Gene still has at least one Ripper and it sounds good!

[OldManC]

OK, he could have borrowed it. 

[Aussie Mark]

See, he's no dummy.  He kept a rare one.

[Dave W]

What was the point of that? A drum demo? Is it going to make anyone out and buy Sonic Boom? You know KISS fans will buy it anyway.

[OldManC]

As a promo video it was completely lame and a waste except to show how much Paul looks like Little Steven with that do-rag on. The only redeeming quality is that two seconds showing Gene with a sunburst Ripper. 

[Hornisse]

Gene got some gnarly sounds out of his basses back in the day.  I heard Nirvana's In Bloom the other day and the bass part reminded me of Gene's tone on some of the early records.  I wonder if Krist used a Ripper on that cut?

[uwe]

I can't believe he still had one left! Or would actually send someone out to get him one now. If Gibson brought out a Ripper or Grabber Gene Simmons signature bass they would probably make shitloads of money with it, problem is Herr $immon$ would want it all ... 

[OldManC]

New clip. 

[Dave W]

Yeah, that sure convinced me to buy it.   

[OldManC]

Well, all things KISS are relative. Good in the Gene Simmons buzz saw tone dept.   

[uwe]

Anybody heard the new Frehley album? Bought and heard it twice before I left for Sicily (where I'm stuck with a U 2 and a Bruce Springsteen E Street Band greatest hits in the rental car). It has its charming moments, but quite a few tracks remind me of the old Simmons adage according to which "Ace doesn't write songs, he just brings along a few riffs". Some of the "instrumentals" on that album frankly sound like Ace ran out of time for finishing a few backing tracks with lyrics and vocals. But weren't all his solo albums like that right down from the first one? 

Silly little fold out cardboard CD package you can use to build an Ace pyramid too. Put it on your Kiss coffin.

Re that second Simmons clip: I like the way he plays, so unabashedly seventies!  

And finally: Looking at them in those recording clips, the weathered old men they now are, I'd like to see them live again without make-up. That has kind of overstayed its welcome since the reunion. It's ok to bring it out once in a while, but I really would like to see a stripped Kiss live, no confetti bombs, platform risers, smoke bombs, fake wall of amps, fire breathing etc. Just them and their instruments over a nicely loud pa system. And with a real Gene Simmons bass solo I'm sure he has in him.

[lowend1]

See, he's no dummy.  He kept a rare one.

Fer sure. FYI - Note the old SVT head in the background, along with a newer rackmount model below. That's at least half of the sound right there.
As a Kiss fan from way back, I have been both critical of their more recent efforts and skeptical of their ability to return to their roots. Well, pretty much all of Sonic Boom seems to be up on YouTube, and based on my initial listen, it's a winner. Sounds more like Kiss than anything since Rock and Roll Over or Love Gun, doppelgangers aside. They obviously studied their past very closely, even down to the Ace Frehley-esque guitar solos. With me, it's all about the songs and the vibe - I am generally unimpressed by technical wizardry. They seem to have recaptured, if only for this album, their vibe - and for that I give them credit.
Gene's bass sounds great on the cuts, BTW...

[Dave W]

I wasn't objecting to his tone, it just seems like an odd way to promote a new release. I don't think a clip of someone doodling around is a promotional tool. And Gene looks really tired and grumpy, even if he isn't.

But I suppose all you fans will buy it anyway and the rest of us won't see the appeal anyway.

[lowend1]

But I suppose all you fans will buy it anyway and the rest of us won't see the appeal anyway.

Actually, I probably will buy it, Dave - and that in itself is a testament to how much stronger I think the material is this time around. I haven't bought a Kiss album upon release in ages. And I NEVER bought Psycho Circus or Carnival of Souls

[OldManC]

Tommy's relationship with Gene goes back to 1983 or so. He did the Ace part in the first 'real' KISS tribute act, "Cold Gin" (it was surreal standing at the Troubadour in 93/94 watching Cold Gin and glancing upstairs to see Gene and Paul watching as well. I thought then and there that there would be a KISS reunion because the crowd was huge and totally into it at a time when live music in Hollywood was just dead.

I wasn't expecting much at all from this album and I find myself pleasantly surprised by the Gene songs. Maybe the Paul stuff will grow on me but it seems his memory for old KISS only goes back to 1985 or so. I'm another one who will go out and get it (actually, I've heard some WalMarts have stocked them early so I may go out later and see if I can get it today).

[Highlander]

Now there's a dedicated fan... 

Mind you, on my one trip to the USofA we did a late-nite Walmart trip... great fun for a Brit... went out to the US with 2 suitcases and came back with 5...! had to juggle the packing  on the way home (mostly due to an over-indulgence in Hershey's products...  )