Kiss – Unmasked – 1980
Don’t mistake the title, THIS is the true Kiss. Unmasked, honest, true to themselves–
Okay, I can’t.
This is just a bad record. I’m not quite done with it. So, I’ll be back in a bit. But, from what I’ve heard there’s nothing good on this platter.
Hang on–
What the fuck is a Shandi? Yeah, I know it was a hit but it sucks.
Ace comes off okay with the uber-poppy “Talk to Me” & “Two Sides of the Coin”, he’s not breaking any ground but he’s also not embarrassing himself. “Torpedo Girl” continues his groove-tastic bassline affinity. It wants to be “New York Groove Part 2” but it’s kind of a dud.
Gene is as boring and self-aggrandizing as ever (even though “She’s So European isn’t terrible). Paul is still carrying the big power pop torch, scoring with the hooky “Tomorrow” and the blandly (but very 80s) “Easy as it Seems”. But, the whole affair is so bereft of ideas. At this point since making a album is like a license to print money for these guys, the least amount of energy they expend, the better. These are bloated millionaires with little or nothing left to say.
I wonder how they will reinspire themselves…You know what would be good for them? A concept album. That would probably do the trick.
Grade C
ASide: Tomorrow
BlindSide: Talk to Me, She’s so European
DownSide: Naked City
