The Days of Lore

Do you love these?

Thursday, October 30th, 2008 | musiX, politiX | 1 Comment

I was a little testy the other day. Politics does that to me, which is why I don’t discuss it at length … and why I’m changing the subject back to rock ‘n’ roll and youth …

When I was 5 or 6 I received a 45 of Gene Simmons‘ “Radioactive” (B-side, “See You In Your Dreams”) from his 1978 solo record. I played it as often as I could on my parents’ hi-fi—you know, one of those stereos with a record player and an 8-track inside of what looked like a piece of furniture—until it was a crackling mess. I owned three T-shirts, KISS trading cards, posters, pajamas … and I wrote a letter to Santa asking for a Gene Simmons doll. I also liked Barry Manilow … but that’s another story.

I essentially grew up liking KISS in varying degrees—losing interest at times, defending them to no avail at others, and buying their records no matter how crappy they were. KISS hasn’t been good since 1976, save for Dynasty, (Music From) The Elder and Creatures of the Night … maybe Asylum for the production … sorry, still with me? And I will to this day defend them against those who don’t know any better, and I still insist that anyone who likes rock ‘n’ roll should own copies of Destroyer, Alive! and Hotter Than Hell.

KISS still isn’t in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. And Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley are still touring sans Ace Frehley and Peter Criss, instead playing with a career studio musician and the guy who used to fetch Gene’s coffee. Now they’ve released an album of re-recorded classics. KISS fans will eat it up … err, lick it up. It’s like television—who do you blame, the networks producing the awful shows, or the millions of people who watch them every week?

I recently listened to Jigoku Retsuden, which is available only in Japan and the Interwebs and was recorded with Eric Singer and Tommy Thayer. It definitely sounds better than some of those old tinny recordings, but it’s rather soulless and is no doubt another scheme to make a yen or ni.

But I want to know which version rocks harder, not from the standpoint of a bleeding-heart KISS dweeb, but from an objective, thinking, slightly uninterested person. I’ve taken “Do You Love Me” from 1976’s Destroyer, and I’m running it against the 2008 version. I’m also throwing in the Ralph Nader of rock if you will: a version Nirvana recorded in 1990 (it appeared on the rare tribute album Hard To Believe which also features covers from bands like Skin Yard, Smelly Tongues and the Hard-Ons).

It’s a warm-up vote before the big one on Nov. 4. Listen and e-mail your votes to mark@thedaysoflore.com. I’ll announce the winner Mon., Nov. 3 … it might be the most important pre-election election of your life.

“Do You Love Me” - KISS, 1976

“Do You Love Me - Nirvana, 1990

“Do You Love Me” - KISS 7.0, 2008

Tags: “Do You Love Me”, (Music From) The Elder, Alive!, Asylum, Barry Manilow, Creatures of the Night, Destroyer, Dynasty, Eric Singer, Gene Simmons, Hard To Believe, Hard-Ons, Hotter Than Hell, Jigoku Retsuden, KISS, Nirvana, Paul Stanley, Skin Yard, Smelly Tongues, Tommy Thayer