This album was like Sgt.Pepper's for kids under ten, and I mean that in the best possible way. Still to this day I'm fascinated by it. It gives me that same feeling of being over your friend's house for a sleepover, and being down in the finished basement, telling scary stories, playing manhunt, looking for his older brother's Playboys, maintaining an all night sugar high from Halloween candy and watching Happy Days on one of the giant TV/stereo/liquor cabnets that were all the rage back then ...
Making pillow forts with the tv as the centerpiece. My friend had the record & my dad had just bought the new Alive 2 and we'd stare at that gatefold listening to both.
I was 13. I initially reacted to Destroyer like I did the Elder just because it was so different. I DID NOT LIKE the cartoon/comic book album cover AT ALL . I wanted real photographs like the other albums! I dug a couple of songs but once I heard the songs in concert they seemed to fit and I was able to accept them as Kiss songs
You nailed it on the head. The first 3 albums are way under produced. Love Gun Production is atrocious l. Alive II Studio and Ace Solo Album Eddie Kramer finally got the mix right. Vini Poncia Nailed It ! Dynasty. Production on Dynasty is brilliant. Listen to the phlange effect on Ace's solos. It's pitch perfect. People erroneously call it their 'disco' album, but production wise . . .a masterpiece ! Unmasked. . .way too over produced. Poncia admits Unmasked was rushed and the record company as well as two members of KISS ( guess who ? ? ? ) wanted the pop sound as it sold well overseas.
Destroyer is more of a Bob Ezrin album than a KISS album. Ezrin has song writing credits on about every song. He played the piano on Beth. How much did Ace actually play on the album? He didn’t play the solo on Sweet Pain or Flaming Youth. Ezrin came up with the DRC solo for them to play. Eddie Kramer is KISS’ best producer. Ace’s solo album is in a league of it’s own because Kramer could get the best out of Ace.
Loveeeee this album, it's almost perfect! Also, Bob Ezrin, best thing that ever happened to Kiss. He took the dark, raw sound made it bright commercial and larger than life.....next thing you know they're superstars!!
I was late to the party on this album as my Dad up and moved the family to the wilderness of Alaska around the time of its release. I wouldn’t have a chance to listen to it until around a year after it’s release. To a kid KISS was from another planet it seemed, even Ace said he was trying to acclimate to our atmosphere 😁 - but they had no competition at the time. This was around the time of the big CB radio craze that swept the nation, rubber ducks and teddy bears, a right wing wet dream. So this album holds hero status in my memory bank for that reason alone.
Like many KISS-albums I've overplayed this album in my youth. Favorite track today: Flaming Youth. I think the song completely catches the complete feeling of that time and feeling when you were young and a KISS-fanatic. I have no problem with the 'carnival sounds', I think they contribute to the vibe of the whole song. Of course the concert staples like DRC, Beth, Do You Love Me, God of Thunder and Shout it Out Loud are great tunes, but I don't play them that often because I really have an overload.
I love hearing your honest opinions on things even if i disagree. If I were to hear Detroit Rock City for the first time today, it probably would’ve annoyed me a lot but being a KISS fan since I was 5, I don’t mind the long intro but it’s really for nostalgic reasons. Destroyer would also be my least favorite KISS album of the 70s but I still love it
I like Destroyer, but I got beef with it too. My beef is that it's often that album that new KISS fans go for first instead Love Gun, RNRO, Alive, or even the debut album. Detroit Rock City and Shout It Out Loud are great songs. But movies or shows that feature KISS will often have those songs played, besides I Was Made or RNRAN. Not to mention that that album cover is on a lot of KISS merchandise. I feel that Destroyer usually gets the attention that the other albums should also receive but aren't. Again, I still like the album despite all the hiccups.
When I listened to "Destroyer" as a kid I loved to imagine what was going on during that intro :) All those kiddie screams during "God Of Thunder" worked the same way for me - they were giving a lot of food for my imagination.
I agree with you. Destroyer is my least favorite of the 70s also (and in my opinion it’s only a little better than Psycho Circus but that’s a conversation for another time.) I get why people love it: for the timeline, it’s the first album that came out after Alive 1, so naturally, people would get Alive 1, love it, and go buy the new album. I personally just think the production is kind of pretentious and obnoxious on the album, and I just prefer different versions of the songs, or I just don’t like some of the songs period. It’s a classic and I do like the album, but I think it is easily the most overrated Kiss album solely for the fact a large amount of people call it the best album period, when frankly, it isn’t. I stand by Dynasty being the best album.
The intro may have been a little long but it reminds me of The Who intro to The Punk and the Godfather..... " if the fights between mods and rockers continue, stricter security methods will be taken...." .... kind of sets the mood for the song.
Good episode.. I totally can relate to your beef on Destroyer.. In fact, I just thought of a little beef myself regarding Paul and Gene's occasional reference to substances.. "first I drink then I smoke.." lyrics coming from Paul on DRC sound fake as hell to me.. I've never brought this up, so there.. That's my repressed nit picky beef.. 😃
I guess its a product of my youth but I have no problem with Destroyer. I think the kids in God of Thunder make it actually sound more menacing like lost children. I like Great Expectations once again it reminds me of a different time as soon as I hear it. I dont like the circus sounds but all in all its not my favorite (Rock and Roll Over) but its a very strong memory from my youth
Finally someone else that doesn't think Destroyer is #1!!! Thank you! I get so much crap for this because it's always pretty low on my Kiss list. It's a good album. A few amazing songs. The first 2 songs specifically. My fave is the album after this because it was a return to the real Kiss sound. Rock and Roll Over is my favorite album. I love all their 70s albums except for the 3 solo albums. Love Ace's!! Hotter than Hell is awesome and probably my 2nd favorite. I like Dressed to Kill a lot as well. It's really interesting because Alive is the album that really put them in another league and everything about it is opposite of this album. It's raw and rough around the edges....and PERFECT!!! It doesn't surprise me they did not choose to work with Bob Ezrin again for their next album. I think Eddie Kramer was the best producer for Kiss. He knew what they were supposed to sound like. For what it's worth that's my opinion. Hail kiss army!!!
I agree with you. As for Detroit… intro, sounds more like a guy working as a dishwasher in a restaurant , then has an accident while driving to the kiss concert…maybe ? But none the less way too long ! 🤘🏻
Dude I was able to edit the minute and a half long sound effects and the explosion at the end on Detroit Rock City, and the kid on God Of Thunder when I ripped the cd using iTunes and changing the time length start/stop on the tracks when i ripped it.
Out of the first six Kiss albums Destroyer is at the bottom and it also is the shortest nine songs but it's not just that some of the material on it just doesn't do it for me. Hotter than hell is my favorite album followed by rock and roll over, Kiss Dressed to Kill
Destroyer was way over-produced, but Rock-and-Roll-Over quickly saved the day. There is a reason why RARO was quickly recorded and distributed after Destroyer - to restore the Kiss sound. The DRC intro is one of those great the-first-time-you-hear-it things, but not something that you wanted to endure everytime you listened to the track. - which is what you had to do in vinyl days. For that reason, it should have been omitted or made an outro on side B. Great Expectations was absolutely horriffic, non-Kiss-like garbage that belonged on the Elder - if anywhere. Without the DRC track, Destroyer would have been an epic fail, IMO. That one track was make it/break it for me.
"Great Expectations was absolutely horriffic, non-Kiss-like garbage that belonged on the Elder - if anywhere." That statement right there; I don't think I've ever heard anything more true
Destroyer was my first record I bought about when the 45th anniversary version came out and it’s also what really got me into kiss and I have to say after listening to their full discography their first album and rock and roll over are their best albums
Destroyer is very Good Sweet Pain ; Flaning Youth ; Shout it out Loud - Love it ! But Love Gun is Better !!!!!! I prefer Ace‘s Solo on Sweet Pain ! On the Original Album Version ACE plays still the End Solo on Sweet Pain
Destroyer isn't the only Bob Ezrin produced album where he used his children in the recordings. He apparently locked one of them in a cupboard to record their crying on 'The Kids' on Lou Reed's Berlin album.
@Deli6505 What an evil deviant. Several years ago on a Sunday morning radio show I listened to an interview with Ezrin talking about his son committing suicide and how it devastated him. Karma is a bitch. Those poor children. Only a monster would do that to their child. That is straight up emotional and mental child abuse. I am going to listen to the song.
This was their transition from having a hardcore cult following to becoming stars. That’s why I love Great Expectations and everything else on the album. It’s a glimpse into their lives behind the scenes now that they have money and fame.
Bottom line - It's a mediocre album with a lot of theatrical glam fluff, but no amount of sound effects can fix a bad song, and this album is half crap:. "Great Expectations", "Flaming Youth", "Rock and Roll Party" - "Sweet Pain" , all shit. "Shout It Pout Loud" is a poor man's "Rock and Roll All Nite". The other 5 songs are good. Though as a "concept" album - the almost 2 minutes (which are an eternity in music time) in preparation for "Detroit Rock City" and the car crash sound at the end and into the beginning of "King of the Night Time World", just ends by the time track 2 is done. I think I would have appreciated "Beth" more as a rock song if it had been played - as they did on "Unplugged" - with acoustic guitars instead of that Walt Disney/Star Wars arrangement.
Great Expectations sounds like an Alice Cooper song in my opinion. Actually a few tunes do. I can hear Alice singing Flaming Youth and Do you love me lol
A few years prior, Lou Reed's "Berlin" also had Bob Ezrin's kids screaming on a song called.... "The Kids". It's pretty dark where you want to call CPS on Lou Reed and Bob Ezrin. Bob's tendency to use Hunter & Wagner screwed up KISS, Alice Cooper AND Pink Floyd. Ezrin should do an "Elder: Resurrected".
I always found the same with the intros for Holy Diver by Dio and Lay Your Hands On Me by Bon Jovi they go for over a minute those songs could have their intros cut in half by 30 seconds.
I totally agree. Thats the main reason for me . Ace doesnt stick out that much. Yes, great songs but no signature sounding Ace solos. Ace himself said it's a good album but he likes other albums way more. Knowing that Dick Wagner played on a few tracks, I have little interest in the album. Yep, I agree the track order could of been different. Rock and Roll Over all the way! Awesome review
Cool vid. But I disagree that Shout it out Loud should have ended the album. Because as kids listening to the album, we had much shorter attention spans. Beth is where we'd always lift the needle. But then one day it was like, "Wait the best song comes AFTER Beth!" Do You Love Me became a sort of secret discovery. Later, we'd just skip all the other songs on side two and Do You Love Me WAS side two.
Great video by the good Doctor! I bought Destroyer in '78 or '79 as my first album and I loved it but it has not aged well. Great album but it is overproduced. I like Ezrin as a producer but he got carrier away on here. He put extra instruments in to "beef up" up the sound (piano & acoustic guitars) but he did it so much it could be distracting. The sound effects were also distracting, especially the intro. Ezrin's arrangement of Beth was great, but then he turns around and has them record a version of God Of Thunder that didn't resemble what they would play live. I heard Alive II first and was so confused when I heard the drastically slowed down album version.
I agree on every point (beef) except I like sweet pain....I think this record reminds us that went to high school in the 70's of our youth and good times and fuckn rock and roll dreams.....
Great points. He wasnt working on his car. Seeing you are a southern FL kid you never had to start a car during the winter. Back in the old days of crappy 70`s car you had to pump the gas pedal a few times before you turned the key on cold mornings so the clucker car would start. 😉🤣
Ahh. But I was born in upstate New York and moved to Florida when I was 8. I know all too well about brutal winters. You don't forget things like that.
If there is something called overproduction on an album, this one has it. Too many effects and polish which isn't necessarily a bad thing but it polished the edge off a lot of those songs. Don't get me wrong, I love most of these songs too, but the versions on Alive 2 and Double Platinum are so much better. Kiss does not need polish, their appeal is their raw energy and gritty sound. I loved your review and agreed with most of everything you brought up.
The intro's WAY too long for me, but there's something charming about it to me. I think it adds to the song and gives the song a little prequel to the events that happen during it
Two things I hate about destroyer is great expectations which basically sounds like kiss going adult contemporary, and that stupid little rock ‘n’ roll party thing at the end of side to
It's my fave album of all time ❤️😍 great memories of all the copies I bought 1st copy handed down from my brother who my sister originally gave it too best memory 1976 my dad' running downstairs with a bucket of water to where my sister and her friend were listening to god of thunder and the 🔥 place was smoking out the house 🤣 and I remember my sister gave it to my brother cause she gave me vodka at one of her house parties 🤣😂 when I was young and my brother threatened to tell my parents good times
Still rocks to me in its original form. Maybe was the last one rounding out an era. The mix and production was better, but not commercial aspects of it related to targeting a pop audience. But… Beth for whatever reason resonated and transcended to a much broader audience of contemporary pop. Peter and his buddy pulled off selling something to the good girls and broken hearted boys, but damn did they buy mf records. My mom loves that song too. Really screwed them up I think. I like Paul’s approach to girls better. Lolol
Last time in his home, then jammin to tunes, whilst warming up the ride to get to the show…then DRC takes the narrative over!🤘🔥 Also, I was 8 going on 9, in ‘76 and was a dipshit private in the KISS Army!!🤘🤘🔥🔥👍👍💀🖤💀🖤
Destroyer is my least favorite of the first 6 studio albums. Things I really dislike about it....Great Expectations , Beth and Shout It Out Loud. I do like Shout it out Loud played live anytime I've seen them but I'm just not crazy about the studio version. The intro doesn't bother me but it's not what's right with the album either. I feel the same about the kids talking.
Destroyer has my favorite version of "God of Thunder." I love the slow pace and the little kids running around. I agree that they add a fun but sinister tone to the track. I can't deal with "Flaming Youth" or "Sweet Pain" because of the circus music and the high falsetto choir voices. It reminds me too much of The Rolling Stones' "You Can't Always Get What You Want." I can't stand that song, either. The choirs take two otherwise decent songs and turn them goofy. I don't care for "Rock and Roll Party," either. Overall, Destroyer is on par with the other 70's releases. All of them have at least two tracks I can live without. Destroyer happens to have four, but it's still a fine album, just near the bottom of the list of my favorite 70's KISS, even below Dynasty. I can't think of a single stinker on Dynasty.
I think the bookends of the album , Detroit Rock City and Do You Love Me are the best two songs on Destroyer. I'm also one of the few who actually likes Great Expectations. Flaming Youth and Sweet Pain don't do much for me to be honest. A decent album but pretty overrated I feel , I prefer Dynasty.
Ace Frehley Did Not Play On God Of Thunder..He Also Didn't Play On Sweet Pain. Dick Wagner & I can't remember who the other guy who they used, and Ace should have been used on every tune.
Ah.. yes he did. Ace played every solo except for Sweet Pain which was done by Wagner. Wagner also did som overdubs here and there on other songs but it’s mostly Ace.
Great video brother I agree with you about Detroit Rock City. That intro sucks. I listen to the Double Platinum version. And Great Expectations is atrocious. I love Destroyer tho. But that song and intro blow big time.
My problem with Destroyer is that it's a Bob Ezrin album with the band members participating. It sound more like an Alice Cooper album than a KISS album. It's as if Bob said, "I like you guys, but you suck. I'm going to fix you".
One of my favorite KISS albums as well, but Great Expectations is garbage. I would have swapped it with Peter's "Ain't None Of Your Business". Sonically, it's would fit with the rest of the tracks with a little tweaking of the lyrics.
The Ending Of Destroyer was just as annoying as the intro to Detroit Rock City. Rock & Roll Over was a much better album but the recording quality on that album was shit. I really liked Love Gun, Great Recording. My Beef with Kiss is that only Kiss Alive was perfect from top to bottom. I liked every tune on Dynasty but that wasn't a true Kiss Album. Peter only drummed one tune. Dirty Livin' The Album had Anton Fig doing all the drum work other than that tune. The first 3 kiss albums all had crap on each and every one of them. sad but true. I can listen to every song on them, but I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. 1st album Kissing Time? Uh.. 2.Hotter Than Hell had Comin Home, Uh..killed the vibe of the album 3. Dressed to Kill had Anything For My Baby, Uh... 4. Destroyer, You covered this perfectly, Rock & Roll Party and sound effects.. 5.Rock & Roll Over had See You In Your Dreams, Uh... 6.Love Gun had two album killers, Tomorrow & Tonight, 2. And then she kissed me. 7.Dynasty, I could have done without I was made for loving you, But it was a small hit for them. I get it. 8.Unmasked, that goes without saying, Only Ace played 100% Original tunes on that Album and Peter wasn't on that Album. 9. The Elder was just all kinds of wrong, again Bob Ezrin's Bull Shit Strikes Again.. 10. Creatures showed Ace on the Original Cover but as you know he wasn't on that album. Vinnie did do an amazing Job. He gave them War Machine & I Love It Loud. 11. Lick It Up only had two ass kicking songs on that album. Young & Wasted & Not For The Innocent. Then kiss just kept getting worse & worse.. Revenge they used the help of Vinnie Vincent again as he wrote Unholy and that did wonders for putting them back on scene and regaining some lost fans not to mention giving them new ones. Psycho Circus Wasn't a Kiss Album..It only had one Kiss tune where all four played on it and if it hadn't had been for Ace insisting Peter Play drums on Into The Void, there wouldn't have been one single original kiss tune on that Album..
I hate every version of Beth except MTV unplugged when Ace's amazing acoustic solo completely redeems it. I agree Destroyer is the worst 1970's KISS easy.
Its not my favorite Kiss album, however if Destroyer and Bob Erin had never happened Kiss would have not gotten to the level of popularity and success they did.
my beef with destroyer is that it’s short and most of it is not good. its high points happen to be klassics, but the lame tunes bring the whole down (imo god of thunder, great expectations, and flaming youth are lame, sweet pain is okay, and that’s over half the record). definitely the weakest of the 70’s albums.
This album was like Sgt.Pepper's for kids under ten, and I mean that in the best possible way. Still to this day I'm fascinated by it. It gives me that same feeling of being over your friend's house for a sleepover, and being down in the finished basement, telling scary stories, playing manhunt, looking for his older brother's Playboys, maintaining an all night sugar high from Halloween candy and watching Happy Days on one of the giant TV/stereo/liquor cabnets that were all the rage back then ...
Yep I got it fresh off the shelf you had to be there it was really larger than life
Can hardly tolerate listening to some bands now tho kiss incl lol
Making pillow forts with the tv as the centerpiece. My friend had the record & my dad had just bought the new Alive 2 and we'd stare at that gatefold listening to both.
I know exactly what you mean.
Wow, that's a great observation. I had a copy at 7 (on 8 track)
I was 13. I initially reacted to Destroyer like I did the Elder just because it was so different.
I DID NOT LIKE the cartoon/comic book album cover AT ALL . I wanted real photographs like the other albums!
I dug a couple of songs but once I heard the songs in concert they seemed to fit and I was able to accept them as Kiss songs
Hotter than hell is my favorite album by kiss
Right there with ya,with the debut number two. Destroyer was the beginning of the end.
Sounds like they recorded it in a bathtub hth
@@vegasraiderspetef9883 And it still manages to kick Destroyer's ass.
love Hotter than Hell too.
For me it's Hotter Than Hell, then there's everything else in terms of 'Klassic KISS'.
Their albums were either over produced or under produced.
You nailed it on the head. The first 3 albums are way under produced. Love Gun Production is atrocious l.
Alive II Studio and Ace Solo Album
Eddie Kramer finally got the mix right.
Vini Poncia Nailed It !
Dynasty.
Production on Dynasty is brilliant. Listen to the phlange effect on Ace's solos. It's pitch perfect.
People erroneously call it their 'disco' album, but production wise . . .a masterpiece !
Unmasked. . .way too over produced.
Poncia admits Unmasked was rushed and the record company as well as two members of KISS ( guess who ? ? ? ) wanted the pop sound as it sold well overseas.
Bob Ezrin did say that looking back he should have left Ace’s original solo on Sweet Pain.
Love the intro and I always pictured little demons talking on God of Thunder.
Destroyer is more of a Bob Ezrin album than a KISS album. Ezrin has song writing credits on about every song. He played the piano on Beth. How much did Ace actually play on the album? He didn’t play the solo on Sweet Pain or Flaming Youth. Ezrin came up with the DRC solo for them to play. Eddie Kramer is KISS’ best producer. Ace’s solo album is in a league of it’s own because Kramer could get the best out of Ace.
When I was young, Destroyer was my favorite studio album. But now I’d say it’s #6 for me. I still love it though.
Loveeeee this album, it's almost perfect! Also, Bob Ezrin, best thing that ever happened to Kiss. He took the dark, raw sound made it bright commercial and larger than life.....next thing you know they're superstars!!
I was late to the party on this album as my Dad up and moved the family to the wilderness of Alaska around the time of its release. I wouldn’t have a chance to listen to it until around a year after it’s release. To a kid KISS was from another planet it seemed, even Ace said he was trying to acclimate to our atmosphere 😁 - but they had no competition at the time. This was around the time of the big CB radio craze that swept the nation, rubber ducks and teddy bears, a right wing wet dream. So this album holds hero status in my memory bank for that reason alone.
hhha yep I remember fooling around with a neighbors cb radio perhaps smokey and the bandit had to do with it ?????
Like many KISS-albums I've overplayed this album in my youth.
Favorite track today: Flaming Youth.
I think the song completely catches the complete feeling of that time and feeling when you were young and a KISS-fanatic. I have no problem with the 'carnival sounds', I think they contribute to the vibe of the whole song.
Of course the concert staples like DRC, Beth, Do You Love Me, God of Thunder and Shout it Out Loud are great tunes, but I don't play them that often because I really have an overload.
One of the best KISS albums and artwork for sure.
No doubt 💯
Destroyer was my introduction to KISS therefore my favorite
After Kiss Alive they would never sound like that again. Bob Ezrin was worst thing ever happend to kiss.
I love hearing your honest opinions on things even if i disagree. If I were to hear Detroit Rock City for the first time today, it probably would’ve annoyed me a lot but being a KISS fan since I was 5, I don’t mind the long intro but it’s really for nostalgic reasons. Destroyer would also be my least favorite KISS album of the 70s but I still love it
Happy Thanksgiving Ralph👍🔥 edit: it's always a toss between Dressed and Lick it Up for me
Happy Thanksgiving
I like Destroyer, but I got beef with it too. My beef is that it's often that album that new KISS fans go for first instead Love Gun, RNRO, Alive, or even the debut album. Detroit Rock City and Shout It Out Loud are great songs. But movies or shows that feature KISS will often have those songs played, besides I Was Made or RNRAN. Not to mention that that album cover is on a lot of KISS merchandise. I feel that Destroyer usually gets the attention that the other albums should also receive but aren't. Again, I still like the album despite all the hiccups.
I LOVE THE INTRO!! As soon as I hear it it brings me back to my childhood. A very special time for me
When I listened to "Destroyer" as a kid I loved to imagine what was going on during that intro :) All those kiddie screams during "God Of Thunder" worked the same way for me - they were giving a lot of food for my imagination.
I agree with you.
Destroyer is my least favorite of the 70s also (and in my opinion it’s only a little better than Psycho Circus but that’s a conversation for another time.)
I get why people love it: for the timeline, it’s the first album that came out after Alive 1, so naturally, people would get Alive 1, love it, and go buy the new album. I personally just think the production is kind of pretentious and obnoxious on the album, and I just prefer different versions of the songs, or I just don’t like some of the songs period.
It’s a classic and I do like the album, but I think it is easily the most overrated Kiss album solely for the fact a large amount of people call it the best album period, when frankly, it isn’t.
I stand by Dynasty being the best album.
The intro may have been a little long but it reminds me of The Who intro to The Punk and the Godfather..... " if the fights between mods and rockers continue, stricter security methods will be taken...." .... kind of sets the mood for the song.
Good episode.. I totally can relate to your beef on Destroyer.. In fact, I just thought of a little beef myself regarding Paul and Gene's occasional reference to substances.. "first I drink then I smoke.." lyrics coming from Paul on DRC sound fake as hell to me.. I've never brought this up, so there.. That's my repressed nit picky beef.. 😃
I guess its a product of my youth but I have no problem with Destroyer. I think the kids in God of Thunder make it actually sound more menacing like lost children. I like Great Expectations once again it reminds me of a different time as soon as I hear it. I dont like the circus sounds but all in all its not my favorite (Rock and Roll Over) but its a very strong memory from my youth
Finally someone else that doesn't think Destroyer is #1!!! Thank you! I get so much crap for this because it's always pretty low on my Kiss list. It's a good album. A few amazing songs. The first 2 songs specifically. My fave is the album after this because it was a return to the real Kiss sound. Rock and Roll Over is my favorite album. I love all their 70s albums except for the 3 solo albums. Love Ace's!!
Hotter than Hell is awesome and probably my 2nd favorite. I like Dressed to Kill a lot as well.
It's really interesting because Alive is the album that really put them in another league and everything about it is opposite of this album. It's raw and rough around the edges....and PERFECT!!!
It doesn't surprise me they did not choose to work with Bob Ezrin again for their next album. I think Eddie Kramer was the best producer for Kiss. He knew what they were supposed to sound like. For what it's worth that's my opinion. Hail kiss army!!!
I agree with you.
As for Detroit… intro, sounds more like a guy working as a dishwasher in a restaurant , then has an accident while driving to the kiss concert…maybe ? But none the less way too long ! 🤘🏻
Dude I was able to edit the minute and a half long sound effects and the explosion at the end on Detroit Rock City, and the kid on God Of Thunder when I ripped the cd using iTunes and changing the time length start/stop on the tracks when i ripped it.
Out of the first six Kiss albums Destroyer is at the bottom and it also is the shortest nine songs but it's not just that some of the material on it just doesn't do it for me. Hotter than hell is my favorite album followed by rock and roll over, Kiss Dressed to Kill
Destroyer was way over-produced, but Rock-and-Roll-Over quickly saved the day. There is a reason why RARO was quickly recorded and distributed after Destroyer - to restore the Kiss sound. The DRC intro is one of those great the-first-time-you-hear-it things, but not something that you wanted to endure everytime you listened to the track. - which is what you had to do in vinyl days. For that reason, it should have been omitted or made an outro on side B. Great Expectations was absolutely horriffic, non-Kiss-like garbage that belonged on the Elder - if anywhere. Without the DRC track, Destroyer would have been an epic fail, IMO. That one track was make it/break it for me.
"Great Expectations was absolutely horriffic, non-Kiss-like garbage that belonged on the Elder - if anywhere." That statement right there; I don't think I've ever heard anything more true
Destroyer was my first record I bought about when the 45th anniversary version came out and it’s also what really got me into kiss and I have to say after listening to their full discography their first album and rock and roll over are their best albums
Destroyer is very Good
Sweet Pain ; Flaning Youth ; Shout it out Loud - Love it !
But Love Gun is Better !!!!!!
I prefer Ace‘s Solo on Sweet Pain !
On the Original Album Version ACE plays still the End Solo on Sweet Pain
Destroyer isn't the only Bob Ezrin produced album where he used his children in the recordings. He apparently locked one of them in a cupboard to record their crying on 'The Kids' on Lou Reed's Berlin album.
What a sick bastard.
@Deli6505 What an evil deviant. Several years ago on a Sunday morning radio show I listened to an interview with Ezrin talking about his son committing suicide and how it devastated him. Karma is a bitch. Those poor children. Only a monster would do that to their child. That is straight up emotional and mental child abuse. I am going to listen to the song.
This was their transition from having a hardcore cult following to becoming stars. That’s why I love Great Expectations and everything else on the album. It’s a glimpse into their lives behind the scenes now that they have money and fame.
Bottom line - It's a mediocre album with a lot of theatrical glam fluff, but no amount of sound effects can fix a bad song, and this album is half crap:. "Great Expectations", "Flaming Youth", "Rock and Roll Party" - "Sweet Pain" , all shit. "Shout It Pout Loud" is a poor man's "Rock and Roll All Nite". The other 5 songs are good. Though as a "concept" album - the almost 2 minutes (which are an eternity in music time) in preparation for "Detroit Rock City" and the car crash sound at the end and into the beginning of "King of the Night Time World", just ends by the time track 2 is done. I think I would have appreciated "Beth" more as a rock song if it had been played - as they did on "Unplugged" - with acoustic guitars instead of that Walt Disney/Star Wars arrangement.
Almost Human: thanks for posting. Was the song "Detroit Rock City" based on a true incident that occurred in Charlotte, N.C.? Cheers!🥨
Is it me or does Part of guitar riff from D.R.C. sounds like Thin Lizzy's Boys are back ?
💣💥💣💥🍕🍕💀💀🤘🤘
Love DESTROYER always will but the album cover is absolutely 🔥🔥🔥🔥when I think of KISS
that album cover comes to mind. 🤘🤘
I can't stand " Great Expectations", but I love "Shout it out Loud". Good album.
Great Expectations sounds like an Alice Cooper song in my opinion. Actually a few tunes do. I can hear Alice singing Flaming Youth and Do you love me lol
nobody can stand Great Expectations 😂
A few years prior, Lou Reed's "Berlin" also had Bob Ezrin's kids screaming on a song called.... "The Kids". It's pretty dark where you want to call CPS on Lou Reed and Bob Ezrin. Bob's tendency to use Hunter & Wagner screwed up KISS, Alice Cooper AND Pink Floyd. Ezrin should do an "Elder: Resurrected".
I always found the same with the intros for Holy Diver by Dio and Lay Your Hands On Me by Bon Jovi they go for over a minute those songs could have their intros cut in half by 30 seconds.
In Australia we still didn't know about kiss in 76.. We had dirty deeds but 💪🇦🇺
I totally agree. Thats the main reason for me . Ace doesnt stick out that much. Yes, great songs but no signature sounding Ace solos. Ace himself said it's a good album but he likes other albums way more. Knowing that Dick Wagner played on a few tracks, I have little interest in the album. Yep, I agree the track order could of been different. Rock and Roll Over all the way! Awesome review
I still remember when I first heard Detroit Rock City when I was a kid.
I think the intro for DRC is great! I wouldn't want to listen to it any other way....
Cool vid. But I disagree that Shout it out Loud should have ended the album. Because as kids listening to the album, we had much shorter attention spans. Beth is where we'd always lift the needle. But then one day it was like, "Wait the best song comes AFTER Beth!" Do You Love Me became a sort of secret discovery. Later, we'd just skip all the other songs on side two and Do You Love Me WAS side two.
Where can I get that t-shirt? It's amazing.
I totally agree that Shout it Out Loud should have been the last song, I've been saying that for years.
The doing the dishes sounds you say are shoes walking upon the broken glass of the car accident. The story is told in retrospect.
Upon further review absolutely correct that shout it out loud to end the album. It is a great send off message song
Yes, great songs on this one but it's true there's some strange one too. It was my first brand new KISS album back in 1980.
I'm going with the guy doing the dishes on the intro
Sounds like Gene Simmons as the newscaster on the radio?🤔
I too didn't like Great Expectations. I couldn't relate to it.
Rock n roll party is better than great expectations
Great video by the good Doctor! I bought Destroyer in '78 or '79 as my first album and I loved it but it has not aged well. Great album but it is overproduced. I like Ezrin as a producer but he got carrier away on here. He put extra instruments in to "beef up" up the sound (piano & acoustic guitars) but he did it so much it could be distracting. The sound effects were also distracting, especially the intro. Ezrin's arrangement of Beth was great, but then he turns around and has them record a version of God Of Thunder that didn't resemble what they would play live. I heard Alive II first and was so confused when I heard the drastically slowed down album version.
I heard the Alive 2 version first too. I was very disappointed when heard the studio version.
For me, It's Dressed To Kill
I agree,my least favorite album of the 70's.
I agree on every point (beef) except I like sweet pain....I think this record reminds us that went to high school in the 70's of our youth and good times and fuckn rock and roll dreams.....
I never knew King of the Nightime World was a cover song.
Doc that intro is Gene talking and humming
Great points. He wasnt working on his car. Seeing you are a southern FL kid you never had to start a car during the winter. Back in the old days of crappy 70`s car you had to pump the gas pedal a few times before you turned the key on cold mornings so the clucker car would start. 😉🤣
Ahh. But I was born in upstate New York and moved to Florida when I was 8. I know all too well about brutal winters. You don't forget things like that.
@@almosthuman56 Oops. Very true.
@@almosthuman56 yea dude Buffalo just got slammed with 6 feet of snow last week. Pennsylvania dont get shit. We never have
If there is something called overproduction on an album, this one has it. Too many effects and polish which isn't necessarily a bad thing but it polished the edge off a lot of those songs. Don't get me wrong, I love most of these songs too, but the versions on Alive 2 and Double Platinum are so much better. Kiss does not need polish, their appeal is their raw energy and gritty sound. I loved your review and agreed with most of everything you brought up.
Ralph did you see mercyful fate on their resent tour ??? I saw them in Qc Canada drove 5 hrs for it !!!
King 🔹 rules !!!!
The intro's WAY too long for me, but there's something charming about it to me. I think it adds to the song and gives the song a little prequel to the events that happen during it
I'm pretty sure that the four members of KISS didn't appear all together on a single song on Destroyer.
Looking forward to your Creatures' 40th anniversary edition review.
I say this as not a big KISS fan, "king of the night time world" is 3 out of the 4 kiss songs I like
Two things I hate about destroyer is great expectations which basically sounds like kiss going adult contemporary, and that stupid little rock ‘n’ roll party thing at the end of side to
Great Expectations is lifted DIRECTLY from Beethoven's Sonata Pathetique.
ace is the best KISS album
for sure
I’d love to see you review the new songs on the Creatures box set
It's my fave album of all time ❤️😍 great memories of all the copies I bought 1st copy handed down from my brother who my sister originally gave it too best memory 1976 my dad' running downstairs with a bucket of water to where my sister and her friend were listening to god of thunder and the 🔥 place was smoking out the house 🤣 and I remember my sister gave it to my brother cause she gave me vodka at one of her house parties 🤣😂 when I was young and my brother threatened to tell my parents good times
Still rocks to me in its original form. Maybe was the last one rounding out an era. The mix and production was better, but not commercial aspects of it related to targeting a pop audience. But… Beth for whatever reason resonated and transcended to a much broader audience of contemporary pop. Peter and his buddy pulled off selling something to the good girls and broken hearted boys, but damn did they buy mf records. My mom loves that song too. Really screwed them up I think. I like Paul’s approach to girls better. Lolol
It’s okay. More girls made out to that song. But they didn’t put out like the rare beautiful tawdry gem that liked the rest of the lp. Lol
Last time in his home, then jammin to tunes, whilst warming up the ride to get to the show…then DRC takes the narrative over!🤘🔥
Also, I was 8 going on 9, in ‘76 and was a dipshit private in the KISS Army!!🤘🤘🔥🔥👍👍💀🖤💀🖤
Destroyer is my least favorite of the first 6 studio albums. Things I really dislike about it....Great Expectations , Beth and Shout It Out Loud. I do like Shout it out Loud played live anytime I've seen them but I'm just not crazy about the studio version.
The intro doesn't bother me but it's not what's right with the album either. I feel the same about the kids talking.
Destroyer has my favorite version of "God of Thunder." I love the slow pace and the little kids running around. I agree that they add a fun but sinister tone to the track. I can't deal with "Flaming Youth" or "Sweet Pain" because of the circus music and the high falsetto choir voices. It reminds me too much of The Rolling Stones' "You Can't Always Get What You Want." I can't stand that song, either. The choirs take two otherwise decent songs and turn them goofy. I don't care for "Rock and Roll Party," either. Overall, Destroyer is on par with the other 70's releases. All of them have at least two tracks I can live without. Destroyer happens to have four, but it's still a fine album, just near the bottom of the list of my favorite 70's KISS, even below Dynasty. I can't think of a single stinker on Dynasty.
Singing like Peter Pan!I love it dude!
I agree on the bloated intros for Detroit and Thunder. On my KISS playlists I just use the versions from Killers. No intros.
I agree. The opening sucks, but that opening RIFF. oh man, I'd argue one of KISS' best. Just sets the tone for the entire song
I think the bookends of the album , Detroit Rock City and Do You Love Me are the best two songs on Destroyer. I'm also one of the few who actually likes Great Expectations. Flaming Youth and Sweet Pain don't do much for me to be honest. A decent album but pretty overrated I feel , I prefer Dynasty.
Ace Frehley Did Not Play On God Of Thunder..He Also Didn't Play On Sweet Pain.
Dick Wagner & I can't remember who the other guy who they used, and Ace should have been used on every tune.
Ah.. yes he did. Ace played every solo except for Sweet Pain which was done by Wagner. Wagner also did som overdubs here and there on other songs but it’s mostly Ace.
@@Kallefatides Dick Wagner - guitar solo on "Sweet Pain", guitar licks on "Flaming Youth", acoustic guitar on "Great Expectations" and "Beth"
@@thebluesrockers yep, sounds about right.
I agree,one of their worst. After Crazy Nights and The Elder
Great video brother I agree with you about Detroit Rock City. That intro sucks. I listen to the Double Platinum version. And Great Expectations is atrocious. I love Destroyer tho. But that song and intro blow big time.
Hahahahaha, you made me laugh man! I gotta go do the dishes now
Another great video thanks! I wish you had an alternative to Paypal for donations since a lot of people are not using paypal anymore for many reasons.
I hate that Pink Flydesque album intro too.
God of thunder is on UA-cam with no kids
From God Of Thunder to Peter Pan 😂 lofl totally agree ha ha ha ha
My problem with Destroyer is that it's a Bob Ezrin album with the band members participating. It sound more like an Alice Cooper album than a KISS album. It's as if Bob said, "I like you guys, but you suck. I'm going to fix you".
One of my favorite KISS albums as well, but Great Expectations is garbage. I would have swapped it with Peter's "Ain't None Of Your Business". Sonically, it's would fit with the rest of the tracks with a little tweaking of the lyrics.
Bob Ezrin produced this album while buried under a mountain of coke
The Ending Of Destroyer was just as annoying as the intro to Detroit Rock City.
Rock & Roll Over was a much better album but the recording quality on that album was shit. I really liked Love Gun, Great Recording. My Beef with Kiss is that only Kiss Alive was perfect from top to bottom. I liked every tune on Dynasty but that wasn't a true Kiss Album. Peter only drummed one tune. Dirty Livin' The Album had Anton Fig doing all the drum work other than that tune. The first 3 kiss albums all had crap on each and every one of them. sad but true. I can listen to every song on them, but I'm sure you know what I'm talking about.
1st album Kissing Time? Uh..
2.Hotter Than Hell had Comin Home, Uh..killed the vibe of the album
3. Dressed to Kill had Anything For My Baby, Uh...
4. Destroyer, You covered this perfectly, Rock & Roll Party and sound effects..
5.Rock & Roll Over had See You In Your Dreams, Uh...
6.Love Gun had two album killers, Tomorrow & Tonight, 2. And then she kissed me.
7.Dynasty, I could have done without I was made for loving you, But it was a small hit for them. I get it.
8.Unmasked, that goes without saying, Only Ace played 100% Original tunes on that Album and Peter wasn't on that Album.
9. The Elder was just all kinds of wrong, again Bob Ezrin's Bull Shit Strikes Again..
10. Creatures showed Ace on the Original Cover but as you know he wasn't on that album. Vinnie did do an amazing Job. He gave them War Machine & I Love It Loud.
11. Lick It Up only had two ass kicking songs on that album. Young & Wasted & Not For The Innocent.
Then kiss just kept getting worse & worse..
Revenge they used the help of Vinnie Vincent again as he wrote Unholy and that did wonders for putting them back on scene and regaining some lost fans not to mention giving them new ones.
Psycho Circus Wasn't a Kiss Album..It only had one Kiss tune where all four played on it and if it hadn't had been for Ace insisting Peter Play drums on Into The Void, there wouldn't have been one single original kiss tune on that Album..
In no way was I Was Made For Lovin' You a small hit for the band. It was a big hit for the band.
I prefer God of Thunder from the box set with Paul on lead vocals.
This is your least favorite of the 70's? Did you enjoy Dynasty more than this?
I hate the circus sounding organ on G.O.T.
For me it's great expectations and the stupid carnival organ noises on flamin youth
Can't stand either
It's overproduced in My opinión. It's like seargent pepper. Too pretentious for a rock band. I prefer rock and roll over
I hate every version of Beth except MTV unplugged when Ace's amazing acoustic solo completely redeems it.
I agree Destroyer is the worst 1970's KISS easy.
I the version from Kiss Meets The Phantom Of The Park.
Its not my favorite Kiss album, however if Destroyer and Bob Erin had never happened Kiss would have not gotten to the level of popularity and success they did.
Only thing I don't like about the album is the CHEESY lyrics in Great Expectations
my beef with destroyer is that it’s short and most of it is not good. its high points happen to be klassics, but the lame tunes bring the whole down (imo god of thunder, great expectations, and flaming youth are lame, sweet pain is okay, and that’s over half the record). definitely the weakest of the 70’s albums.
I cannot stand Great Expectations either, that song is seriously garbage. Whenever I'm listening to Destroyer and it gets to that song I just skip it.
Love your shirt