I've spent most of my life defending KISS. In fact, I remember one of my best friends commenting a few years ago "Slick, I remember seeing you in the library wearing an "I went crazy with KISS" shirt & thinking 'Damn, I respect that dude for wearing that'" That incident happened in 1988 at the height of the "KISS is a bunch of hack followers" time. Long-winded story short, I think my fandom has now changed to loving the image more than the band. At least, the last 15 years of the band, that is.
The douche-ness of Paul & Gene is well documented. The ridiculousness of new players impersonating Ace & Peter is also. And while I love many moments from '82 on, my KISS fandom is really embedded in the original 5 years, '74-'79. The rawness & sense of danger inherent in those first few years is clearly superior to the formulaic decades to follow.
Obviously, I can't be a true fan without showing proper respect to the latter years. The entire Creatures Of The Night disc is monstrous. Highlights from future albums include "A Million To One" & "Not For The Innocent" from Lick It Up. Gene was in full bitch-mode on that album, as evidenced on "Young & Wasted".
Animalize was a mostly Paul vision as Gene was emersed in Hollywood. Still, there were some choice tracks: "I've Had Enough(Into The Fire)" slammed, and "Thrills In The Night" may be the shining moment of any 80's KISS song selection.
Asylum saw the band veer off into a more melodic area. Highlights included "Who Wants To Be Lonely" & "Tears Are Falling", simple yet so effective.
Last from the non-makeup 80's is Hot In The Shade. Certainly, it was a major stepping stone to the brilliant Revenge. Paul & Gene chose to produce it themselves, most likely to save dollars. However, there were several strong moments in a 15 song disc that would've been just as tight at 11 or 12. The single shining moment would have to be "Forever". It's acoustic/electric intermingling is damn near genius & emphasizes how KISS does not get nearly the credit they should as musicians.
