Casablanca - 1975
8.5/10
The third installment of the New York shock rockers saw Kiss begin to pick up a little more steam. The classic rock ‘n roll format that was laid down on the first album saw a clash with some of the direction given on the second for what I would call the first sign of something a bit more linear. Dressed To Kill may be missing the “all killer no filler” element of the debut, but what’s present is executed nicely, with the songwriting going back on track after a little bit of experimentation.
Addressing the elephant in the room, Dressed To Kill is what allowed Kiss to reach more mainstream levels with the anthemic record closer “Rock ‘N Roll All Nite.” What’s interesting is that I actually think it falls in line with the more filler-oriented tunes, which ultimately hurt the band’s overall reputation to anybody outside of their normal listening scope. Yet, it's catchy as all hell, and maybe that's just a sign that fillers can be good (see Black Sabbath's "Paranoid"). This is hardly representative of the entire album, however. “Two Timer” is certainly another repetitive one that I could do without, and “Ladies In Waiting” doesn’t revive much. But if you can get past two of the most uninvolved songs on the front half, everything else is nailed down nice and tight.
For the most part, you get a record packed with upbeat riffing that fixes the noisier aspect of the prior record. Opener “Room Service” is a bassy, feel-good tune with catchy rhythms fronted by Paul Stanley, while “Come On And Love Me” channels this energy with a little more thought. The gang-chorus on this one really sells it, and even the verse progressions are loads of fun. Other songs from this angle rest on instrumentation to carry them. One of my personal favorites is “Rock Bottom” due to the simple acoustic intro breaking into a harder beat, while “Getaway” relies on speedier (but not necessarily heavy) riffs to back Peter Criss’s raspy drive. This combo holds so much unique energy, and had they managed to spread this across the entire disc, it probably could have rivaled the debut.
The other side of this is what channels the Wicked Lester days, as some of those early demos made it to this record. “Love Her All I Can” and “Anything For My Baby” are both chock full of ‘60s flavors dipped in a ‘70s hard rock sauce. The way these flow with the other songs shows the band’s ability to cast a general idea by only working with a little inspiration, even if their discography is easier to talk about song by song. Even sandwiching “She” between these two doesn’t make them feel out of place, some doom-finished remnants of Hotter Than Hell.
If nothing else, Kiss cement themselves here as a band that is able to make power pop tunes and hard rock tracks fit together without feeling out of place. It may be a bit clunky here and there, but there’s very little to truly complain about. Moving forward, these elements get worked out in different manners, and I think it’s good that this record remained at its brief twenty nine minute run-time.
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