Style: hard rock, heavy metal
Label: Casablanca
Year: 1982
Home: New York
Members: Paul Stanley ~ vocals/rhythm guitar
Gene Simmons ~ vocals/bass/rhythm guitar
Eric Carr ~ drums/b. vocals/bass
Vinnie Vincent ~ lead guitar
Additional:Robben Ford, Steve Farris ~ lead guitars
Jimmy Haslip, Mike Porcaro ~ bass
Adam Mitchell ~ guitar
Dave Wittman ~ b. vocals
The 1980's & '90's get a poor rap when it comes to Kiss. After a strong showing of hit album after hit album in the 1970's, that rap is somewhat justified as their albums would rise & fall commercially, & among critics & fan. One moment they would be strong & in the next they would be creating something we might all be better off without. Add to this the controversy over taking off their make-up, losing 2 original members, & changing their sound to be more like what was on the charts. Yet, to write off the entire decade is not quite being fair to Kiss. They actually created some great stuff that is worthy of being held up with the past. Creatures Of The Night from 1982 is one of these moments. That being said, it doesn't sound like the past. It might be good, but its not classic sounding Kiss but a new sounding Kiss who have hit a good groove. Creatures Of The Night is straddling both the past & the present musical world for a wonderful moment. Here they are brash, heavier than ever, dripping with sex, in your face with full on Kiss attitude, & everything you want from Kiss in a slightly modified form. Nearly every song keeps you head banging. The band sounds energized with great material. Just listen to the growl of "Rock & Roll Hell." Not to mention this album has the hits "I Still Love You", "Love It Loud", the title track, & the growling Gene moment "War Machine." Sadly, this album wasn't the commercial success at the time that they wanted it to be, finding a legacy after the fact. Thus, on the next album they dumped the make-up & stepped even more into the camp of playing the music of their peers & not being Kiss who inspired the music of their peers. One can only wonder if this album had been a bigger commercial success? Might they have taken this template to the next level & created something even greater, with the make-up? To note, this is not the original line-up. Eric Carr is on drums. Guitarist Vinnie Vincent handles the guitar parts of "Saint & Sinner", "Keep Me Comin'", "Danger", "I Love It Loud", "Killer", "War Machine." Vinnie is not Ace, who is always playing like he's slowing going crazy, or standing on a cliff's edge & trying to focus on playing & keeping his balance. Vinnie is polished, in control, highly technical & soars in ways Ace can't. They have two different feelings, yet as Kiss moves more '80's rock away from their roots Vinnie is really a perfect fit, as would be shown even more in later albums, both as a guitarist & composer. They wanted to go heavier & Vinnie is the one to help them do it. The same goes for Eric who has a harder edge than Peter, & might be the better player in general. "Danger" & "Keep It Comin'" I find a bit grating lyrically, but I think Vince's guitar solo saves both of them. It must be noted that the great jazz-rock guitarist Robben Ford does the leads on "Rock & Roll Hell" & "I Still Love You". Ford was in the jazz groups L.A. Express & the Yellowjackets. Yellowjackets bandmate Jimmy Haslip does the bass on "Danger", who ironically is a former bandmate of future Kiss guitarist Bruce Kulick. Toto's Mike Porcaro does the bass on the title track, while future Trans-Siberian Orchestra member Dave Wittman contributes backing vocals on "Love It Loud". Yes, there might be guests here & Ace might be given credit as the guitarist when he's not on the album, but the end result is so good the band can be forgiven for bringing in help & playing a promotion game on membership. Enough said. Just listen.
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