I absolutely love Unmasked album. I actually love every song. My favorites are Naked City,Shandi, Talk To Me Tomorrow, and Easy As It Seems. I know that it is a pop album , but to me it is a great pop album. I listen to it often. Dynasty is another album that I love and listen to a lot.
I was fortunate enough to attend the Palladium show in 1980; Eric's very first show! Only 11 yo, my older sister took me for my birthday. Greatest birthday gift I've ever received!
Shandi is a copy of Tomorrow by Joe Walsh. I bet Kiss would have sued him if it was the other way around. Paul even used the title on the same album. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-wkeWSJBZ990.htmlsi=GOzDoziBsqRfnocA
Wow thanks for posting this. I just checked it out and its definitely not a coincidence. Paul likes to rubbish everyone in his autobiography but conveniently leaves this out.
If I was Peter I would have packed up my make up kit, grabbed a few of my drum kits and cymbals, grabbed my music stand and sheet music and looked at Gene & Paul and said "Thats it! Peter Criss Dirty Livin Tour 1981 is hitting the road!!" and with my sheet music I would have gone solo to.
Great episode! I remember getting unmasked the weekend of its release; yes I’m old (I’ll be 50 March 17) lol! My older brother had been into kiss so of course I was into them! He and my sister had seen them on the love gun tour and my mom wouldn’t let my 4 yr old self go lol! She did take us to the Dynasty show in Atlanta at the Omni! In 1980 at my elementary school kiss was still huge; I never understood the whole kiss in 1980 was dead! It definitely wasn’t at my school! 1981 it kinda changed lol! Van Halen had kinda took over! Unmasked is still in my top 5!
Shandi is actually lifted from "Tomorrow" by Joe Walsh, which came out in 1978. I had never heard of that song until a few years ago, but as soon as I heard it ... wow, pretty brazen. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-wkeWSJBZ990.html
My lifelong love affair with this album… It’s pop perfection!!! I was around nine when it came out. Discovered Kiss at the Dynasty time. I was building drumkits out of cardboard boxes, empty washpowder boxes etc. Discovering that music was my lifeline and my motivation for life.. can’t remember when I heard it couldn’t be Peter on drums. But I felt it at some point. I love Anton Fig’s work, he played this album from the heart and in my opinion perfect… I was gazing at the cover for hours day after day… Musically a vèry underrated album I think. What did they TRY to play on the cruise…She’s So European? The fact that it went downhill is imho because they underestimated the clever arrangements on this album! This album brings back my childhood everytime. And like my friend for life, Silvy Roos, always says: this is a ‘summery’ album. It brings the smell of summer in your mind. These are such great episodes guys!!!! Keep them coming! 🙌🏼
Love this! Seeing two friends reminiscing about that time period. I was born too late to listen to this album when it came out but it’s cool to see the comparisons to what was charting I love Unmasked. It’s cool hearing KISS do pop music.
Hey guys! Great video and introspection on a great KISS album! I was surprised to hear that Paul, Gene and Ace rated the album so low. If you look at tier lists across the internet of people who rated all of KISS's albums, you'll see that this album actually rates quite high for most KISS fans. The song writing is the key. This album has some great, catchy, hooky songs, is fairly consistent, compared to most KISS albums, and it shows a side and season of KISS that is very special to the fans. About the only thing that fans can say that is "negative" about the album is that it is not heavy. But heaviness alone cannot make an album "good" or "bad". Heaviness is a production decision. In the end, song writing wins the day. And this album has some great song writing. This poppy version of KISS was a continuation of the post Alive II era where we heard a more personal, less heavy sound and side of each KISS member in '78 on the solo albums, then Dynasty and Unmasked. The only KISS albums that have more consistent and better song writing are: Rock 'n' Roll Over, Destroyer, Dressed to Kill, Dynasty and Hotter than Hell. Even the debut, KISS, has 3 or 4 duds on it. Anyways, that's my humble opinion. Thanks for a thought provoking show and ROCK ON KISS ARMY!!
Zephhalo, your comment is so spot on in my opinion.. because lots of times Kissfans can’t stop dragging on about heavyness as if that is the key to great songs.. you hit the nail on the head: at the end of the day it’s the song that is key.. And Unmasked is loaded with amazing songs. I believe the Gene’s and Paul’s of the world nowadays just follow the meaning of the people with the biggest mouth… I think if Paul hears this album again on a proper hifi set blasting through the speakers his mind will definitely change..
Happy new year. All the best. "Unmasked" is a very soft and smooth polished Power Pop album. Luckily, every KISS album contains at least a handful of great songs. Ace delivers really good stuff 3 times. Paul's "Tomorrow" and Gene's "Naked City" are awesome, too. 🤘
Mike and Vince are great there very informative and respectfull very interesting to hear there opinion would love to hear episode about the elder or killers next.
I took this album out from the library when it came out and absolutely hated it. Didn't hear it again until the CD remasters came out in '97 and agreed with my initial opinion besides a handful of tracks.
I wasn't aware that "Shandi" was a Kiss tune until about 1994. In my area, Kiss singles were only played on the "commercial" radio stations until after 7PM, when there was no "live" DJs. In a nutshell, this album is right where Kiss should be for the timeline. Vincent nails that point around the 38 minute mark.
I have enjoyed Unmasked probably more in recent years than I did at the time. I was surprised at the lack of love for Naked City, perhaps one of Gene's best all time songs. One thing about the podcast: Vincent sounds like he is speaking into a microphone, but Mike sounds like he's in the back of the room. If you guys could iron out the levels, the experience as a listener would be markedly improved.
Back then, we didn't have ways to pre-listen to an album. Rock was never as prevalent on the radio as pop despite being a hugely successful genre. It was either word of mouth or one's enjoyment (or not) of a PREVIOUS album. Most of the people I know that bought Dynasty were pissed about the disco-like style of the album, the Paul and Peter songs anyway, so they checked out and never came back. You couldn't exactly return an album to a record store if you thought it sucked. The audience was gone for Kiss already in the U.S. It almost wouldn't have mattered what they recorded on Unmasked unless it was pure hard rock and fans began to drift back. They blew it by doubling down on pop.
Everyone just listen to the album. There is not a bad song on that Album. It sounds great from start to finish. Its a rock pop kind of an album and its really great. Ace Frehley really shines in talk to me. Is that you is a good song. Two kinds of the coin is really catchy and a great solo there. Tomorrow is great. Shandi was a hit in Australia during the unmasked tour there. The cover for the album isnt great, but who cares.
What do you guys rank Unmasked overall in the KISS Discography?? It’s just so unlike the albums before it, I think that’s why it doesn’t get very much love. It would be in my bottom 3rd of the discography. Love your show Mike!!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thank you Mike and Vincent for this review....Unmasked is a great album....ive been into Kiss since 76. ....i grew up with an appreciacion of music since i was born....i grew up with Neil Diamond...Charlie Rich....Chet Akins....Barbara Stresand....ect....so i already had an appreciation of music....so it was these Kiss fans who were ignorant that diddnt listen or shut them self off to tallent or other types of music who trash on unmasked .....I lean towards Vincent on his review.....thanks for a fun podcast!!....but thats the reason these people bang on unmasked cause theyre sterotyped on what they listen too...and thats what was going on back then...but me having a wide appreciacion of music...i love Unmasked!
I recall as a 14 year old being disappointed with Unmasked. I loved Dynasty. Didn't particularly like the outfits KISS wore. It was the capes. The rest of it was fine. Peter leaving/sacking was a mixture of me loving his makeup but knowing changes in band members happened. Eric Carr was a brilliant & ideal replacement for Peter in my view. I would as a reflection on Unmasked say it was disappointing. KISS should in my view have made a 3/4 heavier sounding songs & 1/4 softer pop style songs & that may have been more popular. I'm an Aussie & remember the amazing impact KISS had here in Australia. That's all fine & well but KISS was on a slide with earlier fans, forsaking on albums the hard rock & more subtitles of 1 or 2 softer more pop like approach from Destroyer to Dynasty. I guess with Music From The Elder we saw how this approach was a danger to fans. I would also be critical of the marketing approach by Aucoin. The solo albums, movie/tv show & marketing blitz was to full on. Older & more experienced fans were falling away. I would rate Unmasked (5 classic, 4 very good, 3 good, 2 not so good, 1 a failure) as a 2.5. Thank you for a great blast from the past Mike Brunn.
To answer your question about Ace's songs, Talk To Me is my favorite song on an otherwise forgettable album, especially since Ace's other two songs are pure shit. Two Sides Of The Coin is my second most hated Kiss song ever with the cringiest lyrics I've ever heard. Torpedo Girl's lyrics aren't much better but at least that song has some comic relief at the beginning of the song and then a cool drum fill and bass line but after that, absolutely forgettable. Unmasked has three of my five most hated Kiss songs along with You're All That I Want. Wimpy album like Paul said.
Man sorry guys this is my least favorite barely worse than Crazy Nights. Fan since 76 never owned til the mid 80’s. Bought it to complete the collection. For MANY years only liked Is That You? 1. Is That You?- 5 2. Shandi- 4 3. Talk To Me- 4 4. Naked City- 7 5. What Makes The World Go Round- 3 6. Tomorrow- 2 (claps ugh!) 7. Two Sides of The Coin- 5 8. She’s So European- 3 9. Easy As It Seems- 2 10. Torpedo Girl- 4 11. You’re All That I Want- 0 (HORRIBLE Mega skip) helps being the last song at least😁Perfect ending to a very bad album. IMO
I was a huge Kiss fan, but I remember being embarrassed by this album. AC/DC, Van Halen, Boston were so much better and this album looked like a kiddie album and Shandi was a travesty from a once great hard rock band
Naked City is great , Shandi , Is That You and Talk To Me are okay but that's about where it ends on Unmasked. Far too poppy and some songs are genuinely awful.
