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84-510: The label was ultimately created to only release The Smashing Pumpkins' sixth studio album: Machina II/The Friends & Enemies of Modern Music and the EPs that were associated with it, because Corgan's relationship with Virgin Records had deteriorated. Virgin had refused to release Machina and Machina II as a double album, and when Machina sold poorly, refused entirely to release the sequel. Since

168-441: A cartoonish image for these younger fans. The fans were unaware of the dissension within the band. One very public indication of the heightened friction within the group was an infamous October 31, 1979, interview on Tom Snyder 's late-night The Tomorrow Show . During the episode, a visibly irritated Simmons and Stanley attempted, unsuccessfully, to contain the inebriated Frehley, whose frequent laughter and joking overshadowed

252-499: A certain country makes them that much more rabid for you to go. In May 1977, Kiss made the first of its many comic book appearances, in Howard the Duck issue 12, published by Marvel Comics . The first Kiss compilation album, Double Platinum , was issued on April 2, 1978. This double album included many remixed versions of the band's hits, as well as "Strutter '78", a re-recorded version of

336-533: A contest giving away CD-R copies. The SPIFC transfer shows a 21 kHz tone which casts some doubt on the quality of the transfer. MP3 web releases Following the vinyl release a number of MP3 versions quickly surfaced on the web. A select number of people involved in the Smashing Pumpkins online fan community received one of the 25 releases. Using audio equipment they had immediate access to, these tracks were recorded, encoded to MP3, and quickly released for

420-418: A double LP , was packaged with three EPs full of B-sides and alternate versions. The album's artwork was created by Carlos Segura. Both Machina albums are loose concept albums telling the story of "a rock star gone mad". Machina II was the last Smashing Pumpkins studio album until the band reformed in 2006, their final studio album to feature guitarist James Iha until his return in 2018, as well as

504-709: A four-year-long farewell tour, the End of the Road World Tour , in January 2019 and retired after performing their final show in New York City in December 2023. Kiss is regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of all time, as well as one of the best selling bands of all time , claiming to have sold more than 100 million records worldwide, including 21 million RIAA -certified albums. Kiss has also earned 30 Gold albums,

588-623: A hawk, though it was rejected when Stanley and Aucoin saw Carr in the bright yellow costume Kiss had designed for the new drummer. Carr created the "Fox" persona by the middle of July. In his Fox makeup, Carr debuted with the group on July 25, 1980, at the Palladium concert hall in New York City. This was Kiss's only U.S. show in support of Unmasked . On July 30, 1980, Kiss introduced Carr on ABC's Kids Are People Too! , which would air in September. The band's 1980 tour of Australia and New Zealand, on

672-443: A live version of "Rock and Roll All Nite". It was the first version of the song with a guitar solo, and this recording has become the best-known version. It is also the basis of most covers, such as the cover by Poison in 1987. In recent years the band admitted that additional audience noise had been added to the album, as well as overdubs on select guitar and vocal spots, not to deceive fans, but to add more "excitement and realism" to

756-457: A new group. After breaking up Wicked Lester late in 1972, Simmons and Stanley came across an ad in the East Coast version of Rolling Stone placed by Peter Criss , a drummer from the New York City scene who had previously played in the bands Lips and Chelsea . Simmons and Stanley met Criss in a nightclub where he was playing drums. After hearing Criss sing, they thought Criss should be in

840-539: A pattern emerging with us on the road. Every night, I'd ask somebody before the show, "How are we doing?", which meant, "What's the attendance?" One night they said, "It's sold out," and then the next night I'd hear the same thing. All of a sudden it was becoming the norm. For me the first realization that things were on an upswing was when we played the Hara Arena in Dayton, Ohio. Before the show I went on stage, looked out through

924-501: A pop culture phenomenon. Due to creative differences, Criss departed the band in 1980, followed by Frehley's departure in 1982. They were replaced by Eric Carr (the Fox) and Vinnie Vincent (the Ankh Warrior), respectively. The band's commercial success had declined during the early 1980s before experiencing a resurgence in 1983, when they began performing without makeup and costumes, marking

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1008-405: A proper farewell to the Smashing Pumpkins" and that "it's a nice album to remember them by". AllMusic stated that "As a high-class artifact and a gift to a loyal fan base, Machina II is a winner." The Michigan Daily also published a review calling the music "some of the best Pumpkins material to date". In April 2010, Billy Corgan commented on the album's reception, stating that: "I think

1092-528: A song from the group's first album. At Bogart's request, this version of the song featured a disco influence. During this period, Kiss merchandise became a substantial source of income for the group. Some of the products released included a pair of comic books issued by Marvel (the first contained ink mixed with actual blood donated by the group), a pinball machine, dolls, "Kiss Your Face Makeup" kits, Halloween masks, board games , lunch boxes, trading cards and many other pieces of memorabilia. Membership in

1176-455: A special concert at Studio 54 in New York City, leaving Kiss to perform as a trio. He recorded his guitar parts at his home studio in Wilton, Connecticut , and mailed them to Ezrin. Another source of frustration for Frehley was that with the departure of Criss, and with Carr not being an equal partner in the band, he was often outvoted 2-to-1 on group decisions. In June 1982, Frehley's departure from

1260-438: A standard physical release, bundled with the first part Machina/The Machines of God , were revealed to happen sometime in 2013, but was postponed due to legal setbacks. In an Instagram Q&A in 2018, the band's frontman, Billy Corgan , revealed that all legal issues had been resolved. The two albums are planned to be remastered and released as a deluxe reissue; however, no release date has been announced. The album itself,

1344-496: The Kiss Army , the band's fan club, was in the six figures. Between 1977 and 1979, worldwide merchandise sales (in-store and on tour) reached an estimated $ 100 million. Alive II was the band's fourth Platinum album in just under two years, and the ensuing tour had the highest average attendance in the group's history. In addition, Kiss's gross income for 1977 was $ 10.2 million. The group, along with manager Aucoin, sought to push

1428-556: The hook ", a reference to the stereotypical "Jewish" nose . Despite the publicity and constant touring, Kiss initially sold just 75,000 copies. Meanwhile, the group and Casablanca Records were losing money quickly. The band (while touring) stopped in Los Angeles in August 1974 to begin recording its second album, Hotter Than Hell , which was released on October 22, 1974. The only single, " Let Me Go, Rock 'n' Roll ", failed to chart, and

1512-474: The British magazine Classic Rock on their "The 50 Best Rock Bands of All Time" list. Kiss traces its roots to Wicked Lester , a New York City–based rock band led by Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley . That band recorded one album, which was shelved by Epic Records , and played a handful of live shows. Simmons and Stanley, feeling a new musical direction was needed, abandoned Wicked Lester in 1972 and began forming

1596-576: The EP songs are cut off, and in general, it is missing a considerable amount of audio between song transitions. Q101 transfer As mentioned above, the radio station Q101 received one of the 25 vinyl copies. It was subsequently transferred to two CDs by the station (one CD containing the EP tracks and one containing the LP tracks). The transfer was done by a high-profile radio station (presumably with high-end equipment and professional oversight) and spectral analysis shows

1680-500: The Night album artwork. When the album was remixed and re-released in 1985 with a non-makeup cover and a slightly different song order, to reflect the band's roster change and abandonment of its makeup and costumes, Vincent was again absent from the album cover, as then-current lead guitarist, Bruce Kulick , appeared instead. The liner notes accompanying the remixed LP, however, credited both Frehley and Vincent with lead guitar performances on

1764-598: The Phantom of the Park , debuted on NBC on October 28, 1978. It was released theatrically, after many changes, outside the U.S. in 1979 under the title Attack of the Phantoms . The band members were unhappy with the finished film and would speak about their filmmaking experience in later interviews with a mix of humorous embarrassment and regret. They felt that the film portrayed them more as clowns than superheroes. The artistic failure of

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1848-591: The World to You " has a melodic, radio-friendly sound. "Real Love", which would later appear on the band's Rotten Apples , has a sound reminiscent of My Bloody Valentine . "Home" has been called "simply gorgeous" and compared to U2 . The album's closing track, "Here's to the Atom Bomb", has been compared favorably to the Pumpkins' biggest hit, " 1979 ". Because it was not released conventionally, few professional reviews of

1932-458: The album stalled at No. 100. With Hotter Than Hell quickly dropping off the charts, Kiss was pulled from its tour to quickly record a new album. Casablanca head Bogart stepped in to produce the next album, trading in the murky, distorted sound of Hotter Than Hell for a cleaner and slightly poppier sound. Dressed to Kill , released on March 19, 1975, fared slightly better commercially than Hotter Than Hell . It also contained what later became

2016-401: The album were published, but those that surfaced were generally positive. The A.V. Club called it an "artistic high" for the band. Pitchfork opined that while the band sounded "energized and at a creative peak", "there isn't really any new ground broken here, but the band revisits nearly every style they've adopted over the years", ultimately concluding that listeners should "take this as

2100-710: The album's sales rebound. The single was subsequently reissued with the A- and B-sides reversed. "Beth" peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 , becoming the band's first Top 10 single in the United States. In October 1976, Kiss appeared on The Paul Lynde Halloween Special (aired on ABC the 29th), lip-synching " Detroit Rock City ", " Beth " and " King of the Night Time World ". The show, co-produced by Bill Aucoin, helped introduce Kiss to an even wider audience. In addition to

2184-467: The band in 1985. Paul Stanley, however, has since denied the rumors of Eddie Van Halen wanting to join Kiss. Other notable guitarists who auditioned to replace Frehley included Punky Meadows of Angel , Doug Aldrich of Whitesnake , Richie Sambora of Bon Jovi , Yngwie Malmsteen , and Slash of Guns N' Roses . Soon afterward, Kiss made major changes to its business dealings – chief among them

2268-472: The band in addition to radio station Q101. A few of the 25 copies were shipped to prominent fans in the online community with instructions to rip and redistribute the album on the Internet free of charge. Because of this, all publicly available digital copies of the album are vinyl rips. The Pumpkins performed a track from the album ("Cash Car Star") on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno , which also ended up being

2352-501: The band performed "Firehouse" on The Mike Douglas Show . This broadcast included Simmons's first televised interview, a conversation with Mike Douglas in which Simmons declared himself "evil incarnate", eliciting uncomfortable reactions from a confused studio audience. Fellow Jewish-American guest Totie Fields said it would be humorous if beneath all the makeup Simmons was "just a nice Jewish boy ". Simmons responded, "You should only know", to which Fields replied, "I do. You can't hide

2436-527: The band was breaking up at the time, Corgan decided to release Machina II for free download on the internet. Only twenty-five vinyl copies were pressed, and were shipped via FedEx to several prominent fans in the online community, with instructions to immediately redistribute it on the Internet free of charge. Five releases have come out on Constantinople Records: It was rumored that this label would support all future releases for work done by Billy Corgan. However, starting in 2003 he began publishing work under

2520-438: The band was negotiated, although he did not officially leave until December. Simmons stated in his autobiography Kiss and Make-Up that Van Halen founder Eddie Van Halen was eager to replace Frehley as Kiss's lead guitarist. Simmons and Eddie's brother Alex convinced Eddie to remain with Van Halen. Eddie was willing to break up Van Halen due to tensions between himself and lead vocalist David Lee Roth , who ultimately left

2604-503: The band's final television appearance until their 2007 revival. A previous live performance of the song, in an earlier and slightly different-than-final-version form, had been broadcast as a portion of Kiss ' 1998 Psycho Circus Halloween special, where The Smashing Pumpkins served as the opening act. The A.V. Club stated that Machina II reflects "Corgan's obsession with dream-pop , Cure - and Depeche Mode -styled synth- goth , and glam -tinged heavy metal ." The album picks up

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2688-475: The band's signature song, " Rock and Roll All Nite ". Although Kiss albums had not proved to be big sellers, the band was quickly gaining a reputation for its live performances. Kiss concerts featured such spectacles as Simmons spitting "blood" (an effect made primarily from eggs, yogurt, red food coloring, and maple syrup) and "breathing fire" (spitting flammable liquid at a torch), Frehley soloing as his guitar burst into flames (light and smoke bombs placed inside

2772-440: The beginning of the band's "unmasked" era that would last until 1996. The first album of this era, 1983's platinum-certified Lick It Up , successfully introduced them to a new generation of fans, and its music videos received regular airplay on MTV . Vincent left the band in 1984, being replaced briefly by Mark St. John before Bruce Kulick joined the band for the next twelve years. Eric Carr died in 1991 of heart cancer and

2856-460: The biggest seller since the introduction of Soundscan in 1991. The second part of Kiss's and Aucoin's plan called for the band to appear in a film that would cement its image of larger-than-life rock-and-roll superheroes. Filming commenced in the spring of 1978. Although the project was proposed to the band as a cross between A Hard Day's Night and Star Wars , the final result fell far short of those expectations. The final product, Kiss Meets

2940-446: The brand harder. To that end, an ambitious, two-pronged strategy was devised for 1978. The first part involved the simultaneous release of four solo albums from the members of Kiss. Although Kiss has claimed that the solo albums were intended to ease rising tensions within the band, its 1976 record contract did in fact call for four solo records, each of them counting as half an album toward the group's five-record commitment. Each album

3024-418: The charts and was not certified Gold until 1994. In Frehley's absence, Kiss utilized a number of guitarists for the recording of the album, especially Vinnie Vincent , who played on six tracks. Frehley's last appearance with the band (until the 1996 reunion) was in the music video for the single " I Love It Loud ", which was co-written by Vincent. Frehley also appeared on the cover of the original Creatures of

3108-463: The conversation between Snyder and the rest of the band. Criss made references to his large gun collection, to the chagrin of Simmons. By the end of the Dynasty tour in December 1979, tensions between Criss and the rest of the band were at an all-time high. His drumming skills had noticeably eroded, and he even intentionally slowed down—or stopped playing altogether—during some concerts. The final show of

3192-493: The curtain and saw this big crowd, and said to myself, "My God, this is really happening!" Kiss wanted to express the excitement felt at its concerts (which its studio albums had so far failed to do) with its first live album. Compiled from concerts recorded between May and July in Wildwood, New Jersey , Detroit and Cleveland , and released on September 10, 1975, Alive! achieved Gold status and spawned Kiss's first top 40 single:

3276-402: The door. On March 13 of that year, the band recorded a five-song demo tape with producer Eddie Kramer . Former TV director Bill Aucoin , who had seen the group at a handful of showcase concerts in the summer of 1973, offered to become the band's manager in mid-October. Kiss agreed, with the condition that Aucoin signed the band to a record label within two weeks. On November 1, 1973, Kiss became

3360-454: The effect of "What about Kiss?" Frehley created the now-iconic logo, making the "SS" look like lightning bolts, when he went to write the new band name over "Wicked Lester" on a poster outside the club where they were going to play. (Some of Wicked Lester's artwork included one lightning bolt for the "S" in Lester. ) Later, Stanley designed the logo with a Sharpie and a ruler and accidentally drew

3444-399: The fan response at the time was very positive, as the fans who were around at the time seemed to like Machina II better than Machina I . That said, Machina I is proving now to be the more influential part of the work for many of the younger bands that I've talked to. [...] At the time I saw [releasing the album for free] as a one-time thing. I never thought we would see a near collapse of

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3528-453: The film led to a rift between the band and Aucoin. Kiss's first album of new material in two years, Dynasty (1979), continued the band's Platinum streak. The disco-flavored " I Was Made for Lovin' You " became one of the band's biggest hit singles to date, peaking at No. 11. Session drummer Anton Fig performed almost all the percussion on the album while Criss recovered from an automobile accident. The only song to feature Criss's drumming

3612-469: The final album to feature their original line-up, as bassist D'arcy Wretzky departed during the recording of both Machina albums and didn't return when the band reformed. Near the conclusion of the Machina sessions, it was Billy Corgan 's wish to release a double album of material, but Virgin Records was unwilling to do so following the disappointing sales of Adore . After the release and poor sales of

3696-459: The first act signed to former teen pop singer and Buddah Records executive Neil Bogart 's new label, Casablanca Records . The band entered Bell Sound Studios in New York City on October 10, 1973, to begin recording its first album. On December 31, the band had its official industry premiere at the Academy of Music in New York City, opening for Blue Öyster Cult . It was at this concert that, for

3780-504: The first non-Platinum Kiss album since Dressed to Kill . Soon after the album's release, Criss's departure was officially announced. Fig, considered a member of Kiss for one day following the departure of Criss, was then fired by Stanley and Simmons, who felt he was not a good fit for the band. He would ultimately join Paul Shaffer and the World's Most Dangerous Band , acting as the drummer for David Letterman 's television programs until

3864-541: The first of many times, Simmons accidentally set his hair (which was coated in hairspray) ablaze while performing his fire-breathing routine. Kiss's first tour started on February 5, 1974, in Edmonton, Alberta , a cafeteria at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology , as an opening act. The band's self-titled debut album was released on February 18. Casablanca and Kiss promoted the album heavily throughout

3948-408: The guitar), Criss's elevating drum riser that emitted sparks, Stanley's Townshend -style guitar smashing, and pyrotechnics throughout the show. By mid-1975, Casablanca was almost bankrupt, and Kiss was in danger of losing its record contract. Both parties desperately needed a commercial breakthrough if they were to survive. That breakthrough came in an unlikely form: a "double live" album. I saw

4032-453: The host's retirement. The band auditioned dozens of replacements for Criss in June 1980. One of the many who auditioned was Tico Torres (who would later be with Bon Jovi ). They finally settled on a little-known drummer-guitarist-pianist-keyboardist-singer from Brooklyn named Paul Charles Caravello (born July 12, 1950) who adopted the stage name Eric Carr . His first makeup design was modeled on

4116-428: The immense costs involved; however, "The Return of Kiss" saw a marked decline in attendance. The crowds on this tour were much younger than previous audiences had been, with many preadolescent children in Kiss makeup with their mothers and fathers (who were sometimes wearing the makeup themselves) in tow at most concerts. Kiss themselves did little to dissuade this new fan base, donning colorful costumes that reinforced

4200-521: The inability of listeners to understand the already-muddled storyline. Once released, fan reaction to The Elder was harsh; it failed to achieve Gold status and peaked at No. 75 on the Billboard album chart. The band made only two appearances in support of the new album, both in January 1982. One was a performance on the ABC late-night variety program Fridays , while the second was a lip-synced performance that

4284-525: The label "Martha's Music," with distribution by Reprise Records . This article about a United States record label is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Machina II Machina II/The Friends & Enemies of Modern Music is the sixth studio album by the American alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins . It was released for free on the Internet on September 5, 2000. Plans for

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4368-510: The logo. Since 1980, most of the band's album covers and merchandise in Germany have used a different logo, in which the letters "SS" look like the letters "ZZ" backwards. This logo is also used in Austria , Switzerland , Lithuania , and Hungary to avoid controversy. The band's name has repeatedly been the subject of rumors pertaining to alleged hidden meanings. Among these rumors are theories that

4452-503: The marketing campaign for the albums, and announced they were shipping five million copies, guaranteeing Platinum status. Despite the large shipments, none of the albums sold particularly well and were later sold as cut-outs . Of the four, Simmons's album charted the highest in the U.S., peaking at #22, while Frehley's spawned the only resulting Top Forty hit single, a cover of " New York Groove ", written by Russ Ballard and originally performed by Hello . Frehley's album has gone on to be

4536-613: The masses. Later MP3 releases may be from one of the CD sources listed above or newer lesser known transfers. The Smashing Pumpkins' official site also had the full 25 tracks for download in both mp3 format (at 320 kbit/s) and in RealAudio format. In 2007, the album was once again posted for download on the newly reopened SmashingPumpkins.com. [1] Commercial releases Four tracks from Machina II have been released commercially. These are of specific note, because these versions were sourced from

4620-569: The master tapes rather than amateur vinyl transfers. "Real Love" was featured on Rotten Apples . "Lucky 13" and "Slow Dawn" appeared on Judas O , which was included with early copies of Rotten Apples . The Machina II version of " Try, Try, Try " was one of the B-sides to the " Untitled " single, titled "Try" (Alternate Version). The studio banter that precedes "Try, Try, Try" on Machina II has been removed from this version Download sites Kiss (band) Kiss (commonly styled as KISS )

4704-541: The most of any band from the United States. Kiss has 14 Platinum albums, three of which earned multi-Platinum. On April 10, 2014, the four original members of Kiss were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame . Kiss was ranked by MTV as the ninth "Greatest Metal Band of All Time", placed tenth on VH1 's "100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock" list, as well as being ranked as the third "Best Metal and Hard Rock Live Band of All Time" by Loudwire magazine and placed sixteenth by

4788-599: The most popular band in America. In Japan, Kiss performed five sold-out shows at Tokyo's Budokan Hall , equaling the record set by the Beatles in 1966 with their five concerts there . When we played in Japan in the late '70s, nothing could prepare you for the hysteria because when people are telling you how big you are, you're big compared to what? Until you're faced with mass hysteria it doesn't really sink in. For you not having been in

4872-399: The music business and its dominant control on how music reaches people." All tracks are written by Billy Corgan, except where noted A number of a release sources exist for Machina II . All of them are sourced from vinyl (except for the noted commercial releases of select tracks). Virgin promos This source is from in-house promo CDs made for internal use at Virgin Records (sourced from

4956-566: The name is an acronym for "Knights in Satan's Service", "Kinder SS", or "Kids in Satan's Service". Simmons has denied all of these claims. The first Kiss performance took place on January 30, 1973, for an audience of fewer than ten people at the Popcorn Club (renamed Coventry shortly afterward) in Queens . The band was paid $ 50 for performing two sets that evening, following a cold-call Simmons had made to

5040-432: The new band they were forming. Criss then auditioned for, and later joined their new band. The three focused on a much harder style of rock than that played by Wicked Lester. In November 1972, the band played a showcase for Epic Records A&R director Don Ellis, in an effort to secure a record deal. In early January 1973, the group added lead guitarist Ace Frehley . Frehley impressed the group with his first audition, and

5124-644: The only consistent members. The final lineup consisted of them, Tommy Thayer (lead guitar, vocals) and Eric Singer (drums, vocals). With their makeup and costumes, the band members took on the personas of comic book-style characters: the Starchild (Stanley), the Demon (Simmons), the Spaceman or Space Ace (Frehley), and the Catman (Criss). During the second half of the 1970s, Kiss became one of America's most successful rock bands and

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5208-434: The other hand, was one of the biggest in its history, as they played to sold-out crowds and received overwhelmingly positive press coverage. For its next album, the band worked again with producer Ezrin, with whom Kiss had found success on Destroyer . Early press reports indicated that the new album would be a return to the hard rock style that had originally brought the band success. However, 1981's Music from "The Elder"

5292-490: The record. The success of Alive! not only brought Kiss the breakthrough they had been seeking but arguably saved Casablanca, which was close to bankruptcy. Following this success, Kiss partnered with producer Bob Ezrin , who had previously worked with Alice Cooper . The result was Destroyer (released March 15, 1976), Kiss's most musically ambitious studio album to date. Destroyer , with its rather intricate production (using an orchestra, choir, and numerous tape effects),

5376-515: The side of long stretches of a highway when we couldn't find a town anywhere near. We ate beans and franks because we couldn't afford better food as we were on an $ 85 a week salary! Becoming a rock star was better than anything and beyond anything I ever imagined. There were moments of doubt for me that we were gonna make it. On February 19, in its first television appearance, the band performed " Nothin' to Lose ", " Firehouse " and " Black Diamond " on ABC 's In Concert (aired March 29). On April 29,

5460-582: The single-disc Machina/The Machines of God , Corgan then wanted to release the second Machina album separately, but Virgin declined this as well. The band nonetheless returned to the Chicago Recording Company in July 2000 to finish what would become Machina II/The Friends & Enemies of Modern Music , which was subsequently released on Corgan's own Constantinople Records label. Only twenty-five vinyl copies were made, and were given mostly to friends of

5544-450: The spring and summer of 1974. Being in Kiss in the very first year and touring around the United States, we felt like we were taking off. It was like somebody pushing you into the deep end of the pool whether you can swim or not. The early years of Kiss were far from glamorous. We rode in a station wagon hundreds of miles every day. We would take turns driving and sleeping in the back. We ate burgers at roadside taverns. We stopped and peed on

5628-586: The thematic elements of "Glass and The Machines of God" started in Machina/The Machines of God . Songs like "Glass' Theme", "Cash Car Star", "Home", and the B-side "Speed Kills" are related to Corgan's story. The first three songs ("Glass' Theme", "Cash Car Star", and "Dross"), considerably more intense than much of the Pumpkins' other releases, are a hearkening to the earlier, famous Smashing Pumpkins sound, blending dream pop with arena rock , while " Let Me Give

5712-616: The three songs, Kiss was the subject of a brief comedic "interview" conducted by Paul Lynde . This included Lynde noting, when hearing the member's first names, "Oh, I love a good religious group." Two more highly successful studio albums were released in less than a year: Rock and Roll Over (November 11, 1976) and Love Gun (June 30, 1977). A second live album, Alive II , was released on October 14, 1977. All three albums were certified Platinum soon after their release. Between 1976 and 1978, Kiss earned $ 17.7 million from record royalties and music publishing. A 1977 Gallup poll named Kiss

5796-405: The time was intended to be Kiss's last. Criss and Frehley were replaced by Singer and Tommy Thayer (Criss briefly rejoined the band from 2002 to 2004), respectively. In a move which proved controversial among fans, Singer and Thayer adopted the original Catman and Spaceman makeup respectively, rather than having their own unique makeup designs. After 46 years of recording and performing, Kiss began

5880-417: The tour (December 16, 1979) was the last time Criss performed with the group for almost 17 years, although he remained an official member for nearly six more months. While Criss appeared on the cover of the next album, Unmasked , Anton Fig was the actual drummer, although he was not credited. Showcasing a slick, contemporary pop sound, Unmasked (released May 20, 1980) had the dubious distinction of being

5964-463: The transfer to be of good quality. Copies were given away as prizes from the station. It is worth noting that this transfer is the only one to have been digitally mastered. SPIFC transfer The SPIFC transfer was produced from a vinyl copy by a member of the SPIFC. A transfer was eventually performed onto two CDs with "high-end" equipment. The SPIFC offers MP3 downloads of the transfer to members and held

6048-596: The two S's nonparallel because he did it "by eye". The art department asked him if he wanted it to be redrafted to be perfect and he said, "It got us this far, let's leave well enough alone. Our number one rule has always been no rules." The letters happened to look similar to the insignia of the Nazi SS , a symbol that is outlawed in Germany by Section 86a of the German criminal code. However, Simmons and Stanley, both Jewish, have denied any intentional likeness to Nazi symbolism in

6132-561: The venue, convincing them to hire the new band for a three-night stand. For the first three gigs, January 30 to February 1, they wore makeup, but the iconic character designs associated with Kiss made their debuts during the March 9–10 shows at The Daisy in Amityville, New York . Our first show ever was at Coventry. Coventry was a study in contrasts. The first time we played there was nobody there. The last time we played there, you could barely get in

6216-405: The vinyl records), made before Machina II was released to the public over the Internet. Two versions of the promos exist, a UK (type I) and U.S. (type II) version, both with four CDs corresponding to the vinyl copies. As it was done in-house at a record company, it is generally assumed to be a high-quality transfer, though some of the faint voices which can be heard in the background before some of

6300-527: Was "Dirty Livin'", on which he also sang lead. The album is also notable due to Frehley singing three lead vocals versus Simmons two, which he put down to increased confidence following the success of his solo album. Billed as "The Return of Kiss", the Dynasty Tour was expected by Kiss and their management to build on the success of previous tours. Plans were drawn up for a Kiss-themed traveling amusement park called "Kiss World", but were abandoned because of

6384-468: Was a concept album featuring medieval horns, strings, harps , and synthesizers. The album was presented as a soundtrack to a film that was never made, making it difficult to follow the storyline. To make matters worse, having received negative feedback following its record company's preview of the album, Kiss altered the record's track sequence in most countries to emphasize potential singles "The Oath" and "A World Without Heroes", which all but guaranteed

6468-569: Was a departure from the raw sound of the first three studio albums. Album art was designed by Ken Kelly , who had drawn Tarzan and Conan the Barbarian and also produced album covers for acts such as Rainbow and Manowar . While the album sold well initially and became the group's second Gold album, it quickly dropped down the charts. Only when the ballad " Beth ", the B-side of the single " Detroit Rock City ", began to gain more airplay on FM radio did

6552-594: Was a solo effort (none of the group appeared on another's album), however all were released and marketed as Kiss albums (with similar cover art and poster inserts). It was the first time that all current members of a rock band had released solo albums on the same day. For the band members, it was a chance to showcase their individual musical styles and tastes outside of Kiss, and in some cases to collaborate with contemporary artists. Stanley's and Frehley's albums were most similar to Kiss's hard rock style, while Criss's album featured an R&B style including ballads. Simmons'

6636-549: Was an American rock band formed in New York City in 1973 by Paul Stanley (vocals, rhythm guitar), Gene Simmons (vocals, bass guitar), Ace Frehley (lead guitar, vocals) and Peter Criss (drums, vocals). Known for their face paint and stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid-1970s with shock rock –style live performances which featured fire-breathing, blood-spitting, smoking guitars, shooting rockets, levitating drum kits and pyrotechnics . The band went through several lineup changes, with Stanley and Simmons remaining

6720-405: Was asked back for a second audition. A few weeks after Frehley joined, the classic lineup was solidified as the band to be named Kiss. They also began experimenting with their image, by wearing makeup and various outfits. Stanley came up with the name while he, Simmons, and Criss were driving around New York City. Criss mentioned that he had been in a band called Lips, so Stanley said something to

6804-429: Was broadcast via satellite during Italy's Sanremo Music Festival . Absent from the satellite performance was Frehley, who had become increasingly frustrated with Kiss's new musical direction. Upset with the band's decision to record Music from "The Elder" , he did not actively participate in the album's creation (despite recording solos on it), providing lead vocals for only one track, "Dark Light". He did not appear at

6888-419: Was replaced by Eric Singer . In response to a wave of Kiss nostalgia in the mid-1990s, the original lineup reunited in 1996, which also saw the return of their makeup and stage costumes. The resulting 1996–1997 reunion tour was highly successful, grossing $ 143.7 million, making it the band's most successful tour. Criss and Frehley subsequently left the band again following the 2000–2001 tour , which at

6972-496: Was severing ties with its manager of nine years, Bill Aucoin, and cutting back on its unwieldy organizational tree. Although Frehley had already decided to leave the band, he was pictured on the covers of 1982's Killers and Creatures of the Night , although he did not participate in the recording of either album. Creatures of the Night (October 13, 1982) was Kiss's heaviest album to date, and although it fared better than Music from "The Elder" , it peaked at only No. 45 on

7056-625: Was the most diverse of the four, featuring hard rock, ballads, Beatles -influenced pop and a cover version of " When You Wish Upon a Star " from the Disney film Pinocchio . Simmons' many collaborators included Aerosmith 's Joe Perry , Cheap Trick 's Rick Nielsen , the Doobie Brothers ' Jeff "Skunk" Baxter , Donna Summer , Janis Ian , Helen Reddy , Bob Seger , Katey Sagal , and his then-girlfriend Cher . The solo albums were released on September 18, 1978. Casablanca spent $ 2.5 million on

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