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Kiss ‎–Take Aim And Fire dcd

349.00kr

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Limited to 100 numbered copies

Without Vinnie, Kiss was back on the market looking for a new guitarist, and new song-writing partners. One of these prospective candidates was one Mark Norton. Mark was a technically gifted Californian guitarist, who’d be re-christened Mark St. John, but his audition tape had something special, and Paul knew whom the next guitarist in Kiss would be. Gene, on the other hand, took little interest in these matters. After the album Animalize was completed the band rehearsed for the upcoming tour. Mark recalled: “Paul would get on his knees and play something, and I’d do a couple of windmills, and play with my teeth, or behind my back and be standing a few feet in front of him, and Paul and Gene would look at one another, and then say that I was trying to upstage Paul”. As for the album, it cause more friction in an already difficult situation, Mark recalled “It was good in a way that the album did go good, it went better than I ever expected. And at the same time most reviews I saw, like 80%, were all about the new guitar player. They didn’t talk that much about Gene and Paul during that little period of time and they didn’t like that at all! Every time we would go to an airport they would get a magazine and they’d say, ‘It’s about you again!’ and they would throw it over to me. Well sorry! Sorry for helping you. It could be worse. The article could be about another band. We wouldn’t be on tour except that this album in two weeks did what, a million? And the last two albums took over a year to go gold? I don’t know if I am stupid or those guys are just fucking assholes”. But as quickly as the bubble inflated it burst, as his hand “inflated.” With Mark’s health issues, and a European tour already booked, KISS knew that they could not afford the time to allow Mark to heal. Paul turned to old friend Bob Kulick who suggested his brother Bruce. While there were most certainly some health issues with Mark, there is little doubt that the situation could have been overcome and that had the band wanted him back Bruce could have just fulfilled the ‘temp’ role. However, being on tour as a group bonds people together and Bruce’s style integrated him more and more into the band whether it was conscious or not. The experience in the studio indicates that there may have been second thoughts about having Mark in the band. According to Mark, “The arthritis thing was really a cover up for the other reasons; you know what I am trying to say? I think a lot of people might know that. I can still play guitar. The situation was a meeting of East meets West type of thing. We didn’t hate each other, but they solved things ‘their way or hit the highway.’ I just wanted to do it right”. Once again, it was clear that the new guitarist was not clicking with the band, and that the health issues that Mark was hiding could not be allowed to delay the band. Mark’s health issues provided the perfect pretext to get someone else into the band. On September 30 the “Animalize” Tour began in Brighton, England and by the time the European Tour ended on November 5 at Le Zenith in Paris, it was clear that Mark’s position within the band was tenuous, with Bruce Kulick fitting in well with the band and delivering solid performances. On November 27 Mark St. John finally made his live debut with the band at a concert in Baltimore, Maryland. Bruce would play the first part of the show before Mark came on to play the rest of the set. Mark’s playing was not smooth (then again, nor was Gene’s bass solo that night) – compared to Bruce who was already warmed in with the band in a live setting and the set list the band were performing, and these songs see Mark affecting the tempo and letting his guitar talk directly on the first song, Under The Gun. This fret board attack was probably not the sort of thing Gene and Paul needed to see from him at that point. This evening in Baltimore, which are featured on this double allbum, seems a little like an alternate KISS universe. It was the night that both Kulick and St. John played with the band, ultimately joining each other together on stage to take the encore bows with Gene, Paul & Eric ….as a 5-piece! After only two more shows Mark was ultimately being let go and his career with KISS was essentially over.

Track list:
1. Intro
2. Detroit Rock City
3. Cold Gin
4. Creatures Of The Night
5. Fits Like A Glove
6. Heaven’s On Fire
7. Paul Stanley Guitar Solo
8. Under The Gun
9. War Machine
10. Eric Carr Drum Solo
11. Young And Wasted
12. Gene Simmons Bass Solo
13. I Love It Loud
14. I Still Love You
15. Love Gun
16. Black Diamond
17. Oh Suzanna
18. Lick It Up
19. Rock And Roll All Nite

Additional information

Label

Big Tiger Records

Catalogue Number

BT-004

Release Year

2018