I really tend to compare this album in many ways with the first Alive. I'll explain myself.

It seems that Kiss is a band that works incredibly fine under pressure. It's kinda logical since Kiss have always been hard working and ultra competitive. Considering that fact, we can understand why their most energic, fun and exciting albums are Alive and Lick It Up, since fort both, they really had something to PROVE, to themselves and to the world.

For Alive 1, they had to do an album that would sell enough to save Casablanca Records from closing, and they suceeded. For this one, they had to prove that they could reinvent themselves. The band had lost two of the founding members and were running through a creative down. They were being redundant and quiet soft, and they knew that they could no longer continue that way. It was time to move on, and they would rebirth by putting out make-up.

It was a risky decision, since these were the core of their myth, so they had to hit the spot to keep respect. It's clear that everyone is decided to give all they have. The compositions are strong, catchy and in-your-face. THey have never been more credible and strong than on songs like "Exciter" "Not For the Innocent" or "Young And Wasted". Though Paul Stanley and guitarist Vinnie Vincent bring the best hook of the album, the anthem "Lick It Up", the most noticable is Gene. At the time, he was writing bad songs over bad songs, and sometimes seemed to care more about side-project. But on this particular album, he seems as thrilled if no more than the other band-members and comes in with a new, heavier voice more powerful than ever and pulls out some hard rock gems. A special note should be given to Paul Stanley however for his intencity in "A Million To One"

If you watch Kissology Vol. 2, it confirms my theory on the 1983's first show without make-up. Beside Paul's horrible vocal performance, the band never seemed as excited and in shape. The two songs featured on the dvd were songs sung by paul, I wished I could hear how gene was that night.

Vinnie Vincent gave Kiss a much needed shot in the arm when he joined for the Creatures of the Night album. On Lick It Up, the first (gasp!) unmasked album continues the shift toward Vinnie-metal and gets Kiss back at least part way in the spotlight. This is another hard rocker for the band, but I don't think it's nearly as good of an album as Creatures. Also not as good as the follow-up with Mark St. John, Animalize.
1. Exciter - great rockin opener, one of the highlights
2. Not For The Innocent - Gene was not putting out a lot of good material during this period
3. Lick It Up - I think this song is stupid, but it was a minor hit and put Kiss back on the map I guess
4. Young And Wasted - Decent music, bad lyrics
5. Gimme More - lame
6. All Hell's Breakin' Loose - funny to hear Paul "rap" but another "hit" that I don't like
7. A Million To One - this is a great Kiss song from Paul, and a highlight of the album
8. Fits Like A Glove - bad Gene song
9. Dance All Over Your Face - great title but a bad Gene song
10. And On The 8th Day - bad Gene song

Gene is my favorite member of Kiss, but he got a lot of clunkers on Lick It Up. get Creatures of the Night and Animalize before this album for "heavy metal" Kiss.

First make-up less CD of the 80's for KISS was really good. 'Exciter', 'Fits Like A Glove', 'Young and Wasted' and 'On the 8Th day' all contain the heaviness that made its predecessor so good (Creatures...).

There is the ballad in 'A Million to One', which isnt bad. Paul sings his heart out. The slightly rapping 'All Hells breaking Loose' which is a good track and the repetitous yet catchy title track.

A great Kiss cd that was a highlight of '83. They were starting chapter 2. I tend to like Kiss' 80's stuff. They would peak with the follow up 'ANIMALIZE'.

This album is awsome! I can't say enough good things about it. Kiss did the right thing by taking off their makeup and drawing attention to the album. Otherwise this great album would have been overlooked as was Ceeatures of the Night At that time. The Guitar solos are out of this world as was every other aspect of this almbum. This will always be one of my favorites.

This is like the album some of us Kiss fans needed, in order to know the band was still alive. A solid return to form for Kiss. The songs are hard driving, melodic, and "sound" better than any other Kiss album. I love the great production, nice thunderous (but clear) drums and bass. Thunderous is a good word to describe Eric Carr. He's just a great drummer. In my opinion, Vinnie Vincent gets MVP for co-writing over half the album, and smokin' licks. Just check out "Young and Wasted" and "Gimme More". Gene and Paul just keep the Kiss tradition alive, pushing Kiss into the 80's. Without the makeup Kiss are not "super hero" figures anymore, they are now a band, rocking with the fury of a band just getting started (again). It's awesome. You can feel it in the music.

What I found interesting, was the last 3 tracks are Gene's. I've never seen 3 in a row on any album before. It's no big deal, they are all very good rockers, but usually they're albums are sequenced differently. What is most apparent in the grooves of these songs, is that Kiss is now a (solid) "band" again. Let's face it, the last few Kiss albums up to this one were sketchy at best. C'mon, "Unmasked"?, "The Elder"? Enough said... "Creatures" was good but it wasn't a "band" yet. More like auditions.

This album shows the band landing on it's feet. They are tighter than they've been in a long time. It's really too bad this didn't sell better. These are all good "Kiss" songs. Not "hit n miss" like some of their previous ones. I think this is an over looked album. If you don't have it, pick it up, you won't be sorry.