Welcome to another “Album by Album Challenge.” For those that are new here, the “Album by Album Challenge” is where I take a band’s entire discography and listen to every album in order of release from front to back. With my unforgiving and well-aged ear, I call it how I hear it. In some cases, I find that what I once thought was good is actually pretty crappy and sometimes crap manages to age into something pretty kick ass. And in some cases, face melting is still just good ol’ face melting.
This time around I decided to tackle the KISS studio discography. I decided with KISS to only do the 20 studio albums and none of the 20,000 live albums that KISS has put out! Ok, I know, they only put like what, six or seven live albums? Even if they were mostly done in the studio I still didn’t do them. This challenge at times was downright painful but nonetheless it was great fun. I found some great gems that I didn’t know existed and I found some songs that I wish I had never discovered at all. Again, it’s KISS and even through the falters and failures, I will always be a fan and have a huge place in my heart for the hottest band in the world… KISS!
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Kiss – Kiss
Release Date: February 18, 1974
The Good: Strutter, Nothin’ to Lose, Firehouse, Cold Gin, Let Me Know, Deuce, Love Them from Kiss, 100,000 Years, Black Diamond
The Bad: Kissin’ Time,
The Indifferent:
Kiss’ debut album is such a solid album and I just can’t for the life of me figure out why I forget this from time to time. Destroyer gets so much attention but if you look at the track list alone, this album spawned more consecutive KISS classics that just about any of their other releases. It’s so raw and I love that you can really hear their influences so loud and clear. You can hear The New York Dolls, Rolling Stones, and even The Beatles. “Love Theme from KISS” is such a cool little ditty that even has a kind of Allman Brothers kind of groove to it.
At this point in the game KISS was such a young band and there’s an innocence to their sound. It sounds so natural and so real. It’s unpolished, it’s raw, but it’s so full of excitement. This actually sounds like a band that was meant to rule the world. “100,000 Years” and “Black Diamond” just may be two of Kiss’ greatest songs of all time and the only real dud on this album was “Kissin’ Time.” I have no idea what they were going for with this song but that song just sucks a big one. Other than that, this is flawless, timeless rock n’ roll record for sure.
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Kiss – Hotter Than Hell
Release Date: October 22, 1974
The Good: Got to Choose, Parasite, Goin’ Blind, Hotter Than Hell, Let Me Go Rock N’ Roll, Watchin’ You, Comin’ Home,
The Bad: Mainline,
The Indifferent: All the Way, Strange Ways
I’m still not sure how I feel about this album as a whole but to me, this album really has no flow. This is a prime example of how sequencing can really make a break an album. Hotter Than Hell has some great songs on it and much like the debut it contains a lot of classics. Songs like “Got To Choose”, “Parasite”, “Let Me Go Rock N’ Roll” and the title track went on to become staples in Kiss live repertoire while “Watchin’ You” is right up there with some of my all time favorite KISS songs.
As a whole, this album really isn’t that great of a listen from front to back. It’s almost as if you could re-sequence the album yourself in order to create a better listening experience. Openign with “Got To Choose” really wasn’t the best idea as I don’t feel it’s a strong opener. They should’ve either r opened with the title track or “Let Me Go Rock N’ Roll.” Kick my ass from the beginning ya know? Don’t’ hit me with a sponge and expect me to be blown away. Also, closing the album with “Strange Ways” just kind of had me scratching my head as I’m still trying to decide if I like this song or not. Maybe I would’ve liked it more with Ace singing but Peter Criss just kinda had me going, “Meh.” All in all this album falls flat but does contain some pretty awesome Kiss tuneage.
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Kiss – Dressed to Kill
Release Date: March 19, 1975
The Good: Room Service, Rock Bottom, C’mon and Love Me, Anything for My Baby, She, Love Her All I Can, Rock N’ Roll All Nite,
The Bad: Getaway
The Indifferent: Two Timer, Ladies in Waiting
Ok, so this album is nowhere near as bad as I remembered it but again, what’s up with the sequencing of this album? There is really no flow to this album and this one also contains some of my favorite KISS songs. What’s up with that long as acoustic intro to “Rock Bottom”? Were they just trying to fill in some time or something? It’s pretty and all but damn lose that shit. “C’mon & Love Me” is still as awesome as always but “She” is the song that should’ve been more of what KISS was about. This song is so heavy and has such a great hook and groove to it. I always forget how lame the studio version of “Rock N’ Roll All Nite” is. It’s still a great song but how did they make this song with NO GUITAR SOLO? Thankfully we had the “Alive I” version fix that all for us. All in all this album has some greatness to it but fails as a whole to really blow me away.
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Kiss – Destroyer
Release Date: March 15, 1976
The Good: Detroit Rock City, King of the Nighttime World, God of Thunder, Flaming Youth, Sweet Pain, Shout It Out Loud, Do You Love Me?
The Bad: Great Expectations
The Indifferent: Beth
So there’s a reason this album is considered to be KISS’ best album. It really just is. There’s something really special about this album and I always love listening to it from front to back. I mean, except for that craptastic “Great Expectations” and “Beth” (which I can give or take) the songs on this album are some of the band’s best. The opening of “Detroit Rock City” and how it slides right into “King of the Nighttime World” is without a doubt one of the coolest moments ever. I sometimes underestimate this album but all in all, it really is as of now the best thing they’d done since the debut album. Even as shitty as “Great Expectations” is, it doesn’t even taint this album one bit because the other songs on it are so fucking strong. Is there where KISS used up their awesomesauce? I guess only time will tell.
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Kiss – Rock and Roll Over
Release Date: November 11, 1976
The Good: I Want You, Take Me, Calling Dr. Love, Ladies Room, Mr. Speed, Hard Luck Woman, Makin’ Love
The Bad: Baby Driver, Love ‘Em and Leave ‘Em,
The Indifferent:
This album sounds like a step back from Destroyer. Rock and Roll Over has some really good songs on it but even as good as they are they don’t touch the greatness of those tunes on Destroyer. “I Want You” is a great tune and “Mr. Speed” is one of those songs that I forget how much I like. As for the bad, who the fuck let Peter Criss and that fucking atrocious “Baby Driver” happen? Talk about your huge mistakes. It’s really a shame because I love Pete’s voice and even as corny as it is I LOVE “Hard Luck Woman.” That’s a great song right there. Something tells me that things just get gradually worse from here as we’re heading into “Kissco” era stuff. I’m bracing myself for impact here. Ok, no Paul jokes there smart asses.
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Kiss – Love Gun
Release Date: June 30, 1977
The Good: I Stole Your Love, Christine Sixteen, Got Love For Sale, Shock Me, Tomorrow and Tonight, Love Gun, Almost Human,
The Bad: Hooligan, Plaster Caster, Then She Kissed Me,
The Indifferent:
So this hasn’t hit “Kissco” yet so I could at least wipe the sweat off my brow. Love Gun starts off so fucking strong that by the time “Shock Me” was kicking in I was thinking, “Wow, this album just may be as great as Destroyer” but then something happened. That something was “Hooligan.” Criss wrote the fucking worst songs and how they ever allowed them to make records is beyond me but hey, when you’re writing songs like “Plaster Caster” who are you to judge right? At this point, it’s impossible to think that KISS song lyrics are anything more than absolutely ridiculous but that’s always been a part of KISS charm. It’s not rocket science but c’mon guys, “Plaster Caster” is retarded beyond retarded even by normal KISS standards. Closing the album with an atrocious cover of “Then SHE Kissed Me”? You’ve gotta be killing me. This album had so much promise but man, what a fucking buzz kill.
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Kiss – Dynasty
Release Date: May 23, 1979
The Good: I Was Made For Loving You, 2,000 Man, Sure Know Something, Magic Touch, Hard Times, Save Your Love,
The Bad: Dirty Livin’, Charisma,
The Indifferent: X-Ray Eyes,
And here comes Desmond Child to try and save the day! Haha. Desmond Child is a huge ass joke especially when talked about in the metal world. If you worked with Desmond Child it meant two things: One, you had pretty lost your testicles or you had them removed, gave them to the record company, and they mounted them on the wall. Two, you were a total hack looking for a “hit” and nothing but a joke. In this case, look at “I Was Made for Loving You.” That song is KISSCO (Kiss Disco). It’s lame, it’s hilarious, and it’s awesome. Yeah, I love that song. Then you have a kick ass Ace cover of a Stones song and again, as corny as it is, I totally dig “Sure Know Something.” This is Kissco kids and even as corny as it is, it’s pretty fucking fun. I do love the fact that Ace wasn’t having any of it and stuck to his guns with “Save Your Love” and “Hard Times” which both were so nasty and gritty. As for the bad, SURPRISE! A Peter Criss song called “Dirty Livin’.” The album closed with the Ace track “Save Your Love” which actually had a pretty cool resolve. Looking back on this one, I surprisingly didn’t hate it like I thought I did. The kinda disco vibe was kinda cool actually and they pulled it off well but this just isn’t “KISS.” This is a whole other band.
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Kiss – Unmasked
Release Date: May 20, 1980
The Good: Shandi, Talk To Me, Naked City, Tomorrow, Two Sides of the Coin, Torpedo Girl, You’re All That I Want
The Bad:
The Indifferent: Is That You, What Makes the World Go Round, She’s So European, Easy as it Seems
Wow. Um, ok then. That went much better than I thought it would go. I totally remember hating this album but this time around there are some pretty cool songs on this album. I’ve always been a fan of the cheesy “Shandi” and “Talk to Me” and “Two Sides of the Coin” are both classics. They’re both Ace songs so of course I’m going think that they kick ass. “Tomorrow” sticks out too as it’s got this kind of pre-punk sound to it. Listening to this I could totally hear Green Day covering it or something. It’s a kinda cool sound a hit at some of KISS’ more punk/New York Dolls kind of influence. Even as good as the “good” songs on this album are there are definitely no “hits” on this album. The more forgettable songs on the album are mostly Paul songs. Sounds more like he was shooting for commercial accessibility while Ace just wanted to be Ace and kick ass. None of the good songs have that wow factor that is present in more of KISS’ now classic/popular tunes. This wasn’t an all-out horrible album but it was far from memorable.
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Kiss – Music from “The Elder”
Release Date: November 16, 1981
The Good:
The Bad:
The Indifferent:
I’m not going through this one again. Read HERE!
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Kiss – Creatures of the Night
Release Date: October 13, 1982
The Good: Creatures of the Night, Saint and Sinner, Rock N’ Roll Hell, Danger, I Love It Loud, War Machine
The Bad:
The Indifferent: Killer
For this album it feels like KISS found their identity and morphed into more of a metal band than a top 40 sounding pop band. This sound is so much more natural and true to the foundation that KISS was laying in the 70s. This album is just fucking awesome but you can tell a few things here. First off, everyone knows that this album had NO ACE FREHLEY on it. You can tell that just by listening to the album itself. This was also the first album to feature Vinnie Vincent on guitar and as a collaborator. This was a good move on their part because Vincent gave KISS that shot of metal that made them a strong staying power when metal started to take over the world. The songs are all fucking killer on this album and it blows me away just how consistently good this album is. This is also the first album in a while that would spawn some later to become KISS classics such as the title track, “I Love it Loud”, “I Still Love You”, and “War Machine.” “Creatures of the Night” is without a doubt one of KISS best songs to date and can we just say that I about snarfed my coffee when I learned that the solo for that song was done by the guitarist for 80’s pop band Mister Mister? Mind = blown. All in all, this is KISS’ strongest, most consistent album to date. I need to remember this album for its greatness as I seem to have totally forgotten this over the years. At a fork in the road KISS seems to have chosen the smartest of paths towards a sound and style that was more true to who they were and what they were all about.
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