Gene's vocals after writing with Vinnie

Talk about Kiss
Post Reply
User avatar
VinceVandergraff
Posts: 125
Joined: Sun Feb 12, 2017 7:53 am

Gene's vocals after writing with Vinnie

Post by VinceVandergraff »

After many listens to Vinnie's pre-KISS material recorded with Vinnie delivering the lead vocals, I've come to the conclusion that Gene borrowed highly from Vinnie's vocal harmonies, delivery, and approach, and continued this pattern in his own songs after Vinnie left the band. For sure I cannot be alone in believing this. I'm not just talking about the songs Vinnie co-wrote either. Everyone knows the classic KISS pre-'78 era, however going past that into Dynasty, Unmasked, and The Elder, Gene hadn't yet delivered the kind of vocal style as he does when Vinnie came into the picture on Creatures, or Lick It Up. Gene has said before that Vinnie was a great writer, but I think he was understating the impact of Vinnie to avoid the thought or notion about just how much Vinnie did for them as musicians. KISS was a rock n' roll band before Vinnie, and to me it more seems that KISS was a 'metal' band while Vinnie was there, or much closer to that edge. It's no secret Vinnie was inspired by Rhoads and Van Halen, and certainly wanted to be a part of that guitar-hero driven club, all the while he personally felt the need to be accepted by the fans, and surpass Ace as a guitarist and musician. I've wondered about the other songs Vinnie presented/submitted to KISS back then to play, and it would be great to hear those demos. Had he stuck with KISS, they would have surely had better songs in the rest of the 80's. I see a big parallel between 'God Of Thunder', which was Gene's staple anthem of the 70's era, and 'Unholy' which in my personal opinion was the best Gene song since the LIU tracks.
User avatar
shramiac
Posts: 10112
Joined: Sun Jul 04, 2010 6:34 pm
Location: Grant the Gibbon is on holiday.
Contact:

Re: Gene's vocals after writing with Vinnie

Post by shramiac »

Could well be right!

Vinnie influenced Gene's writing...Fits Like a Glove is very Vinnieish with its "flat 5" chording.
Promises made, crying in vain, all empty. Never accepting the blame and not letting go of the shame. A river of tears, as months turn to years, all wasted. On someone not willing to change.Now only a shadow remains! :(
User avatar
Genebaby
Site Admin
Posts: 17747
Joined: Fri Apr 23, 2010 10:43 pm
Location: Australia

Re: Gene's vocals after writing with Vinnie

Post by Genebaby »

Gene's vocals for the Creatures and LIU albums is amazing, but so is Paul's. The material pushed the whole band to be it's best, it's always great to listen to that stuff.
Commander in chief - VVF Army
Image
User avatar
BigEd
Posts: 529
Joined: Sun Jul 31, 2011 10:43 am
Location: Trumbull, CT

Re: Gene's vocals after writing with Vinnie

Post by BigEd »

Last night I took my Boy's out for Burger's & Beer's, my Son sneaks over to the Jukebox and plays "A Million to One"....the combination of Vinnie's Guitar Work & Eric's Drumming is Amazing, only to be highlighted by Paul "at his best" Vocal Performance....This song clearly should have been released as a single and would have been a Mega-Hit for them !
User avatar
Streetbeat
Posts: 5763
Joined: Mon Jul 05, 2010 6:46 am

Re: Gene's vocals after writing with Vinnie

Post by Streetbeat »

Gene's vocals had to change, cookie monster breaks after they tuned on a higher key.
So he adapted live to his "Animalize Live" singing style. COTN/LIU Tours were a test for his singing style
then he realized how much the cookie monster breaks at a higher key.
User avatar
shramiac
Posts: 10112
Joined: Sun Jul 04, 2010 6:34 pm
Location: Grant the Gibbon is on holiday.
Contact:

Re: Gene's vocals after writing with Vinnie

Post by shramiac »

Streetbeat wrote: Sat Mar 04, 2017 2:02 am Gene's vocals had to change, cookie monster breaks after they tuned on a higher key.
So he adapted live to his "Animalize Live" singing style. COTN/LIU Tours were a test for his singing style
then he realized how much the cookie monster breaks at a higher key.

Oh yeah! OH YEAH!!! Well alriiiiiight! :lol: :lol: :lol:
Promises made, crying in vain, all empty. Never accepting the blame and not letting go of the shame. A river of tears, as months turn to years, all wasted. On someone not willing to change.Now only a shadow remains! :(
User avatar
tukoztukoz
Posts: 989
Joined: Sat May 11, 2013 7:20 am

Re: Gene's vocals after writing with Vinnie

Post by tukoztukoz »

"Burn bitch burn" : Gene got really funny without Vinnie!!! I remember reading the lyrics at the time, and I had a real good laugh with this song
say two sky two say fare
User avatar
Slayer
Posts: 4800
Joined: Tue Jul 06, 2010 4:44 am
Location: California

Re: Gene's vocals after writing with Vinnie

Post by Slayer »

Put my log in your fireplace - must be the pinnacle of Gene's lyrical career
Post Reply