Goin' Blind
Encyclopedia
"Goin' Blind" is a song by Kiss
written by Gene Simmons
and Stephen Coronel
, sometimes referred to as "Going Blind". The song originally appeared on the band's second album, 1974
's Hotter Than Hell
. The original working title for the song was "Little Lady".
It was rarely performed live by Kiss until it appeared in acoustic form, on the Kiss Unplugged
MTV
performance, appearing on the subsequent live album from the show. It next appeared on Kiss Symphony: Alive IV
, again in acoustic form although this time the song was performed with the Melbourne Symphony Ensemble.
In December 2005, the band released Rock the Nation, a double-DVD documentary of the 2004 tour. It included, as a bonus track, the first commercially-released live electric version of "Goin' Blind".
The Melvins
recorded the song in 1993 for their Houdini
album and again in 2005 for their A Live History of Gluttony and Lust
live album. Dinosaur Jr
recorded the song in 1994 for the Kiss My Ass: Classic Kiss Regrooved
tribute album. The Melvins version was also submitted for the CD, but Gene Simmons went with the Dinosaur Jr version. An acoustic version of the song was released by Dramarama
on their 1996 "Best of Dramarama: 18 Big Ones" greatest hits album.
A neo-baroque
version appeared on the String Quartet Tribute to Kiss album.
Canadian progressive rock
band Rush
poked fun at this song in their song "I Think I'm Going Bald
" off their 1975 album Caress of Steel
. Geddy Lee explains on page 32 of "Contents Under Pressure" : "We were touring a lot with Kiss in those days and they had a song called "I Think I'm Going Blind". So we were kind of taking the piss out of that title by just coming up with this." Lee goes on to explain that the title originated with drummer Neil Peart, who was making light of the fact that Alex Lifeson was constantly worried about the future possibility of going bald, often employing "all kinds of ingredients to put on his scalp. And I think it just got Neil thinking about aging..."
Gene Simmons: "Goin' Blind" dates back to 1970. At that point I was listening a lot to Cream and Mountain. "Goin' Blind" happens to be one of my favorite songs. Even something about the recording of it seemed to work for me, the compression on the drums.This surprisingly moody slab of heavy rock provided Hotter Than Hell with one of its most enduring high points. "Goin' Blind" is a reworked version of a pre-Kiss song originally entitled "Little Lady" whose lyrics deal with the doomed relationship between an old man and a very young girl: "And I know how it should be/There is nothing more for you and I/Some are young and some are free/But I think I'm goin' blind." Although these lyrics later work in a goofy punch line of "I'm 93, you're 16," the overall feel is one of doomed romanticism. The music matches the emotional heaviness of the lyrics with an intense melody built on yearning, minor-key verses and a cathartic chorus whose ornate twists give it an almost Japanese feel. Kiss' recording of "Goin' Blind" is mournful yet heavy: Gene Simmons unleashes the lyrics with an anguished howl over a sludgy backing driven by guitar riffs heavy enough for a Black Sabbath record and half-speed drumming. Ace Frehley tops the song off with one of his finest guitar solos, a searing blast of quicksilver riffing that perfectly capture the song's pained mood in instrumental form. "Goin' Blind" was never issued as a single but quickly became a favorite with Kiss fans and has been faithfully covered by such bands as Dramarama and Dinosaur Jr.
KISS (band)
Kiss is an American rock band formed in New York City in January 1973. Well-known for its members' face paint and flamboyant stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid to late 1970s on the basis of their elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing, blood spitting,...
written by Gene Simmons
Gene Simmons
Gene Simmons is an Israeli-American entrepreneur, singer-songwriter, actor, and rock bassist. Known as "The Demon", he is the bassist/vocalist of Kiss, a hard rock band he co-founded in the early 1970s.-Early life:...
and Stephen Coronel
Stephen Coronel
Stephen Coronel Steve Coronel is a guitarist and friend of Gene Simmons since 1963. Coronel was one of the members of the band Wicked Lester.-Biography:He created the riff and chord structure of "She" and "Goin' Blind", co-authoring the songs with Simmons...
, sometimes referred to as "Going Blind". The song originally appeared on the band's second album, 1974
1974 in music
-January–April:*January 3 – Bob Dylan and The Band kick off their 40-date concert tour at Chicago Stadium. It's Dylan's first time on the road since 1966.*January 17...
's Hotter Than Hell
Hotter Than Hell
Hotter Than Hell is the second studio album from hard rock band Kiss. It was released on October 22, 1974 and was certified Gold on June 23, 1977, having shipped 500,000 copies. The album was re-released in 1997 in a remastered version...
. The original working title for the song was "Little Lady".
It was rarely performed live by Kiss until it appeared in acoustic form, on the Kiss Unplugged
KISS Unplugged
Kiss Unplugged is a Kiss album featuring the group performance in MTV Unplugged.On August 9, 1995, hard rock band Kiss performed on MTV Unplugged in what fans consider the beginning of the eventual Kiss Reunion Tour. Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons contacted former members Peter Criss and Ace Frehley...
MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
performance, appearing on the subsequent live album from the show. It next appeared on Kiss Symphony: Alive IV
KISS Symphony: Alive IV
Kiss Symphony: Alive IV is a 2003 live album from Kiss performing with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra . The arrangements were made by David Campbell, who also conducted the MSO. It is the group's fourth album in the Alive series and first release under Kiss Records and Sanctuary Records...
, again in acoustic form although this time the song was performed with the Melbourne Symphony Ensemble.
In December 2005, the band released Rock the Nation, a double-DVD documentary of the 2004 tour. It included, as a bonus track, the first commercially-released live electric version of "Goin' Blind".
The Melvins
The Melvins
The Melvins are an American band that formed in 1983. They usually perform as a trio, but in recent years have performed as a four piece with two drummers. Since 1984, singer and guitarist Buzz Osborne and drummer Dale Crover have been the band's constant members...
recorded the song in 1993 for their Houdini
Houdini (album)
Some vinyl copies include a cover of "Rocket Reducer No. 62 ", originally by the MC5, instead of "Spread Eagle Beagle". A Japanese CD release also contains "Rocket Reducer No...
album and again in 2005 for their A Live History of Gluttony and Lust
A Live History of Gluttony and Lust
A Live History of Gluttony and Lust is an album by The Melvins, which was released in 2006 through Ipecac Recordings. It is a live rendition of their 1993 Houdini album recorded live in an empty warehouse in Vernon, California....
live album. Dinosaur Jr
Dinosaur Jr
Dinosaur Jr. is an American alternative rock band formed in Amherst, Massachusetts in 1984. Originally called Dinosaur, prior to legal issues that forced the group to change their name, the band disbanded in 1997 until reuniting in 2005...
recorded the song in 1994 for the Kiss My Ass: Classic Kiss Regrooved
KISS My Ass: Classic KISS Regrooved
-Charts:Album - Billboard Singles - Billboard -External links:*...
tribute album. The Melvins version was also submitted for the CD, but Gene Simmons went with the Dinosaur Jr version. An acoustic version of the song was released by Dramarama
Dramarama
Dramarama is an alternative rock band.It may also refer to:* Dramarama , a 1980s British television series* Dramarama , a 2006 film that was to star Lindsay Lohan but was unreleased...
on their 1996 "Best of Dramarama: 18 Big Ones" greatest hits album.
A neo-baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
version appeared on the String Quartet Tribute to Kiss album.
Canadian progressive rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
band Rush
Rush (band)
Rush is a Canadian rock band formed in August 1968, in the Willowdale neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario. The band is composed of bassist, keyboardist, and lead vocalist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson, and drummer and lyricist Neil Peart...
poked fun at this song in their song "I Think I'm Going Bald
I Think I'm Going Bald
"I Think I'm Going Bald" is the second song from Rush's third album Caress of Steel. The music was written by Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson, and the lyrics were written by Neil Peart....
" off their 1975 album Caress of Steel
Caress of Steel
Caress of Steel is the third studio album by Canadian rock band Rush, released in 1975. The album shows more of Rush's adherence to hard progressive rock, as opposed to the blues-based heavy metal and hard rock style of the band's first two albums. Long pieces broken up into various sections and...
. Geddy Lee explains on page 32 of "Contents Under Pressure" : "We were touring a lot with Kiss in those days and they had a song called "I Think I'm Going Blind". So we were kind of taking the piss out of that title by just coming up with this." Lee goes on to explain that the title originated with drummer Neil Peart, who was making light of the fact that Alex Lifeson was constantly worried about the future possibility of going bald, often employing "all kinds of ingredients to put on his scalp. And I think it just got Neil thinking about aging..."
Gene Simmons: "Goin' Blind" dates back to 1970. At that point I was listening a lot to Cream and Mountain. "Goin' Blind" happens to be one of my favorite songs. Even something about the recording of it seemed to work for me, the compression on the drums.This surprisingly moody slab of heavy rock provided Hotter Than Hell with one of its most enduring high points. "Goin' Blind" is a reworked version of a pre-Kiss song originally entitled "Little Lady" whose lyrics deal with the doomed relationship between an old man and a very young girl: "And I know how it should be/There is nothing more for you and I/Some are young and some are free/But I think I'm goin' blind." Although these lyrics later work in a goofy punch line of "I'm 93, you're 16," the overall feel is one of doomed romanticism. The music matches the emotional heaviness of the lyrics with an intense melody built on yearning, minor-key verses and a cathartic chorus whose ornate twists give it an almost Japanese feel. Kiss' recording of "Goin' Blind" is mournful yet heavy: Gene Simmons unleashes the lyrics with an anguished howl over a sludgy backing driven by guitar riffs heavy enough for a Black Sabbath record and half-speed drumming. Ace Frehley tops the song off with one of his finest guitar solos, a searing blast of quicksilver riffing that perfectly capture the song's pained mood in instrumental form. "Goin' Blind" was never issued as a single but quickly became a favorite with Kiss fans and has been faithfully covered by such bands as Dramarama and Dinosaur Jr.
Personnel
- Gene SimmonsGene SimmonsGene Simmons is an Israeli-American entrepreneur, singer-songwriter, actor, and rock bassist. Known as "The Demon", he is the bassist/vocalist of Kiss, a hard rock band he co-founded in the early 1970s.-Early life:...
- bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, lead vocals - Paul StanleyPaul StanleyStanley Harvey Eisen , better known by his stage name Paul Stanley, is an American hard rock guitarist, singer, musician, painter and songwriter best known for being the rhythm guitarist and primary lead vocalist of the rock band Kiss. He is the writer or co-writer of many of the band's...
- rhythm guitarRhythm guitarRhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
, backing vocals - Peter CrissPeter CrissGeorge Peter John Criscuola , better known as Peter Criss, is an American drummer and singer, best known as the original drummer for the rock band Kiss...
- drums, backing vocals - Ace FrehleyAce FrehleyPaul Daniel "Ace" Frehley is an American musician best known as the lead guitarist of the rock band Kiss. He took on the persona of the "Spaceman" or "Space Ace" when the band adopted costumes and theatrics...
- lead guitarLead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...