*RADIOACTIVE*
Written For Purple Jade
GENE SIMMONS (Casablanca Records)
Scenario: You hang out with a bunch of freaks known for spewing forth fiery riffs and take no prisoners imagery. Your power has grown to mammoth, almost unequalled proportions. You are on the verge of total world domination, at least sonically. The plan is, for one brief instance, to divide and conquer. You and your rock n’ roll brothers are to each record a solo album, theoretically maximizing the impact of your collective.
Now, more specifically, you are a demon. An especially menacing one at that. You spit blood, have bat wings and a propensity to unravel a tongue so large, it had to be sculpted by the God of Cunnilinguistics. One would imagine Mr. Gene Simmons had a tough task in this. If he went totally over the top heavy metal and all dark, he may be wasting precious KISS (the band) album material. Yet, if he strayed from this tried and true formula, it would be at risk of thinning out his character development. For whatever reason, he ditched the dark and went for strange hybrid of rock and soul that seems to have come from outer space.
What we get here is a slew of safe, non-abrasive hard rock that sometimes nears a biting riff "Tunnel of Love", but then lets it fall by the wayside in favor of a super soul chick choir. This occurs on many of the tracks, including the intro piece "Radioactive". Kind of like the stellar soundtrack material we got in late 70s feature porn flicks. Except this isn't quite that funky. But the soul is there. And it’s a bit thick. For instance, we get a plodding, slow grind bass, greased up with petroleum jelly on "Burning Up With Fever". Then there’s "True Confessions", a rather ordinary tune that embraces the Foghat Stone Blue era, with loose, fat bass lines and a rhythmic, bluesy swagger. I suppose for a creature that could be described as a one-man traveling orgy, it does have its relevance.
There are a couple tunes Gene didn’t write. One works, one uhh well, I’ll get to that one in a second. "Living In Sin" is a choice piece celebrating all the things Gene is - tender, twisted quickies. As in, "I’m Living in Sin at the Holiday Inn". Yet even worse than the miscue of "Then She Kissed Me" from "Love Gun", we fall to weakened knees with "When You Wish Upon a Star". Yep, the same tune we associate with the wonderful world of Disney. I mean, maybe this is Gene's sarcastic wink, a la Alice Cooper's famed Muppet Show appearance? I don’t know. I am afraid it would cause seizures in the weak if not consumed under a doctor’s care.
There are some objectively pleasant moments, such as on "See You Tonight", a waltzy, Herman's Hermits type of pop/rock sugar cube. And then there’s the (gasp!) catchy "Mr. Make Believe", a legitimate little softy. "Always Near You/Nowhere to Hide" is the least hokey of the dreamy fare. Yet all in all, Gene actually sounds endearing on these ones. That's okay, except he is supposed to vomit plasma, not rock babies to sleep! Okay, okay, I said objective.
The redone version of KISS's "See You In Your Dreams Tonight" sums up the soul chick-ification of the album. Here it is clear what the difference is between KISS and GENE material. However, the one track sums it all up in one giant, money shot, is "Man of a Thousand Faces". Yep, who is the REAL Gene Simmons? This song will only add to the confusion, like every rock cliché of the day thrown in a blender and plopped out in a smooth ooze. Basically, a made to order conglomerate of orchestra, a dash of rock, some Edgar Winter and perhaps most disturbing, a sugar sweet cup of Elton John.
Like a maddening struggle played out on a late night softcore premium movie channel, the GENE SIMMONS solo album may leave you thinking, I know it is nasty and it is technically sinful. But, where’s the blood and full frontal nudity? Like the bad apple in the Emmanuelle series, you keep it anyway. Hell, you are a connoisseur and it looks good on the shelf, even if it plays a bit underwritten and lacks the passion of the pre-Sylvia Krystal days.
SPECIAL THANKS to Brian "Rockdevil" Coles
Happy Halloween! View the attached picture with CAUTION!!!! Satanic Squirrel **grins**
Part: 2
Animation by Brian "Rock Devil" Coles
1977 Tour From KISSONLINE.COM
| 1977 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Location | Venue | Opening Act |
| 5-Jan-77 | Abilene, Texas | Taylor Coliseum | |
| 6-Jan-77 | Tulsa, Oklahoma | Assembly Center | |
| 7-Jan-77 | Norman, Oklahoma | University of Oklahoma | |
| 9-Jan-77 | Wichita, Kansas | Henry Levitt Arena | |
| 10-Jan-77 | Amarillo, Texas | Civic Center | |
| 11-Jan-77 | Albuquerque, New Mexico | Tingley Coliseum | |
| 13-Jan-77 | Salt Lake City, Utah | Salt Palace | |
| 15-Jan-77 | Denver, Colorado | McNichols Arena | |
| 17-Jan-77 | Grand Forks, North Dakota | University of North Dakota | |
| 18-Jan-77 | Duluth, North Dakota | Duluth Arena | |
| 20-Jan-77 | Lincoln, Nebraska | Pershing Auditorium | |
| 21-Jan-77 | Des Moines, Iowa | Veterans Memorial Coliseum | |
| 22-Jan-77 | Chicago, Illinois | Chicago Stadium | |
| 24-Jan-77 | Fort Wayne, Indiana | Vertarans Memorial Coliseum | |
| 25-Jan-77 | Terre Haute, Indiana | Hulman Center | |
| 27-Jan-77 | Detroit, Michigan | Cobo Hall | |
| 28-Jan-77 | Detroit, Michigan | Cobo Hall | |
| 29-Jan-77 | Detroit, Michigan | Cobo Hall | |
| 8-Feb-77 | Omaha, Nebraska | Civic Auditorium | |
| 16-Feb-77 | Hartford, Conneticut | Civic Center | |
| 18-Feb-77 | New York, New York | Madison Square Garden | |
| 21-Feb-77 | Uniondale, New York | Nassau Coliseum | |
| 3-Mar-77 | Tampa, Florida | Sun Dome | |
| 5-Mar-77 | Lexington, Kentucky | Rupp Arena | |
| 24-Mar-77 | Osaka, Japan | Kosei Nenkin Hall | |
| 25-Mar-77 | Osaka, Japan | Kosei Nenkin Hall | |
| 26-Mar-77 | Kyoto, Japan | Kaikan | |
| 28-Mar-77 | Nagoya, Japan | Aichi-Ken Taiiku-Kan | |
| 29-Mar-77 | Osaka, Japan | Festival Hall | |
| 30-Mar-77 | Fukuoka, Japan | Kyuden Taiiku-Kan | |
| 1-Apr-77 | Tokyo, Japan | Budokan Hall | |
| 2-Apr-77 | Tokyo, Japan | Budokan Hall (first show) | |
| 2-Apr-77 | Tokyo, Japan | Budokan Hall (second show) | |
| 4-Apr-77 | Tokyo, Japan | Budokan Hall | |
| 7-Jul-77 | Halifax, Nova Scotia | Forum | |
| 8-Jul-77 | Halifax, Nova Scotia | Forum | |
| 9-Jul-77 | Moncton, New Brunswick | Coliseum | |
| 12-Jul-77 | Montreal, Quebec | Montreal Forum | |
| 14-Jul-77 | Ottawa, Ontario | Civic Center | |
| 15-Jul-77 | Kitchener, Ontario | Kitchener Auditorium | |
| 16-Jul-77 | Kitchener, Ontario | Kitchener Auditorium | |
| 18-Jul-77 | London, Ontario | London Gardens | |
| 19-Jul-77 | Sudbury, Ontario | Sudbury Arena | |
| 21-Jul-77 | Winnipeg, Manitoba | Winnipeg Arena | |
| 24-Jul-77 | Vancouver, British Columbia | Pacific Coliseum | |
| 25-Jul-77 | Victoria, British Columbia | Victoria Arena | |
| 27-Jul-77 | Edmonton, Alberta | Northlands Coliseum | |
| 28-Jul-77 | Lethbridge, Alberta | Sportsplex | |
| 29-Jul-77 | Edmonton, Alberta | Northlands Coliseum | |
| 31-Jul-77 | Calgary, Alberta | Stampede Corral | |
| 1-Aug-77 | Calgary, Alberta | Stampede Corral | |
| 3-Aug-77 | Regina, Saskatchewan | Regina Arena | |
| 4-Aug-77 | Winnipeg, Manitoba | Winnipeg Arena | |
| 7-Aug-77 | Billings, Montana | Yellowstone Arena | |
| 8-Aug-77 | Rapid City, South Dakota | Rushmore Civic Center | |
| 11-Aug-77 | Spokane, Washington | Coliseum | |
| 12-Aug-77 | Seattle, Washington | Coliseum | |
| 13-Aug-77 | Portland, Oregon | Coliseum | |
| 16-Aug-77 | San Francisco, California | Cow Palace | |
| 17-Aug-77 | Fresno, California | Sellano Arena | |
| 19-Aug-77 | San Diego, California | Sports Arena | |
| 21-Aug-77 | Tucson, Arizona | Convention Center | |
| 22-Aug-77 | Phoenix, Arizona | Veterans Memorial Coliseum | |
| 26-Aug-77 | Los Angeles, California | The Forum | |
| 27-Aug-77 | Los Angeles, California | The Forum | |
| 28-Aug-77 | Los Angeles, California | The Forum | |
| 1-Sep-77 | Houston, Texas | The Summit | |
| 2-Sep-77 | Houston, Texas | The Summit | |
| 15-Nov-77 | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma | The Myriad | |
| 30-Nov-77 | Omaha, Nebraska | Civic Auditorium | |
| 6-Dec-77 | Wichita, Kansas | Henry Levitt Arena | |
| 9-Dec-77 | Memphis, Tennessee | Mid-South Coliseum | |
| 10-Dec-77 | Nashville, Tennessee | Municipal Auditorium | |
| 12-Dec-77 | Louisville, Kentucky | Freedom Hall | |
| 13-Dec-77 | Indianapolis, Indiana | Market Square Arena | |
| 14-Dec-77 | New York, New York | Madison Square Garden | |
| 15-Dec-77 | New York, New York | Madison Square Garden | |
| 16-Dec-77 | New York, New York | Madison Square Garden | |
| 19-Dec-77 | Largo, Maryland | Capital Center | |
| 20-Dec-77 | Largo, Maryland | Capital Center | |
| 22-Dec-77 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | The Spectrum | |
| 27-Dec-77 | Baton Rouge, Louisiana | Louisiana State University | |
| 29-Dec-77 | Birmingham, Alabama | Jefferson Civic Center | |
| 30-Dec-77 | Atlanta, Georgia | The Omni | |
| 31-Dec-77 | Greensboro, North Carolina | Coliseum |
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