Oh , man. They did "Love Me Two Times" when I saw them , and that was '86 or '87. They DID have a keyboard , which IS part of their sound , but , no Lynn Easton, also a part of their sound. It was mainly "Big Chill" Oldies covers. Virtually no Frat Rock covers OR originals (Or just songs associated with them.). They knew what side their bread was buttered on - People who , unlike us , bought all their Wand LPs for two bits a throw. Or ,bought "Louie , Louie" to get "Haunted Castle". To their credit , they opened with "Lotta Lovin'" (Gene Vincent) , but it kinda went downhill from there....as you say , clean and soulless.
Rockin Rod Strychnine said:
I don't even think they have a keyboard player anymore which was a part of their sound. The one time I did like them had a bit of slop and they threw in Jolly Green Giant but that's the one time I ever heard it live. They also did Dirty Robber by the Wailers and Justine even though it was Righteous Brothers style and did dn't have that twangy thing that The Mummies learned from more obscure versions of the song. That was like 1996, I believe. Since then it's gotten worse. Clean and souless and a lot of covers that when they were originals, the Kingsmen were no longer a band (stuff like the Doors).
John Battles said:When I saw The Kingsmen , their playing was SO good , that was part of the problem. No raunch , no slop. NOTHING FROM THEIR OWN BACK CATALOGUE , Barring "Money" and , of course , "Louie Louie". My friends and I almost did'nt stay to hear it.