my power pop addiction, no. 93 (165)

Robert Christgau gets things just right, as is so often the case, when he points out that Kiss are hard but not heavy. Most of the time - and I'm only talking about the classic period here, nothing after Kiss Alive II - Kiss are a hard rock group playing pop songs. So they should be the ultimate power pop band, yet somehow they don't fit in with the milieu no matter how broadly it's defined. I can't really put my finger on why. Maybe it's that their sound is so big, all the better to fill arenas with, and/or that their guiding ethos is unambiguously the profit motive. Or maybe it's the clown makeup and the spectacle of it all. I don't know. But whatever this amorphous concept of the pop life may refer to, it's clear that Gene and Paul are the opposite of it. This doesn't mean, though, that they haven't written their share of ridiculously catchy, if also shrewdly manipulative songs. I don't mind being taken for a ride with Kiss because a big part of their appeal is the way they revel in their own slime. But they're also capable of transcendent moments, tonight's song being Exhibit A. Everything about it is fantastic. I'd venture to say that it's a perfect pop song, except that it's hard rock, but not really, so somewhere in between maybe, but then again... Check out Ace's guitar playing throughout, both acoustic, which is used as a second rhythm guitar, and his lead, which jumps right out of the speakers and grabs you by the nads, or the cloest equivalent if you haven't got any. But the best part is saved for the 25-second fade out, an orgy of guitars, high harmonies and hard rockin' fever. It's inspired stuff and makes me think these guys might have a bit of the pop life in 'em after all...