45 years ago this month, KISS released their self-titled debut through Casablanca Records. The date was February 18th, 1974 and the world was unprepared for what was about to be released upon them. And how could they have been? No one had ever seen the likes of KISS. The only thing that came close at the time was Alice Cooper, and he was nowhere near as extreme visually as what KISS was was offering.
The first image of the group that record store patrons saw was the cover of the self-titled KISS album. Four guys covered in makeup that each emulated their own persona. There was the Starchild Paul Stanley with a star painted over one eye. Gene Simmons wore the warpaint of the Demon, with dragon-like markings over each eye and black lipstick. Silver-haired "Space" Ace Frehley had what appeared to be a painted on superhero mask shaped like a silver comet or jagged explosions around his eyes. Peter Criss's Catman's makeup featured a silver nose, black rings around his eyes, and black whiskers on each side of his face. The stage was set for what would become one of the most electrifying rock and roll acts of the 20th and 21st century.
The self-titled KISS album is chock full of songs that the band has performed on their many tours over the years. They have become rock and roll anthems throughout their career. When the album first released in 1974, it sold 75,000 units. By 1977, it was certified gold and proved its place as one of the essential glam rock albums according to Spin Magazine.
"The first record is my favorite because it has so many memories. You know when a dream starts to come true? You dream big and you have that first record, and you hold it in your hands. I bought our first record, and I went, ‘Wow, I’m in KISS,'” Gene Simmons stated for the book KISS: Behind the Mask - The Official Authorized Biography.
Paul Stanley continued, "I'd give the first KISS album five stars, because that's the mother of all others. That was like our Declaration of Independence, and everything that came after that is based on that album."
"It was one of our best records because it had that spontaneity and that tough kind of sound. I think we put 110 percent on that record. The songs on that first album are good," Founding member and former lead guitarist Ace Frehley shared.
Founding member and former drummer Peter Criss agreed: "The first album was my baby. I gave it my all. I loved all the songs on it like 'Strutter,' which is one of my favorite KISS songs, 'Deuce' and 'Firehouse.' I put my whole heart and soul into it... we really did it. We made our dream true."
45 years later, KISS is bringing their stage life to a close with their End of the Road Tour, which hits the American Airlines Center in Dallas, TX tomorrow night, Wednesday, Febraury 20th. I thought it would be interesting to take a look at which songs are still being played off of the self-titled 1974 debut of the band. What cuts can we expect to hear in celebration of this monumental landmark in both KISS and rock and roll history at the End of the Road tour?
The average setlist for KISS's End of the Road tour features four tracks from their self-titled album. Considering that the record had 10 songs, that's a pretty good amount. Let's take a look at what songs have been performed so far.
"100,000 Years"
"100,000 Years" was co-written by Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons and served as the 9th out of 10 tracks on the album.
Gene commented of the song, "I read a book called '100,000 Years' where 100,000 years ago we were visited by aliens, also Einstein's theory of relativity. I was reading all kinds of space and time continuance stuff, and it was all swirling around in my head."
Paul stated, "I came up with the entire lyric, the melody. My recollection is that I think that bass pattern was changed and what went on top was basically mine."
"Black Diamond"
The song "Black Diamond" closed out KISS's 1974 self-titled debut with a droning slowed-down outro that faded into the dark. In recent live settings, the band usually comes to a stand-still with the band freezing in time in a pose not so different than the one we see on the cover of their legendary "Alive" album from 1975. It's one of my personal highlights of their show.
"'Black Diamond' was a song that I wrote about New York. Back then, all we could write about was what we knew. New York was very dear to us and life there was all we would write about," Paul Stanley said of the tune.
"Cold Gin"
Ace Frehley wrote "Cold Gin" and it has since become one of KISS's most recognizable and popular songs, both in the live setting of the band itself and with Ace on his solo tours. He even re-recorded the song for his cover album "Origins, Vol. 1" in 2016, which features him singing. At the time the song was released in 1974, Frehley wasn't confident enough to sing the song, so vocal duties went to Gene Simmons. I find quite a bit of humor in the fact that Simmons, who professes to have never drank more than a sip of wine, takes the reins on a track all about getting by in life through the help of alcohol.
"Deuce"
Co-written by Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons, "Deuce" has served as the opening number on several of KISS's tours over the years. With memorable guitar work and a driving beat thanks to solid drumming from both Peter Criss and Eric Singer in a live setting, the song has become one of Gene's finest moments fronting the band vocally.
"'Deuce' was written in my head on a bus. I heard the lick, the riff, the melody, the whole thing... When we first went on tour with our first record, it was the opening song of the show and we would come back for encores and not have any songs left and do 'Deuce' again," remembered Gene Simmons.
Paul Stanley confesses, "The beginning of the song was me ripping off The Raspberries. The beginning of 'Deuce,' the thing that starts it off, is me bastardizing 'Go All the Way.'"
The End of the Road Tour for KISS gives fans and newcomers a chance to celebrate both the beginning and closure of a chapter in the career of the Hottest Band in the World. Go here to get tickets to tomorrow's concert at the American Airline's Center in Dallas, TX. You can also find dates and ticket info for their other stops on the tour right here.
All quotes in this article were taken from the book KISS: Behind the Mask - The Official Authorized Biography written by David Leaf and Ken Sharp.
Live photo of the band taken by Keith Leroux.
