"Deuce" | |
---|---|
Song by Kiss | |
from the album Kiss | |
Released | February 8, 1974 |
Recorded | October –November 1973 |
Studio | Bell Sound (New York City) |
Genre | |
Length | 3:08 |
Label | Casablanca |
Songwriter(s) | Gene Simmons |
Producer(s) |
|
Kiss track listing | |
10 tracks
|
"Deuce" is a song by the American hard rock band Kiss, written by bassist and vocalist Gene Simmons. The song appeared on Kiss' eponymous 1974 debut album. In addition to being one of the band's most popular and most-covered songs, "Deuce" is a traditional concert opener. The song has appeared on many Kiss live and compilation albums.
According to Gene Simmons, he simply copied the bassline of the Rolling Stones' "Bitch" and played it more or less backwards. "I wrote 'Deuce' on the bass," he said, "so the guitars ended up shadowing the bass line or variations of it in different octaves". [2]
The entire song was written nearly linearly; the riff came first, then the bridge, then finally the chorus. While uncredited, Paul Stanley provided the lightly phased intro riff, inspired by the Raspberries' "Go All the Way". [3] "It's an integral part of the song," he observed, "but should I get credit for that? I don't think so". [4]
"Deuce" also has special significance for Ace Frehley, as it was the first song he ever played with Kiss. "When I auditioned for Kiss", recalled Frehley, "they said, 'We're going to play you a song for you to listen to, and then try playing along — it's in the key of 'A'. They played ["Deuce"] as a three-piece. I thought, 'That's easy enough,' so I got up and wailed for four minutes playing lead work over it". Frehley has also stated that "Deuce" is his favorite Kiss song. [5] [6]
Gene Simmons stated in reference to the song: "Lyrically, I had no idea what I was talking about. Sometimes stuff means a lot, sometimes it means nothing." [7] [8]
On July 28, 2009, a live version of "Deuce" was released (along with live versions of "100,000 Years" and "Parasite") in the Kiss 01 track pack for Rock Band 2 .
The song was performed during the first Kiss tours, mostly as the opener. It was dropped from the setlist for the Rock and Roll Over Tour and was not performed regularly in the US until the Hot in the Shade Tour in 1990. After 1976, it was not played again until a show in Evansville, Indiana, in January 1978. It was played in some one-off shows in the US in 1988 as well as the European Crazy Nights Tour in 1988. Simmons has said that during the band's first tours, after they did the usual setlist and encore, they did not have any more songs to play so they played "Deuce" again. [9]
"Deuce" is widely considered one of Kiss's best songs. In 2014, Paste ranked the song number one on their list of the 20 greatest Kiss songs, [10] and in 2019, Louder Sound ranked the song number two on their list of the 40 greatest Kiss songs. [11]
"Deuce" has appeared on the following Kiss albums:
Paul Daniel "Ace" Frehley is an American musician who was the original lead guitarist, occasional lead vocalist and founding member of the rock band Kiss. He invented the persona of The Spaceman and played with the group from its inception in 1973 until his departure in 1982. After leaving Kiss, Frehley formed his own band named Frehley's Comet and released two albums with the group. He subsequently embarked on a solo career, which was put on hold when he rejoined Kiss in 1996 for a highly successful reunion tour.
Kiss is the debut studio album by American rock band Kiss, released on February 18, 1974, by Casablanca Records. Much of the material on the album was written by Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley, as members of their pre-Kiss band Wicked Lester. Simmons estimated that the entire process of recording and mixing took three weeks, while co-producer Richie Wise has stated it took just 13 days.
"Rock and Roll All Nite" is a song by American rock band Kiss, originally released on their 1975 album Dressed to Kill. It was released as the A-side of their fifth single, with the album track "Getaway". The studio version of the song peaked at No. 68 on the Billboard singles chart, besting the band's previous charting single, "Kissin' Time" (#89). A subsequent live version, released as a single in October 1975, eventually reached No. 12 in early 1976, the first of six Top 20 songs for Kiss in the 1970s. "Rock and Roll All Nite" became Kiss's signature song and has served as the group's closing concert number in almost every concert since 1976. In 2008, it was named the 16th greatest hard rock song of all time by VH1.
"Black Diamond" is a song by American hard rock band Kiss, written by rhythm guitarist Paul Stanley. "'Black Diamond' was written almost exactly as it is," he said, "except that the riff wasn't there; Gene [Simmons] brought that part in … It's all about arrangement and embellishment. That's what you're supposed to do in a band: come in and add something. But that doesn't mean you wrote the song."
"Strutter" is a song by the American rock band Kiss, released in 1974 on their self-titled debut album, Kiss. It was the third single released from the album and failed to chart.
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"Firehouse" is a song by American hard rock band Kiss, released in 1974 on their eponymous debut album. The track was written by the bands' rhythm guitarist and vocalist Paul Stanley. During live performances, bassist Gene Simmons has breathed fire, with red lights flashing and sirens sounding. "Firehouse" has remained a concert staple and is regarded as one of the band's classic songs. With its fan-favorite status, the song is one of the most played songs in the Kiss catalog, having been played well over 1,000 times during their career.
"Parasite" is a song by American hard rock band Kiss, released in 1974 on their second studio album, Hotter Than Hell. The song is one of three songs featured on the album written by lead guitarist Ace Frehley. As one of the album's heaviest songs, "Parasite" was performed on the following tour, but Kiss dropped it from the setlist for the Destroyer Tour and did not play it again until the Revenge Tour in 1992. As Frehley was insecure about his singing ability, he passed that duty to Gene Simmons. In 2016, Frehley re-recorded the track with John 5 for Frehley's solo album Origins Vol. 1.
"Hotter than Hell" is a song by the American hard rock band Kiss, released on their second album of the same name in 1974. It was written by the band's rhythm guitarist Paul Stanley, and displays the heavy influence of the band Free. It has also appeared as a B-side to the album's lone single, "Let Me Go, Rock 'n' Roll".
"C'mon and Love Me" is a 1975 single by the American rock band Kiss. It was originally featured on the group's third album Dressed to Kill.
"She" is a song by the American hard rock group Kiss. It was released in 1975 on the band's third studio album, Dressed to Kill. The song was written by Gene Simmons and Stephen Coronel while Simmons was in a band called Bullfrog Bheer. Although it was first released in 1975, Kiss had performed "She" on previous tours. It was removed from the set list during the 1980s and 1990s.
Jigoku-Retsuden, also known as Kissology and Kiss Klassics, is a limited-edition CD/DVD set released in 2008 by the band Kiss, exclusively in Japan. The CD portion of the bundle includes 15 re-recorded classic Kiss tracks by the 2008 band line-up.
"Let Me Go, Rock 'n' Roll" is a song by the American hard rock band Kiss, released in 1974. It was released as the only single from their second album Hotter Than Hell. Even though the song failed to chart, it is a staple in their live concerts. The B-side was the album title track, "Hotter Than Hell". Gene Simmons penned the lyrics during a lunch break at his day job, and the song conveys romantic excitement: "'Cause baby's got the feeling/Baby wants a show/Baby won't you tell me/Baby rock & roll, yeah, yeah!". "Let Me Go, Rock 'n' Roll" became a live favorite for Kiss.
"Creatures of the Night" is a song by American hard rock band Kiss, released as a single from their 1982 album of the same name. It was only released in the UK, where it reached #34. The song was written by Paul Stanley and Adam Mitchell in Mitchell's kitchen. It is not clear who plays what on the track but it is assumed that bass was not played by Gene Simmons, but Mike Porcaro who would soon join his brothers in the American rock band Toto. Lead guitar was not played by Ace Frehley as he was not musically involved with the album and it was not played by Vinnie Vincent either; it was played by Steve Farris, who would go on to become the lead guitarist of the 1980s pop rock group Mr. Mister. Song co-writer Adam Mitchell also played on the final version of the song, replacing Stanley on rhythm guitar in the middle and end of the song.
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...within a decade, the glam metal [KISS] blueprinted on "Strutter" and "Deuce" would be more dominant than any other sound on this list.