Customer Reviews

Crazy Nights

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

INTRO:KISS had great history in the 70`s with fame and succes,in the late 70`s and early 80`s the band had few bumps.Two of their original members had left,a few bad albums,too much replacement guitarist didn`t do them any good as their reputation has drasticaly changed.With all of that,KISS still continued and held on wich is deserving of respect,the band had many directions during the 80`s,pop,orchestral,heavy metal,metal,pop-metal and this album could go for pop-metal.

REVIEW:For the time it was a good album,certainly the cheesy choruse of"No,No,No" isn`t a classic,but "I`Ll fight Hell To Hold You"is a great song that unfortunatly doesn`t get much attention.The album is forgetable for some reasons but memorable for others.For Crazy Nights KISS toured outside of the U.S. and even went to Japan for the first time in ten years!For the songs some are good,some not,a few are great.Paul`s songs are the better ones,Gene still writes typical Gene songs like "Good Girl Gone Bad" making a usual mix.A few songs only on the album are popish and they are mostly the forgettable ones,there is however not enough Bass did Gene even play?Eric Carr is once again great but shows very little of his abilities,Bruce does a good job with hs parts and his solos are truly great.

The album,if you are a die-hard KISS fan will certainly find its way in your albums shelve,Crazy Nights ain`t KISS`s best album but its not the worst either.

This is an okay album, with Paul Stanley singing 7 out of the 11 songs on it. Bruce Kulick does a pretty good job on No No No (giving Eddie Van Halen a run for his money in the speed department) but sacrifices feeling for technique in my opinion. The mix isn't the greatest, there's not enough bass to blend with the guitar and drums. Was Gene Simmons even playing on here, or did he just show up to sing his 4 songs? We all know he did play, it's just not there sonically. Eric Carr did a good job with this, proving again that he is a better drummer than Peter Criss. This album is symptomatic of the corresponding period in KISStory, with Paul being the main reason the band was even around. Not the best album, but not their worst either.

This album has everything a KISS album should have:hard rock anthems, fast-fingured guitar solos, explosive lyrics, heart-felt power balads and the fun spirit of KISS. If I were to recommend a KISS album to anyone it would be this one simply because its just a really fun album that has something for metal fans as well as ballad loving folks. Songs like "I'll Fight Hell to Hold You", "No,No,No", "Hell or High Water" and "Turn on the Night" all contain some of the best guitar work I've heard on a rock album and show that the band still had the same great sound after over 14 years of making music. If you're into depressing, boring and pompous Seattle garage drivel steer clear of this one, but if like high adrenaline, guitar-driven fun metal then this is a must have for your collection. Forget what some pompous self-rightous critic who listens to whatever they hear on corporate radio or M TV tells you, this is a great C.D. and if you like KISS, you'll love this album.

In 1978, I discovered Kiss and I was really hooked. They were mystical and cool in the eyes of a young boy, and they actually had great songs too. So it really hurts to see how bad they have taken care of the band. When Peter Criss, and later Ace Frehley left Kiss it sure was a tough blow even though Gene Simmons try to deny the impact from both Criss and Frehley. "CREATURES OF THE NIGHT" (1982) was alright but "LICK IT UP" (1983) and "ANIMALIZE" (1984) were rather lame. With "ASYLUM" (1985), Kiss got a bit better, but they were still very far from former heights.

"CRAZY NIGHTS" (1987) is really a good album. Most of the songs are very appealing even though it's harmless pop metal most of the time. "I'll fight hell to hold you", "My way", "Good girl gone bad", and "Hell or high water" are all strong tunes, and there are in fact no real low marks on this album. Gene Simmons seem more focused than in a long time, and Paul Stanley have finally gone for a less strained singing style. I would say that "CRAZY NIGHTS" is the best effort since the classic years.

Since the musical climate, what's a fashionable and up to date change all the time, one must put every single album in its context. By 1987's standard this is a very good effort.

I will always have a soft spot in my heart for Crazy Nights because it came out when I was in highschool, and I played it nonstop then, even though I questioned Kiss' direction. (Over)produced by Ron Nevison, Kiss were trying way too hard for radio and video hits. The rock was all but gone and I could hardly believe this was the same band. At the same time, the songs are actually pretty good. Better, on average, than some more well-love Kiss albums. It's the gloss and production that sinks Crazy Nights.

I recall reading in about 1986 that Paul Stanley was writing on keyboards. Uh-oh. Surely enough there are keyboards on tons of these songs. I remember being so disheartened by the video for "Reason to Live" and seeing Kulick playing keys instead of guitar. Stanley himself didn't play guitar in the videos either -- he wore one, and danced around with it. This didn't seem like rock and roll anymore.

Still, the songs are decent. Here's my breakdown:

Good to great songs:

"Hell Or High Water"
"Good Girl Gone Bad"
"Turn On The Night"
"No, No, No"

OK songs:

"Crazy, Crazy Nights"
"Reason To Live"
"I'll Fight Hell To Hold You"
"My Way"

Bad songs:

"When Your Walls Come Down"
"Thief In The Night"

So, not bad. Not enough Gene though. That was a problem on a lot of albums from Dynasty to Crazy Nights, there just wasn't enough Gene. He had become a sideman, not a frontman. Gene's singing here is smooth, no rasp and no monster voice. I always found that odd. Paul's singing is very high and something shrill. It was the 80's.

Pick it up if you love 80's rock. Avoid if you don't. Two stars.

Track review

Crazy nights = Lousey
Ill fight hell to hold you = Sure
Bang Bang You = sex overdose
No No No = No No No
Hell or high water = Hot water please
My way = no way
When your walls come down = WARNING this contains brain damage
Reason to live = After listening to this album
Good girl gone bad = Good band gone bad
Turn on the night = THIS IS SERIOUSLEY A TOP SONG HOORAH
Thief in the night = Not even a thief would steal this album

OK, first off, let me point out that this was my first ever Kiss album so I'm somewhat partial to it. But in the years since I have come to be well aquainted with their entire catalog and you'd be surprised how well this one measures up. With the glaring exception of two tracks that should have been left off completely, "Crazy Nights" is a Kiss album that fitted in comfortably with the times. It could have benefited from a heavier mix and Gene Simmons sings four songs in much too high a key. He does not display his trademark growl ala "God of Thunder." But the upside is he actually has a voice.
The album gets off to a roarin' start with "Crazy, Crazy Nights," one of the best Kiss anthems marred only by an awkward intro. As far as I'm concerned, it ranks right up there with "Rock N Roll All Nite" and "Detroit Rock City."
Up next is "I'll Fight Hell To Hold You," a very dramatic song that is the 2nd or 3rd heaviest song on the CD. Paul Stanley lets his voice soar one this one.
But then we get to "Bang Bang You," one the two worst songs in Kiss's history (Christine Sixteen being the other.) And possibly one of the worst in music. It's so unbelievably bad it's almost hip. It's hook is the kind that once you get it inside your head you'll go nuts. Avoid at all costs.
"No No No" is fairly bland, not well written. Gene sings it.
"Hell or High Water" is good, fairly heavy. Another Gene song. AC/DC has a song with the same name and although the two versions don't resemble each other, the Kiss version has shades of AC/DC.
"My Way" is the other song that doesn't belong here. This song sounds like it should have been recorded by Starship or Journey. It's very light.
"When Your Walls Come Down" rocks but sounds a bit stilted. There's no momentum.
"Reason To Live" is one of their best ballads. Slick, with keyboards(!) added. The video that aired on MTV was gorgeous and stayed number one on DialMTV for weeks.
"Good Girl Gone Bad" is terrific. Gene gets sleazy as only Gene can and sings this one in a lower key.
"Turn On the Night" is a great singalong even if the mix was a bit light. It's infectious and I listen to it often so I'll give it a pass.
Ending the album is the heaviest song on here, "Thief In the Night." I've always felt that this number was completely overlooked. It could have been perfect if Gene had growled his way through like he usually does. The singing isn't bad but it could have been a Gene classic.
Overall "Crazy Nights" has more identity than "Asylum " does and their singles "Crazy, Crazy Nights," "Reason To Live," and "Turn on the Night" were very popular on MTV. They held their own against the Def Leppard juggernaut that was "Hysteria." It has it's weak points (and one really atrocious song) but "Crazy Nights" is still Kiss done proud.

Wow, this album is still awesome even today. I first bought Crazy Nights on cassette tape back in high school in 1988. I used to listen to it while cruising in my Camaro with my mullett blowing in the wind. "I'd Fight Hell to Hold You" was the song I lost my virginity to. I love you Kiss, thanks for this great 80s classic album!

Crazy Nights is not a good album. Kiss had released a string of very good heavy albums in the '80s with Creatures of The Night, Lick It Up, and Animalize. They started going poppier on Asylum and the pop music phase of Kiss hits bottom on Crazy Nights. This was during a very unfocused period in the band's history as Gene Simmons was spending more time making movies than music. Pop-metal was hip in 1987 and the band tried to jump on the bandwagon.

There are very few memorable songs on this release as the album is full of unfocused songs which are dominated by keyboards. The leadoff track "Crazy, Crazy Nights" is one of the weakest singles of their career. Gene Simmons only contributed four songs on this album, and of those only the closing track, "Thief In The Night" is decent. "No, No, No", complete with an opening solo by Bruce Kulick, would've been a better track if not for the glossy production and keyboard during the chorus. Eric Carr's drumming on this album is competent, lacking the fire and creativity of the previous albums he played on. Other tracks which were weak due to production or lack of hooks include "Bang, Bang You", "Hell or High Water", "When Your Walls Come Down", and "Turn on The Night". The only strong tracks on the album are "I'll Fight Hell to Hold You" and the power ballad "Reason to Live", which should've been a hit. Only die-hard fans and fans of this era would really enjoy this album. Kiss would get closer to their roots on their next album, "Hot In the Shade".

This is definitely a stronger album than Asylum and Hot In The Shade and is the best of the Stanley, Simmons, Kulick, Carr lineup. The only other Kulick studio album worth having in its entirety is Revenge. That being said, this is definitely pop metal and does have a couple throwaway tracks (Bang Bang You being one of them). For a lot of people this sound is a turnoff compared to the "classic" KISS, but if you compare it with the other non-makeup albums from the 80's this band released, it holds together better than the rest. Gene finally has some songs that are worth listening to here (Thief In The Night and Good Girl Gone Bad for example). Paul definitely steals the show, though, with the title track, I'll Fight Hell To Hold You, My Way, Reason To Live, and Turn On The Night. Most of the best songs from the other 80's albums can be found on numerous compilations or the box set, but this disc is not represented well enough anywhere else so you should start with this one to cover the missing bases.