Customer Reviews

Kix

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This has got to be one of the most overlooked hard rock debuts ever. With every single song [being] totally [awesome], and the live shows to back it up, "Kix" should have spread way beyond the band's rabid North Eastern following. Heck, I even opened for them acouple of times during the tours for the first two albums, in the little town of Sunbury at the Strand Theater as a stand up comic! But trust me, the crowds that came to see these boys weren't there for my punch lines. They were there to hear it loud, fast, and rock solid.

The debut Kix record delivered that in spades. From the opening siren wail of "Atomic Bombs" to the closing, hilarious rant about the date from hell, "Yeah Yeah Yeah," there isn't a clunker in the batch. "Heartache" even sounded like a bonafide rocking single in the Cheap Trick vien. There were touches of AC/DC, Aerosmith, and Zep to be picked out of the mix as well. Obvious credit must be given to producer Thom Allom (who helmed some of the classic Judas Priest albums) for giving this album both its bombast and its bite. You just still have to hand it to Kix, though. They tore up the East Coast like few hard rockers before them. Makes you wonder if they'd gone to LA, if they'd have been bigger.

No matter. The band and their killer "KIX" is still here for you, and not just for kids.

Kix was one of the pop metal bands that unfortunately slipped under the radar of the record buying public, even those who remember them often just remember the song "Don't Close Your Eyes" from the 1988 album "Blow My Fuse." The earlier Kix records were different beasts altogether - though the AC/DC influence was still an obvious touchstone, the early records (especially this debut) were a bit more unique and new-wave influenced.

Kix hailed from Hagerstown, MD, a blue collar town that's close to both western PA as well as West Virginia. I'm always amazed that a hair metal band that was this quirky and odd didn't get booed off the stage in that area, it seems more like a meat-and-potatoes hard rock town, but I honestly wasn't around there in the late 70's/early 80s when Kix came through the ranks (originally as the Shooze), so I don't know for sure...

Anyhow, as I grew up in Maryland, I always had a little bit of knowledge as to who Kix were, and I thought the snippet of the song "Cold Chills" in the Wayne's World movie was pretty cool. This was the 2nd Kix record I ever bought, and frankly I was a little underwhelmed at first. This record is a hell of a grower, though, with a lot of unique songwriting, hilarious lyrics, and a good mix of clean/dirty hard rock. It's definately different, but it was one of the very first hair metal records and picked up on some of the best traits of the genre - basically bands with cool riffs and a good sense of humor like AC/DC, Cheap Trick, and Van Halen thrown in a blender, but without an INSTANT classic tune like any of those bands.

If you live near the Baltimore area and get the 97.9 FM station (98 ROCK), you may have even heard "The Itch" before, a song that I know was in regular rotation up until at least 5 years ago - 20 years of deserved spins that should have influenced more people to go pick up this record. Further praise?? Chuck Eddy called this the #5 metal album of all time, and everyone in the know says how copycats Poison basically rode Kix's exact stage show to massive success.

If you don't love it on first listen, give it time. It's definately at the smarter end of the pop metal genre, and worthy of repeated listens. Check it out!

Best Tracks:
"Atomic Bombs" - Just a good, straight-up hard rocker that sounds considerably more sinister than anything that follows.
"Heartache" - Ever heard the original In Color version of Cheap Trick's "I Want You To Want Me"? Here's a goofball (but catchy) song that's a worthy sequel.
"The Itch" - Some of the most unique songwriting in the pop metal genre ever. Just when you think it's going to explode, it drops back down into a truly unclassifiable chorus. Great tune.
"Yeah Yeah Yeah" - A great story song about trying to hook up with a girl, and when she can't hang with the partying she pukes all over his floor. No, this isn't Bob Dylan here, but I'll take this type of story song over some of his snoozefests anyday.

In the mid to late 80's, you couldn't pick up a Hit Parader or Circus magazine without seeing an ad prompting you to join the Kix fan club. I always used to ask my friends if they had heard the band. No one had. So about a year and a half after I saw the ad for the first time, and seeing the record in a small German record store for DM 8 (around $2), I picked it up.

This is not really metal, more or less rock in the same vein as say, the first three Cheap Trick albums. Some songs are really bouncy ("The Itch" has this cool groove and then has this kinda goofy chorus, but it really couldn't work any other way). The lyrics are pretty great. Mostly it's songs about women, more or less in a story-telling style. "Yeah Yeah Yeah" has a break in the middle where he tells a story about being with a girl who throws up on him - twice.

But overall, I recommend you join the Kix fan club TODAY! Or at least get this classic 80's rock album.

Being from Harriburg, PA, I heard a lot of KIX in the early 1980s. KIX was from Maryland, but played the southcentral PA region quite a bit and local radio was very supportive. I had KIX's first album on vinyl and cassette. I wore both out. I bought another cassette and took it to college with me in 1983. I fraternity brother got ahold of it and wouldn't give it back after we graduated! I am now purchasing the KIX CD and never giving it up. I may not listen to it 10 hours a day like I did when I was 17, but it's a nostalgic album for me and I must have it in my collection. If you are a fan of good, hard-driving, rock/pop, you will enjoy this album. I've got to think that if KIX had put out this album in 1984-85, MTV would have had several videos in constant rotation. This band was as good as the other '80s rock bands, if not better. Althought he band broke up several years ago, I still hold out some hope for a reunion! KIX are for kids......even the 36 year old variety!

I know that's not very profound, but it's truthful. Kix was a huge presence in the Mid Atlantic music scene in the 80's. Their live shows were always great. It was more an event then just another show. And its very true that Posion studied them and headed west. Yes Kix is heavily influenced by early AC/DC, but they had that New Wave/Punk flavor that made it their own. They were/are considered Hair Metal, but if you listen back to them now, you will hear a modern rock edge.
Yeah, Yeah, Yeah live was an anthem. It was a must to know it word for word..I still do!! "go outside and do that!!"
If you grew up in the 80's and ever made it to Hammerjacks or the Bayou, you knew and loved Kix!

I remember hearing this for the first time when I was like 9(hand-me-down from my older brother),I still get that surge when I listen to it today.Punk energy combined with pop hooks ....timelesss.I tend to favor the second side over the first(I still think of the blank tape).Steve is one of the best singers in the history of rock Period.I now listen to everything from the Ramones to Stealy Dan, but this stuff is just great, timeless music that everybody should hear.

CHECK OUT FUNNYMONEY!!

After reading some reviews for this album, I thought I would share some thoughts. This self titled debut album is a true classic! Kix was more than just another big hair band from the 80's - true musicians with a passion. Unfortunately, for not only Kix, but a lot of other talented, hard working & creative artists, the music industry dictates what will be a success. No one has probably ever heard of Hagerstown, MD. but it's where Kix calls home. Undoubtedly, the industry had decided that the audience wasn't interested in a small town band such as Kix and Wrathchild America. They are wrong!

I learned about Kix from my friend who I spent the summer with in Chincoteague, VA, and Kix pretty much was the soundtrack up there in VA; local boys from Maryland who tore it up. I have lots of fond memories from back then, and this album brings them all back! I got to see them in 89 in New York at the Ritz, and they are twice as good live as on their albums. A shame they're not around still (as far as I know...)

Well, I'm 45 now and listening to classical music (no, I haven't given up my rock). I thought I'd try some samples of Kix and sure glad I did. 2 years ago I said Midnight Dynamite was a good album. Well so is this. I wouldn't compare it to AC/DC or most hair bands of the 80s, Cheap Trick comes to mind though. These guys were just plain fun. They kick butt too. I had a great time partying in Baltimore in the mid to late 80s. Hammerjacks, advertised as the biggest nightclub on the East Coast was a great place to catch their performance. If your in to heavy metal this isn't the band for you but if you like good ole rock and roll give em a try and again remember this band is fun and they can rock.



Honey and Sherri if your out there you really left an impression on my neighbors when you left in your hammerjacks attire early in the morning!

Not only is their debut a must have but so is Midnight Dynamite, Blow My Fuse and their Live farewell disc (with the songs No Shame, Girl Money and Cool Kids). From the first time I heard the Itch on 98 Rock in Baltimore to catching their show at Hammerjacks in '87 (the unknown Skid Row opened for them) they have been a huge favorite of mine.