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KISS:UNPLUGGED ALBUM REVIEW
This is one of my favorite Kiss records. It is my second favorite live album, right behind Alive! I think the band sounds fantastic on this one. I’ve always said that their musicianship is hampered by all of the running around that they do, but in this one they actually sit down and play. Paul’s voice sounds great. Gene’s is okay, but he has never been as good on lead vocals as Paul (in my opinion). That being said, lets get to the tracklist:
1. Coming Home…This is a wonderful opener. I’ve always liked this song and it plays very well unplugged. Gene’s backing vocals sound great.
2. Plaster Caster…Another song I’ve always liked, but I don’t think it should have been included here.
3. Going Blind…This is another great song for an unplugged album. Bruce plays great on this one. Some of the lyrics were changed.
4. Do You Love Me…Probably not the best song for unplugging, but I think they pull it off pretty good. Paul sounds great. I think it’s a better choice than Plaster Caster.
5. Domino…Just looking at the tracklisting, I wouldn’t think this would sound good in this format, but it’s really great. Bruce plays a great solo. Gene sounds good and Paul’s backing vocals rock.
6. Sure Know Something…Excellent choice. This has always been one of my favorite Kiss tunes. Outstanding vocals.
7. A World Without Heroes…Another great choice. This one is perfect for unplugging. This may be the first time I’ve heard something off Music From The Elder played live. I can’t think of another song by Gene that he sings better on.
8. Rock Bottom…Wow!!! Paul’s vocals rock on this one. I really don’t see how anyone can hear this song and not say “that’s a great friggin’ rock song”…..
9. See You Tonite…Now this is obscure stuff. We get an okay song from Gene’s solo abum that was taylor-made for this album. Great choice.
10. I Still Love You…This is obviously one of Paul’s favorite songs. I think this is a good song, but we’ve heard it live before. Eric Singer’s drumming sounds great, but I would have picked something else here.
11. Every Time I Look At You…Okay, the guys do a really good job on this one, but again, it’s not one of my favorite Kiss songs. I would have changed this one.
12. 2’000 Man…This shit just got interesting. Ace Frehley & Peter Criss join the boys on this one. Man, this is a cool song and Ace’s vocals and the backing vocals are excellent.
13. Beth…Peter’s turn. I like the fact that the piano from the original is replaced by the acoustic guitar. This has never been one of my favorite songs, but it’s Peter’s signature song, so they had to include it. I would have chosen something other than this.
14. Nothin’ To Lose…Now, Bruce and Eric come back out and for a brief few moments, Kiss has six members. Eric and Peter sound really good. This was a good choice.
15. Rock And Roll All Nite…The best thing about this song is Ace & Peter sharing vocals on the second verse.
For the most part, that is a great track list. It’s really great to hear some obscure stuff performed. I would have replaced Plaster Caster with either I Want You or Nowhere To Run. Instead of I Still Love You and Every Time I Look At You, it would have been awesome to hear Reason To Live and A Million To One. The only other song I would have changed is Beth. It would have been great to hear Peter sing Hard Luck Woman (this song was actually performed and sung by Paul but left off of the US cd) or Black Diamond. Either way, I really like this album. I know Kiss is not the first band to ever do unplugged, but I think they showed that they can write great songs and they can play their instruments. Although it was great to have Ace & Peter playing in the band again, this was also the beginning of the end for Bruce Kulick with Kiss, which I still think was a mistake. We’ll see in a few months if Tommy Thayer makes me eat my words.
1. Coming Home…This is a wonderful opener. I’ve always liked this song and it plays very well unplugged. Gene’s backing vocals sound great.
2. Plaster Caster…Another song I’ve always liked, but I don’t think it should have been included here.
3. Going Blind…This is another great song for an unplugged album. Bruce plays great on this one. Some of the lyrics were changed.
4. Do You Love Me…Probably not the best song for unplugging, but I think they pull it off pretty good. Paul sounds great. I think it’s a better choice than Plaster Caster.
5. Domino…Just looking at the tracklisting, I wouldn’t think this would sound good in this format, but it’s really great. Bruce plays a great solo. Gene sounds good and Paul’s backing vocals rock.
6. Sure Know Something…Excellent choice. This has always been one of my favorite Kiss tunes. Outstanding vocals.
7. A World Without Heroes…Another great choice. This one is perfect for unplugging. This may be the first time I’ve heard something off Music From The Elder played live. I can’t think of another song by Gene that he sings better on.
8. Rock Bottom…Wow!!! Paul’s vocals rock on this one. I really don’t see how anyone can hear this song and not say “that’s a great friggin’ rock song”…..
9. See You Tonite…Now this is obscure stuff. We get an okay song from Gene’s solo abum that was taylor-made for this album. Great choice.
10. I Still Love You…This is obviously one of Paul’s favorite songs. I think this is a good song, but we’ve heard it live before. Eric Singer’s drumming sounds great, but I would have picked something else here.
11. Every Time I Look At You…Okay, the guys do a really good job on this one, but again, it’s not one of my favorite Kiss songs. I would have changed this one.
12. 2’000 Man…This shit just got interesting. Ace Frehley & Peter Criss join the boys on this one. Man, this is a cool song and Ace’s vocals and the backing vocals are excellent.
13. Beth…Peter’s turn. I like the fact that the piano from the original is replaced by the acoustic guitar. This has never been one of my favorite songs, but it’s Peter’s signature song, so they had to include it. I would have chosen something other than this.
14. Nothin’ To Lose…Now, Bruce and Eric come back out and for a brief few moments, Kiss has six members. Eric and Peter sound really good. This was a good choice.
15. Rock And Roll All Nite…The best thing about this song is Ace & Peter sharing vocals on the second verse.
For the most part, that is a great track list. It’s really great to hear some obscure stuff performed. I would have replaced Plaster Caster with either I Want You or Nowhere To Run. Instead of I Still Love You and Every Time I Look At You, it would have been awesome to hear Reason To Live and A Million To One. The only other song I would have changed is Beth. It would have been great to hear Peter sing Hard Luck Woman (this song was actually performed and sung by Paul but left off of the US cd) or Black Diamond. Either way, I really like this album. I know Kiss is not the first band to ever do unplugged, but I think they showed that they can write great songs and they can play their instruments. Although it was great to have Ace & Peter playing in the band again, this was also the beginning of the end for Bruce Kulick with Kiss, which I still think was a mistake. We’ll see in a few months if Tommy Thayer makes me eat my words.
Tags: ace frehley, album review, bruce kulick, eric singer, gene simmons, kiss, paul stanley, peter criss, unplugged
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Scott on -
The video and European release also included Got To Choose which I think was also a mistake to leave off the US release. That song unplugged was really cool. Hard Luck Woman would have been killer, you nailed this review...
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Permalink Reply by RJhog on -
Scott you are absolutely right about Got To Choose. It was awesome. I got out Kissology Volume 3 and watched the video of the performance. Quite a few things were left off of the cd. Gene forgot the words on Domino and the band stopped the song and started again. One thing I noticed from the video was that Paul played the solo on A World Without Heroes. The following songs were on the video:
Got To Choose...As Scott and I have both mentioned, this song was great.
Hard Luck Woman...Paul did the lead vocals. He did a good job.
Heaven's On Fire...Paul tried to get the audience to sing the first verse. The rest of the song was pretty good once Paul started singing for good.
Spit...Almost an instrumental. Gene did very little singing, Paul didn't do any singing.
C'mon And Love Me...This was excellent. The song was done correctly and it sounded great.
God Of Thunder...This was a mess. I don't know if they were just killing time or what, but they did a country western version that pretty much sucked.
Overall, it would have been nice for the producers to have included Got To Choose, Hard Luck Woman, Heaven's On Fire and C'mon And Love Me on the cd. I really don't know why these were cut.
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