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Kix: Live in Baltimore

(Melodic) Hard Rock/Metal

4.0/5.0

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Frontiers Records
by Craig Hartranft,  09.14.2012

For the record, I saw Kix live about 30 years ago (yeah, I'm that old) in a shithole of a nightclub called The Village (it may still be a shithole) in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Besides surviving the heat, sweat, and overpriced beer (yeah, it's always been that way) of that night, I recall Kix putting on an energetic show.

Kix: at the end of show.

You'll get a taste of that energy with Live in Baltimore, a recording made at one their favorite hangouts, Rams Head Live. As with most reunion bands, the show is basically Kix's greatest hits played live. They haven't recorded any new material since 1995. You get many Kix classics like Kix Are For Kids, Girl Money, Cold Blood, the successful ballad Don't Close Your Eyes, and a hyper-exaggerated version of Yeah Yeah Yeah. Surprisingly, the band sounds really good, and with that last song, front man Steve Whiteman is at his lewd, crude, and rude best.

Kix always reminded me of a cross between East coast punk and Eighties glam rock. Something like Ramones meets Poison. You get some of this on Yeah Yeah Yeah from their first album. They went after the whole Sunset Strip glam thing in the late Eighties with larger success. Yet, their rock and roll always seemed to be more 'tongue in cheek,' not to be taken seriously, but to be a whole lot of fun. You'll get that on this album also.

Live in Baltimore will be available in several formats: CD, reviewed here, Digital edition with 4 extra tracks, and DVD concert video which includes the extra tracks plus two guitar and one drum solo. Hopefully, I'll get I copy of this to consider for review later. Overall, if you're a Kix fan or fan of all things Eighties glam hard rock, then certainly check out this live album. It's loud, rowdy, and lewd. In other words, typical Kix.

Note: All Amazon advertising in this review first benefits the artist, then Craig Hartranft also receives a residual. Click, and thanks for your support.

If you're a Kix fan or fan of all things Eighties glam hard rock, then certainly check out this live album. It's loud, rowdy, and lewd. In other words, typical Kix.

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Here's a fun fact about Swiss legends, Gotthard: their last 16 releases, excepting their debut album, went to number one in their home country, making them one of Switzerland's most successful acts and ... [ Read More ]