Impact Albums: KISS-Lick It Up(1983)

 

Ok so if you want the full breakdown track by track review of this album just search for it around these parts at  your pleasure as I’m to lazy to link it!

It’s amazing how after 35 years KISS’ 1983 release Lick It Up has grown on me kinda like a slow-growing fungus that enters one body yet takes decades for a diagnosis.  In this case for me it’s this album.

Lemme explain …

Being in my early teens in 1983 there was so much music out. So much being released. So many  Rock magazines to be purchased it was insane! How the Hell did I keep up?

So as everyone knows KISS ditches the makeup to jumpstart a career that quite frankly is in the toilet especially in North America where the previous years Creatures of the Night album and tour had a hard time selling tickets.( I will go on record and say watch for another instalment of Impact Records on Creatures)

So KISS does a kickstart on the career as they were probably at that point in the early to mid 30’s age wise  and I’m certain that Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons though they will never admit it were having a mid-life crisis!

A crisis as by now both original members Ace Frehley and Peter Criss were long gone! New Six String Shredder Vinnie Vincent was causing all kinds of stress over contracts meaning money while the late great drummer Eric Carr was a good soldier. Knew his role and kept his trap shut!

So KISS comes out firing with the lead off single Lick It Up and we all bought it up! Tbone even was onboard and purchased this right away on cassette tape! KISS did the imaginable and made Tbone a believer. In Hard Rock Heavy 1983 with bands like Def Leppard and Quiet Riot dominating radio play KISS cut through like a hot knife through butter(HA) and cracked the Top 40 with the song Lick It Up! (Got to #32 in Canada no doubt led by Tbone!)

The album itself is Fantastic. Big Riffs of Guitar Rock emulating from the fretboard of Vincent and other session guitarists that were not credited. Big Dumbo Rock Lyrics from Stanley and Simmons while Carr just kept the beat going forward with this drums!

I mean look at those song titles posted above! KISS is writing for the Teenage Wasteland which I was part of circa 1983! KISS ramped it up ten fold here folks. I mean do you recall watching the videos of Lick it Up and All Hell’s Breaking Loose? KISS goes all Mad Max post apocalypse as they strut around and Big Mean Gene chows down and spits out some kind of Bone like configuration in the ‘All Hell’s’ video! Man who thought of this back than? I was aged 15 going on 16 and thought these vids were goofy! Who thinks of these concepts? Oh yeah Cocaine I guess!

Silly vids aside Lick It Up has indeed stood the test of time. Vinnie Vincent though no matter what Gene and Starchild say lit a spark under their ass and notched their songs up  into hard rock ville!

So a few months back I scored Lick It Up on vinyl and really was blown away at actually how well this album has aged in the KISS ranks even though there’s that goofy line of clever and lunacy in some of the lyrics(Gimme More/Fits Like A Glove) some brilliant like straight ahead Hard Rock Tracks(Exciter/Not For The Innocent) and one glowing track that should have a hit single that is Pure Gold(Million To One)

Funny thing is the title track to me is the weakest song on here. I mean KISS has flogged this tune since the day of its release so to be fair I’m done with it. When I spin this album I don’t skip the song which would be silly. On my iPod if it comes on I do skip it!

Great thing about writing about these guys is that everyone has a opinon on them. KISS though back in 1983 were glad to be back and to have an audience. Not that the two Moneybags in the band would admit that!