asterisk8 said:
Good one!
By pop metal I mean a heavy metal song with pop music sensibilities, by "greatest" I mean a phenomenal display of song structure, lyrical content, instrumental and vocal prowess, a song that transcends its genre and era.
The KISS song is a great contender. It definitely transcends its time and genre, and definitely belongs on any Top 10 list, but I don't think it's all that brilliantly composed. Lyrically and structurally it's awfully simplistic, like a nursery rhyme. The solo is pretty uninspired too. But its iconic status is beyond dispute, probably because you can sing along halfway through the first time hearing it.
Being a lifelong KISS fan, I'm somewhat biased, but regarding your technical/musical evaluation of it, I beg to differ. I think the brilliance of it is in its simplicity - you DON'T NEED to listen to it over and over to be able to sing along or perform it yourself. Don't judge the solo section of the song because that's a little unique to each performance, and even more unique depending who played it as the lineup changed over the years - Ace Frehley, Vinnie Vincent, Bruce Kulick, Tommy Thayer.
Besides that, it's just a plain fun song. The band has freely admitted to not trying to write deep, philosophical, multi-layered lyrics - well, except for Music From The Elder, but that's a different discussion. Their first concern with if it's a good song or not is if the audience feels good when it's finished. If they do, then the song is successful - radio play and music awards be damned.