The Kiss Studio Albums

[Slim]

18: Psycho Circus (September 1998).

It's 1998 already, and Ace and Peter are back in the band.  Just like old times! Or is it? Peter only plays drums on one of these songs, Ace only appears on two of them. Yep, just like old times!

Bruce Kulick makes more of a contribution to the record than Ace does, despite being officially out of the band (or were his tracks recorded before he was let go?). Tommy Thayer plays elsewhere. Neither of them plays particularly adeptly, I assume they were under instructions not to play something Ace would never have managed.

In any case - this is a poor record. It seems to be something of a concept record about themselves. It's a pretty ordinary production job, bigger sounding than Eddie Kramer maybe but there's nothing grandiose about it. Paul's voice seems a bit thin, maybe recorded a bit too dry.

More importantly these songs, written as chest-beating celebrations of themselves, just feel dull. They seem to be putting the effort into the performances but because the songs are flat it feels hollow, forced.

There's a ballad, I Finally Found My Way with piano, strings and Peter on vocals. It's bland easy listening. A tune called Within is so dirgey that it occurred to me that it might be left over from the previous album. It was!

I suppose You Wanted The Best is the signature tune, featuring all four band members, if that's what Ace and Peter really were, trading lead vocals. It does at least have a very recognisable Frehley lead guitar break. I have no idea what the bizarre English accent voices at the end are about though.

I'm afraid it's a case of all filler, no killer. And as a reunion record, given the very limited participation of Ace and Peter, it's every bit as fake as Carnival of Souls.

I listened to the Japanese edition bonus track as well, In Your Face written by Gene for Ace. It sounds a bit like Joan Jett or Suzi Quattro on steroids with Ace singing a lead vocal and funnily enough, I enjoyed it more than any of the bona-fide album tunes. But not a lot.

This of course marks the point where Gene and Paul decided to cash in as a nostalgia act. I think it's a shame that they did this. The Bruce Kulick / Eric Singer version of the band was considerably more capable.

[Thenop]

Psycho Circus, yeah...

So, I went an saw several shows in the late 90's, labelled as Reunion. And they really should have left it there, as far as the original foursome go that is. But no, they wanted more. More touring and another album.
Stanley has told everyone that wanted to hear it that he wanted Ezrin to produce. I can imagine why, but Ezrin was otherwise engaged and, probably, not that interested at this point. SO they brought in Bruce Fairbairn, another veteran producer and sort of lost interest. That is how I see it at least. All the interviews and i studio reports I read talk about how uninvolved the band members were. Like said, Frehley and Criss were near absent, because Fairbairn wanted to make an album he deemed both gentleman not capable of playing. Thayer, Kulick and a slew of studio musicians (Kevin Valentine on drums) did the heavy lifting.
The whole thing sounds like an album Ezrin would have rejected. A few songs on here I like, the title track is classic Stanley and actually quite good. I do like Within even though it was a leftover from CoS and oddly enough I enjoy Journey of a 1,000 Years with its recurring title track theme. It sounds like something Simmons would have put on his '78 solo album. But the one song that is actually most fun listening to is Into the Void the Frehley one. Finally we hear Peter Criss playing again on a Kiss tune. Yes its not very good, timekeeping was never his forte (which is odd given he's the drummer) but it has some swagger needly missed in the other songs.
The ballad and singalong tunes in the middle of the record are just bad. And I'm 18, oops sorry, Dreamin' I mean, is a bit much Mr. Cooper.

The packaging with a lenticular cover was actually quite cool and the subsequent tour kept in check by presenting 3D imagery with a pair of glasses handed out at the entry.
The tour was not as great as the Reunion tour in terms of setlist and playing. Frehley had picked up his drinking habit (he has been sober for years now) and Criss was rumoured to have gone back to his old ways of refusing to perform if he didn't like the paycheck. I saw thew show in the Netherlands and it was OK-ish. But the later shows with Singer and Thayer in the fold, make up and all, are far superior to this tour.
The subsequent Millennium / Farewell tour that was done in the US was a nightmare, riddled with problems, mainly originating from Criss.  It would take an alternative line up (with Singer and Frehley) to tour Japan to close out Frehley's tenure as well.
The real Reunion was fun while it lasted, but in all honesty, I think that '96 Tiger Stadium show, warts and all, was the absolute highlight.

[Slim]

19: Sonic Boom (October 2009)

I first became aware of this album when someone - I think it was our old friend Presto-digitation - posted about it on TNMS, with a link to some samples somewhere online, back in 2009.

At the time, I commented there that it sounded OK but more like generic hard rock than classic Kiss. But actually having given it a proper listen fourteen years later - there is a very strong whiff of '70s Kiss about this record.

No outside writers this time and it was produced by Paul and Greg Collins, who apparently worked as a recording engineer with U2. They've done a very decent job. It's not a work of art like an Ezrin album, but it's well recorded. It's a shame Rock and Roll Over and Love Gun don't sound more like this.

Actually one or two of these tunes could almost be like Dressed to Kill or Hotter than Hell songs with beefier guitars.

There are some nice deliberate nods to the past - for example the opening riff of Stand is nicked from Christine Sixteen, Hot and Cold has a little reference to Doctor Love. And Thayer must be copying Ace's style deliberately. He gets it spot on. The demented vibrato. The Pagey blues licks. The repeated double pull-offs. The minor third bends. The staccato single note motifs. It's uncanny! He's a bit more fluent than Ace though, I have to say.

Thayer sings on When Lightning Strikes and to be honest I thought it was Gene while I was listening the first time. It's really very good, with Doctor Love style power chords aplenty and lots of cowbell. Lovely!

For me, this is a dramatically stronger album than Psycho Circus. It's a beefy rock'n'roll record with a lot of classic Kiss character, some of the old Rolling Stones-style swagger and riffery you'd find on the old Kiss records and bags of classic Kiss personality.

It's really very good.

It isn't just an homage to their past though, for example Stand sounds nothing like '70s Kiss and even has a Beach Boys style harmony vocal section. I'm An Animal is a lot heavier than anything you'd find on (say) Love Gun, although even that has some familiar-sounding riffage. Say Yeah has a faint hair metal feel about it but it's robust and powerful.

Paul's voice is a bit strained, but he's eleven years older than last time now. He does fine.

I really liked this. Actually it was a joy, and considering it was over a decade since they'd made a record I think it's remarkable.

[Thenop]

When the band decided to record another album, it was really Stanley that was at the forefront. Simmons had little interest but showed with some great tunes. The intro chords to Yes I Know with that Mr. Speed nod is really great, the whole song sounds a bit like Cheap Trick in the verses. Hot and Cold is maybe he strongest Simmons track on here. Very 70s indeed.
I am not the biggest fan of Stand but I see the attraction of the opening riff & verses, the chorus puts me a bit off though. It drags a bit as well.
The most popular tracks on here are the Stanley tunes Modern Day Delilah and Say Yeah, which was intentionally with audience participation in mind and is brought out still.
My inexplicable liking song on this is All for the Glory, maybe because I like the raspy voice of Singer.
Speaking of Singer, he does a fantastic job on this album. I subscribe to the Dutch "Slagwerkkrant", a drummers magazine and I recall an interview with Singer around this time. Being a drummers mag gear was discussed and although he is a Pearl endorser of many years, he stated this album was recorded with an old Rogers kit! Oh joy, I have one of those, so there was an instant connect there.
Speaking of instant connect, the solo on All for the Glory is 100% Frehley, but played by Thayer, great copy.

The solo line on the intro of Danger Us is copped from She (DtK), I was waiting for it to continue but then it goes into one of the more lame songs, Danger You, Danger Me, Danger Us! (?), C'mon Paul, do better!
I'm an Animal is this albums Simmons persona song. He's done better, but it's not bad.

This album overall is a 7/10 for me.

At the time I thought: this must be it, they will close shop soon and I went to the show. It was great, the usual eyebrow scorching experience and a great setlist. Little did I know they would return with another album just 3 years down the line.

[captainkurtz]

I must listen to SB again.  Loved it at the time (sorry for the repeated use of that term).  It was a really surprising record in how strong it was, as I recall.  Saw them in Manchester and Newcastle on that tour in 2009 - both great shows.

[Slim]

And finally, or I assume so anyway:

20: Monster (October 2012)

Similar in approach to Sonic Boom, same studio, same production team, no outside writers again and it's more of the same driving, heavy rock'n'roll. Decent songs, sprited performances. There's nothing much not to like.

But - it's not nearly as distinctive as its predecessor. It sounds a lot less like '70s Kiss and a lot more generic. Nothing stands out as particularly interesting, even the songs with the comedically juvenile lyrics "I raised my thang and she dropped her dress" don't feel particularly memorable. Oh yes and "I'll take you on a cruise you'll never forget / she said, we better move cause I'm already wet". Same song: Take Me Down Below.

I liked Tommy's tune Outta This World, in which the guitar player promises to take the object of his affections out of this world on a "midnight rocket". Sound familiar?

Eric sings a song written by Paul called All For The Love of Rock & Roll and I think that's probably the highlight. Good old-fashioned bluesy Stones type rock'n'roll song. But it didn't knock me out.

One thing that disappointed me about this album is the overall sound - not the production, just the overall sonic feel. It sounds a bit compressed and mushy. I listened to the album through my Grado headphones but I felt as if I'd gone back to my rather more ordinary Sony pair. Fans of vinyl could possibly see this as a positive, of course.

It's really not a bad album at all, but it's a bit of an anti-climax to bow out on. Even so: I think Planet Earth has had enough Kiss records now.

[Slim]

Just checked the start date of this thread and I got through all of them in a month. Enjoyable exercise. Interesting insights.

One that really struck me is how extremely flexible the band have been in their approach to making music - like the Stones, not afraid to use different guitar players, share the bass playing duties, bring in additional writers and backing musicians, different drummers and so on. It has to be said though that the Kiss organisation was a bit more dishonest about it than the Stones were; there's no excuse for Ace to appear on the cover of Creatures of the Night for example. Or even Psycho Circus really, although he does feature on a couple of songs.

[Thenop]

Monster was an unexpected surprise to me. I did not know they'd manage to pull it off but somehow they did. it was also, a bit disappointing. Kiss has some sister albums, like Animalize and Asylum, and the initial one is always better. The seconde one sounds like a photocopy, a but faded. 
That said, there are songs no here I really like, you mentioned Outta This World, great song. I also like Long Way Down, has a bit of a Zeppelin feel again and the Eric Singer song is nice. He really has a very pleasant voice to listen to.
I also like the lead off single Hell or Halellujah. Like most of Stanleys opening songs it is a very easy tune to listen to. Back to the Stone Age is another one I like as well  but the rest is a bit bland.
I always though that Sonic Boom and Monster combined would have made one fantastic album .
The title of the album I never understood even though the font looks a lot like the energy drink brand...

Overall, looking back at the studio albums I am pleased they ended with these 2. It would have been a shame leaving us with Psycho Circus as their last creative work.

There is not future in studio albums for Kiss, there is only the archives. Most of that consists of live recordings. In fact they have already started releasing live shows, I think they are at number 5, soundboard tapes turned LP release. I have some, not all.
As for studio archives, the band released a 5CD boxset back in 2001 with some 100 songs of which about 30 were unreleased. Demos or pre-Kiss, one or 2 songs not to be found on albums. It's probably up on the streaming services. There is the God if Thunder Paul Stanley demo, the Love Gun demo (which is basically the whole song fleshed out and played by Stanley, the band just re recorded it). Fascinating stuff, and it gives an insight in how the band worked. It's the ultimate best of if you will.

No doubt they will find more stuff in the archives, I know they will because there is a lot more material from the past.
Simmons released his "Vault" box at a whopping USD 2000,-. For that money he travelled around the world and the buyers could pick up their box at a Vault Experience, handed out by Simmons himself. The music is interesting. All the old '70s demos are on there, including 3 Love Gun demos with the Van Halen brothers playing on them: Christine Sixteen, Got Love for Sale and Tunnel of Love.
I suppose this is really a fanboy thing (and no I don't own it I am not that mad) but the demos are a fun listen.

Anyway, looking back on this thread (thanks Slim, I really enjoyed this!) it taught me it always pays off to re-listen to this stuff. Time is a funny thing, it's sometimes kind and sometimes harsh on the memory.

Closing off, my 5 favourite Kiss studio albums (and I do cheat a bit) are Destroyer, Creatures of the Night, the Ace Frehley '78 solo record, the debut and Revenge.

[Slim]

I did compile a list of albums in order of preference:

Destroyer
Dressed to Kill
Revenge
Music from 'The Elder'
Crazy Nights
Love Gun
Sonic Boom
Lick it Up
Hotter than Hell
Kiss
Rock and Roll Over
Monster
Creatures of the Night
Asylum
Dynasty
Hot in the Shade
Psycho Circus
Unmasked
Animalize
Carnival of Souls

I wouldn't swear to it though because I've only heard some of those albums once, whereas others have been familiar to me since I was 17. I might be misremembering (though I checked my posts in the thread). I might change my mind if I listened to them all a few more times each (but I'm not going to).

But roughly, that does represent my impression / opinion.

[Thenop]

I didn't list the Elder 
Maybe because it exists out of the Kiss catalogue for some reason to me. But it is surely part of my top 5 albums probably pushing out the debut.

[The Picnic Wasp]

Great work gentlemen. A very disciplined and enjoyable thread. I'm already listening to more Kiss than I have in the past. I incorrectly judged them as a novelty act, but there's clearly a great deal more substance to them than that. I shall continue on my voyage of discovery. A relief really as I need an injection of new musical entertainment from those decades.