Wrestling superstar, and Fozzy frontman, Chris Jericho, interviewed both our very own Eddie Trunk, and author Greg Prato, on his podcast Talk is Jericho.
Prato was on discussing his book, Take It Off: KISS Truly Unmasked, which features interviews with Bruce Kulick (who was KISS’ lead guitarist for much of that time period), video director Paul Rachman (who did the “Unholy” and “Domino” videos), producer Ron Nevison (who helmed the “Crazy Nights” album), and Eddie Trunk.
Both Greg and Eddie discuss 80’s KISStory, including a breakdown of the 12 non-makeup albums, the big tours, late, great drummer Eric Carr (who was a close personal friend of Eddie’s), Vinnie Vincent’s contribution to the band during his short tenure, Gene Simmons’ run of 80s films, and the role that MTV played in keeping the band alive. Listen to the podcast below.
10 Responses
I love 80’s KISS, almost as much as 70’s KISS! ~ Almost! 80’s KISS is so underrated and underappreciated! Here’s my Top 10 KISS albums from the 80’s, including Smashes, Thrashes & Hits! I know only 2 new songs, but a Top 10 sounds better than a Top 9! And Killers – only 4 new songs, but they are 4 GREAT songs! Especially the 3 that are in my Top 20 KISS 80’s songs!
Top 10 albums:
10) Smashes, Thrashes & Hits
9) Hot In The Shade
8) (Music From) The Elder
7) Killers
6) Unmasked
5) Crazy Nights
4) Creatures Of The Night
3) Animalize
2) Asylum
1) Lick It Up
My KISS Top 20 80’s songs: ~ revised and revisited! 😉
20) Turn On The Night
19) Nowhere To Run
18) Thrills In The Night
17) Tomorrow
16) Reason To Live
15) King Of The Mountain
14) Get All You Can Take
13) War Machine
12) I’m A Legend Tonight
11) Exciter
10) Down On Your Knees
9) Uh! All Night
8) Crazy Crazy Nights
7) Tears Are Falling
6) And On The 8th Day
5) Heaven’s On Fire
4) Who Wants To Be Lonely
3) I Love It Loud
2) Creatures Of The Night
1) Lick It Up
And this Saturday (the 7th) is my annual KISSMAS party! Everything from Wicked Lester to Psycho Circus! With the exception of Carnival Of Souls! Ugh!!! (Eye roll) And of course some demos and unreleased tracks from the 2001 box set! Merry KISSmas! Cheers!!
Awesome run down, Brother Doug! I’m a 70s KISS guy. From the 80s, for me, “Tears Are Falling,” “Heaven’s On Fire, “War Machine,” “I Love It Loud” and “Lick It Up” are fantastic and stand toe to toe with anything from the 70s catalog.
Thanks, bro! Paul deserves all the credit for keeping KISS alive, thriving, and driving through the 80’s. We all know while Gene was running around Hollywood trying to become a movie star, Paul was in the studio writing and recording his ass off! I mean, Gene did contribute some great songs as well ~ “I Love It Loud,” “War Machine,” “Fits Like A Glove,” “And On The 8th Day,” “Any Way You Slice It,” and a few others, but it was really Paul that kept the pedal to the metal! ~ “Under The Gun” reference. 😉 credit to Vinnie, Bruce, and of course the great Eric Carr as well! Cheers!!
Great list of Top 20 songs, brother Doug R.! So many great songs but you “Got to Choose” only 20! My list would include a couple “Unmasked” songs, like “Is that You?” and “Naked City”. And the songs mentioned by Doug, Dcinsc7, and “Wig” are all great, too!
Paul totally kept KI$$ going in the 80s! Yes, Gene became focused on Hollywood and Paul worked hard to keep KI$$ alive. Paul adapted to the 80s very well, and his 70s persona worked for him in the 80s. Gene, on the other hand, didn’t seem to adapt well into the 80s, as he still “stomped” the stage and flashed that tongue the way his Demon character did in the 70s…not things you would expect a “glam” band of the 80s to do……
Bro, “Tomorrow,” #17, from Unmasked! 😉 “Naked City” is definitely a contender, Gene’s bass is right “In Your Face!” (Written by Gene, sung by Ace) ~ Psycho Circus – import! 😉 And speaking of PC, why was the best song from those recordings “It’s My Life” left off of the album? Yes, it was included in the 2001 box set, but it should’ve been on the PC album! And it’s one of the few songs that all the original members actually played on, (supposedly) 😉 Anyway, back to the 80’s! Several great songs from Unmasked could easily make any top 20, and maybe next time, they will! Top 20’s are too damn hard, next time it’ll be a top 50! (Sorry, Dana) 😉
So anyway, today’s the day, and tonight’s the night, ROCK AND ROLL ALL NITE & PARTY EVERY DAY! Merry KISSmas!! And Merry Christmas as well!! Cheers!! 🙂
Ugh, you’re right about “Tomorrow” from Unmasked already on your list, Doug R.! Guess I read your list too quickly! Great song, too! I also think “Two Sides of the Coin” and “Torpedo Girl” are great songs too! I think Unmasked is a underappreciated KI$$ album by many, including me when it was first released. But now I love it!
Switch out “Uh! All Night” and “Nowhere to Run” with “Fits Like a Glove” and “Hide Your Heart” and the list is solid. Good playlist.
“Fits Like A Glove,” “Hide Your Heart” could’ve easily made my top 20! Along with “A Million To One,” “All Hell’s Breakin’ Loose,” “What Makes The World Go ‘Round,” “I,” “Dark Light,” “Rise To It,” “Under The Gun,” all great songs! Maybe next time.
Surprised”Forever” not on the list – fantastic song and I might be the only one but “Love Is Like a Slap in the Face” is really catchy.
Surprised “ Bang Bang You” and “Let’s Put the X In Sex” did not make the list 🙂
Wiggy, I agree that “Slap” is catchy, but I think what bugs me about that song is the drum machine. If it was all Carr, it’d be so much better! I love “Forever,” and I’m not just saying this cause you brought it up, but I almost included it in my top 20. It’s not just a great ballad, it’s a great song. “Prisoner Of Love,” “Silver Spoon,” “Boomerang,” and “Little Caesar” (although I like Carr’s demo – “Ain’t That Peculiar” better) are all really good songs. As are “Bang” and “X,” see, that’s what makes doing a top 20 so frigging hard to do! Especially when it comes to a great band like KISS! Even splitting top 20s between the 70’s and 80’s! Anyway, I’m still waiting for Hot In The Shade to be remastered, makes no sense that it’s still the only KISS album not to be remastered! Sounds good on vinyl, but the CD needs alot of work.