Great discussion! I loathed this album at first (college years). To me it wasn’t a KISS record, it was KISS desperately trying to be something else. As an adult, I appreciate it a lot more. In hindsight, I kind of wish the reunion would have happened, and then KISS returned to this lineup. I love the Kulick / Singer years. I love to imagine how a follow up, straight ahead rock record would have sounded like. At the end of the day, it all happens for a reason. Merry Christmas to you all. Take care.
A very interesting and honest discussion guys!!! 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼 COS is not an album I listen to very much, but now I’m going to listen to it!!! I loved the Double Platinum discussion at the end!! That was 1 of my first KISS records!!!
Y'know Jason, I think you and I tend to be akin in terms of our musical tastes towards KISS and a lot of other things you've mentioned liking over the years....I don't get caught up in some of the hang-ups others have about whether or not KISS was "chasing trends" or expecting everything KISS does to sound like it belongs on Alive!, Creatures, or Revenge. Like yourself, I grew up appreciating all of the changes KISS went through, while I didn't love every song or every album equally I did at least feel that KISS always kept it interesting. And it's a part of why the band stayed such a favorite of mine for so many years, because they had such an interesting catalog that it was difficult to ever get bored with it....there was always something to suit whatever mood I was in. Sometimes I feel like people like yourself (and me as well) have to constantly defend the fact that we like albums like The Elder or Unmasked or Carnival..., and it gets tiresome because I feel like these other people have this attitude like, "How can you be so stupid as to think those albums are good?" Whereas my attitude tends to be, "How can you be so narrow-minded and limited in your tastes and expectations that you can't appreciate this more?" Ultimately, the music I like and enjoy isn't predicated on what others think of it and whether they concur. It's nice to find kindred spirits who enjoy what you enjoy but whether they love or hate it doesn't change how I feel about it. I love Carnival Of Souls, there are riffs and melodies and ideas on that album that I found to be some of the most interesting and exciting stuff they'd done in years. And I've had to endure 25+ years of people telling me I'm wrong about that. *shrug* Well whatever, I love it all the same.
"The people would have turned the lighters on themselves!" That is just the best statement ever! Had me laughing out loud in the car..... I had to replay it for a second laugh. Fantastic episode, guys! Master and Slave & In My Head are by far my favorite songs on the album.... Go ahead, tear me apart LOL I really think, other than the album suffering from a poor mix, a better sequencing of the album may have made it way more enjoyable..... Opening with master and slave
Jason, look at the checklist page for Alive! At the very top, it erroneously has a heading for Dressed To Kill, and has 2 records listed under that heading. It is one of those 2. And there is a picture of the label in volume 1
I agree with Nicholas on the title. It makes sense to me that they would call it “Final” since versions were already on the bootleg market and people may have ignored it thinking they already had it. Calling it “The Final Sessions” makes it sound like something you may not have.
Jason's shirt is awesome! White, hard to find. Look's like hanging those poster's was time consuming, perfect. I got so lucky on Ebay 75bucks Taste of Platinum about 8 year's ago, the seller said he screwed up on listing somehow but completed sale.
First time finding this channel, and a great topic! I'm a lifelong KISS fan who has accepted every album they've ever done (even though the 1st 3 albums sound better as Alive!) including Dynasty, Unmasked and The Elder, but I've HATED this album from day 1 til today! I think I've only listened to it in full once and that was more than enough. KISS is supposed to be fun, and even Gene's darker songs (GoT, Unholy to name a couple) have an element of fun, but this thing is just a depressing, slogging sludge of an album to get through. I skip every single one of these songs and move on to Psycho Circus!!
Talking about this being a perfect bookend to The Elder, I always thought "I Will Be There" sounds like it would fit naturally on the Elder. I think it even fits the storyline.
I like when you guys do these episodes. Skip or plays have been a part of my life since I was a kid. You only had a certain amount of space on a cassette or CDr so you had to sacrifice songs. I remember getting this album on cassette on a bootleg and it played at too slow of a speed and it didn't include "I walk alone". I didn't hear it until after the CD came out. I like this album. I saw it musically as a natural progression from "Revenge". It's a shame Kiss ended their musical output on those last three albums, "Psycho Circus", "Sonic Boom", and "Monster". I like this album more than their last two albums. If Gene attempted to make a "grunge" album, he failed miserably. It doesn't sound like it at all. I've always seen this album as just a hard rock or metal album. Hopefully you guys make a video like this for every Kiss album. It's so much fun to watch and listen to.
D: "I'm gonna die on that hill." J: "I hope so." And the award for Best Troll On One's Own Podcast goes to... 😂💀😂 Fuckin' spicy, boys! Another fun episode dedicated to another weird KIϟϟ album; I don't love Carnival like I love The Elder, but they do attract me for some of the same reasons. Which can also be said for my favorite KIϟϟ podcasts, so keep making these!❤️🤘🏻
This album would have made more of an impact if it was released with the original artwork. The flaming head was ultimately shelved and used for a Queen Latifah album later on.
So far, I’ve watched the skip or play for this album, The Elder and Unmasked. And Joe seems to hate all three. You guys should let Joe pick the next one for this series so he can pick an album he actually likes. Otherwise people are gonna think he just hates KISS. lol.
So why did Kiss chase this trend? Well, let me see. Revenge was a commercial failure. The tour was a commercial failure. What music was popular? Seems logical, however, for most bands, usually when they chase a trend that is so out of their zone it can be detrimental. Could it have succeeded? Possibly. When Jungle came out there was quite a bit of airplay with no real cash push. Hate was a viable song for release as were a few others.
I don't hate any of the songs enough to skip them, but I don't enjoy playing the whole album in one sitting. It's just too downbeat, plodding and drawn out, so I often get halfway through and jump to the end. I Walk Alone and Hate are both essential Kiss songs for me. I really dislike It Never Goes Away as a title and I'm sure that contributes to making it my least favourite song on the album. If they used another phrase from the song and called it something like Doomsday Deceivers it may not irk me so much.
lets be honest they chased the glam shit at the end of the 80s and the grunge garbage when it was over also , the 80s is proof with out their history they would have maybe got their videos played a couple times off crazy nights and hits like so many others on the headbangers ball and thats it, yeah a lot of the heroin shit bands were influenced by kiss but they wouldn't exist without the Melvins who mostly exist because of kiss , cos was cool when it was new but I cant listen to it now , depressing music about rain and the rest of the shit record isn't what kiss is, they should have done like maiden and not given a shit if the fans like it and continued to do what they wanted and the 95 convention was the best thing they did with out makeup but was proof they were at the end of the road with out putting the makeup back on
Never could get into this album. For me the songs start out sounding cool, but then comes the singing! I know, it’s crazy. I’ve tried several times to like this album. Just can’t. I don’t like any songs. I skip them all!
The Prodigy, Chemical Brothers, Basement Jaxx were huge stars in that era headlining traditional rock festivals. You missed out if you never saw them live in their prime, way more energy than most rock bands ~ Nicholas
Congratulations on 9 years of Wax! I still go back and watch the older episodes. Great fun!
Carnival is in the top 5 KISS albums to me, Masterpiece!
The only KISS podcast the matters. The only KISS podcast worth watching. Thanks for 2 in 1 month!! (And 9 years, 9 shows... sounds about right)
Thanks guys as always 🤘 i say spin it, and spin it LOUD
Welcome back, boys!! Very excited for this one!!
Great discussion! I loathed this album at first (college years). To me it wasn’t a KISS record, it was KISS desperately trying to be something else. As an adult, I appreciate it a lot more. In hindsight, I kind of wish the reunion would have happened, and then KISS returned to this lineup. I love the Kulick / Singer years. I love to imagine how a follow up, straight ahead rock record would have sounded like. At the end of the day, it all happens for a reason. Merry Christmas to you all. Take care.
I have been wondering about the ALIVE! promos in the the bible! Nice call out Dave!!
A very interesting and honest discussion guys!!! 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼 COS is not an album I listen to very much, but now I’m going to listen to it!!! I loved the Double Platinum discussion at the end!! That was 1 of my first KISS records!!!
I Will Be There was the song I danced to at my wedding for the Mother/Son dance.
The Austrian non gatefold Elder is a Club Edition with the normal back sleeve
Goddamn i was just re-binge watching old skip or plays wondering when the next would come and here we are, cheers from Finland!
Y'know Jason, I think you and I tend to be akin in terms of our musical tastes towards KISS and a lot of other things you've mentioned liking over the years....I don't get caught up in some of the hang-ups others have about whether or not KISS was "chasing trends" or expecting everything KISS does to sound like it belongs on Alive!, Creatures, or Revenge. Like yourself, I grew up appreciating all of the changes KISS went through, while I didn't love every song or every album equally I did at least feel that KISS always kept it interesting. And it's a part of why the band stayed such a favorite of mine for so many years, because they had such an interesting catalog that it was difficult to ever get bored with it....there was always something to suit whatever mood I was in. Sometimes I feel like people like yourself (and me as well) have to constantly defend the fact that we like albums like The Elder or Unmasked or Carnival..., and it gets tiresome because I feel like these other people have this attitude like, "How can you be so stupid as to think those albums are good?" Whereas my attitude tends to be, "How can you be so narrow-minded and limited in your tastes and expectations that you can't appreciate this more?" Ultimately, the music I like and enjoy isn't predicated on what others think of it and whether they concur. It's nice to find kindred spirits who enjoy what you enjoy but whether they love or hate it doesn't change how I feel about it. I love Carnival Of Souls, there are riffs and melodies and ideas on that album that I found to be some of the most interesting and exciting stuff they'd done in years. And I've had to endure 25+ years of people telling me I'm wrong about that. *shrug* Well whatever, I love it all the same.
NICE! So excited to see a NEW episode!! Thank you
Great show guys, as always! Thanks!
"The people would have turned the lighters on themselves!"
That is just the best statement ever! Had me laughing out loud in the car..... I had to replay it for a second laugh.
Fantastic episode, guys!
Master and Slave & In
My Head are by far my favorite songs on the album.... Go ahead, tear me apart LOL
I really think, other than the album suffering from a poor mix, a better sequencing of the album may have made it way more enjoyable..... Opening with master and slave
Jason, look at the checklist page for Alive! At the very top, it erroneously has a heading for Dressed To Kill, and has 2 records listed under that heading. It is one of those 2. And there is a picture of the label in volume 1
I agree with Nicholas on the title. It makes sense to me that they would call it “Final” since versions were already on the bootleg market and people may have ignored it thinking they already had it. Calling it “The Final Sessions” makes it sound like something you may not have.
Welcome back...ciao from Italy ❤
Jason's shirt is awesome! White, hard to find. Look's like hanging those poster's was time consuming, perfect. I got so lucky on Ebay 75bucks Taste of Platinum about 8 year's ago, the seller said he screwed up on listing somehow but completed sale.
Jas, you look very fit! Keep it up, buddy 😊
First time finding this channel, and a great topic!
I'm a lifelong KISS fan who has accepted every album they've ever done (even though the 1st 3 albums sound better as Alive!) including Dynasty, Unmasked and The Elder, but I've HATED this album from day 1 til today!
I think I've only listened to it in full once and that was more than enough. KISS is supposed to be fun, and even Gene's darker songs (GoT, Unholy to name a couple) have an element of fun, but this thing is just a depressing, slogging sludge of an album to get through. I skip every single one of these songs and move on to Psycho Circus!!
Talking about this being a perfect bookend to The Elder, I always thought "I Will Be There" sounds like it would fit naturally on the Elder. I think it even fits the storyline.
I like when you guys do these episodes. Skip or plays have been a part of my life since I was a kid. You only had a certain amount of space on a cassette or CDr so you had to sacrifice songs. I remember getting this album on cassette on a bootleg and it played at too slow of a speed and it didn't include "I walk alone". I didn't hear it until after the CD came out. I like this album. I saw it musically as a natural progression from "Revenge". It's a shame Kiss ended their musical output on those last three albums, "Psycho Circus", "Sonic Boom", and "Monster". I like this album more than their last two albums. If Gene attempted to make a "grunge" album, he failed miserably. It doesn't sound like it at all. I've always seen this album as just a hard rock or metal album. Hopefully you guys make a video like this for every Kiss album. It's so much fun to watch and listen to.
Hello from Detroit Rock City, Joe!!
D: "I'm gonna die on that hill."
J: "I hope so."
And the award for Best Troll On One's Own Podcast goes to...
😂💀😂
Fuckin' spicy, boys! Another fun episode dedicated to another weird KIϟϟ album; I don't love Carnival like I love The Elder, but they do attract me for some of the same reasons. Which can also be said for my favorite KIϟϟ podcasts, so keep making these!❤️🤘🏻
This album would have made more of an impact if it was released with the original artwork. The flaming head was ultimately shelved and used for a Queen Latifah album later on.
DAVE looks like the interviewer from KISS EXPOSED...and that dude from KISS' Fridays appearance (which happens to be the same dude...jk)
Have you read Paul's book?? He could totally go dark, but won't.
So far, I’ve watched the skip or play for this album, The Elder and Unmasked. And Joe seems to hate all three. You guys should let Joe pick the next one for this series so he can pick an album he actually likes. Otherwise people are gonna think he just hates KISS. lol.
So why did Kiss chase this trend? Well, let me see. Revenge was a commercial failure. The tour was a commercial failure. What music was popular? Seems logical, however, for most bands, usually when they chase a trend that is so out of their zone it can be detrimental. Could it have succeeded? Possibly. When Jungle came out there was quite a bit of airplay with no real cash push. Hate was a viable song for release as were a few others.
I don't hate any of the songs enough to skip them, but I don't enjoy playing the whole album in one sitting. It's just too downbeat, plodding and drawn out, so I often get halfway through and jump to the end.
I Walk Alone and Hate are both essential Kiss songs for me.
I really dislike It Never Goes Away as a title and I'm sure that contributes to making it my least favourite song on the album. If they used another phrase from the song and called it something like Doomsday Deceivers it may not irk me so much.
lets be honest they chased the glam shit at the end of the 80s and the grunge garbage when it was over also , the 80s is proof with out their history they would have maybe got their videos played a couple times off crazy nights and hits like so many others on the headbangers ball and thats it, yeah a lot of the heroin shit bands were influenced by kiss but they wouldn't exist without the Melvins who mostly exist because of kiss , cos was cool when it was new but I cant listen to it now , depressing music about rain and the rest of the shit record isn't what kiss is, they should have done like maiden and not given a shit if the fans like it and continued to do what they wanted and the 95 convention was the best thing they did with out makeup but was proof they were at the end of the road with out putting the makeup back on
Never could get into this album. For me the songs start out sounding cool, but then comes the singing! I know, it’s crazy. I’ve tried several times to like this album. Just can’t. I don’t like any songs. I skip them all!
As soon as that dude says he was listening to dance music you should have just dropped him from the show.
No chance. If you saw our playlists individually, you’d have to drop all of us. None of us listen to just one genre of music.
The Prodigy, Chemical Brothers, Basement Jaxx were huge stars in that era headlining traditional rock festivals. You missed out if you never saw them live in their prime, way more energy than most rock bands ~ Nicholas