Discography: Kiss (the makeup years)

Before anyone even says anything, I know that this stuff was geared toward adolescent males (and actually appealed most to pre-adolescent males). I know the lyrics are about as stupid as anything rock music has ever produced. I know the objectification of women is part and parcel of Kiss and I hate that. However, I was about six when I first got into Kiss and from 1977 until 1980, I probably listened to little else. Over the years, I've become more and more disgusted with Kiss' increasingly cheap commercialism, but I still come back to these old albums from time to time. Now, they were every bit as commercial in 1974 as they were on that Farewell Tour that didn't seem to end, but there is a difference. For years Kiss wanted to be the biggest band in the world and they went about that by writing good, fun pop/rock songs and putting on a stage show that was second to none. Everything was for sale, but frankly, even the Kiss action figures were pretty cool.

Kiss (1974)
Kiss' debut has some great songs on it. "Strutter," "Firehouse," "Cold Gin" and "Deuce" are among their best. The trouble is that it also includes "Kissin' Time" (which actually wasn't included on the first pressing) and "Love Theme from Kiss," the former a lackluster cover and the latter a complete embarrassment. Still this album had the raw swagger of the British glam bands Kiss surely wanted not just to imitate, but beat at their own game.
Rating: 8/10

Hotter Than Hell (1974)
Their sophomore album didn't polish things up, but it tends to drag too often. Sure the title track is one of their most famous tunes and "Watchin' You" and "Let Me Go, Rock n Roll" are every bit as good as the debut, but there's too much material like "Goin' Blind" (it feels like a coma) and "Mainline" (if I wanted Faces, I'd play Faces, because they're better at it). Coming out less than nine months after Kiss, it's pretty clear this one was rushed.
Rating: 6/10

Dressed to Kill (1975)
Coming only five months after Hotter..., Dressed to Kill should have suffered from the same shortage of good material, but it didn't. Sure, I've heard "Rock and Roll All Nite" way too many times, but I still get a kick out of "Room Service," "C'mon and Love Me" and really the whole album. "She" is one of their most memorable songs.
Rating: 8/10

Destroyer (1976)
Destroyer had long been my favorite Kiss album and it certainly has plenty of fine songs, from the well-known "Detroit Rock City" and "God of Thunder" to lesser known cuts like "Flaming Youth" and "Shout It Out Loud" (both of which were singles). The trouble is Destroyer is just too slick and despite good songs, the album lacks the loose fun of their earlier releases. Oh yeah, and this one has "Great Expectations," which might be the best case against it.
Rating: 7/10

Rock and Roll Over (1976)
While Destroyer erred on the side of slickness, Kiss made an adjustment on the follow-up. Rock and Roll Over splits the difference between their early rawness and the somewhat emasculated sound on Destroyer, resulting in perhaps Kiss' best record. "I Want You" and "Makin' Love" measure up to their best songs and "Baby Driver," "Take Me" and "Ladies Room" aren't far off either. Since Rod Stewart didn't want "Hard Luck Woman," the band decided Peter Criss was the next best thing. Of course he's nowhere near Rod, but it's a decent ballad nonetheless.
Rating: 8/10

Love Gun (1977)
Kiss found the right formula on Rock and Roll Over and stuck with it on Love Gun. Once again it worked, but it's a shame they didn't have one more good tune so they didn't have to cover "Then She Kissed Me." Still, the title track, "Christine Sixteen," and just about everything else here are great catchy hard rock tunes. "Shock Me" and "Hooligan," whose lyrics are dumb even dumb by Kiss standards, are still a blast.
Rating: 8/10

Dynasty (1979)
This one has taken a beating over the years and it's certainly somewhat deserved. Kiss actually had an edge prior to taking their solo album break the year before, but there's very little of that left on here. However, there are some good pop moments in "I Was Made for Loving You" and "Charisma." "Hard Times" is the hardest rocking song, but it's just plain dull. It's sad when the best song on the album is a Stones cover. The reality is that Dynasty has too much in common with what bands like Toto were doing at the same time. Yeah, I guess Dynasty deserves what it gets.
Rating: 4/10

Unmasked (1980)
This one generally fares even worse than Dynasty, but I like it a little bit more. They were still short on good songs (maybe less so than on the last album) and it really has no teeth whatsoever, but the whole affair doesn't feel as forced. I suspect that on both of these albums, Paul stepped forward to take control of a seriously listing ship and set its pop course. He succeeded in keeping it afloat, but it's arguable as to whether that was a good thing or not. Most of the album is very mediocre, but "Talk to Me" and "She's So European" save the album from "Shandi." "Torpedo Girl" isn't a bad time either, even if it's nothing to write home about.
Rating: 5/10

Music from the Elder (1981)
All I can say is the album is as bad as that video for "A World Without Heroes" where Gene (still in makeup of course) cries. I think everyone who bought this wanted to cry and wishes, like Gene, they could hide behind some goofy makeup too.
Rating: 1/10

Creatures of the Night (1982)
Kiss seemed to take Ace's (yet unannounced) departure much more in stride than they had Peter's, which seems odd since Ace was bigger contributor. Still, they saw that no one was interested in the pop leanings or, worse yet, the concept albums of a bunch of goofballs in Kabuki face. Rather than take off the makeup, Kiss instead made their heaviest album ever. It didn't increase sales much in the US, but the outcome was some of their best material. The title track and "Killer" find Kiss as a metal band really for the first time. Even the ballad, "I Still Love You," has some heavy parts and "I Love It Loud" is an anthem of inarticulate loudness.
Rating: 8/10


I've only addressed the makeup-era studio albums here and I'm just going to pretend the solo albums don't exist. While it wouldn't be so bad to spend some time with Ace's, that would force me to listen to the other three. Some would say that listening to this much Kiss at once is surely masochistic and perhaps it is, but I'm not up for the kind of beating that Gene and Peter's solo albums in particular can dish out on my poor ears.

Discography: Dag Nasty

Rising out of the ashes of DC's Minor Threat and Boston's DYS, Dag Nasty at least initially met the challenge that they were left by their previous bands' legacies and even laid the groundwork for what would become emo long before it became a genre full of cry-baby guys whining about their girlfriends. Their positive anthems of belief in yourself and the straightedeg lifestyle still resonate with me (and with the current generation of kids) today.

Can I Say (1986)
Dag Nasty's debut is one of the most perfect hardcore records ever made. It has all of the energy of the band's predecessors, yet adds melodic accessibility that Minor Threat only hinted at on Out of Step. Songs like "Values Here" and "Under Your Influence" struck blows against the old ways of punk nihilism while "Never Go Back" opened the door to emocore with a sentimentality that is emotional but never maudlin. Can I Say is undoubtably one of the greatest punk/hardcore albums of all time and ranks among the best releases ever out of the DC scene, a scene which is one of the most creative in history.

Rating: 10/10

Wig Out at Denko's (1987)
Dave Smalley's exit was a definite blow to Dag Nasty, because they lost a passionate and righteous voice. Rather than try to replace him with another hardcore singer, they opted instead for Peter Cortner who was more of a pure singer. Roger Marbury was also repalced by former Descendents and future For Love Not Lisa bassist Doug Carrion. It certainly changed the direction of the band, but not for the worse. Dag Nasty became more melodic and tended more toward what would later be known as emo. They used the story of the Little Engine That Could in "The Godfather" and got away with it. "When I Move" is an acoustic piece that still fits the flow of the album. The title track and "Lies" have some of Dag Nasty's best lyrics. Wig Out was certainly a change in direction, but not in quality.

Rating: 10/10

All Ages Show EP (1987)
This stellar 7" EP included the excellent original title track as well as a fantastic cover of the Ruts' "Staring at the Rude Boys." The third track, "You're Mine," is a slower, straightforward song that is a step down from the other two, but still solid. The tracks form this EP were later included in the CD version of the Field Day, but they don't hint at the lackluster affair that album would be. It was however, their first record away from Dischord as they had just signed with Giant.

Rating: 9/10

Field Day (1988)
Before Field Day, Dag Nasty moved from DC out to LA. They were out of place and rather than capitalize on that adversity, the album suffered. There are some real gems to be sure. The title track has teeth. They get even more emo on "Things That Make No Sense" and "Typical Youth," but both show that emo once produced really good songs. Dag Nasty also managed to foreshadow just how sappy emo would become on self-consciously emotional tracks like "The Ambulance Song" and "La Penita." While most of the rest is of average quality, they stoop pretty low with the remake of their earlier classic "Under Your Influence," which makes a complete mockery of the straightedge anthem. There were good ideas on Field Day, but thin production and a lack of punch take their toll. This was the last album of their first run as they broke-up some time later. The CD includes the tracks from the All Ages Show (albeit with an inferior version of "Staring at the Rude Boys") and Trouble Is EPs.

Rating: 5/10

Trouble Is EP (1988)
The best thing about this 12" EP is that it's on green vinyl. "Trouble Is" is a decent song from Field Day, but the other two are throwaways. "Never Green Lane" is in the same almost adult-alternative vein as "The Ambulance Song" and even their cover of Wire's classic "12XU" isn't all that exciting (and pales in comparison to Minor Threat's cover of the same).

Rating: 4/10

Four on the Floor (1992)
After six years apart, the original (recorded) lineup got back together (with Brian Baker forced to use a pseudonym due to contractual obligations from his ill-advised stint in the generic metal band Junkyard) to record this Brett Gurewitz produced piece of crap. I'm not sure why they got together to record this one, but it certainly wasn't because their hearts were in it. It's the only Dag Nasty release that I don't own.

Rating: 3/10

Minority of One (2002)
Few reunion albums are truly worthwhile and I suspect the success rate is even lower for second reunions. However, Dag Nasty is the exception. Minority of One is their most energetic album since their debut 16 years earlier. From the title track that opens the album through the unlisted cover of Generation X's "100 Punks," this album is tight and full of passion. While the world had caught onto emo in the intervening years, Dag Nasty abandoned it to make another great hardcore album. While the first two are essential albums in any punk/hardcore collection, Minority of One isn't far behind. Not bad for a bunch of guys around 40.

Rating: 8/10

Discography: U2 - Conclusion

U2 has had a remarkable career spanning almost three decades in which they have consistently pushed the limits of what rock music can be while remaining incredibly successful. Few bands have done as much to shape music as U2 and certainly no one has done it for as long. They may be the only band to really play in the same league as the Beatles.

Because they had so many essential albums (three 10s, one 9 and two 8s by my count), it's hard to believe there would be much need for any kind of greatest hits collection. After all, you should just own the full albums or you miss out on an awful lot of great album tracks. However, in addition to filling albums with essential listening, U2 also had some fantastic B-sides which can be found on The Best of 1980-1990 and The Best of 1990-2000. The former is particularly full of gems that didn't make the cut at pressing time and only saw the light of day on the flipside of singles. "Sweetest Thing," "Everlasting Love" and "Silver and Gold" alone are worth the price of the double CD. The latter is little sketchier, because a lot of the B-sides are just remixes, but you still get a few fine pieces from soundtracks like "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me" and "The Hands That Built America" plus the new "Electrical Storm." The fact that so many songs were left over for B-sides and soundtracks after the band filled album after album with such high quality is yet another testament to what is likely the greatest band in history after the Beatles.

Discography: U2 - Rock Period

All That You Can't Leave Behind (2000)
I still remember a friend calling me to tell about "Beautiful Day" the day it came out. It was back in the Napster era and I got right online to check it out. I must've played five times in a row at least. It was the best rock song I'd heard in years and it came from a band that had moved ever further away from traditional rock music over the preceeding decade. What is so amazing about All That You Can't Leave Behind is that it's a straightforward rock album yet still sounds like completely like U2. I think this, perhaps more than all the record sales and millions of fans, shows their impact on rock music. After 20 years, they make a consciously mainstream album and it sounds like them, because their influence on rock has been so pervasive. "Beautiful Day" is the one outstanding song in a sea of very, very good material. The only fault with the album is that it celebrates all that they've done, but doesn't break new ground as they'd done so often before. I also see All That You Can't Leave Behind similar to how I see REM's Monster. Like REM, U2's music became less rock oriented and I think they wanted an album where they could go on tour and just play the songs without trying to create a club effect.
Rating: 8/10

How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb (2004)
I don't know that there's much to say about this one that I didn't already say above. Even with "Vertigo" showing up in a commercial, I don't grow tired of it. The album is full of solid songs that once again show U2's impact on the rock world by being both mainstream and distinctly U2 at the same time. While I've enjoyed the last two albums, I'm curious to see if U2 will reinvent themselves yet again and take us on another ride into the future of rock and roll.
Rating: 8/10

Discography: U2 - European Period

Achtung Baby (1991)
Admittedly, this album took a little time to grow on me. It was a shock. Even though there was four years between their last proper album and Achtung Baby, I certainly had no idea that the band had spent that time completely reinventing themselves. Once I got past that though, it quickly became clear that this album was a masterpiece and, despite the break from the past, it was still very much a U2 album. They managed to change their sound without changing the intangibles that made them U2. While you'd think the increasing influence of Europop and perhaps late 70s Bowie would turn the music cold, nothing could be farther from the truth. U2 manage to incorporate the sound without abandoning their emotion. Instead, they make an album that is probably more rather than less personal.
Rating: 10/10

Zooropa (1993)
A recent listen to this album convinced me of two things, most of the album isn't quite as awful as I remembered and "Stay (Faraway So Close)" isn't quite as good. The end result is that I bumped it up from a 2/10 to a 4/10. It's still an experiment gone awry that U2 should have had the good sense to leave on the shelf. I remember reading a letter in Rolling Stone, who gave it a great review, that said Bono could fart in the microphone and RS would give it 4 stars (out of 5). 14 years later, I still can't figure out what anyone likes about it.
Rating: 4/10

Pop (1997)
While Pop doesn't come close to the songwriting quality or the emotional level of Achtung Baby, it also isn't the jumbled incoherent mess that is Zooropa. When I think of Pop as a whole, it's a very cohesive album, yet the individual songs jump around a good bit in their influences from techno ("Discotheque" and "Mofo") to rock ballads ("If God Will Send His Angels") to soul ("The Playboy Mansion") to jazz ("If You Wear That Velvet Dress") to psychedelia ("Wake Up Dead Man"). Only "Miami" struggles a bit to find itself, but even it isn't a complete failure. In many ways, this album foreshadows U2's straightforward rock approach that comes to fruition on All That You Can't Leave Behind, but it still feels mostly like a club-oriented album. Pop's problem isn't imperfection or incoherence so much as it's inability to reach the heights of much of U2's other work. Perhaps they realized how far off the path they got with Zooropa and this album was a settling down for them. It may have kept them from making a great album, but at least it seems to have grounded them again and positioned them to make more great albums rather than to run amuck in bad experiments.
Rating: 6/10

Discography: U2 - American Period

The Unforgettable Fire (1984)
This album still has some elements of the Irish period remaining, making it somewhat of a transitional album. Still, the bigger sound courtesy of the Brian Eno/Daniel Lanois production team and the heavily American-focused lyrical themes land this one more firmly in U2's American period. The well-known "A Sort of Homecoming" and "Pride (in the Name of Love)" are stunningly good and "Bad" may be the best song of their career. Even more telling is that many of the lesser-known tracks like "Wire" and "Indian Summer Sky" are in nearly the same league. Even the tracks that can be viewed as filler (even though they are never as lackluster as what I'd call filler on most albums) play a vital role in making this U2's most complete album to date without even a moment of weakness.
Rating: 10/10

Wide Awake in America (1985)
The live version of "Bad" is not quite live enough to be essential, but "A Sort of Homecoming" is perhaps their best official live song. The two studio tracks are clearly not album tracks for U2, but they are certainly better than what most other bands would fill their albums with.
Rating: 7/10

Joshua Tree (1987)
While the three singles that kick off the album are great songs (particularly "Where the Streets Have No Name") and even the next song, "Bullet the Blue Sky," is equally as compelling, the album falls into a bit of listlessness after that. "In God's Country" is a memorable song further in, but the rest lacks the energy of their earlier releases. Don't get me wrong, the album is still powerful and the songs don't fall to the level of typical filler, it's just that they don't reach out and grab me and shake me. There is little question that Joshua Tree is great, but in my mind it remains their most overrated work. It is interesting that they would copy the Beatles' "Get Back" performance for the "Where the Streets Have No Name" video. It may show how much their egos had swelled by this point, but the video's wide acceptance is also an indicator that perhaps their heads had merely grown into their stature as the greatest rock band since the Fab Four.
Rating: 8/10

Rattle and Hum (1988)
This one catches quite a bit of flack for a number of reasons. First, it's an odd album, because it's a mix of studio and live performances intermingled. Second, it's a bit pretentious, especially when coupled with the movie. Third, some of the performances are just not up to the bar raised by U2 in all their previous work. While "Helter Skelter" might be the most well-intentioned cover of all time, it's a dull performance. How is that possible with that song? Even Motley Crue did a good cover of it. Most of the other live stuff falls flat as well, albeit not so glaringly. While "Desire" and "Angel of Harlem" are both fine singles, bringing in BB King for "When Love Comes to Town" feels a bit forced. The non-U2 "Freedom for My People" might be a bit of a novelty, but I think it does a better job of uncovering what the band was really trying to get at than the BB King track does. One huge bonus is the presence of a live version of "Silver and Gold," a Joshua Tree b-side that is simply amazing. There is some reason to take a few shots at Rattle and Hum, but the positives still outshine the negatives, leaving it one of U2's most underrated albums.
Rating: 7/10

Discography: U2 - Irish Period

Boy (1980)
Everything was already in place for greatness. A few years before, guitarists everywhere were floored by what Eddie van Halen was doing, but it seems that no one noticed the Edge doing something every bit as innovative. The difference is that the Edge didn't have to carry his band. His playing was no more nor less than the song needed. Bono was already an engaging singer and the lyrics had more substance than a lot of bands have in their prime. Boy has a lot of the energy of punk, yet the songs are better written and far from raw. In addition to the well-known "I Will Follow" and "Electric Co," there are a lot of great album tracks including "Out of Control" and "A Day Without Me."
Rating: 9/10

October (1981)
This album gets a lot of flak for some reason. It doesn't quite live up to the promise of Boy, but it isn't a step backward either. Perhaps it could be considered a holding pattern. October has more low-key songs than its predecessor, but it also has a few breakouts as well. "Gloria" gets some radio play from time to time, but "I Threw a Brick Through a Window," "Fire" and "Rejoice" are also worth getting to know.
Rating: 8/10

War (1983)
I'm often torn between this one and The Unforgettable Fire as U2's best album. Right now, I'm siding with War. A broader set of influences comes together here without watering down the band's identity. Everything takes a step forward without becoming so refined that it loses any energy. "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and "New Years Day" never get old despite staying in steady radio rotation for 24 years. "Two Hearts Beat as One," "Seconds" and "40" should also make your playlist.
Rating: 10/10

Under a Blood Red Sky (1983)
Live albums are seldom essential, but this one might be. It's not that it's a great live recording so much as it captures why U2 was so important: They connected with people. An added bonus is the inclusion of "11 O'Clock Tick Tock" and "Party Girl" which don't appear on any of the regular studio LPs.
Rating: 7/10

Discography: U2 - Intro

I heard U2 for the first time almost 25 years ago. A friend of mine was a huge fan. As they became one of the biggest rock bands in the world, I wondered, "How did he know?" Now I wonder, "How did I not know?" In every respect, they are as important to the 80s (and everything after) as the Beatles were to the 60s (and everything after), both musically and socially. To boot, they became a political force as well. Perhaps U2 was more of the Beatles/Dylan of the 80s and maybe the David Bowie of the 90s. That's probably too many analogies though.

I used to think that U2's career could be divided in two, Boy through Rattle and Hum and Achtung Baby to the present. Going back and listening to everything together though, I really think there are four periods, the Irish period, the American period, the European period and the Rock period.

The Irish period consists of the first three studio LPs, Boy, October and War as well as the live Under a Blood Red Sky. Their sound was pretty well-defined, but hadn't become the huge arena-oriented sound into which it would soon develop. The Edge was already revolutionizing what could be done with a guitar and a delay pedal. Bono's vocals were already soulful and completely engaging. Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen, Jr. were already a simple but tight rhythm section. The pieces were in place, but U2 didn't sound like a huge band yet. They were still Ireland's and not the world's.

The American period saw U2's focus shift from Ireland to the American superpower, both the largest market and the biggest power in the West. The Unforgettable Fire, Joshua Tree and Rattle and Hum all share the same sense of being American records, both musically and philosophically. Interestingly, the band never seemed like an Irish band trying to act American. They thoroughly absorbed America into who they were as a band without losing the Irish spirit that made them unique.

They didn't ease into the European period as they did into the American period. The three years between albums saw an abupt shift in their sound from the very organic American roots influences to the colder, more precise world of European club music. Nonetheless, they managed to keep the sense of warmth that always made them so engaging for Achtung Baby. That warmth was comparitively absent from Zooropa and Pop.

Despite the commercial and critical success of the European period, I think U2 felt the need to re-engage themselves which led to the albums of the Rock period. While the tours for the previous three albums were supposedly amazing, they also had the quality of being more of a spectacle than a rock concert. When they released All That You Can't Leave Behind, my first reaction was that they had written an album they could play live without all the frills of the recent tours. How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb continues in the same vein.

In order to keep things manageable, I'm going to split this into multiple posts, one for each of the periods above.