Vie’s Verses – 5 Songs I Would Love To Hear KISS Perform This Summer
Unless you’ve been living under a soft rock, you have no doubt heard that there is a huge, double-bill, rock and roll tour heading to a city near you this summer. Kiss will be teaming up with Motley Crue for what looks to be one of the hardest rocking double bills I’ve seen in years. I am looking forward to this amazing hard rock show when they roll into New Jersey this September. It’s going to be an awesome, late summer Friday night of fun and havoc!
Like I do with almost any concert that I attend, I’ve been thinking about what the setlists could be for each band this year. Will they stick to only the hits? Are they going to pull out some early classics? Will there be a surprise or two that no one expects? I’m always anxious to hear some deep cuts whenever I see either of these bands live, and this year is no exception. After giving it much thought, I’ve come up with a list of songs that would make me wet myself if they were performed live. Last time I wrote about the Motley songs I want to hear, this time, here are the five songs that I would love to hear from KISS.
Kiss
Sweet Pain (Destroyer)
“Sweet Pain” could be my favorite Kiss song ever. To the best of my knowledge, Kiss has only played this song live during their acoustic Konvention tour, where they played any song that the fans would call out. I have a copy of that song on a bootleg, and while it took a while for the band to get it down, they did a decent job. As one of the best songs on Destroyer it is a true shame that this song has never received a proper live performance. If Kiss would take the time to study this tune and pull it out for the upcoming tour, the buzz from the fans would be maddening. With the song’s power and intensity combined with it being a deep cut classic, all Kiss fans would love to hear “Sweet Pain.”
I (Music From The Elder)
How in the world does a rock band have a song that is so amazing, so powerful, and so fantastic that they never play it? It baffles my mind that Kiss has only performed “I” less than a handful of times and never since the acoustic Konvention tour back in 1995. “I” is one of those great Kiss classics where Gene and Paul trade verses to the delight of the Kiss Army. The song is a powerful anthem about believing in yourself and going above and beyond to achieve what you want in life. Like other Kiss anthems, “I” is a song that would rev the crowd up to such a massive dynamic, that the audience would scream their throats raw. “I” would be the best main set closer that Kiss has ever done since “Let Me Go Rock And Roll” held that honor in the early 70s. It would be a Kiss fan’s dream come true.
Love ‘Em And Leave ‘Em (Rock And Roll Over)
“Love ‘Em And Leave ‘Em” is a great late-70s Gene sung song centered on the theme of womanizing. This is a topic that Gene wrote about a lot back in the 70s and 80s and still writes a fair amount about today. “Love ‘Em And Leave ‘Em” is a fantastic ode to the one night stand, and a Kiss song that has never gotten the proper attention that it deserves. Kiss has the chance to right that wrong this summer by pulling out this fantastic homage to loving the ladies for one night only.
I Still Love You (Creatures Of The Night)
Granted, out of all the Kiss songs that I would like to hear in concert this year, “I Still Love You” is the one that has been played most recently. It is also the one song on this list that has the best chance of being played live during this concert. “I Still Love You” is one of Kiss’ strongest, operatic ballads and the live version is simply amazing. If Paul Stanley still has the range, pulling out this classic Kiss song would likely see an amazing crowd reaction.
Almost Human (Love Gun)
“Almost Human” is practically an unknown Kiss song. Any time that I mention this song to anyone, even die-hard Kiss fans, they always give me a quizzical look. When I remind them that it was a side two track from Love Gun, I usually get a similar response of, “Oh, I’m going to have to go back and listen to that one again.” That’s how deep a track “Almost Human” is. However, just because it’s a deep track, doesn’t mean that it’s not a good track. This is one of my all time favorite Gene Simmons songs. It’s dark and haunting, with a theme centered on science fiction and fantasy more than women or rock and roll (a rarity for a Kiss song). Perhaps meant to be the sequel to “God Of Thunder,” “Almost Human” received no attention after being released on Love Gun. Now, 35 years after its release, Kiss could really make a statement and perform this song live for the first time ever. This would also be a great song for Gene Simmons to fly and spit blood before performing, giving it an added bonus of excitement for the fans.
Those are the five songs that I would like to hear Kiss perform on tour this summer. What about you? What Kiss songs are you hoping that the band dusts off? Which Kiss rarities have you always wanted to see in concert? Drop a line in the comments section and share your opinion!
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Nice choices! Except “I Still Love You”… I don’t care for that song.
I especially agree with “Almost Human” … totally underrated! I can’t believe that you know KISS fans who are unfamiliar with that song!
Others I’d choose:
“Heart Of Chrome”,
“Ladies’ Room”, and
“Two Timer “
Totally agree with your choice about Almost Human and Love ’em Leave ’em. I’d also toss in Larger than Life, All American Man, Take Me, Got to Choose, I Want You.
When I saw them a few years ago, I was totally elated to hear them do Parasite, She, 100,000 Years and Watchin’ You back to back. My absolute favourites from that era. Strangely, not much crowd reaction. I guess they weren’t the hits. Made me wonder if the rest of the crowd was out of touch, or I was. Loved every minute, so I figured they were.