Kiss – Lick It Up – 1983
When Lick It Up first came out, it was, of course, somewhat special that the band no longer hid behind the makeup that had previously been synonymous with them. The news value in magazines was enormous, and pictures of the unmasked members were put up on the walls next to the old tried-and-true posters. Today, I’m not sure if I find it equally cool. I sense a commercial motive behind the move, and considering what I now think, especially about Gene Simmons’ way of squeezing money out of the fans, I take a negative stance. But this should primarily be about the music, so I’ll move on and note that it’s much harder music on Lick It Up than what was the case on the previous albums.
Vinnie Vincent, who is involved as a songwriter in most of the material, is also found on the album cover, but whether he was a full-fledged member of the band or not is disputed. Opinions differ, and his session with the band was, in any case, short. Overall, the songs are quite dull without the arena hooks that the band managed to create during the heyday of the seventies. It’s not very melodic, and there are really only a few songs that still hold up today. “All Hell’s Breaking Loose” is one of them, and the title track “Lick it Up” is still decent, but overall, it’s not something you can listen to very often anymore.
