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Notes -
KISS is fun, right? Everyone likes KISS.
Okay, maybe not, but I think they get way too much crap. Their '74-'77 material has the classic 70s dual guitar sound and is generally fun. Sure, they rapidly descended into rock star excess and became horrible parodies of themselves, but the early stuff has plenty of highlights.
Some videos from The Midnight Special in July 1975:
Deuce. Simmons almost rolls his ankle in his giant boots around 0:07 but recovers, so it's okay to laugh at the almost-disaster.
She. Note Frehley ripping some two-handed tapping during his solo.
Black Diamond. Simmons carefully moving the mic out of the way around 3:25 cracks me up.
Kiss is unironically one of the best disco bands in history.
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