ALBUM OF THE WEEK # 27 KISS - LOVE GUN (1977) PLUS CHRISTMAS BONUS

[RJhog (Admin)]

1. I Stole Your Love

2. Christeen Sixteen

3. Got Love For Sale

4. Shock Me

5. Tomorrow And Tonight

 

Side Two:

 

6. Love Gun

7. Hooligan

8. Almost Human

9. Plaster Caster

10. Then She Kissed Me

 

***Click this link to listen:  Kiss - Love Gun

 

Scott inspired me to celebrate my favorite band this week (in his SHT post by including Love 'Em And Leave 'Em).  However, I chose Love Gun instead of Rock And Roll Over.  Not that I like Love Gun better.  As a
matter of fact, I generally recognize Rock And Roll Over as my favorite
Kiss album.  Love Gun was the follow-up.  And I think it was pretty dang
good too.  Love Gun has several distinctions about it.  First, it's
features the first lead vocal performance for Ace Frehley on a studio
album.  It's also the first studio album to feature all 4 members on
lead vocals.  And, it's the last studio album to have all 4 original
members perform musically on it. 

 

The artwork for this album rivals that of Destroyer in my opinion.  I can't tell you how many times I tried to draw that cover when I was a kid.  This album contained a toy love gun as a special insert, and yes,
I've lost my love gun.  But I do still have the vinyl.  And I remember
the album sleeve had Kiss spelled out in blood, and I always thought
that was killer.

 

Now to the music.  The opening track is fantastic.  I Stole Your Love has always been one of my favorite songs and it's a great show opener as well.  Christine Sixteen is Gene Simmons singing about 16 year old
girls again, just like he did on Hotter Than Hell with the song Goin'
Blind.  He definitely needs to stay out of the schoolyard.  As a kid I
thought this song was great, but now it's just okay.  It just didn't
hold up that well for me.  Got Love For Sale is a superb hidden gem. 
Just listen to the bass tone on this song.  Also, the backing vocals
here are really good, not to mention the smokin' guitar solo by the
Space Ace.  Of course, he get's the lead vocal on Shock Me, which I
think is possibly the coolest song he ever penned for Kiss.  And all of
the people that think Peter Criss was a crap drummer, you need to listen
to the drums on this song.  The sound of the drums, the odd time
signatures, everything.  If Ringo Starr or Charlie Watts had drummed on
this, people would point to this song to prove how good they were as
drummers.  I'm just saying that once upon a time, Criss was a fantastic
drummer.  Of course, the substance abuse and other personal reasons put
an end to this, but that's another story.  Side one is closed out with
Tomorrow And Tonight, an attempt to recreate an anthem like Rock And
Roll All Nite.  I think it's a good song, but not as good as RARAN. 

 

Side two opens with the title track.  This really is a good song.  I love the machine gun drums and guitar, and the short solo is a terrific ascending riff, that continues on as Paul starts to sing again. 
Brilliant.  Hooligan is Peter's turn on vocals, and he really does have a
great rock voice.  I loved the song as a kid, especially the lyric
"I've got a '35 Chevy on a "55 frame".  But, as an adult, it's just
okay.  Almost Human is Gene's attempt to recreate God Of Thunder.  I
happen to like this song a lot.  It does have that scary, sort of
monster vibe to it.  Plaster Caster is up next, another hidden gem of
the catalog.  Of course, it's about a groupie that makes casts of rock
star's private parts.  From what I understand, Gene did not experience
this, he just wrote a song about it.  It has more great backing vocals
and a cool bass intro that I could actually play, if I had a bass.  The
album ends with the cover of Then He Kissed Me, but it's gender
reversed, so Paul can sing then she kissed me.  This would probably be
the biggest candidate for skipping in my book. 

 

As I said earlier, love the artwork, and it's still easily available.  And I guess I should stop here, since this is a super long album review, but wait there is more.

 

My Favorite Track: I Stole Your Love/Shock Me (I just can't pick)

 

Hidden Gem Award: Got Love For Sale

 

Most Likely To Skip: Then She Kissed Me

 

I have a special Christmas Bonus for you.

 

1. Ladies Come First

2. Love Me Blind

3. Rock 'n' Roll

4. Blast Off

5. Straight To The Heart

6. Love At First Kiss

7. Back In The Groove

8. Gladiator

9. She Wants It All

10. Do You Know What I Want?

 

***Click this link to listen:  1977 - Rock 'n' Roll

 

This is an album by a band called 1977. The following is a short biography taken from cdbaby.com, which is where I bought the album.

 

The members of 1977 are a group of four, lifelong Kiss fans who also happen to be accomplished musicians, performers and songwriters. Each of the members of 1977 was
hand selected from the hoards of Kiss tribute entertainers that span the
globe. What the members of 1977 offer to fans of the hottest band in
the world is something that no other group has ever offered to Kiss fans
in the 16 year history of tribute bands; ten original songs that are
100% Kiss inspired. If you like Kiss then you'll love this. All the
classic hits, you've never heard.

 

I just thought I'd throw in this album as a bonus, based on the album cover, which is a definite rip off of Love Gun.  Just listen to the songs, if you like Kiss, you'll definitely know which songs inspired
them.  I will say the guy that does Gene sounds somewhat like him, but nobody sounds like Paul Stanley.  The CD even has the cracks and pops that are present in good ole vinyl.  This is just good old fun for us old Kiss freaks.  Merry Christmas.

[Scott]

Love "Love Gun", my only problem is the production is inconsistent in my opinion, and this is something that plagues KISS records.  Specifically I'm talking about the drum sound.  Love it on Love Gun, could be better on Shock Me, and sounds hollow on Tomorrow and Tonight - no consistency and I'm not sure why?  Otherwise this is a top to bottom killer album.  I actually ike And Then She Kissed Me.  Had to listen to it a few hundred times, but it grew on me.  hahaha...  I Stole Your Love, Shock Me and Love Gun still hold up very well.  Great tracks!

[Scott]

Regarding 1977.  Mama said if you ain't got nuthin' nice to say don't any anything at all...

[Niels (Mod)]

This was my second album, but the first one I actually bought, because "Destroyer", I got a few months earlier as a birthday-gift. When I did buy Love Gun in july 1977, I had'nt seen the "new" costumes yet, so that was a "treat". I remember the toy "Love gun", but there was also a yellow paper written "BANG" on it. Remember? And some sort of "advertice" for the first KISS comic-book. I've never seen that one in "real life", but I 've still got the second edition of the Marvel KISS-comic. Got that in ´78. Great stuff!! "Shock me" is the best track imo, but ace was allways my favorite. What a guitar-solo!!

[RJhog (Admin)]

I had the original Kiss Comic Book, but who knows what happened to it.  I do have the reprinted version now that came in the Kiss Kompendium, which is about 1200 pages of Kiss comics.

[Dave]

I walked into Wherehouse in Fresno CA, one day, and there stood a life size display of the cover of Love Gun...the new Kiss album, which shocked me as I didn't even know they were coming out with a new album, and I kept up with all the rock and roll news back then.  I snagged that puppy up right then.  Once home, I remember thinking that the music, while good was not as good as the last couple of albums (Destroyer & Rock & Roll Over), but the songs that I still love today are: Love Gun, Hooligan, Shock Me, I Stole Your Love....Christine Sixteen I liked then, but once I had a teenage daughter...ummm, not so much.  I agree that the cover song is the weakest in the bunch...don't know what they were thinking there, maybe trying for a hit single.  All in all, a great album, but the cracks were beginning to show.