The Battle of '76. Aerosmith's "Rocks" vs Kiss' "Destroyer".

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Tough call for me, Back In The Saddle vs Detroit Rock City? Jack Douglas vs Bob Ezrin? Home Tonight vs Beth? Joe Perry vs erm, Ace Frehley?......

― dr lulu (dr lulu), Wednesday, 3 May 2006 20:06 (twenty years ago)

Does Ace really deserve the "erm?"

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Wednesday, 3 May 2006 20:09 (twenty years ago)

Jeez dude, Rocks by twenty kilos

― ZR (teenagequiet), Wednesday, 3 May 2006 20:13 (twenty years ago)

Rocks wins this one easy - Aerosmith was sort of working beyond their capacities here, it's like they're trying to lasso a sea monster or something

― Thomas Tallis (Tommy), Wednesday, 3 May 2006 20:13 (twenty years ago)

aerosmith is a better band than kiss.

― M@tt He1geson (Matt Helgeson), Wednesday, 3 May 2006 20:15 (twenty years ago)

Ace does deserve the 'erm'. I loved Kiss but really, they are rubbish musicians. I have a sneaking suspicion they might not have played all their own parts on some records.

― dr lulu (dr lulu), Wednesday, 3 May 2006 20:16 (twenty years ago)

They definitely didn't play a LOT of their parts on Destroyer. I read that Ace isn't even on 3 songs on that album. That said, I'll still take Destroyer over Rocks.

― darin (darin), Wednesday, 3 May 2006 20:19 (twenty years ago)

Yeah, there's also no way Peter Criss could play all those tunes either.

― dr lulu (dr lulu), Wednesday, 3 May 2006 20:21 (twenty years ago)

Dick wagner, of Lou reed and alice Cooper fame, and thus a favorite of Bob Ezrin, is the soloist on "Sweet pain" and probly others. Simmons has admitted this…

I think Criss did play on the whole thing, or at least it has never been revealed that he didn't. Ezrin made him perfect takes over and over, which Criss drove over the bend…or at least further into his boozecokehole…

― veronica moser (veronica moser), Wednesday, 3 May 2006 20:53 (twenty years ago)

"Rocks wins this one easy - Aerosmith was sort of working beyond their capacities here, it's like they're trying to lasso a sea monster or something"

That's going to be the cover of my next album.

― M. Biondi (M. Biondi), Wednesday, 3 May 2006 21:36 (twenty years ago)

Rocks by a mile! If only for Rats in the Cellar, the best tune they ever did do.

― def zep (calstars), Wednesday, 3 May 2006 22:24 (twenty years ago)

and 'Combination!' and 'Lick and a Promise!'

― def zep (calstars), Wednesday, 3 May 2006 22:27 (twenty years ago)

anyone who sez destroyer is alex in nyc.

― scott seward (scott seward), Wednesday, 3 May 2006 22:42 (twenty years ago)

'Rocks' by a light years. I just spent the entirety of April in a month-long bender soundtracked by 'Rocks'. always loved the album but my appreciation has really grown since revisiting it after some time away.

and as for the sub TS: definitely Jack Douglas; my May pick-to-click is Cheap Trick s/t...

― Stormy Davis (diamond), Wednesday, 3 May 2006 23:25 (twenty years ago)

I'll take the one with Last Child on it.

― jim wentworth (wench), Thursday, 4 May 2006 01:09 (twenty years ago)

i like destroyer alot but yeah this is aerosmith easy

― j blount (papa la bas), Thursday, 4 May 2006 03:08 (twenty years ago)

'Rock and Roll Over' > 'Destroyer'

― dave q (listerine), Thursday, 4 May 2006 07:43 (twenty years ago)

ok so then Draw the Line vs. Dynasty, that seems a little tougher: pounds & pounds of drugs vs. whatever the fuck Kiss got into that made Dynasty happen

― Thomas Tallis (Tommy), Thursday, 4 May 2006 09:43 (twenty years ago)

night in the ruts -vs- lick it up

― scott seward (scott seward), Thursday, 4 May 2006 09:45 (twenty years ago)

done with mirrors -vs- creatures of the night

― scott seward (scott seward), Thursday, 4 May 2006 09:47 (twenty years ago)

oh c'mon now scott, BoC's bathtub farts are still gonna beat Kiss's whole catalog

― Thomas Tallis (Tommy), Thursday, 4 May 2006 10:01 (twenty years ago)

true dat.

― scott seward (scott seward), Thursday, 4 May 2006 10:09 (twenty years ago)

unless you are alex in nyc.

― scott seward (scott seward), Thursday, 4 May 2006 10:09 (twenty years ago)

or my brother for that matter.

― scott seward (scott seward), Thursday, 4 May 2006 10:09 (twenty years ago)

Obviously, Aerosmith ROCKED HARDER but "God of Thunder" was HEAVIER than anything on Rocks. "God of Thunder" may have been HEAVIER than anything out in 1976 actually.

And "God of Thunder" and Destroyer and just about anything you might like about that album for that matter was all Bob Ezrin. Kiss was just his vehicle.

― Steven Ward (rockcrit88), Friday, 5 May 2006 16:54 (twenty years ago)

A tough one for me...I think if Kiss had gone with one less jokey song (i.e. "Beth" and "Great Expectations") on the album and replaced it with another harder tune, they'd win this one for me. I'm going with Rocks by a coke-addled nose.

― p.j. (Henry), Friday, 5 May 2006 18:00 (twenty years ago)

I'm not a huge fan of Destroyer because I like my KISS more trashy than slick. I've been listening to a lot of 70s hard rock lately ('Hot Blooded' is as good as ever) and listened to the KISS box set pretty much straight through. Back in the day, I pretty much quit paying attention to them after Dynasty but turns out they were still good for a couple catchy ones per LP for a while longer. This was a pleasant surprise and means their career adds up to pretty much a full decade of respectable, if hit or miss, product. But then after that I couldn't pick out ANYTHING. Some say Destroyer but I don't think they have that one flagship LP. But there's a surprising amount of fun stuff scattered around their catalog, e.g., the studio side of Alive II is pretty solid.

― Carlos Keith (Buck_Wilde), Saturday, 6 May 2006 07:38 (twenty years ago)

Rocks:

1. Back In The Saddle
2. Last Child
3. Rats In The Cellar
4. Combination
5. Sick As A Dog
6. Nobody's Fault
7. Get The Lead Out
8. Lick And A Promise
9. Home Tonight

Destroyer:

1. Detroit Rock City
2. King Of The Night Time World
3. God Of Thunder
4. Great Expectations
5. Flaming Youth
6. Sweet Pain
7. Shout It Out Loud
8. Beth
9. Do You Love Me

Wow, tougher than I would have thought, actually, since "Back In The Saddle" and "God Of Thunder" are possibly my favorite songs by the respective bands.

Other 1976 releases that I wish I was cool enough at the age of seven to appreciate:

AC/DC - Dirty Deeds & High Voltage
Angel - Heluva Band
Blondie - Blondie
Budgie - If I Were Brittania I'd Waive The Rules
Judas Priest - Sad Wings Of Destiny
The Ramones - The Ramones
The Runaways - The Runaways
Rush - 2112
The Scorpions - Virgin Killer
Starz - Starz
The Stooges - Metallic KO
Thin Lizzy - Jailbreak

The Ramones is probably my favorite of the year if I had to choose.

― Brian O'Neill (NYCNative), Saturday, 6 May 2006 12:55 (twenty years ago)

"Shout it out Loud" is a sorry excuse for an anthem. I haven't listened to Kiss in fuckin' years, but from what I can remember Dressed to Kill and Hotter than Hell seem to have better jams (even if they don't have the overall theatrical splendor of Destroyer).

But no Kiss record, in my humber humble opinion, is touching Rocks. For a chunk of time there in the '70s, Aerosmith kicked some serious ass.

Question: Does anybody remember reading an article on Aerosmith a few months back (which maybe appeared on Yahoo news?) about how the band played some concert and everybody thought they were too loud, heavy, and rowdy on stage? Anybody have a link to that piece? It's amazing. It read as if Aerosmith were finally doing what they were suppose to be doing and that wasn't good!!!

― QuantumNoise (Justin Farrar), Saturday, 6 May 2006 14:32 (twenty years ago)

Jean Simmons starred in the movie Great Expectations, you know.

― scott seward (scott seward), Saturday, 6 May 2006 14:40 (twenty years ago)

DYSI?

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Saturday, 6 May 2006 14:43 (twenty years ago)

the soundtrack for last night's post-show drinking back in Brooklyn was "Aerosmith - Aerosmith", "Rocks", "Toys in the Attic" and "Draw the Line" ... that beast devour'd us

― Tracey Hand (tracerhand), Saturday, 6 May 2006 20:46 (twenty years ago)

You got that right. Why was everybody so into that song? That's the way it is with KISS sometimes. 'Do You Love Me' I don't care for much either and it makes Double Platinum while 'King of the Night Time World', a favorite, doesn't. At least it got on Alive II. I kind of dug the version of Radioactive on the box. I always liked New York Groove but wasn't quite as into I was Made For Loving You as I was hoping. The first time I heard it was on their TV commercial for Dynasty. I guess it was sort of their 'Miss You'

― Carlos Keith (Buck_Wilde), Sunday, 7 May 2006 01:23 (twenty years ago)

Just had a listen to Destroyer for the first time in over twenty years...bloody rubbish innit? Whereas the Aerosmith does exactly what it says on the box. Used to love 'em both when I was a young 'un though. (Hence thread)

― dr lulu (dr lulu), Monday, 8 May 2006 19:56 (twenty years ago)

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