MR

Yes i admit it Unmasked is my favourite Kiss record( first one i heard) Its not them at there best but Gene and Pauls vocals are stunning evan Ace does some great background to. Love the cover as well,so am i a minority in loving this record? Yeah i know its poppy but Naked City, Easy as it Seems and Torpedo girl are classics,Ace really was playing at his best around this time i feel.

Unmasked is amazing. It's a very underrated pop rock masterpiece. Every song is great. I wish that more people were exposed to it, because they really are missing out.

Deuce wrote:Unmasked is amazing. It's a very underrated pop rock masterpiece. Every song is great. I wish that more people were exposed to it, because they really are missing out.

Some time back i asked Gene why he disliked it, and because of the Peter situation plus they went in to make a commercial record he felt it was not a very natural record for the band?

I really like Tomorrow and What Makes The World Go Round from this album, which I really like as a whole anyway. I also love The Elder (who doesn't?) and Carnival Of Souls.

Strangely enough, my least favourite KISS album is Destroyer...

Well, if we all thought the same the world would be a boring place!

Laters......

bladezuk wrote:I really like Tomorrow and What Makes The World Go Round from this album,

Laters......

Indeed...2 of the band's best ever IMO.

That record is flat out terrible and set back the band's integrity probably 20 years. If Kiss was a stock, the arrival of Unmasked sent its value plummeting like a dot-com.

While some diehard fans may have a perverse attraction to it, there is simply no way that record is not their worst.

Never heard Crazy Nights, have ya.

Animalize is pretty weak for my money too.

Unmasked is poppy as can be, but really, the songwriting's strong and as a result the songs are strong. Ace's contributions aren't as solid as Dynasty...but some really great Paul tunes make up for it.

I say you're nuts, but to each their own.

While some diehard fans may have a perverse attraction to it, there is simply no way that record is not their worst.[/quote]

I think you hit the nail on the head. It's kinda lke the Elder for me. There are some tunes that I really dig and would love to hear live , but more for the rarity factor, not necessarily cause there that wonderfully crafted.
I do dig TOMORROW, though. I honestly think the record could have and SHOULD have been much better, but the slick production (which according to Stanley even the BAND wasn't expecting) sent it into bubblegum territory. Oh well...what might have been, eh?

I guess it comes down to whether or not you have a problem with a bubblegum pop rock record. I don't, if the songs are good and so long as it's not so slick you can't tell there's a guitar being played.

For those saying Unmasked is the worst album...listen to Animalize again. Heaven's on Fire is a great tune, I've Had Enough is solid, and Thrills in the Night is...well...interesting. I guess someone might like Under the Gun. Besides those (which I'll counter any day with Shandi, Tomorrow, WMTWGR and Talk to Me or Naked City) the album is abysmal, boring, and full of poor songwriting and a lack of focus in general. Gene didn't fucking care, and Paul was trying too hard. The results were obvious.

I guess it comes down to whether or not you have a problem with a bubblegum pop rock record. I don't, if the songs are good and so long as it's not so slick you can't tell there's a guitar being played.

For those saying Unmasked is the worst album...listen to Animalize again. Heaven's on Fire is a great tune, I've Had Enough is solid, and Thrills in the Night is...well...interesting. I guess someone might like Under the Gun. Besides those (which I'll counter any day with Shandi, Tomorrow, WMTWGR and Talk to Me or Naked City) the album is abysmal, boring, and full of poor songwriting and a lack of focus in general. Gene didn't fucking care, and Paul was trying too hard. The results were obvious.

Naked City is a good song, but nothing really important. Animalize had some very big songs -- Thrills in the Night, and Heaven on Fire; Burn Bitch Burn was pretty good too. And at least the bad songs are listenable.

On a song for song basis Animalize is better, though admittedly not much better. But I don't think a strong defense of Unmasked is that its comparable with a very average Kiss album.

Finally, Animalize rocked while Unmasked clearly did not. While that is not the reason the former is superior, it certainly didn't hurt. It also has aged a lot better.

Actually I wasn't comparing it to an average Kiss album, I was comparing it to a bad one, since you believe Unmasked is bad.

But hey, opinions are like assholes. I like Unmasked.

I'm with Big J on this one. Unmasked is a lost classic. The production could be harder but what the hell. Naked City is a superb song, Tomorrow, Is That You, Talk To Me, Torpedo Girl, Shandi....it's pure quality KISS.

As for Burn Bitch Burn off Animalize being any good? That album may be heavier but the song writing is crud. Asylum was pretty bad too and then there was the nadir of Crazy Nights. It was poppy and crap. Unmasked was rock with a pop sensibility and it was pure KISS!

frostbite wrote:I'm with Big J on this one. Unmasked is a lost classic. The production could be harder but what the hell. Naked City is a superb song, Tomorrow, Is That You, Talk To Me, Torpedo Girl, Shandi....it's pure quality KISS.

As for Burn Bitch Burn off Animalize being any good? That album may be heavier but the song writing is crud. Asylum was pretty bad too and then there was the nadir of Crazy Nights. It was poppy and crap. Unmasked was rock with a pop sensibility and it was pure KISS!

Animalize has some great moments,Asylum at least from Gene's contribution is awful,he songs were no better than b-sides hence the fact that only one song was played and then dropped..Anyway You Slice i think?
He also looked his worst was this this really the God of Thunder

My theory on Kiss is they did go from one extreme to another. For example: Carnival of Souls takes heavy to an extreme and Unmasked takes bubble gum to the extreme and Music From The Elder takes the concept album to an extreme.

I cannot pick their best album. But I will say that their worst record in my opinion is Psycho Circus. And, except for a couple of good songs written by Paul I would say it's nearly as bad as Gene's "Asshole".

I love Dynasty and Unmasked! I think the songwriting is excellent, even if they production was not as edgy as they would have liked. I also like Crazy Nights a LOT more than Asylum, Animalize, and Lick It Up, but that's just me.

epresley wrote:I love Dynasty and Unmasked! I think the songwriting is excellent, even if they production was not as edgy as they would have liked. I also like Crazy Nights a LOT more than Asylum, Animalize, and Lick It Up, but that's just me.

Alive, Hotter Than Hell, Destroyer, Love Gun and Alive II...I dunno about Unmasked being the greatest but to each their own! I like the songs like God of Thunder, Detroit Rock City and so on instead of the poppy sheiiiiit!

shandi is a very underrated ballad.i love torpedo girl and talk to me was always a favorite.is that you is pretty catchy.i always enjoyed dynasty a little more.charisma is a kickass tune.