I review the 1984 Kiss album, Animalize. Part 17 of my Kiss Retrospective. Patreon: / seanblumenshine Twitter: / blumenshinesean Instagram: / sean_blumenshine #kiss #genesimmons #paulstanley
Hey Sean just checked out your channel and as a huge KISS fan your review about the bands studio albums and songs are spot on. You give a comprehensive and complete critique and your information is solid. So just like to say great job and channel and I will continue to watch and support. By the way I never thought I’d find somebody that agreed with me on VV guitar work in COTN and LIU 👍
Allan Schwartzberg also played on The Elder and Asylum. Listen to I’ve had enough. Some tasty fills on there so doubt they are Eric Carr. Also Eric wasn’t often good at choosing the right feel for the songs so they brought in another drummer, Allan Schwartzberg. You only have to listen to Detroit Rock City by Eric Carr. He wasn’t great at playing shuffles which is why he didn’t play I on The Elder. For those who say Eric was a great drummer. Great drummers do not get substituted. Do you think John Bonham or Ian Paice were ever substituted. The answer is no.
Totally agree. I’ve often said that he was a very average drummer. Also just because you have a huge drum set does not a great drummer make. He always had a sloppy feel to his drumming. His solos were boring and most times only had single stroke rolls. Look at how little Bonham’s kit was and what he did with it as well as Paice’s kit which was bigger but wasn’t a huge monster kit. Eric Singer smokes him on drums all week long and if you can’t hear the difference, or be a drummer, then you shouldn’t be judging how good he was.
Sean, love your vids. Sometimes you remind of Christian Bale when he discussed records in American Psycho. That’s a compliment. Love how thorough you are on these. What other bands do you love? A lot of Kiss aficionados are also Rush and Cheap Trick nerds. Would love to see you do those 🤘🏼
Loved the review Sean, I am also a big fan of this album and have been looking at many Kiss album rankings of late and have been blown away by how low Animalize has been ranked, of their 20 albums many have it around 16 or so, I've seen Carnival of Souls much higher also psycho circus, monster, sonic boom, the elder, peter and gene solo, crazy nights and unmasked, with some of these 10 slots higher, my go to for 80s kiss is lick it up, Animalize and Asylum with Vinny, Mark and Bruce on lead guitar, these albums fit the time did pretty well commercially and are great front to back for the most part.
i'm a long time kiss fan and like all of the KISS eras(yes i even like the elder) but the 80's "Glam Metal" KISS Kicks the ass of the 70's KISS! the songs are just so much better in every way.
Good for You !! 🎸👍 That's cool that you like all the lineups. It shows you're an adult and realize ( unless you're ZZ Top ) you can't keep the same guys together for 45 years ! Especially when a number of those guys cant keep Themselves together ! I like ALL versions too. Glad to hear that. The Elder has about 4 or 5 kick ass songs. I believe if they made it a Double Album, it would have all made better sense. My least favorite album by KISS is Lick it Up. Just my opinion. Monster & Sonic Boom are Damn Good Albums. All the nitpicking & critiquing by the fans ; You can't please everyone all the time. All Versions were Good !
Cool review! I love this album too. I agree about the first song "I Have Had Enough(Into The Fire)", "Heaven's On Fire", "Under The Gun" , "Thrills In The Night" as well as "While The City Sleeps" being killer classics! I watched the live "Animalize" video a lot! I still love the whole album. I like "Burn Bitch Burn" as well. I still think of it as one of my top favorite KISS albums from the 80's. I like the lyrics that offend people. They make me smile like a demon..
Hey Sean, my name’s Chris & I’ve been a KISS fan since 1977. I love your reviews on these KISS albums........ very informative & a logical take on the albums, songs & the players as well. I enjoyed them a lot....... just wanted to share that with you...... stay safe & be well!!!!!!
From what I've read, on the Animalize tour; Mark St. John only played two partial shows (11-27-84 in Baltimore & 11-28 in Poughkeepsie, NY) and one full show (11-29 in Binghamton, NY)
Totally agree with you on the title. They knew heavens on fire was gonna be a single, why not do a album cover in that nature? Especially since they didn't use their own pics on the cover.
This is my favorite non makeup album next to Revenge..A very unique album, 1 of the heaviest Kiss albums and still 1 of my go to albums..the production is amazing and always makes me wanna come back and play it again and again.. I love your review!
Excellent review and feedback. I loved that album. At the time I purchased Animalize on tape and ruined it within a month because I was always skipping the same three songs. Later I got the CD.
I agree, stanley's songs are the best on this album, i seen kiss on this tour, and you could tell, there were some friction between paul and gene, plus mark st john was roaming around the arena, before the concert, i got to meet him, he was a cool dude-rip.-great video, i like your reviews,stay safe man.
first kiss song i ever heard was the Heaven's On Fire - video on mtv.......(wow these guys are cool)........so,that was my intro to kiss.........so,the Animalize Live Uncensored - vhs - Detroit 1984 mtv show was my "kiss alive" lp........(i even ripped the audio on to cassette,so,i could play it in my car).....and i did see them on that tour....they played 2 nights in sunrise,florida 1984.....
"Lonely is the hunter" is filler? It was picked by Tommy Vance, of BBC Friday Rock Show fame, to be aired to introduce the audience to "Animalize". It's heavy, and with it's complex break in the second part of the song it's one of their most mature songs.
I really like your reviews but I feel Kiss' lyrics were never meant to be analyzed for their depth and people generally don't listen to Kiss because their lyrics have profound meaning. Lick It Up, Animalize, and Asylum all sound generally the same and are about as equally as good as each other. What baffles me is that Kiss uses outside writers for their music and lyrics. Do you really need someone to help you write lyrics such as "I wanna put my log in your fireplace!?" Best song is I've Had Enough (Into the Fire). Murder in High Heels is goofy but I like it.
Great album and I totally agree that Paul shines here and you can really hear Gene's lackluster tunes since he was more interested in outside projects like acting.
@@elvisparker4691 it was really good. It was the first time I saw them live. Queensrych opened the show. It was just like the DVD basically. Except the show I saw there was a spot where Paul made fun of Michael Jackson.
I taped that concert off of MTV & it got me over my hatred of Kiss parting ways with Ace & Peter...even thou "Cold gin" was my favorite from the show !
The name of an album doesn't always have to mean something. Van Halen's Diver Down didn't really have anything to do with any of the songs on the album. Iron Maiden's Piece of Mind didn't have anything do with any of the songs. Sometimes bands will come up with a name out of nowhere or the label will.
Good point. A nod and a wink is just as good to a blind horse ? All the best cowboys have Chinese Eyes ? A Caress of Steel ? In thru the Out Door ? OU812 ?
Vinnie quit. He wasn’t fired. As the downturn in the band’s fortunes hit their bottom line they cut the salaries of Eric and Vinnie in half. The contract offered by KISS required Vinnie to surrender his publishing. Without the musician who had written the bulk of the material on the Creatures and Lick it Up the albums from Animalize to Hot in the Shade were subpar at best.
And we see how successful & stable & honest & reliable Vinnie was after KISS, out on his own. If you want a guitar pick, go to Vinnie's website. $2,500. gets you a pick. Or maybe, he'll just keep the money... I'm sure he was a joy to work with...
Animalize Live Uncensored is fantastic. What a great change from the 10 year anniversary tour which was my first concert in Saginaw Michigan. And everyone is right about Vinnie. He was a great lyricist but very dull player 🤢
I like animalize, but if vinnie (and I don't like his solo invasion stuff much) was kept to just do the album, I bet it would have been a even better album. I could be wrong. Asylum smokes with Bruce.
Great record EXCEPT-the solos. I absolutely cannot stand the solos on this record. Not to speak ill of the dead, but this was when Bruce should have stepped in. The solos are drenched in reverb, and bad shredder nonsense (if you want good shredding, look at Gary Moore). Get All You Can Take has a killer Zep groove and Paul's vocals are supernatural.
Apparently Vinnie was impossible to work with. I think he was more of an accent to Paul's writing than a good writer on his own. But he did contribute to some of their best 80s stuff. I dont like anything he wrote on his own.
@@ferox965 I always hear people talk about the Zep groove in that song. I dont hear anything that even remotely sounds like Zep.I like the chorus in the song but to me Pauls vocals sound winey.
@@markmedina5543 It's plain as day in the song. Thick kick drum, single note riffing bass and guitar in unison...totally a Zep trademark...an example is the ensemble response to Robert Plant's solo vocal in the verse of Black Dog...right there at the beginning and throughout the entire song except for the prechorus.
Paul presents HALF AN ALBUM. Gene's writing was NEVER WORSE. " Wanna put my log in your fireplace " says it all. Paul's egotist behavior is what led to Vinnie being dropped. He couldn't handle a TRUE GUITAR HERO in the band over-shadowing him.
- in addition. Let's face it. Paul is a HORRENDOUS guitar player. His solo spotlight on the VHS full concert ANIMALIZE LIVE is an absolute atrocity. But his ego pushes him through. Bruce was quiet. Shut his mouth and collected his paycheck. The kind of guy Paul and Gene love. Vinnie was a guitar hero in EVERY WAY. IT BURNED PAULS ASS.
Gene & Paul NEVER said Vinny wasn't talented. That's why they brought him in. He was a major pain in the ass to work with. Like Peter & Ace, only without the Drugs.
Only three songs from the album were performed in concert; Heaven's on Fire, Under the Gun (which is my fave) and Thrills in the Night. The rest of the songs especially gene's are shit!
I've Had Enough, Burn Bitch Burn and Get All You Can Take were also played before being quickly dropped. You can find audio of those tracks being played live on RU-vid.
I agree with Sean. Paul's contribution shows he's in top form while Gene's work was "meh". My highlight was this album buries classic KISS. The songs are musically faster and more complex than the 70s stuff. Paul's singing is stronger, guitar playing mastered, and Eric's drums blows Peter out of the water. Everything is up a notch while traditionally, bands tend to bring things down when they hit their 30s. I really like the defiance of Paul on getting older. In addition to Gene's weak contributions the album seems to be missing a song...a closer. It's short in length...38 minutes. I think one more awesome Paul song to close the album would have been nice.
Kid you clearly weren’t around in the 80’s or realize many of the stuff you criticize was what was the 80’s Vibe . It’s acceptable you have your opinion as a kid critic but probably serve to study and learn and appreciate . Like seriously what do you expect for a guitar solo from a guy wearing leopard skin tank tops and pink bandanas? Of course it’s over played to you .
I don't like this one. I bought it to complete my collection, but I never listen to it. It certainly didn't stand the test of time. The Gene-songs (like a lot of his trough the 80's) suck big time, his lyrics are stupid and childisch.
