Lick It Up [Remaster] by Kiss (CD, Sep-1998, Mercury)

OK, I'll get slagged for this but if you do slag me, you need to be honest about the record, not about Kiss. I saw Kiss back in 1977 on the Love Gun tour. I still have all of their records (even Asylum). Now that 30 years have passed, I look at the music for what it is. Up until 1978, Kiss was a very good rock band. But then came I Was Made For Loving You. The Elder. The Phantom. Larger than life. And (here's where you'll hate me Kiss fans) fame way beyond their talent. Face it, Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons have 2 main skills: Way too much confidence and a thirst for money and fame. Every single record of the 80s, 90s and oughties is horrible. Don't get me started on Simmons Happy CD. Think of it this way: you are a record exec and some band comes in off the street in 2007. They all look like David Byrne and are selling you the Lick It Up Album as their first album. After you stop laughing, you kick them to the curb and say NEXT. That is my point. This is not music but part of the Kiss legacy. Even the album title conjures up visions of their video with Stanley mouthing Lick It Up and Simmons posing/pouting to the side. This is a really bad record that today's garage bands would crush with their creativity and talent. But hey, pick up Dressed To Kill, Kiss, Rock & Roll Over, Alive, Destroyer if you want Kiss music. If you want to give Kiss money for nothing, buy Lick It Up.