Fun time today on my Volume show doing my Kiss Top 20. If you missed it it’s now On Demand on the SiriusXM app. Tomorrow we will discuss and debate it with you and also have Kiss Top 20 lists from Tom Morello, Corey Taylor, Chris Jericho, Sebastian Bach and more! Listen live 2-4P ET on SiriusXM 106. If you missed my Top 20 here it is. And it was TOUGH to limit to 20! Feel free to post your lists here as well:
1: Detroit Rock City
2: Deuce (live )
3: Strutter
4: Love Gun
5: Black Diamond (Live)
6: King Of The Nightime World
7: Mr Speed
8: Got To Choose
9: Flaming Youth
10: Rock Bottom (live)
11: Cmon & Love Me
12: Creatures Of The Night
13: 100,000 Years
14: Magic Touch
15: I Want You
16: Strange Ways
17: Rocket Ride
18: Larger Than Life
19: A Million To One
20: Love Her All I Can
42 Responses
My personal Top 20some KISS songs, in no particular order whatsoever:
Parasite
Who Wants To Be Lonely
Creatures Of The Night
Fits Like A Glove
Is That You?
100,000 Years
Coming Home
A Million To One
I Just Wanna
Rise To It
Wow, Mr Trunk, I couldn’t believe how many songs we share in the top-20!
If stranded on an island, I agree, Black Diamond / King Of The Nightime World / Mr Speed / Got To Choose / Cmon & Love Me / Magic Touch / Strange Ways / Rocket Ride / Larger Than Life and Love Her All I Can… those ten songs would just HAVE TO BE THERE.
But I’d have to include these staples and B-side deep cuts:
Let Me Know (The Gene n Paul vocal trading to the classic “Let me know-ho-whoa-o-ho” ending, this song is the definition of the early KISS personification.)
SHE- [Dressed to Kill version] (Turn THIS ONE up on a large HiFi! Another Stanley/Simmons masterpiece resurrected from the Lester days, the tandem trades between Stanley & Frehley are iconic… the bass n drum breakdown, to Stanley’s rif jumping in and then Ace flying in for his trademark solo, this song marks the best, yet sadly vanished time of early KISS)
Let Me Go – [Alive! version] (The climactic finale building from Ace’s stellar solo made this one a phenomenal goodnight closer from the days of Originals)
Plaster Caster – (The rising action to the band finally joining the 2nd chorus “faster-fasterrrrr ask herrrr” you can almost feel the anticipation of the plaster hardening around your erection.)
Watchin’ You – (Another STELLAR early KISS riffing… the last minute of this song featured the musicianship KISS was capable of but too often ignored. This tune was the platform to launch the longer, deeper live finale’s like like She or B-Diamond.)
Baby Driver – (A great way to end a record side with a Criss/Penridge tune that chugs along nicely riding on Gene’s fuzz-toned bassline to culminate with Peter’s gravely-grit screaming… “GUN it mama GUN IT!”)
Hard Times – (The only Ace song about his coming to manhood in the mean streets of the Bronx. Complete with a traffic cop whistle and great chorus riff that counters the melody of the lyrics in a way that makes you truly glad Ace is finally on the right track.)
Naked City – (That bassline,wow… not much left to say. The song almost gets you feeling sorry for Simmons)
Not For The Innocent – (Probably the most evil, spookiest Simmons song with that eerie intro. Simmons tries his best to make you believe they’re actually a threat to daughters around the globe. The Vincent solo shreds and draws blood. “Let the best run WILD!”
Rock n Roll Hell – (Even if it was a cover, Simmons metalized it and made it his own. The tone of that bassline and Eric’s over-the-top thunder marked the stark contrast of original KISS to metal KISS. Turn this one up and stand back!)
An honorable mention would go to DARK LIGHT *wink