1219. Kiss / Lick It Up. 1983. 3.5/5

Following the turmoil that had gone on during the writing and recording of the “Creatures of the Night” album – an episode of which you can catch up on in Season 3 of this podcast – and then the growing success of that album and the tour that followed, you’d have thought that everything would be in place for Kiss to have a smoother ride into the follow up to that album. Ace Frehley, whose personage had appeared on the front cover of that album but had not actually played on it, had left the band officially by this time. Vinnie Vincent, who had played in a guest slot on the album in his absence, was now considered the fourth member of Kiss and was ready to contribute on a more advanced stage than he had on the previous album. This, as it turned out, was only partially true, as Vincent refused to sign the contract offered to him to become a full member of the band. The sticking points apparently included what his actual role within the band would be, whether he would be considered a session player or a full member of the bad, and just what he would be paid as a result. Vincent apparently demanded a percentage of the gross profit, which was summarily dismissed. This meant that although Vincent appears on the cover of the new album, “Lick It Up” and has multiple writing credits and played all of the lead guitar on the album, he was not legally a member of Kiss at any point of this process. Or, as it turns out, afterwards once the band began to tour behind this album. It was an interesting scenario, with Vincent himself believing that he was almost solely the reason for the resurgence of popularity of Kiss at this time, and he wanting the rewards for that. It was to be a battle that dragged on over the next 18 months.
The final big reveal for this new album was the band’s final unmasking, deciding the time had come to forgo he makeup and appear in public as...themselves. This first occurred on MTV as the band launched the new album, and became a massive deal at the time. Although Kiss had performed without makeup at the very beginning of the band’s existence, it was the first time in 10 years that they had been seen performing without it. The album cover also included all four members without their makeup. It was a new era for the band in all of these ways. Now it had to be seen if they could back it up with an album worthy of all of this.

“Creatures of the Night” had been considered to be a heavier album than Kiss had produced for awhile, and in most aspects that has continued on here into “Lick It Up”. In many ways, perhaps much as Vinnie himself suggested, this could be traced to Vincent’s involvement in the writing process, being credited as co-writer on all but two tracks. It’s an interesting discussion point, and one worth delving into. In particular, if you look at the songs that make up the second side of the album, there are cases both ways. That opening track is the second and final single released from the album, “All Hell’s Breaking Loose”, a song that is actually credited to all four members of the band. It has always seemed like a strange choice to be released as a single, with perhaps the only reason being all four would benefit if it didwell because all four have a writing credit. If that was the only reason they did it, then the fact the song didn’t chart at all makes that a poor one. This is followed by what entails a Paul Stanley soft rock ballad like track in “A Million to One”, but actually is more than that because of the harder guitar riffs throughout than would have normally been the case in this type of song. A Stanley inclusion? Or a Vincent inclusion? While the chorus still annoys me, the rest of the song is good, so perhaps this is a win for Vinnie?
Then you have the two songs solely credited to Gene Simmons. “Fits Like a Glove” takes on a faster tempo and harder chanting vocals through the bridge and chorus, and becomes an anthemic like track, and then “Dance All Over Your Face” is a more typical Gene track, mid-tempo with stagnated guitar over a heavy 2/4 drum beat with Gene vocalising over the top. Both of these tracks are more attractive than the previous two songs, which of course would then suggest Vinnie’s influence isn’t as great as it is thought. The other side of that is that all of the other songs where Vincent is co-writer with either Paul or Gene have the great harder qualities that the album is credited as having, and thus surely it is he who has pushed this vibe back into the Kiss catalogue. The side and album concludes with the upbeat anthem “And on the 8th Day”, which is a solid closing track, despite some interesting Gene lyrics in “You sold your soul and virginity, you can't rape a heart of gold”. Sometimes he just makes it hard to sing along...
Side A of the album is terrific and never fails to disappoint if you are a Kiss fan. “Exciter” is a great opening track, with great riffs from Stanley and Vincent that drive the song. It’s a head bobber, one that gets the blood pumping from the outset. “Not for the Innocent” is a great follow up, with Gene’s spitting vocals and bass and guitar riffs carrying on the harder edge from the opening song. This leads into the title track, the legendary “Lick it Up” that is one of the band’s best ever singles, and a song that has remained in their set list since this album’s release. It is a long time classic, and has everything that has made Kiss successful over the years. It is still a beauty. “Young and Wasted” is Gene and Vinnie’s youth anthem, Gene chanting away in his famous style, and Vinnie clocking into his solo with style. Gene’s lyrics aren’t quite as questionable here and as a song to sing loud as a teenager it isn’t the worst option. “Gimme More” is much more questionable lyric wise, back to that overdosed sexual innuendo that the band does stick with. The song is enjoyable, but singing the lyrics as a 53 year old is far more unsettling than you might think.

Those who have been around since the beginning of this podcast, and having heard me already do episodes on several Kiss albums, will already know that my love of Kiss came from different ages and different eras, and that I came across their albums at different times than when they were released. Most of the albums released from the early to mid-1980's I didn’t discover in full until the next decade had arrived, and “Lick it Up” was no exception. I knew the title track, but the rest was a mystery. I heard this, and many of this era’s releases, in the early 1990’s, but never owned my own copies until much later, and it wasn’t until then that I really started listening to the albums of that time.
And, unlike some older Kiss fans, I really enjoy most of those albums, and this one in particular. Vinnie Vincent might be a lot of things, but he does help to write a good song, and the songs on this album are great. His leads are different to Ace, as they should be, but no less interesting and enjoyable. There is a 50/50 mix in the songs here sung by Paul and Gene, and the combination works really well on this album. Eric Carr is also terrific on drums, making a great contribution throughout but especially (to my ears at least) on Gene’s songs.
While I knew this album, my true discovery of it came when my then 10 year old son found his way into Kiss of his own accord, started playing all of their songs on Spotify, and expressed an interest in seeing the band (which at the time I thought we had missed our opportunity). This actually led me to revisiting all of their albums again, and this was one of the ones that got stuck in the CD player of my stereo for some time. Six years later, and I’ve got it back in there again, and I am enjoying this album all over again. And I can’t help ask myself the question why I didn’t listen to this album more often when I was younger. Mainly, when it came to Kiss, I would fall upon my known favourites such as “Crazy Nights” and “Destroyer”, but it seems I missed a trick with “Lick It Up”. I have certainly made up for it ever since.