Today in 1998 Kiss released the album Psycho Circus New York City, New York Hard rock, heavy metal Status:Active Years active 1973–present Kiss (often styled as KISS) is an American rock band formed in New York City in January 1973. Well known for its members black and white face paint and flamboyant stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid to late 1970s with their elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing, blood spitting, smoking guitars, shooting rockets, levitating drum kits and pyrotechnics. Counting the 1978 solo albums, Kiss has been awarded 28 gold albums to date, the most of any American rock band. The band has sold more than 40 million albums in the United States, of which 20 million have been certified by the RIAA and their worldwide sales exceeds 100 million records, making them one of world’s best-selling bands of all time. The original 1973–80 lineup consisted of Paul Stanley (vocals and rhythm guitar), Gene Simmons (vocals and bass guitar), Ace Frehley (lead guitar and vocals) and Peter Criss (drums and vocals). With their makeup and costumes, they took on the personas of comic book-style characters: Starchild (Stanley), The Demon (Simmons), Spaceman or Space Ace (Frehley) and Catman (Criss). Stanley became the Starchild because of his tendency to be referred to as the starry-eyed lover and hopeless romantic. The Demon makeup reflected Simmons cynicism and dark sense of humor, as well as his affection for comic books. Frehleys Spaceman makeup was a reflection of his fondness for science fiction and his supposedly being from another planet. Criss Catman makeup was in accordance with the belief that he had nine lives because of his rough childhood in Brooklyn. Because of creative differences, both Criss and Frehley were out of the group by 1982. The bands commercial fortunes had waned considerably by that point. Buoyed by a wave of Kiss nostalgia in the 1990s, the band announced a reunion of the original lineup in 1996. The resulting Kiss Alive/Worldwide/Reunion Tour was the top-grossing act of 1996 and 1997. Criss and Frehley have since left Kiss again, but the band continues with Eric Singer and Tommy Thayer. Stanley and Simmons have remained the only two constant members. Kiss has been named in many Top lists. They include Number 10 on VH1s 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock, 9th on The Greatest Metal Bands list by MTV, number one on Hit Paraderss Top 100 Live Bands, 56th on VH1s 100 Greatest Artists Of All Time, and 26th on Gibsons 50 Greatest American Rock Bands. Kiss was nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, ten years after becoming eligible Mercury Paul Stanley – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, bass guitar (on I Finally Found My Way and the chorus section of I Pledge Allegiance to the State of Rock and Roll) Ace Frehley – lead guitar, lead vocals (on Into the Void, You Wanted the Best, and In Your Face) Gene Simmons – lead vocals, bass guitar, rhythm guitar (on We Are One) Peter Criss – drums (on Into the Void), lead vocals (on You Wanted the Best and I Finally Found My Way) Uncredited Bruce Kulick – backwards guitar intro and solo (on Within), rhythm and bass guitar (on Dreamin) Tommy Thayer – lead guitar (except on Into the Void, You Wanted the Best, and In Your Face) Kevin Valentine – drums (except on Into the Void) Shelly Berg – acoustic piano (on I Finally Found My Way and Journey of 1,000 Years) Bob Ezrin – Fender Rhodes piano (on I Finally Found My Way) 1. Psycho Circus (5:30) 2. Within (5:10) 3. I Pledge Allegiance To The State Of Rock & Roll (3:32) 4. Into The Void (4:22) 5. We Are One (4:41) 6. You Wanted The Best (4:15) 7. Raise Your Glasses (4:15) 8. I Finally Found My Way (3:40) 9. Dreamin (4:12) 10. Journey Of 1,000 Years (4:47) Total Time 44:28 Limited Edition and Japanese Edition contains the following bonus track: 11. In Your Face (3:40) Limited Edition includes a bonus disc with the following tracklist: 1. Psycho Circus (live) (5:34) 2. Let Me Go, Rock N Roll (live) (5:33) 3. Into The Void (live) (9:10) 4. Within (live) (7:57) 5. 100,000 Years (live) (5:17) 6. Black Diamond (live) (6:12) Psycho Circus is the 18th studio album by American rock band Kiss. The album features the original four members back together and in full make-up. Some pressings featured a lenticular cover that alternates between a black Kiss logo and the album title with pictures of a clown and the band members, while the Japan initial first pressing featured a pop-up cover which had three foam spring-loaded panels of a clown face and two others with band members faces that popped out when the doors were opened. You Wanted the Best is the only Kiss song in which lead vocals are shared by the entire lineup Following the highly successful 1996-97 reunion tour, Psycho Circus was marketed as the first studio album by the bands original lineup since 1979s Dynasty (as Peter Criss did not participate on 1980s Unmasked). As with Dynasty and Unmasked, however, many of the songs were recorded by uncredited players. Ace Frehley and Criss were used sparingly, with Criss only playing drums on Into the Void. Frehley played on two songs from the album (not including vocals). In 2011, in Frehleys book No Regrets, he says that he wrote a lot of songs for the album, one of those songs being titled Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Rock n Roll. He mentions that the title and song were deemed very similar to the song I Pledge Allegiance to the State of Rock n Roll. Into the Void was originally titled Shakin Sharp Shooter but Simmons and Stanley were unhappy with the lyrics and title so Ace Frehley went up to a separate room and rewrote it. The song Within was originally written and demoed for Kiss previous album Carnival of Souls: The Final Sessions and contains the original backwards guitar intro from the demo by previous Kiss member, Bruce Kulick. In a radio interview with Eddie Trunk following his departure Criss stated that only Into the Void featured instrumental contributions from all four members. Regarding the lack of cohesion in the group at the time of recording, Paul Stanley stated We tried to do a Kiss album, and it was an ill-fated attempt because there was no real band, and continued by adding For a band to make a great album, it has to share a common purpose, and we didnt have it. In 2012, Stanley also talked about why the original lineup didnt play on the record, and thats because so many lawyers were getting involved and they just lost tolerance and told Frehley and Criss not to bother showing up. Although Stanley doesnt say whose lawyers were getting involved. Bruce Fairbairn was brought to produce the album, and stated that he wanted to stay away from gimmicks and trends such as guest appearances, just tried to stay true to what Kiss does best and people remember them for. The album was mostly recorded at Los Angeles A&M Studios and One on One Recording Studios, with the performances being first recorded with analogue equipment, and then digitized for mixing and overdubs. Afterwards it was mixed by Mick Guzauski in his New York studio, and mastered by Fairbarn and Kiss long-time partner George Marino at Sterling Sound NY. Fairbairn complimented the band for being collaborative, declaring that it had the potential to be a nightmare because theyre all disparate and strong characters, musically and as people. It is sometimes assumed that Psycho Circus is based on the comic book series Kiss: Psycho Circus, which debuted the year before the album was released. However, while it is true that the album had not been conceived at the time the comic book was first published, Simmons claims that the Psycho Circus concept was originally created as a Kiss tour theme youtube/watch?v=JdmjlwbQN8Y
Posted on: Mon, 22 Sep 2014 18:34:26 +0000
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