Detroit Rock City

It's getting pretty late in Becky's World, and tomorrow is Friday.  Thank goodness.  As tired as I am right now, I am excited for the weekend.  Last weekend I heard "Detroit Rock City," another Kiss classic, on the radio while I was driving.  Again, I cheat a bit here because the song was written in 1976, but that is alright.  I am sure this song was heard on classic rock stations in the 80s, and it is still getting airplay today.  I never actually heard the song until this year when I discovered the Kiss Symphony video.  I had very little idea of what Paul Stanley was singing (other than "get up...get down...") and then I discovered the sad inspiration behind the song.  Becky's World is pretty happy, so I will leave the research on this one (for those who don't already know) to my readers.

I really do think the performance with the Melbourne Symphony ads an exceptional punch and huge level of excitement to the song.  Well, that and the awesome pyrotechnics.  I couldn't help but notice that at 1:59 in the video, the brass section comes in to join the guitar melody.  Oh yeah, the brass can really kick some, uh, rear.  How cool is that?  I can only sit here and drool over that part, because even if the woodwinds had it, well you can't see or hear them in that part of the video.  That's okay.  Plenty of good music to go around for everyone.  I think I am getting addicted to this performance video.  I guess the song isn't really that sad if you think about it as a celebration of spirit and life.  Alright, it's sad, but this video is kickin', and the guitar solos cranking along give the tune unbelievable gusto and momentum.  Perfect to ring in the weekend.  Enjoy!

Kiss - Forever

Well, I have to say that I was curious to hear more Kiss songs after watching the clip of "I Was Made for Loving You" from the Kiss Symphony. I saw a clip of the song "Forever" from the Kiss Symphony performance, and I thought it was a beautiful song. For a song with such tenderness in the melody and lyrics, it was perfect to see the reduced orchestra for this one. The strings add so much in this setting - from the momentum in their swiftly pronounced steady quarter notes to the beauty of their sustained legato lines (especially the short counter melody and gorgeous harmonies).

After watching the performance with the Melbourne Symphony, I found the original video for the song, which I read was recorded in 1989 and released in 1990.  Doesn't really matter since Kiss is pretty much timeless with their body of musical works. The video really surprised me. It was so simple and so very touching. It was perfect. I really enjoyed seeing the group without make-up, playing together in a rather subdued setting. Looked like a group of friends really enjoying making music together. You'll catch Gene Simmons smiling several times, and it seems like such a warm smile. Of course, these are all my interpretations, but the music is great. The guitar solo is truly gorgeous, and the vocals are, well, simply perfect. One thing that really stood out to me was the drum playing. Wow. That was definitely some virtuoso drumming. I read that the drummer, Eric Carr, passed away at a very young age, which is truly sad. But, his legacy continues. He really rocked that set of Ludwigs - which also made me smile since I used to work for the company that owns Ludwig :) Their drums are terrific.

I Was Made for Loving You

Those crazy boxed Halloween costumes...

Okay - I have to admit that I was always a bit afraid of Kiss. When they were really at a highpoint in the music world, I was in kindergarten. I remember that year, and I was only 5. All of the boys in my kindergarten class dressed up as Kiss for Halloween, and it honestly scared the daylights of out me. Back in 1980, we had these horrible Halloween costume "sets." It was basically a plastic mask held on by a thin elastic strap stapled to each side and then a big, smelly, plastic/rubber smock as the costume. Ugh, they were awful, and the smock/dress costume thing always ripped. But, we had to have them!

That being said, I think it's alright to put "I Was Made for Loving You" into this blog, even though the song was released just a year earlier (1979). As I mentioned, I was always afraid of the band, so I didn't listen to much of their music even as an adult. Old habits die hard. Anyway, I was looking around the internet and discovered that Kiss performed in Australia in 2003 with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. The performance was recorded, and a live album was released titled Kiss Symphony: Alive IV. Low and behold, I saw some videos from the show, and I was blown away by the performance of "I Was Made for Loving You." I read that the conductor of the Melbourne Symphony arranged the orchestral parts, which I am sure was no small task. The orchestra sounds AMAZING in this performance - powerhouse brass section, awesome strings playing swiftly together with perfect intonation. If was incredible. The orchestra really seemed to amp up the performance to a level that you wouldn't normally expect from a classical instrumental ensemble. Even better, the orchestra members were all wearing Kiss makeup! Even the wind players. It is so amazing. Wish I had that gig! There are just so many layers and tonal colors that orchestras have in and of themselves. When you add that to a rock band live on stage, well, the results are unbelievable.

Meanwhile, the song itself needs no interpretation. Lyrics are to the point and very clear, although it is kind of neat to think about two people being made for each other. We hear that as a cliché expression: "Oh, those two were made for each other." Kind of sounds syrupy-sweet and kind of cutesy. But, when Paul Stanley is up there with Kiss singing "I was made for loving you baby, you were made for loving me...I can't get enough of you baby, can you get enough of me..." it really packs a punch!!! Yeah! The performance is truly amazing in the video - orchestra, guitar solo, drums, vocals. It's insane. I especially love the punctuation of the lyrics with pyrotechnics toward the end..."I was made" BOOM, "You were made" BOOM, "Can't get enough" BOOM, "No I can't get enough" BOOM! Hope you enjoy this incredible performance!