KISS - ACE FREHLEY

If there has ever been a ‘guitar players’ KISS record this is it. Something very special happened when producer Eddie Kramer and Ace Frehley teamed up the summer of 1978. The duo spun the roulette wheel and won…big time. The payoff? The most powerful KISS solo album and quite possible the finest recorded album of Ace Frehley’s career.
I’m not sure if it was just the release of good material that had been bottled up over time or the fact that a semi-beaten and discouraged soul was finally given the chance to prove himself. What ever the circumstance…Ace hit the mark with this release. The songs rock, the attitude is right and for the first time it truly felt like Ace had laid everything on the line…win or lose…what you see was what you got.
I first heard this record the summer after my sophomore year when I myself was trying to build the chops to become a budding guitar hero. It totally blew me away. The opening chords of "Rip It Out" were all a 16 year old needed to push him further into the fire of rock and roll. I spent the entire summer listening to that record trying desperately to pick off the licks on my own. I wasn’t successful…but the summer was a blast. When I wasn’t with Dan collecting comics or picking through the magazine racks for the latest Metal Edge magazine, we were jamming Ace’s solo album.
In my eyes Ace’s solo album only contains one fault. Of the nine recorded tracks I must pick "Wiped Out" as the one that barely deserve a second play but on the other hand tracks like "Snowblind" and "Ozone" are pure genius.
Ace’s style is plain and simple yet layered enough that as you stand in awe with your jaw on the ground in pure amazement at his playing strength you also whisper to yourself, "you know what…if he can do this…so can I".
Ace plays with a swagger the Stones would be proud of and an attitude that would make even the toughest of punk smile. Even the non-believers have to give it up for this album. You simply cannot help but love it. From the good time grooves of "Speedin’ Back To My Baby" to the disco stomp of "New York Groove" to the tongue and cheekiness of becoming "lost in space…ace…ace…ace" the album mixes together everything that KISS and rock and roll are all about.

KISS - PETER CRISS

The Peter Criss solo album is not a KISS record. It is safe to say the Catman’s solo release is barely a rock record. It doesn’t rock, it’s not dark, it’s not dangerous and it does not make you want to raise your fist and yell. It does nothing what a KISS record should do. The Peter Criss solo record is 0% KISS and 100% Peter Criss and for that it deserves its fair share of accolades.
Peter Criss has never been one to deny who he is. He has always admitted his jazz influences as well as being completely up front that those were the influences he brought to the band. He in fact gave KISS the swing sound that defined the bands early albums.
The Catman has also never pretended to be anyone else on stage. Criss has admitted in countless interviews that he has always pictured himself as a ‘Sinatra’ type singing in smoky, overcrowded jazz clubs. Case in point? Look at any KISS footage containing "Beth" from 1976 to 1979. There you will find Peter sitting proudly, strutting his stuff at the front of the stage like a crooner from the Sands Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. My point here? There may be some extra baggage that travels along with Peter and his lifestyle constantly fudging his attempts at a successful music career but as far as his musical intentions there is very little bullshit.
I will fully admit, as a youngster just discovering the coolest rock and roll band on the planet I absolutely hated this album. I despised it. I would rather wipe my ass with the album cover than play the record. To me it was crap. It wasn’t KISS, it wasn’t rock and roll, and for the most part it wasn’t the least bit entertaining.
Over the years my attitude has changed (or lightened – one of the two) and I actually play this album quite frequently while thumbing through the KISS archives ‘feeding the need’. I actually enjoy it now. Sure…it still doesn’t sound like a KISS record but it has become that perfect record to put on during the perfect day.
The Peter Criss solo album is definitely an autumn album. The kind of album to play on a rainy October afternoon. The smooth disco sounds of the album need that fall chill in the air combined with the sweet cedar aroma of burning leaves. It’s the coziest of the four solo albums and one that definitely needs to grow on you.
Like all of the solo releases there is something magical about the album. Something that creeps into your system and does not let loose. Think I’m lying? Give "You Matter To Me" or "Don’t You Let Me Down" a listen and see if your not singing them an hour later. True pop music…true Peter Criss, and one fine ‘attempt’ at a ‘KISS’ solo album.

KISS - GENE SIMMONS

This is the stuff dreams are made of. If there has ever been a KISS album that would supply the soundtrack for starry-eyed high school youth it is the Gene Simmons Solo LP. Although this album was along for the ride the first night I was introduced to KISS, I truly never dove into the album until I purchased it on CD for myself about a year later. Man…talk about your initiations. The songs moved me in a way that still gives me goose bumps some 16 years later.
In a dreamers way I have always related to the Gene Simmons Solo LP more than the remaining three solo releases. I guess it’s easy to say it was the right album at the right time. As I had begun to learn more about this new band called KISS the music and lyrics of the Gene Simmons Solo LP crept into my bones and became my outlet for a sometimes confusing adolescent life. We have all had an album like this in our lives. I’m thankful mine was Gene Simmons.
The softer side of the Demon eventually proved to be my favorite. Songs like, "Always Near You/Nowhere To Hide" and "Mr. Make Believe" can somehow still choke up this 33 year old exterior when it is played on the perfect autumn evening. Something I am proud to admit. When music touches you in this way there is nothing as powerful on earth.
The Gene Simmons Solo LP was Dan’s favorite record as a kid. He actually owned the 33 LP version in 1978 so anytime Danny would begin to spill nostalgic wax about KISS I was all ears. He had ‘been there done that’. A few of my favorite tales were of Danny playing his record in the families’ living room while making himself busy in his bedroom. When suddenly, as "Living In Sin" began to play in the front room it was interrupted by the sound of a screeching record needle being drug across the vinyl record top by a God fearing, ‘it really does stand for Knight’s In Satan’s Service’ Eleanor Thompson. The Gene Simmons Solo LP served as Danny’s entry into KISS in the late 70’s as it would serve as mine in the late 80’s.
The Gene Simmons Solo LP is more than just a record or a piece of history in the KISS catalog…it is a moving experience. If you have ever held onto a dream or can still look at the world with a child like stare you will automatically be swept away. Taken to that magical place where rock and roll dreams come true. As the world around us seems to be going to hell in a hand basket it is nice to have somewhere to hide and the Gene Simmons solo album is just that perfect place.

KISS - PAUL STANLEY

A strange fascination began with me the very first time I listened to this album. It was October my sophomore year of high school. Dan and myself were taking part in the usual activities of Taco Bell, playing a few rounds of arcade games and cruising the Belt Highway in search of chicks when Danny started playing a beaten up copy of Paul Stanley’s solo album on cassette. We were still in the first leg of our KISS discovery (my discovery – Dan’s rediscovery) so we not only listened with our ears we listened with our hearts.
A magical feeling swept over me as we cruised throughout the night in his Camaro. Neon lights whizzing by as the crisp black October wind blew through his windows combining sweetly with the rock and roll belting from his car stereo speakers. It was then that I began to associate KISS records with the different seasons of the year. A geek like act to take part of I will admit…but fun none the less.
Ever since that night I have always compared chilly October evenings with the exotic shining purple and pitch black album cover of the Paul Stanley solo album. The songs are absolutely amazing; the artwork a masterpiece. 10 out of 10 stars for this one…that’s for sure.
It has been said many times before but remains true to this day…Paul Stanley’s solo album is a classic KISS record…but so much more. That night, wasting away with my friend I ended up wanting that album more than anything in the world. At some point in the night we ended up at the mall (what respectable kid in the 1980’s wouldn’t end up at the mall) and I remember eyeballing the CD for what seemed like eternity.
It was a "Sound Saver" for $9.99…the kind of CD’s that came in the clear plastic shells with the CD artwork on the top and the empty CD shell on the bottom, exposing the smoothly rounded mirrored disk with the gigantic KISS logo in the center. I was in heaven. Never before had an album looked so flippin’ sweet.
When I finally added the album to my collection I must have played it 100 times that first go a round. That was when my Paul Stanley fanfare reached its pentacle height. The Paul Stanley solo album became my 2nd favorite of the four and to this day has remained one of my favorite rock and roll records of all time. A sleek entrance into he 1978 era of KISS and one of my favorite memories of ‘discovery’ I will never forget.
Frankly, I have never truly bought into the "sure do a solo album…we will all do solo album’s" urban legend that has been passed down through KISS fans over the years regarding the release of the solo records. I believe that particular story is simply a piece of marketing genius. I have always felt that Bill Aucoin and Neil Bogart knew every fan had a favorite member of KISS and that there was no better way to make a ‘Zillion’ dollars than to release 4 solo albums on the same day that were all tied together. What kid is going to want one…when you can buy all four, right? Sure…it’s sneaky but it’s great show business.
Simply put…the Paul Stanley solo album is great entertainment for any KISS fan. Start to finish…a classic rock and roll record.