Avow the Unavowable: the KISS solo records

I second re: Kiss and Sell…its fascinating…

and you have to respect the asshole hubris of shipping all 4 out on the same date.

I have it.

Gene Simmons

Gene makes you think his is going to be a kick ass "God of Thunder"-ish rock album with that theatrical intro with Janis Ian singing "Hosanna" and those demonic voices laughing and chanting, and then "Radioactive" is promising - not overly heavy, but a good boogie rock song - this could open a Kiss album. The best thing about "Burning Up With Fever" is Donna Summer's backing vocal. Zzzzzz. "See You Tonight" is a nice "My Sweet Lord" rip-off, complete with Beatlemania backing vocals, and Gene is in great voice - his best vocal since "Great Expectations." "Tunnel Of Love" is passable - this could have made it onto, say, Love Gun, whereas "True Confessions" and "Living In Sin" wouldn't have been out of place on Unmasked - if not for all of these diva backing vocals. The first half of "Always Near You/Nowhere To Hide" reminds me of "Under The Rose" from Music From The Elder - it has a similar melody line. This is better than I'd remembered. I like the idea of "Man Of 1000 Faces" because it is Gene's tribute to Lon Chaney and the chorus is catchy, but it's ultimately unsatisfying with overblown orchestral parts. More Beatles pastiche in the wussy, acoustic "Mr. Make Believe" - not terrible, but not the demon's best ballad (hello "Goin' Blind"). "See You In Your Dreams" is a re-recording of a song from Rock And Roll Over - it's not THAT different than the Kiss version, so I don't see the point. I'm pretty certain I like Ace's solo better than Rick Neilson's - sorry Rick. "When You Wish Upon A Star" is a mindfuck. Jiminy crickets, Gene, what were you thinking? Anyhow, overall, not a bad album.

Peter Criss

This album also opens with some R&B boogie, "I'm Gonna Love You." This isn't wretched. Neither is it great. "You Matter To Me" is truly stinky. The intro sounds like Toto with the most dated keyboards ever. So bland. I have a massive prejudice against diva backing vocals so "Tossin' And Turnin'" doesn't stand a chance with me - I mean, I don't think it's a great song - any version. Surprisingly, this is the one Kiss would perform live on tour in 1979. I can tolerate "Don't You Let Me Down" even though it's totally bland and wussy. "That's The Kind Of Sugar Papa Likes" is a terrible title. More divas. R&B swing. In search of "Beth Pt. 2," Peter put three ballads on side two, but only Sean 'Skatt Bros' Delaney's "I Can't Stop The Rain" is something of an achievement. I've always had a soft spot for this song - I could hear Millie Jackson doing a great version. That said, it isn't brilliant, and neither are the two uptempo R&B songs on this side. Sorry, Peter. You did some better stuff on Out Of Control and Let Me Rock You.

Paul Stanley

Paul's album opens quite strongly with "Tonight You Belong To Me" - a bit like "I Want You" opens Rock And Roll Over with an acoustic intro and then totally rocking out. "Move On" was the song Kiss did live in 1979 and it roxxor, and I don't even mind the backing divas, but I'm not certain that young Stanley Eisen's mama gave him great advice: "When I was just a baby mama sat me on her knee/She told me 'Boy you listen there's a lot you oughta see/A lotta pretty women gonna try and tie you down/You don't know what you're missing if you never look around//Move on'/That's what she told me." A bit later he re-uses "every inch a lady" from "C'Mon And Love Me," but though this song is good, it's not quite as classic as that song. "Ain't Quite Right" has some interesting guitar textures. "Wouldn't You Like To Know Me?" is another good rocker. I'm not much into the big power ballad "Take Me Away (Together As One)," but again there are some nice guitar parts. "It's Alright" is another solid Stanley rocker. Paul was always good with side openers. "Hold Me, Touch Me (Think Of Me When We're Apart)" is not so good. What's with these hairy rockin' men doing these wussy ballads? "Love In Chains" is a heavy rocker, but is a bit by-the-numbers. "Goodbye" is quite a good closer. Yeah, Paul - a pretty good effort.

Ace Frehley

YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH. "Rip It Out" - whatta song! This is as good as his best Kiss songs (Parasite, Shock Me, Cold Gin). "Speeding Back To My Baby" -- score! Co-written by his (ex-?)wife Jeanette. Diva backing vocals that don't overpower the song. "Speeding back to my baby/And I don't mean maybe" - welcome to the Ace Frehley school of rhyming school. "Snow Blind" is a bit dirgier and has a cool Zep-ish middle section (think "Heartbreaker"). "Ozone" is similarly dirgy - Ace wants you know know he's "the type of guy who likes feeling high" - and he knows many words that rhyme with "high." "What's On Your Mind" is a cool power-pop song. "New York Groove" is a classic cover. The sultry "I'm In Need Of Love" has some really cool echoed, spacey guitar effects and another rocking middle section. "Wiped-Out" is a bit of a goof about Ace getting bombed on booze, but the chorus is wicked heavy. Rhyming "drunk" with "skunk" is so pathetic - I love it. "Fractured Mirror" is quite a beautiful, gentle instrumental with multiple layers of guitars - unlike anything you would expect from Ace, and the closest he comes to a ballad on this lp. SOLID! GO ACE!!

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