KISS Rocks Vegas(2016)

New Release……

First of all I have teamed up with Fellow Rocker Blogger Mikey Ladano and we did a Double Shot of KISS Rocks Vegas! Two spins on it …..click the link below for some fine writing….

https://mikeladano.com

Silly Demon and Silly Starchild and more importantly Silly Deke’s! Why you ask? Thanks for asking and I will tell you all why right now!

So when  KISS as they always do in the Hype Department  were plugging their latest release KISS Rocks Vegas  I scoffed at it!  Seriously though another album with the Same OL Same OL?!

We all know by now that Kiss Live albums are  fixed and stitched up in the studio than sent out to the shops where Deke’s will split with his hard-earned cash and drop yet another dollar sum into Gene and Paul’s Bank Of Zillion’s! (Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer are on the payroll so they aren’t gonna make any trouble whatsoever!)

So with that here comes KISS Rocks Vegas and  well Shocker! It wasn’t available on the music(audio) side of iTunes? Whut? Yeah of course I checked. I’m basically a 48-year-old KISS CrackHead. Whatever Gene and Paul stuff in the KISS pipe I will inhale the Kiss Smoke and do as they say!

I had to put on my thinking cap as to how I was gonna get the audio side only. Do I actually go to a store and buy the DVD and CD combo package for $24.99? GAH! I would watch the video maybe once. I just want audio!

I went to the movie side of iTunes and there it was the actual Kiss Rocks Vegas for $9.99 SD OR $12.99 HD. I figure I could buy the live video as the tracks are separated into chapters and its like having the audio ( as well the video is playing )but its on my iPod so I’m not watching the video as I’m on my bike or walking. Plus the thought of Old Man Stanley shaking his arse doesn’t do it for me…Audio it is…..

Speaking of Stanley love how he always disses The Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame in the press but yet on the Vegas clip he tells the crowd “That they’re looking at a band in the Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame” Haha.. You gotta love those Stanley raps between the song’s “Let’s Get Started!” Too give Paul his due he keeps the yapping to a bare minimum and I’m good with it..

I took yet another hit off the KISS PIPE! I pushed click and bought the damn thing!

‘Kiss Rocks Vegas’ Track Listing:
1. “Detroit Rock City”
2. “Creatures of the Night”
3. “Psycho Circus”
4. “Parasite”
5. “War Machine”
6. “Tears are Falling”
7. “Deuce”
8. “Lick it Up”
9. “I Love it Loud”
10. “Hell or Hallelujah”
11. “God of Thunder”
12. “Do You Love Me?”
13. “Love Gun”
14. “Black Diamond”
15. “Shout it Out Loud”
16. “Rock and Roll All Night

Yeah Kinda the same ol same ol as I said! (Detroit Rock City/Deuce/Love Gun/Black Diamond/Rock N Roll All Night)

Of course Kiss opens with Detroit Rock City and were off. It’s a good version but I still like the version from Alive 2  better as  the Alive 2 version of Detroit Rock City was live or not is open for debate but that was when KISS was flying on all cylinders(1977). Something to do with it being my first ever purchase live album when I was 11 also has something to do with it.

Second track Creatures Of The Night kicks ass and it’s so good the tempo Stanleys voice seems like it’s in good shape a little wear and tear but man KISS is on fire here. Cool Drum action by Singer.

Psycho Circus/Parasite/War Machine and especially Tears Are Falling are played at  a top-notch level. Well……. by Kiss’ standards of top-notch! Tommy Thayer plays some decent licks throughout the show! Dude has his shit together and it shows. Thayer of course keeps the Ace sounding solos sounding like Ace but before everyone goes nutso remember  there are more than a few KISS studio tracks out there that everyone thought it was Ace but it really wasn’t! (Hired Guns to play like Ace,get paid and  to keep your mouth shut)

I Love It Loud/Lick It Up(with a snippet  The Who’s Won’t Get Fooled tossed in for good measure)/God Of Thunder ( played at a slower lumbering pace which suits it fine is exceptional! )are also performed well. It’s hard to say if KISS actually fixed this thing up or left it alone. I’m tending to think they did not monkey round too much in the studio as at times Stanley’s voice drops a bit while Simmons sounds a little strained at times making it sound like an warts n all live album! Actually the production has a little rawness/bit of an edge to it! That is unheard of on KISS live albums!

To be totally honest I can’t really listen to yet another live version of Rock N Roll All Night of course I know the deal that IT has to be played but for a fan like myself who’s been listening to KISS for almost 40 years!( Holeeeeee Sheeeeeit) I just don’t want to hear it ..

Thank Goodness Gene and Paul didn’t put Singer doing Beth on the live version I mean I see if you buy the deluxe Rocks Vegas on the acoustic portion which is an added bonus( I didn’t get it so I can’t comment on the performance in case you’re wondering) Beth is done acoustically which come on guys Beth is Peter Criss’ track. (KISS did the same move back in 1988 when they got Eric Carr(RIP) to sing Beth on the Smashes/Thrashes/Hits compilation which was a total cheap shot towards the X drummer. Poor Carr man he had too or else….) Now I see on this latest 2016 tour Singer is out in front singing Beth…..

I must add that Simmons plays some real decent bass licks on this release (check out his Bass riffing on Hell Or Hallelujah )as people are more enamoured in the fact that Gene spits blood/firebreathes but the OL Demon Buzzard steps up here man….Give him his due!

KISS Rocks Vegas is a good buy. As for the Fan boy in me when I see tunes like WarMachine/Creatures Of The Night/Parasite/God Of Thunder and Tears Are Falling added I will take a KISS hit and Exhale!