That ’70s Guy – Retro Review Albums Turning 50 in 2025
Hey folks, it’s me, That 70’s Guy, back with another retro review of albums turning 50 in 2025. This time around we return to the third studio album, Dressed To Kill, from New York’s masked legends, Kiss. Make that three albums in just over a year featuring the classic line-up of Gene, Paul, Ace and Peter. Released on March 19, 1975, it barely gave you time to breathe in between the previous two releases. But if you were a die-hard, nothing could be better.
KISS – Dressed to Kill – March 19, 1975
First let’s rewind back to the start. In the mid-’70s, there was nothing better than the weekend. And that meant for my buddies and I that school was over for a couple days and it was another round of The Midnight Special and Don Kirchner’s Rock Concert. However, on March 29th, 1974, it was ABC’s In Concert that caught my attention. On my family’s black and white TV, I witnessed something that changed my life. A band with wild makeup singing heavy rock and roll. The mystique, the scariness, the coolness and just the plain WOW factor!! Were any of my other buddies witnessing this? I remember “Firehouse“, “Black Diamond“, and “Nothin’ To Lose“. The next day I went searching for the album and the rest is pure kisstory!
As for Dressed to Kill, I remember in the summer of ’75 heading over to the Brantford mall and buying it along with Fandango by ZZ Top. I carried around those 2 LPs all day to various places and played both wherever there was a turntable.
Let’s fast forward to Halloween 1975. Our high school dance was coming up and there were prizes for best costumes. Hmm, what should we do? It didn’t take long for us to decide. Let’s dress up as KISS. So, Mike (Gene), Rod (Ace), Mark (Peter) and myself (Paul) threw on the make-up (with some female help, of course), created some costumes and grabbed our real guitars before heading to the dance.
You have to remember that in October 1975, no one knew who KISS were yet and everyone wondered who the hell on earth we were. Some thought we were cool while others just thought we were “those stoner dudes”. Nonetheless, we were the talk of the dance and claimed the first prize. I remember we all won albums and I picked the newly released Dreamboat Annie album by Heart (which I still have). Ironically, the very next year, in 1976, KISS was so huge that there were at least a dozen sets of them at the dance. We just looked around and smirked, knowing what WE had started. In fact, in 1977 our school put on a full KISS concert.
Let’s rundown the tracks on Dressed to Kill:
Side 1
1. “Room Service” – the songs and lyrics pick right up where Hotter Than Hell ended with those sexual innuendos that make a 15-year-old’s mind race. Hotel visits were never the same after that.
2. “Two Timer” – another short Gene-sung classic. What does two-timing even mean?
3. “Ladies in Waiting” – still on the same train of thought. After staring at the back cover of Hotter Than Hell for hours, I think I know what they are singing about.
4. “Getaway” – best known to me for being the flip side of the “Rock and Roll All Nite” 45 which I had before the album. Peter’s turn on vocals and a nice quick sharp solo from Ace.
5. “Rock Bottom” – still to this day one of my fave tracks and my God, that 1:57 acoustic intro is one of the finest around. Still goosebump worthy! A true KISS iconic classic!
Side 2
1. “C’mon and Love Me” – back to the under-3-minute songs. A great start to side 2. One of the catchiest KISS choruses with Paul ripping nicely throughout.
2. “Anything for My Baby” – almost a bookend song to “Rock and Roll All Nite“. Catchy as hell and a nice, underrated, usually forgotten gem on the album.
3. “She” – Ok now for what most think is a top-rated KISS song. A really dark, heavy song, clocking in at over 4 minutes. An easily recognizable intro with the trademark Simmons/Stanley dual vocals. Great solo from Ace. And another one where she takes off her clothes, geez!
4. “Love Her All I Can” – another lesser talked-about song but a great one indeed. Peter has some nice moments here, as does Ace!
5. “Rock and Roll All Nite” – I had the 45 first and was always amazed that a hard rock band would put out an anthem without a guitar solo. Maybe they heard me and added one for Alive. We used to get everyone in a room and air guitar and drums to this baby. Even then, I knew KISS were on their way.
Dressed to Kill is a fantastic album. The first three albums were so special to me in my life. It was like our own band that not many in our circle of friends knew about. It was our secret. Hard to imagine how 30:07 can affect your entire future.
Finally, in 1976, the dream came true. Tickets to see KISS on the Destroyer tour at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto on April 26th!! What an awesome show for a 16-year-old KISS freak. Even the opening band, Canada’s Hammersmith, was a thrill to see. Funny thing is that three days earlier, they played Kitchener. Not affording two shows, we drove there and just hung outside the front doors and listened to them. I’ll always remember security escorting some kid out who threw up on the sidewalk. I thought, “Wow, what a waste, you didn’t even get to see KISS“.
Some years later, in July 1979, we were taking our first trip outside of Canada on a Greyhound bus to Myrtle Beach. During a couple hour layover in Pittsburgh, we wandered around and heard thumping coming from the Igloo. It just happened to be KISS playing. So, once again, we hung around outside and listened for a while. Then, on August 19th, 2019, after a 43-year gap, I saw them on the End of the Road tour in Toronto with CGCM’s own co-founder Wallygator Norton.
In summary, we started right at the beginning in 1974 and hung tough right through Love Gun. Not much could compare to them. Then the disco invasion (including KISS) came, then NWOBHM and changes in our own lives. Despite it being “uncool” to like KISS in the 80s when you were in your 20s, I still kept tabs on them like a little boy under the bedsheets with a flashlight reading the latest Circus magazine. No regrets!
So, there you have it, my friends, an absolute life-changer gem turning 50. Did I say 50? WOW! Stay tuned right here for the next installment of That ’70s Guy – Retro Review Albums Turning 50 in 2025.
Brian
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