping songs about back stage sex and teen dreams - when they did, they may have showed their true talents, but lost their listeners. The best songwriting plan was to take a song they knew had elements that would make a good simple song, even if it's just the title filled with calculated riffs that obviosuly were influenced from somewhere lese and turn it into their own - As for turning titles into their own songs: Think Springsteen's "Sandy" and turn it into "Shandi", think the Move's "Fire Brigade" and turn it into "Firehouse" and so on - Paul Stanley even admitted to that strategy on their second set of their DVD collection. Kiss may have wrote most of their stuff (although at times they did enlist the help of established songwriters like Kim Fowley on "King of the Night Time World" and Desmond Child on several others), but it was strictly in the grand tradition of Bubblegum on steroids - no wonder why Neil Bogart took a liking to them. Their debut was the blue print for them just repeating themselves through the next few albums. Good ones that require no brain power to get into, but still very repetitive - you get what you pay for. My opinions - What about the ballad "Beth"? - To me it's kind of like a Rocker's version of a Barry Manilow style. Going Disco on "I Was Made For Loving You" co written with Desmond Child? I view it as a Banana Splits song took to Studio 54. Same swipe, but different ways of applying that swipe. Not a criticism or complaint, just an observation. Last edited by Screen13; 08-31-2013 at 03:55 PM.