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Reviews (2)
07 Jan, 2014
A great album from an odd era for KISS and music in general
3 of 3 found this helpful In 1979, disco was starting it's death roll after a lengthy visit, and talented artists like the Police, The Pretenders, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and the Cars were starting to gather more attention. KISS, in only 5 short years, went from starving artists to ruling the world with a merchandising frenzy that eclipsed the music they were putting out. They became something completely unique in the industry, and the music seemed only there as a vehicle to make more product to sell. Because of this, some really good songs seem to get lost in the shuffle of all that is KISS.
As a longtime KISS fan, "Dynasty" has long been a guilty pleasure for me. Sure, they were steering away from their original , hard-rockin' sound, and some of the tunes on here are a little bloated, but there is still some fine songs on here that add to the KISS legacy.
" Sure Know Something" was, and still is, a great pop song that probably deserved more attention than it got." I Was Made for Lovin' You" is as catchy as it comes, and deserved of it's Top 10 single status, that houses a blistering ( if all too short) guitar solo from Ace when he was at his peak. Ace gets three tracks on here as a result of his surprisingly effective solo album the year before... and they're all great. The Stones "2,000 Man" belongs to Ace Frehley now and he pays it proper respect while making it all his own, which is what a great cover should be.
Gene Simmons only gets two tracks on here, but they are both fun, standard "Demon" fare. "Charisma" sounds a little more ridiculous in content now than it did then to me, but there is no denying the sing-song chorus will stick in your head long after it's done playing.
The only dud on here is Peter Criss' "Dirty Livin'". I was never a big fan of Peter Criss as a songwriter, and his drumming at this point was so poor that he was barely used on the album. He drummed on his own track , of course, but it added nothing to what probably wasn't a very good song out of the chute.
All in all, a fine and timely effort from a band who has weathered through many different genres of popular music over their 40 years and managed to stay pertinent. Recommended.
29 Dec, 2013
Too much polish still can't hide a few good songs
By 1980 , KISS was in complete disarray, and so far removed from their musical identity that this couldn't help but be the result. In hindsight, however, it was Vini Poncia's slick and glossy production that watered down at least a few potent tunes.
Ace's "Talk To Me" probably should get the biggest nod on the album. It is a well-written and tuneful pop song, and is indicative of the creative surge Ace Frehley went through from 1977-1980. " Is That You?" and "You're All That I Want" could have benefited by being left in a rawer state that showed up on the album, but still decent songs. "Shandi" never appealed to me as a good song, and certainly not a good KISS song, but I can see where it had a good structure as a pop hit.
The rest of the album , to me, sounds like it's wandering around without much direction. Gene Simmons songs on here are uninspired at best, and lousy at worst. Paul Stanley seems sincere in his effort to become a hit-maker, but fits the role of one of hard rock's best frontmen much better. Still, there's no denying he has a really pleasant voice for this kind of music and is a more than competent songwriter when it comes to this type of material.
A much more confident Ace Frehley was further changing the band dynamic, and it was only a matter of time before he felt held back being part of any group. Peter Criss is absent from this album, despite being on the cover, and based on that time periods output from him, that's a good thing. His ghost drummer, Anton Fig, is one of the finest in the biz and the album could have benefited had they let him cut loose some. Instead he is forced to try and ape Peter's then (and now) limited skills and mixed into the background beat as so many pop songs had.
All in all, there are a few good ( if over-produced) songs on the album for fans of the band, and that's about all one can expect from any band. The fun thing about KISS being around for forty years is that they have tried their hand in many different popular music genres of the times, and had some success when they did. This album is a nice piece to add to the journey, even if it skews towards the bottom of the band's many albums.