Released February 18, 1974 Length 4:22 Writer(s) Ace Frehley | Recorded November 1973 Label Casablanca Records | |
Producer(s) Kenny Kerner and Richie Wise | ||
"Cold Gin" is a song by the American hard rock group Kiss. The song was written by the band's lead guitarist Ace Frehley and was released in 1974 on the band's eponymous debut album. The song has attained classic Kiss song status, and is featured on many compilations released by the band. Live versions of the song were often extended for about two minutes due to Frehley's soloing.
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The song is considered one of the greatest drinking songs of all-time. It was listed at No. 10 on the AskMen.com list of Top 10 drinking songs. Guitar World listed "Cold Gin" as the seventh greatest drinking song of all time. Listeners voted "Cold Gin" as No. 2 on the Love to Know list of "Best Bar Songs".
Background
The song discusses how cold gin affects the male sex drive. Frehley said he wrote the song while he was in the subway. According to Frehley, the riff for the song was inspired by the song "Fire and Water" by English rock group Free. Gene Simmons actually wrote the bridge, according to Frehley, though Simmons turned down a writing credit: "Back then, it was definitely more of a brotherhood. It didn't matter who got credit, the only thing that mattered was if the song was good". The song was recorded in 1973 and was one of two songs from the band's debut album written by Frehley, the other being the album's instrumental, "Love Theme from KISS", which was written by the whole band. Although "Cold Gin" was never released as a single, it has remained a concert staple during the years.
The studio version differs significantly from the demo version. In the demo, after the solo, Paul Stanley shouts "Whoa! Alright! C'mon!", but in the studio version, he shouts "Whoa yeah!". The second guitar solo was also cut and the outro was shortened.
As Frehley was insecure about his singing ability, Simmons sang the song on the original studio version and in most live versions (despite the fact that Simmons is a teetotaler), although during the Alive/Worldwide Tour, Frehley would sing parts of the song. Frehley would provide the lead vocals when touring with his solo band.
Live performances
"Cold Gin" soon became a fan favorite, with the band performing it on subsequent tours (the song was also featured on Kiss's breakthrough album Alive!) but it would be dropped for the Rock & Roll Over Tour and the band did not play the song for four years, until the Unmasked Tour. The band once again dropped the song from the setlist for the Aerosmith/Kiss co-headlined Rocksimus Maximus Tour/World Domination Tour but returned it for the Kiss Alive/35 World Tour.
Frehley performed "Cold Gin" during his solo tours, along with other Kiss songs.
Appearances
"Cold Gin" appeared on the following Kiss releases: