A Week of Kix (and Friends): Midnite Dynamite Classic Review
Sunday, September 7, 2008 at 10:00AM 
A week of Kix (and friends) picks up steam today as we look back at one of the band's classic albums. Kix released Midnite Dynamite in 1985. The record features many of the band's most famous songs - including my favorite "Cold Shower." To refresh your memory, the track listing:
Midnite Dynamite
Red Hot (Black & Blue)
Bang Bang (Balls of Fire)
Layin' Rubber
Walkin' Away
Scarlet Fever
Cry Baby
Cold Shower
Lie Like a Rug
Sex
A lot of people compare Kix to AC/DC, but I think with Midnite Dynamite, the band sounds a little more like Aerosmith. Maybe it's the blues and the harmonica...or maybe it's just because this album is near perfection from start to finish.
Now, I'm sure you already know "Cold Shower," "Sex," and the album's title track if you stumbled across this website. Do you know the ballad "Walkin' Away?" It has that quintessential 80s movie song feel. I mean, seriously. "Walkin' Away" sounds like it would fit right on the soundtrack of Working Girl. The song is, after all, just that good. To the naysayers, yes "Walkin' Away" sounds more dated than a lot of other Kix tunes. I dare you to write a better song - and I'm pretty sure you can't play the guitar solo, either.
Kip Winger fans already know he helped write "Bang Bang (Balls of Fire)." This song could have been a single - if the record buying public had bothered to pay attention to Midnite Dynamite in the first place. A quick search of the Recording Industry Association of America's(RIAA) online database tells me that Kix only has one platinum record to their credit - for Blow My Fuse. That award distinction was granted in 2000. I would think that Midnite Dynamite would have earned at least gold status by now, but I guess I was wrong.
I just told you that "Cold Shower" is my favorite Kix tune - so it stands to reason it's also my favorite track on Midnite Dynamite. The track is a bizarre little ditty with some rock-rap and a cappella moves thrown in for good measure. Plus, the bass is very prominent.I've only seen Kix in concert twice, but I'll venture out on a limb here and guess that "Sex" has been a live staple since this album was released all those years ago. You know, songs can be good on different levels. Sometimes the track has good writing and less than stellar solos. Sometimes the guitar parts are much stronger than the lyrics, thus allowing the band to hide behind the actual music. "Sex" is a song that translates well, both on recording and live. Obviously by the title, there's no complicated discussion going on here - just a darn good song and brilliant choice to end Midnite Dyanmite.
If you like 70s rock, then you probably like (or will learn to love) "Lie Like a Rug." The song sounds like it was written for an arena performance - and maybe it was! This song is gritty and Midnite Dynamite over all is just more in-your-face than, say, Blow My Fuse. I like my Glam dirty and on the rocks.
You can purchase Midnite Dynamite here.
Here's the video for "Cold Shower:"
Reader Comments (9)
..and Kix was such a killer live act...
On a side note, I have a neighbor who, "back in the day" was a rodie for this band. I met him at his garage sale and I was impressed with his LP collection, that he was selling (and I was buying). I talked with him about the albums and his choice of music when he told me about his former job. I was a little skeptical, but he had the credentials to verify his claims. He was legit.
They absolutely blow away Poison yet they didn't make it nearly as big. Their discography is actually somewhat better than even Motley Crue yet look how big the Crue made it and Kix never got much bigger than a club band!
WHY didn't they make it big and why'd they get screwed so bad??