Yup, I agree. The only problem was the production. Even the remastered versions still sound as if they were recorded in a garage with a £20 cassette recorder🤣
*Iván Hernández Vélez* Little known fact about the *Creatures* cd the song *Danger* was written for a James Bond movie that never got made. It was called *Danger Never Sleeps* If you read the lyrics to the song *Danger* you can see what I mean.
The weird middle period of KISS (Dynasty, Unmasked, The Elder), are lost masterpieces in my opinion. I find these albums so fun and interesting. The history at this time is fascinating too. I don't know what it is but I love this era. They have really gotten better over time. Undiscovered gems, in my opinion.
Kiss's Unplugged CD is a must also. To me it is a MASTERPIECE. I do agree that Alive 1 and Alive 2 are most definitely at the top. For me the Unplugged CD is at number 3.
Agreed. I’m getting into the deep tracks on their studio albums, but just about all of the songs that I heard on the first two live albums sound far better there than their studio doubles.
Gene Simmons was the world's best background singer in 74-75, inc. "Anything for My Baby," "Firehouse" (Double Platinum version), "Love Her All I Can," and "Hotter Than Hell."
Absolutely love Music From The Elder after all these years. The Oath, Under the Rose and Only You are awesome tunes. Unmasked as well has grown on me. Naked City is one of Gene’s best in my opinion. Spot on with Dynasty and can’t argue with the top 5. Great stuff Pete!
I'm so glad seeing people praising Music from the Elder. I remember reading negative comments about it, but I decided to buy it anyway because it was SF oriented conceptual album. I didn't know much about original Kiss lineup and I approached to it open-mindedly - and I was blown away. I still think it's quite natural for a SF nerd like Gene Simmons is, wearing armor and axe-bass, to create and play songs about swords forged in flames, ancient oaths, and heroes destined to save the world.
I'm watching this video not believing how HIGH The Elder was getting. Top freaking 10! Love. It. If you can get over it being "KISS" it's fantastic. The Oath is my favorite KISS song ever.
I got the album in 82 and loved it. Most Kiss fans probably just wanted a rock album like before. No mention that the CD has the songs in the correct order. The Record Company moved the songs to make the album more popular and the story did not make sense.
Musically "The Elder" is a pretty good album. But I think at the time it came out many fans were too ignorant to accept a "show"-band making a serious record. I am not the biggest KISS fan, but I like and know quite a bit of their stuff. I'd even put "The Elder" on my top 5 list.
Great comments and analysis as always Pete! Great thoughts on each album. My all time fav in the list is RNR Over. Great tunes top to bottom, great vocals, harmonies, Ace's leads riveting, and totally killer with not a filler on the album. It's stuck in my soul, in a good way. Anyway, great job Pete. By the way, God bless you and the family in this time with your father-in-law situation. Take care mate.
To me, Revenge is easily in my top 5 Kiss albums. It's raw, powerful, great songs and the input of Eric Singer brought a whole new level of energy to this band.🥁🥁🥁 In my opinion he contributed to their survival in these years. 🤘🦇🦇
Dressed to Kill was my first Kiss album. It doesn’t quite top Hotter Than Hell for me (my fave as well), but it’s a close second. I loved it when Gene and Paul sang together. Seemed like that dropped that approach after Destroyer. Peter Criss’ voice also added a soulful element that they never regained. Kissology 1 features their full b&w (which makes it cooler) Winterland show which is from the Hotter Than Hell tour. Very freaky, before the little kids got into them. Highly recommended.
1974: KISS and Hotter Than Hell 1975: Dressed To Kill and Alive 1976: Destroyer, Rock n Roll Over 1977: Love Gun and Alive 2 Very busy band the first few years. I was 15 when Rock and Roll Over came out and it remains my favorite to this day. Great list, Pete
It was 1976, I was 12 years old and my first KISS album was "Destroyer". It was my introduction to KISS and rock music in general. Due to the success of "Destroyer", their label Casablanca, had re-packaged the first 3 albums in a collection called "The Originals". You got "KISS, "Hotter than Hell", and "Dressed to Kill". There was a very cool booklet of photos, trading cards, and stickers. That is when I became a member of the "KISS ARMY".
It is great to see you in times like these and hear you talking of something "normal"! Thank you so much for being just there! Your Voice and face keeps me warm and cozy. Now "Play On..!" I'm really excited! Hugs from Germany!
Wow! Oh yeah!! Thank you for your Top Kiss CD's/albums!! I agree with you about your Kiss review. I love your Kiss Alive shirt!! Cool , hot and spot on review!!🎵🎤🎸🥁
I can't rank them, but these are my top 10 favourite Kiss studio albums (chronologically): KISS HOTTER THAN HELL DESTROYER ROCK N ROLL OVER DYNASTY MUSIC FROM THE ELDER CREATURES OF THE NIGHT LICK IT UP REVENGE PSYCHO CIRCUS Anyway, HOTTER THAN HELL is my favourite album from original lineup - dark, heavy riffs, weird lyrics, good solos, cool bass lines (that intro in Goin blind...), strange production almost like it was recorded in a cave (and I like it! ) - but this is original Kiss in my head, not Rock n roll all nite and I was made for lovin you. Check out black and white video of Wachin you and Parasite from Winterland 1975. CREATURES OF THE NIGHT is my favourite non-original lineup Kiss album. Love every song there, heavy Kiss, production built around Eric Carr's drum thunder. Wish i could see them on Creatures tour when they were playing on Maracana in Rio, in front of 150 000 fantastic Brasilian fans...
@Christopher Bingham it was my first Kiss album. My friend wanted to buy me Best off CD, but he could't find it in te record store, so he bought me theirs last album. That was the reason I became fan. Many years later I found out how much it is different from other stuff in Kiss catalog. I wish they played more than first four tracks...especially We are one, Journey of 1000 years, Dreaming...I even played Psycho circus PC game :)
Love it all. Crazy nights and hot in the shade both good. The era of Bruce was great. I still feel he was the best guitarist they had. I feel you though....original was always better. Thanks bro.
Been waiting on this one! KISS has been my favorite band since 1977! Ace and kiss are the reason I play guitar! Dig your choices! Totally agree kiss alive is my favorite, with rock n roll over is my fav studio album!
CREATURES OF THE NIGHT 1982 my favorite - and this coming from a soon to be 58 yr old and very first concert was 12-16-77 @ the infamous Madison Square Garden. I have every album. First group I really got into. Listen to all to this day/. My least favorite is Psycho circus. Never cared for that album. Just my opinion! Still a Top 5 group for me. It dominated my childhood. Tremendous memories. Loved this episode PETE. Thank you !!!!
I can't believe that this dude ranked Creatures of the Night at number 7. That's EASILY a top 2 or top 3 album-EASILY!!! I really feel, now that I think about it that it deserves to be ranked Number 1!!! Think about it:Dynasty-Kinda poppish. Unmasked:Super-poppish, and wimpy as all get-out! Music From The Elder: Somewhat better than Dynasty and Unmasked, but still lacking in Heaviness, at least to some degree. Creatures of the Night was a brilliant return to their Mid to Late 1970s form. DEFINITELY!!!
Creatures is definitely an incredible album! My favorite with Hotter than hell! Its powerful and mean! To me Kiss' greatest album without the original members! I'd also take Creatures over Destroyer any day damn that album is overrated and the songs are overplayed after all these years!! Just my opinion though..
It may be because I'm from a later generation but I think Psycho Circus was one of their best. It sounds like an updated version of their classic songs from the 70's.
Pete, I gotta’ admit, I’ve never liked KISS. But, I appreciate that they have their own “army”, and following......Really like the channel, keep on keepin’ on, brother.
I really like old Kiss stuff, my first paid concert was Kiss with Arrowsmith at Painter's Mill Music Fair in Balitmore Maryland back in the 70s. The venue probably held less than 25 hundred people, it was cool because it had a rotating stage in the venue with every one sitting around it
I'm doing a full re examination of Kiss' studio discography, and I must say 'Unmasked' and 'Music From the Elder' sound WAY better now than they did when I was younger and only looking for hard rock in my Kiss records. They're probably gonna end up above "Animalize", "Psycho Circus" and maybe even "Monster" by the time I'm done.
Not really a Kiss fan, but your opinion and for a lack of better word, expertise, is refreshing and interesting and informative and enjoyable, you don’t even have to be a fan of the bands. ✊🏿🤎🖤🤘🏾
I know that Carnival of Souls isn't in the normal style of what Kiss typically did but I love that album. It is one of the heaviest albums they ever did and definitely the darkest. Heavy and Dark, Two things I love. And the material is very good. A very underrated album in my opinion.
I love the Hotter Than Hell album. Right from that opening chord of 'Got to Chose'...😎 I saw Space Ace's stage outfit from '75, encased behind glass, at the Hard Rock in Atlantic City some 15 years ago- sweat stains & all... At the same time, I saw a drawing made by Jim Morrison from when he was a teen. It was a depiction of the concert he'd seen of Screamin' Jay Hawkins, of pall bearers carrying a coffin. (Hawkins stage entrance) Cool, cool stuff. 😎
I can still remember the decision I had to make when shopping for an album. Music from the Elder or Ted Nugent's Intensities in 10 Cities. I went with Nugent.
@@ktee1403 I was flipping through channels when I landed on MTV back when that came out and the video was on...I was like...who the hell are these guys? Being a Kiss fan since 3rd grade, I was amazed that this fresh sound was coming from these guys. Their best album.
I saw Paul doing an unaccompanied lead solo in 1983, when Vinnie was in the band. Vinnie was playing fine. No need to cover for anyone, just Paul's ego.
I LOVE "Industrial Disease". Not a huge fan overall, but I can't listen to that one enough !! Same with "Sausalito Summer Nights" by Diesel, roughly from that same era....😎
@@badwolfarchives3246 Sausalito Summer Nights by Diesel is a bit "pop", but the lyrics are good & the guitar hook knocks me out...😎 There is a longer version & a single edit both here on RU-vid. Regards-
*Victor Armenta* If KISS were smart they would have promoted Peter's record on radio and it would have been a massive hit. But KISS wanted to be Rok and Roll not R n B or Softy Rock like Rod Stewart or Bob Seger was back then.
Alive! was my first KISS album, and Dressed To Kill was my first KISS studio album. I was a huge fan back then. They lost me after Creatures Of The Night, and my ranking reflects that. So, studio albums only... 1. Dressed To Kill 2. Hotter Than Hell 3. KISS 4. Rock And Roll Over 5. Destroyer 6. Creatures Of The Night 7. Dynasty 8. Love Gun 9. Music From The Elder 10. Unmasked (In truth, the studio tracks from ALIVE II would go here, but since that was mostly a live album I've left them off.)
10 - Unmasked 9 - Lick It Up 8 - Dynasty 7 - Love Gun 6 - Dressed To Kill 5 - Creatures Of The Night 4 - Hotter Than Hell 3 - Destroyer 2 - Rock And Roll Over 1 -KISS (S/T 1974) Solo albums 4 - Peter Criss 3 - Paul Stanley 2 - Gene Simmons 1 - Ace Frehley
KISS are awesome got me into classic rock. I'm only 25 and mostly listen to 60's-90's music. Also Love these Ranking Videos Pete helps me find some awesome new stuff to check out.
1) Rock and Roll Over 2) Love Gun 3) KISS 4) Dynasty 5) Dressed To Kill 6) Hotter Than Hell 7) Destroyer 8) Unmasked 9) Asylum 10) Lick It Up 11) Monster 12) Hot In The Shade 13) Crazy Nights 14) Sonic Boom 15) Animalize 16) Creatures of The Night 17) Music From The Elder 18) Psycho Circus 19) Carnival of Souls 20) Revenge
Hi Pete. After I watched this ranking and KISS having had the importance it had in my life as a 12 year old, I decided to tackle this ranking as well. KISS - Alive! was the album that got me into KISS and music, and saying that, just like you mentioned Alive! and Alive II are my fave albums that really show you what the band was all about and have the best best versions of a lot of there earlier material. Well, 43 years have passed and I not only have grown as an individual but I learned to hear and love so many music generes as well, that my initial love for KISS has changed a lot. I've tried to tackle this ranking objectively, not as a KISS fan but as a music lover and was quite surprised at my final result. I do have the total discography, not only on CD but on vinyl as well. I did listen to the all these albums again as I had not Heard some in quite awhile, and of course I did have a different View of a lot of the stuff! The early KISS studio recordings suffered a bit in my ranking and I atribute that to the below par production on a lot of them. Well, enough said and here is my ranking: 01. Creatures of the Night - 76% 02. Destoyer - 74% 03. Music From The Elder - 73% 04. Dynasty - 72% 05. Dressed to Kill - 71% 06. Love Gun - 70% 07. Lick It Up - 69% 08. Hotter Than Hell - 68% 09. Unmasked - 68% 10. Animalize - 67% 11. Rock And Roll Over - 66% 12. KISS - 66% 13. Psycho Circus - 65% 14. Revenge - 65% 15. Crazy Nights - 65% 16. Asylum - 64% 17. Carnival Of Souls - 63% 18. Hot In The Shade - 58% 19. Sonic Boom - 58% 20. Monster - 45%
*Pete* The term you were looking for was *GUILTY PLEASURE.* Kiss's *I Was Made For Loving You* is also my guilty pleasure song. Like the version on Alive III. Love *Domino* & *I Was Made For Loving You* on Alive III.
Great vid. KISS has always been my favorite band. I can’t even attempt to rank the albums because each has a special place in my heart. I’m one of the weird guys that is more partial to Bruce’s playing than the other players but absolutely love every album.
Your story reminds me of a similar tale from the history of one of my absolute favorite bands: Jon Schaffer of Iced Earth saw KISS in 1979 for the first time, and like you, his dad took him to the show. He was inspired by the experience of seeing Ace Frehley to become a musician. One of the greatest, most creative, most formidable epic/power metal bands of all time was the ultimate result. So, thanks Ace and KISS!! \m/ \m/
There’s definitely a third camp of people out there, Pete. Those people who really don’t care for Kiss all that much-but don’t necessarily hate them, either, and do love some of their songs. I am one of those people, and although my Kiss fandom isn’t exactly, well, huge, I still found this video entertaining and well-done. I will never hate on anyone for his or her musical tastes.
I actually saw an interview where they said that they did record with make up and stage outfits in the 70s and early 80s. To me it makes those early albums more legit Kiss u know
I grew up with the 70s Kiss but Creatures is definitely my favorite Kiss album hands down..I even have a soft spot for Animalize and the Elder. Most of 80s and 90s Kiss is really underrated in my opinion as they're many good tunes off those albums..
Thank you for this video. Kiss was my obsession during my teenage years. Another fan recently made a ranking video and, although I agreed with him for the most part, your ranking is closer to mine. What I think is that the only studio albums made after they ditched their makeup and costumes that rank among their best are "Lick It Up" and "Revenge" (although "Carnival Of Souls" is interesting). Nothing else can touch what they did up to "Creatures Of The Night". I think you should have mentioned "Killers" and "Smashes, Thrashes & Hits". Mostly compilation albums, but they have brand-new stuff at the time that qualifies for a ranking in my opinion. And what about the studio side of "Alive II"? "Rocket Ride" is one of the best Kiss songs ever! Some random remarks: "Alive!" is one of my top two live rock albums ever. I also like "Alive II" a lot, but I don't rank it as high. Ace's solo album is one of the best straight-ahead, no-frills hard rock albums from the seventies. Paul's solo album is the most Kiss-like and Gene's is the most eclectic. "Got Love For Sale" is perhaps my favorite deep cut from Kiss. While everybody else was panning "The Elder", I was in my room playing air drums to "I", "Dark Light" and "Mr. Blackwell". Thank you again!
Yeah ...Tommy could have covered the left eye and dressed like a pirate, seeing that he's been ripping of Ace's solos for years. And Eric could have been the Hamburgerlar because he's another thief.
I was in the army too back in the 70s, the demon was my favorite, seen them 3 times in concert, and still listen to the albums today....i remember watching the tom Snyder interview with them on t.v....ace was fucking hilarious
@Tyler Morrison i was huge fan back then, and watched when it aired.....i walked away loving ace. (and tom "got it" too...he was usually a stick in the mud....tom's best moment too!)
Pete, I really enjoyed this listing. Even though our lists are not similar in structure, we share the same reasons for liking certain albums along with certain songs, especially with the four solos. My top four have not changed in over thirty years, and my number one definitely got me into conflict with a lot of people; but at least one of my best friends loves that particular album as well: 1 Music From the Elder 2 Destroyer 3 Creatures of the Night 4 Hotter Than Hell 5 Kiss 6 Crazy Nights 7 Carnival of Souls 8 Revenge 9 Rock 'N' Roll Over 10 Love Gun 11 Dressed to Kill 12 Lick it Up 13 Dynasty 14 Monster 15 Animalize 16 Sonic Boom 17 Unmasked 18 Asylum 19 Hot in the Shade 20 Psycho Circus As for the solos: 1 Paul Stanley 2 Ace Frehley 3 Gene Simmons 4 Peter Criss These last four haven't changed in order for me either since they came out in '78. My view on both Gene and Peters' albums concurs with your own, with both Ace and Pauls being way ahead of the other two. I used to tell people who were doubtful about listening to them that between Paul and Aces' albums you get the most well-rounded Kiss sound.
oh man YES!!!!!!!!! I havent seen the video and already love it!!! had been waiting for this one for so long! thank you so much pete, for all the effort you put into this chanel to entertain a bunch of strangers. i much appreciate it!!:)
Love The Elder. I think they thought because Bob Ezrin just had a hit with Pink Floyd’s The Wall that lightning would strike for them as well. I liked when Kiss went outside their comfort zone. Love Carnival of Souls as well.
Great list. Here is my own top 10: 10. Love Gun 9. Destroyer 8. Psycho Circus 7. Lick it Up 6. Unmasked 5. Dynasty 4. KISS 3. Hotter than Hell 2. Rock and Roll Over 1. Creatures of the Night Honorable Mention: Carnival of Souls
I'm glad too see that you have at least given "Unmasked" a few more years time to like the album more than you thought originally! To me, the "REAL KISS" was 1974-1982. I tried and tried to like ANYTHING KISS did after "Creatures..." and I even tried to "force" those album upon myself and I just couldn't do it' They just were NOT the same band without that makeup mystique. I heard the first KISS album in 1974 when I was 9 years of age and I heard the sound of LIFE!! I actually was fortunate to get to hear the band BEFORE seeing what they looked like. My cousin made me a cassette tape of the first album in early summer of '74 and I played the living shit out it for a few weeks and then I seen the band responsible for this GREAT music on a late night TV rock show and needless to say I was blown away by what I was seeing and hearing! I couldn't believe it!! Then of course, Hotter...Dressed...and then KISS-ALIVE!!!!!....Speechless! And three more mind blowing albums and another KISS-ALIVE II!!....I have to admit that the studio side 4 was better to me than the 3 live sides. I love the album BUT it just didn't have something that ALIVE had. They just seem to rush all the songs and seemed not to care as much. Then, the CULT CLASSIC "KISS MEETS THE PHANTOM OF THE PARK" I know it's a movie BUT I don't care. The movie should be a CULT CLASSIC!!....Then the SOLO albums. I still loved KISS but I could feel gravity's start to pull. THEN these three fucking, amazing and the three most UNDERRATED KISS albums came in the order of "Dynasty/Unmasked/Music From The Elder" ALL of those albums were instant classics to me. I call those three KISS albums "THE THREE MOST UNDERRATED TRILOGY OF KISS ALBUMS"!! In the late 1970's a new brand of rock/pop music was breaking out in which I absolutely embraced! Call it what you will: NEW WAVE or PUNK but I loved it and it's very clear that both Dynasty and Unmasked were influenced by this movement of new music. I know that's why I love those two albums so very much. Fell in love with the first time I heard them. I can't even get into just how incredibly passionate I am about UNMASKED! So diverse. Ace has many great solo's on many songs BUT for whatever reason, the solo on the song "Talk To Me" is my all time favorite Ace solo. Don't ask me why.... It just is. "KISS- Music from The Elder is KISS's MASTERPIECE!!" GREAT, GREAT album. It's not even an album, it's an event!!...I was going to try to rank my top ten favorite KISS albums, BUT just can't do a top ten favorite list. It's impossible! I need to include KISS-ALIVE and the SOLO's and even the "re-mixed" DOUBLE PLATINUM needs to be included. To me the SOLO's whether it being a solo or collectively need to be in there as well. From 1974-1982 KISS released 17 albums including live, solo and an odd re-mix album and I hold them ALL singly and collectively dear to my heart and to my very soul. In my opinion, the REAL KISS was over from the release of "Lick It Up" on up. So I cannot use any of those albums. All I can say with complete and unadulterated confidence is that these days when I go to play a KISS album, it will either be "HOTTER THAN HELL" or the mighty "UNMASKED".
It’s possibly my favourite Kiss album. I know I’m in the minority on this one but there’s a maturity in the writing which is unusual for Kiss. Unmasked must be their worst by a long way.
I understand your feelings about The Elder. But, it´s like a weird place for a glam rock band like KISS. Prog rock is not KISS territory. Like I said on a previous comment, I somehow lost interest in KISS music.Therefore, I never got into The Elder.
@@mahogany174"Prog"? KIZZ Fans would say so, King Crimson fans not so much. The Elder was KIZZ caving in to the Critics and it backfired. Misguided perhaps but still way better than Unmasked.
Great video 1. Rock and Roll Over 2. Hotter Than Hell 3. Unmasked 4. Creatures of the Night 5. Lick It Up 6. Revenge 7. Dressed To Kill 8. Dynasty 9. ACE FREHLEY 10. KISS: Music From the Elder.
Hadn't expected The Elder so high after you mentioned it in the 'stinker albums'. It's actually one of my favourites. I like all the songs. Escape form the Island is an incredible instrumental. A world without heroes is one of the best Kiss ballads. Great, great album.
Yes!! Hotter than Hell is my top Kiss album too.. from the very beginning Heavy and dark -. that's when they had the menacing heavy metal bite. Favorite on here is without a doubt - Parasite. However, minor correction -Peter sings on Strange Ways😁
1. Rock & Roll Over 2. Love Gun 3. Dressed to Kill 4. 1st Album 5. Destroyer 6. Hotter than Hell 7. Creatures of the Night --------------------------- 8. Dynasty 9. Unmasked 10. Psycho Circus --------------------------- 11. Lick It Up 12. Crazy Nights 13. Hot in the Shade 14. Asylum 15. Revenge 16. Music from the Elder -------------------------- 17. Animalize 18. Carnival of Souls 19. Sonic Boom 20. Monster I break mine into tiers.
Great to see Hotter Than Hell getting some love. Always been one of my favorite albums. Round it out with Rock 'n' Roll Over, Destroyer, and Alive! and you have a pretty good collection! To me that's the core of Kiss.
I think the words you were looking for with "I Was Made For Loving You" are "guilty pleasure". Always loved "Under The Rose" from Music From The Elder.
"Under The Rose" is my favourite song on that album - great music and lyrics! I was watching video with Opeth's Mikael Åkerfeldt talking about various albums he bought recently. I was not suprised he spoke positively about Music from the Elder, especially The Oath and Under the Rose. This is truly great album, no matter what traditional hard rock/heavy metal fans have to say about it. It would be even better if Paul was not singing falseto on Oath and Just a boy chorus and if they keep original Ace's solos - that's why the live version of Oath is so much better IMO.
R&RO has long been my #1. Of course, it could be that it was the first record I ever bought with my allowance money. ($3.99 at Korvettes, if I remember right.)
I was not a huge KISS fan, but I 've changed my opinion when I saw them at a live concert. I enjoyed their music a lot and in my opinion they give their strong versions of the classics songs. They give really the best alive and I loved this show. Anywhere my top list: Kiss alive I and II Hotter than hell Kiss Destroyer Dressed to kill Creatures of the night
I've been a KISS fan since 1975. The image on that shirt you're wearing (the cover of Alive) was the first time I ever set eyes on them. I also wasn't a big fan of the 80's era KISS.
