January 9, 2009

Bedtime Music: Kiss - Beth

On Monday's Bedtime Music selection, I noted that the song Frankenstein had been a last minute addition to Edgar Winter's album; likewise, that the song was originally the B-side on the 45-rpm single yet was more popular than the A-side. The same can be said for Beth, the Peter Criss ballad on the Kiss album, Destroyer, released in 1976. Ironically, even though Gene Simmons and Peter Stanley both wanted the song off the album (it wasn't your typical Kiss song), Beth has turned out to be the band's highest charting single of all time (#7) and only one of two singles recorded by the band that became a gold record.

Although it's not stated on Youtube, this video is from the February 23, 2003 concert with the
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra at the Telstra Dome, Melbourne. The concert was recorded and became the 2003 album, Kiss Symphony: Alive IV. This video is one of the last performances by Criss as a member of Kiss as he left the band shortly afterwards and the band has retired Beth from their concert setlist.

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