Yup, I agree. The only problem was the production. Even the remastered versions still sound as if they were recorded in a garage with a £20 cassette recorder🤣
*Iván Hernández Vélez* Little known fact about the *Creatures* cd the song *Danger* was written for a James Bond movie that never got made. It was called *Danger Never Sleeps* If you read the lyrics to the song *Danger* you can see what I mean.
The weird middle period of KISS (Dynasty, Unmasked, The Elder), are lost masterpieces in my opinion. I find these albums so fun and interesting. The history at this time is fascinating too. I don't know what it is but I love this era. They have really gotten better over time. Undiscovered gems, in my opinion.
Kiss's Unplugged CD is a must also. To me it is a MASTERPIECE. I do agree that Alive 1 and Alive 2 are most definitely at the top. For me the Unplugged CD is at number 3.
Agreed. I’m getting into the deep tracks on their studio albums, but just about all of the songs that I heard on the first two live albums sound far better there than their studio doubles.
Gene Simmons was the world's best background singer in 74-75, inc. "Anything for My Baby," "Firehouse" (Double Platinum version), "Love Her All I Can," and "Hotter Than Hell."
I'm watching this video not believing how HIGH The Elder was getting. Top freaking 10! Love. It. If you can get over it being "KISS" it's fantastic. The Oath is my favorite KISS song ever.
I got the album in 82 and loved it. Most Kiss fans probably just wanted a rock album like before. No mention that the CD has the songs in the correct order. The Record Company moved the songs to make the album more popular and the story did not make sense.
Musically "The Elder" is a pretty good album. But I think at the time it came out many fans were too ignorant to accept a "show"-band making a serious record. I am not the biggest KISS fan, but I like and know quite a bit of their stuff. I'd even put "The Elder" on my top 5 list.
Absolutely love Music From The Elder after all these years. The Oath, Under the Rose and Only You are awesome tunes. Unmasked as well has grown on me. Naked City is one of Gene’s best in my opinion. Spot on with Dynasty and can’t argue with the top 5. Great stuff Pete!
I'm so glad seeing people praising Music from the Elder. I remember reading negative comments about it, but I decided to buy it anyway because it was SF oriented conceptual album. I didn't know much about original Kiss lineup and I approached to it open-mindedly - and I was blown away. I still think it's quite natural for a SF nerd like Gene Simmons is, wearing armor and axe-bass, to create and play songs about swords forged in flames, ancient oaths, and heroes destined to save the world.
1974: KISS and Hotter Than Hell 1975: Dressed To Kill and Alive 1976: Destroyer, Rock n Roll Over 1977: Love Gun and Alive 2 Very busy band the first few years. I was 15 when Rock and Roll Over came out and it remains my favorite to this day. Great list, Pete
It was 1976, I was 12 years old and my first KISS album was "Destroyer". It was my introduction to KISS and rock music in general. Due to the success of "Destroyer", their label Casablanca, had re-packaged the first 3 albums in a collection called "The Originals". You got "KISS, "Hotter than Hell", and "Dressed to Kill". There was a very cool booklet of photos, trading cards, and stickers. That is when I became a member of the "KISS ARMY".
It is great to see you in times like these and hear you talking of something "normal"! Thank you so much for being just there! Your Voice and face keeps me warm and cozy. Now "Play On..!" I'm really excited! Hugs from Germany!
Great comments and analysis as always Pete! Great thoughts on each album. My all time fav in the list is RNR Over. Great tunes top to bottom, great vocals, harmonies, Ace's leads riveting, and totally killer with not a filler on the album. It's stuck in my soul, in a good way. Anyway, great job Pete. By the way, God bless you and the family in this time with your father-in-law situation. Take care mate.
To me, Revenge is easily in my top 5 Kiss albums. It's raw, powerful, great songs and the input of Eric Singer brought a whole new level of energy to this band.🥁🥁🥁 In my opinion he contributed to their survival in these years. 🤘🦇🦇
Dressed to Kill was my first Kiss album. It doesn’t quite top Hotter Than Hell for me (my fave as well), but it’s a close second. I loved it when Gene and Paul sang together. Seemed like that dropped that approach after Destroyer. Peter Criss’ voice also added a soulful element that they never regained. Kissology 1 features their full b&w (which makes it cooler) Winterland show which is from the Hotter Than Hell tour. Very freaky, before the little kids got into them. Highly recommended.
I can't rank them, but these are my top 10 favourite Kiss studio albums (chronologically): KISS HOTTER THAN HELL DESTROYER ROCK N ROLL OVER DYNASTY MUSIC FROM THE ELDER CREATURES OF THE NIGHT LICK IT UP REVENGE PSYCHO CIRCUS Anyway, HOTTER THAN HELL is my favourite album from original lineup - dark, heavy riffs, weird lyrics, good solos, cool bass lines (that intro in Goin blind...), strange production almost like it was recorded in a cave (and I like it! ) - but this is original Kiss in my head, not Rock n roll all nite and I was made for lovin you. Check out black and white video of Wachin you and Parasite from Winterland 1975. CREATURES OF THE NIGHT is my favourite non-original lineup Kiss album. Love every song there, heavy Kiss, production built around Eric Carr's drum thunder. Wish i could see them on Creatures tour when they were playing on Maracana in Rio, in front of 150 000 fantastic Brasilian fans...
@Christopher Bingham it was my first Kiss album. My friend wanted to buy me Best off CD, but he could't find it in te record store, so he bought me theirs last album. That was the reason I became fan. Many years later I found out how much it is different from other stuff in Kiss catalog. I wish they played more than first four tracks...especially We are one, Journey of 1000 years, Dreaming...I even played Psycho circus PC game :)
46 years later. I finally found kiss. I m 60. And was 15 in 75. And was a jerk thinking they were just an novelty act. Picked up kiss alive. Destroyer. Rock n roll over and love gun. Love it. Some great rock n roll. Thanks Pete.
It's very cool that you have gone back and checked out this band's albums after so many years. I've been a Kiss fan since I was five years old, and I'm nearing fifty now, and I will admit that I loved the make-up and the wild stage shows when I was a kid, but I always really loved their songwriting, first and foremost, and the songs have kept me coming back. 1982's "Creatures of the Night" is a great, very hard-rocking album that should have sold millions. The albums after they took their make-up off have some great songs too. I particularly love 1983's "Lick It Up" album. Even though Pete doesn't like 1989's "Hot In the Shade" album too much, I really enjoy many of its songs. Kiss has a great catalogue of music-- so much to discover, especially for new fans! Enjoy!
Wow! Oh yeah!! Thank you for your Top Kiss CD's/albums!! I agree with you about your Kiss review. I love your Kiss Alive shirt!! Cool , hot and spot on review!!🎵🎤🎸🥁
I love the Hotter Than Hell album. Right from that opening chord of 'Got to Chose'...😎 I saw Space Ace's stage outfit from '75, encased behind glass, at the Hard Rock in Atlantic City some 15 years ago- sweat stains & all... At the same time, I saw a drawing made by Jim Morrison from when he was a teen. It was a depiction of the concert he'd seen of Screamin' Jay Hawkins, of pall bearers carrying a coffin. (Hawkins stage entrance) Cool, cool stuff. 😎
I really like old Kiss stuff, my first paid concert was Kiss with Arrowsmith at Painter's Mill Music Fair in Balitmore Maryland back in the 70s. The venue probably held less than 25 hundred people, it was cool because it had a rotating stage in the venue with every one sitting around it
CREATURES OF THE NIGHT 1982 my favorite - and this coming from a soon to be 58 yr old and very first concert was 12-16-77 @ the infamous Madison Square Garden. I have every album. First group I really got into. Listen to all to this day/. My least favorite is Psycho circus. Never cared for that album. Just my opinion! Still a Top 5 group for me. It dominated my childhood. Tremendous memories. Loved this episode PETE. Thank you !!!!
I can't believe that this dude ranked Creatures of the Night at number 7. That's EASILY a top 2 or top 3 album-EASILY!!! I really feel, now that I think about it that it deserves to be ranked Number 1!!! Think about it:Dynasty-Kinda poppish. Unmasked:Super-poppish, and wimpy as all get-out! Music From The Elder: Somewhat better than Dynasty and Unmasked, but still lacking in Heaviness, at least to some degree. Creatures of the Night was a brilliant return to their Mid to Late 1970s form. DEFINITELY!!!
Creatures is definitely an incredible album! My favorite with Hotter than hell! Its powerful and mean! To me Kiss' greatest album without the original members! I'd also take Creatures over Destroyer any day damn that album is overrated and the songs are overplayed after all these years!! Just my opinion though..
I know that Carnival of Souls isn't in the normal style of what Kiss typically did but I love that album. It is one of the heaviest albums they ever did and definitely the darkest. Heavy and Dark, Two things I love. And the material is very good. A very underrated album in my opinion.
Love it all. Crazy nights and hot in the shade both good. The era of Bruce was great. I still feel he was the best guitarist they had. I feel you though....original was always better. Thanks bro.
I LOVE "Industrial Disease". Not a huge fan overall, but I can't listen to that one enough !! Same with "Sausalito Summer Nights" by Diesel, roughly from that same era....😎
@@badwolfarchives3246 Sausalito Summer Nights by Diesel is a bit "pop", but the lyrics are good & the guitar hook knocks me out...😎 There is a longer version & a single edit both here on TH-cam. Regards-
I can still remember the decision I had to make when shopping for an album. Music from the Elder or Ted Nugent's Intensities in 10 Cities. I went with Nugent.
I'm doing a full re examination of Kiss' studio discography, and I must say 'Unmasked' and 'Music From the Elder' sound WAY better now than they did when I was younger and only looking for hard rock in my Kiss records. They're probably gonna end up above "Animalize", "Psycho Circus" and maybe even "Monster" by the time I'm done.
@@ktee1403 I was flipping through channels when I landed on MTV back when that came out and the video was on...I was like...who the hell are these guys? Being a Kiss fan since 3rd grade, I was amazed that this fresh sound was coming from these guys. Their best album.
Been waiting on this one! KISS has been my favorite band since 1977! Ace and kiss are the reason I play guitar! Dig your choices! Totally agree kiss alive is my favorite, with rock n roll over is my fav studio album!
KISS are awesome got me into classic rock. I'm only 25 and mostly listen to 60's-90's music. Also Love these Ranking Videos Pete helps me find some awesome new stuff to check out.
1) Rock and Roll Over 2) Love Gun 3) KISS 4) Dynasty 5) Dressed To Kill 6) Hotter Than Hell 7) Destroyer 8) Unmasked 9) Asylum 10) Lick It Up 11) Monster 12) Hot In The Shade 13) Crazy Nights 14) Sonic Boom 15) Animalize 16) Creatures of The Night 17) Music From The Elder 18) Psycho Circus 19) Carnival of Souls 20) Revenge
Alive! was my first KISS album, and Dressed To Kill was my first KISS studio album. I was a huge fan back then. They lost me after Creatures Of The Night, and my ranking reflects that. So, studio albums only... 1. Dressed To Kill 2. Hotter Than Hell 3. KISS 4. Rock And Roll Over 5. Destroyer 6. Creatures Of The Night 7. Dynasty 8. Love Gun 9. Music From The Elder 10. Unmasked (In truth, the studio tracks from ALIVE II would go here, but since that was mostly a live album I've left them off.)
10 - Unmasked 9 - Lick It Up 8 - Dynasty 7 - Love Gun 6 - Dressed To Kill 5 - Creatures Of The Night 4 - Hotter Than Hell 3 - Destroyer 2 - Rock And Roll Over 1 -KISS (S/T 1974) Solo albums 4 - Peter Criss 3 - Paul Stanley 2 - Gene Simmons 1 - Ace Frehley
*Pete* The term you were looking for was *GUILTY PLEASURE.* Kiss's *I Was Made For Loving You* is also my guilty pleasure song. Like the version on Alive III. Love *Domino* & *I Was Made For Loving You* on Alive III.
It may be because I'm from a later generation but I think Psycho Circus was one of their best. It sounds like an updated version of their classic songs from the 70's.
Pete, I gotta’ admit, I’ve never liked KISS. But, I appreciate that they have their own “army”, and following......Really like the channel, keep on keepin’ on, brother.
Hi Pete. After I watched this ranking and KISS having had the importance it had in my life as a 12 year old, I decided to tackle this ranking as well. KISS - Alive! was the album that got me into KISS and music, and saying that, just like you mentioned Alive! and Alive II are my fave albums that really show you what the band was all about and have the best best versions of a lot of there earlier material. Well, 43 years have passed and I not only have grown as an individual but I learned to hear and love so many music generes as well, that my initial love for KISS has changed a lot. I've tried to tackle this ranking objectively, not as a KISS fan but as a music lover and was quite surprised at my final result. I do have the total discography, not only on CD but on vinyl as well. I did listen to the all these albums again as I had not Heard some in quite awhile, and of course I did have a different View of a lot of the stuff! The early KISS studio recordings suffered a bit in my ranking and I atribute that to the below par production on a lot of them. Well, enough said and here is my ranking: 01. Creatures of the Night - 76% 02. Destoyer - 74% 03. Music From The Elder - 73% 04. Dynasty - 72% 05. Dressed to Kill - 71% 06. Love Gun - 70% 07. Lick It Up - 69% 08. Hotter Than Hell - 68% 09. Unmasked - 68% 10. Animalize - 67% 11. Rock And Roll Over - 66% 12. KISS - 66% 13. Psycho Circus - 65% 14. Revenge - 65% 15. Crazy Nights - 65% 16. Asylum - 64% 17. Carnival Of Souls - 63% 18. Hot In The Shade - 58% 19. Sonic Boom - 58% 20. Monster - 45%
Love The Elder. I think they thought because Bob Ezrin just had a hit with Pink Floyd’s The Wall that lightning would strike for them as well. I liked when Kiss went outside their comfort zone. Love Carnival of Souls as well.
Your story reminds me of a similar tale from the history of one of my absolute favorite bands: Jon Schaffer of Iced Earth saw KISS in 1979 for the first time, and like you, his dad took him to the show. He was inspired by the experience of seeing Ace Frehley to become a musician. One of the greatest, most creative, most formidable epic/power metal bands of all time was the ultimate result. So, thanks Ace and KISS!! \m/ \m/
*Victor Armenta* If KISS were smart they would have promoted Peter's record on radio and it would have been a massive hit. But KISS wanted to be Rok and Roll not R n B or Softy Rock like Rod Stewart or Bob Seger was back then.
There’s definitely a third camp of people out there, Pete. Those people who really don’t care for Kiss all that much-but don’t necessarily hate them, either, and do love some of their songs. I am one of those people, and although my Kiss fandom isn’t exactly, well, huge, I still found this video entertaining and well-done. I will never hate on anyone for his or her musical tastes.
I’m not a huge KISS fan, but enjoy ‘Alive’ a lot. And for me, ‘I Was Made For Lovin’ You’ is no kind of guilty pleasure. Why feel guilty for loving a great song? It’s a classic pop record and easily my favourite of theirs.
Not really a Kiss fan, but your opinion and for a lack of better word, expertise, is refreshing and interesting and informative and enjoyable, you don’t even have to be a fan of the bands. ✊🏿🤎🖤🤘🏾
I was in the army too back in the 70s, the demon was my favorite, seen them 3 times in concert, and still listen to the albums today....i remember watching the tom Snyder interview with them on t.v....ace was fucking hilarious
@Tyler Morrison i was huge fan back then, and watched when it aired.....i walked away loving ace. (and tom "got it" too...he was usually a stick in the mud....tom's best moment too!)
Thank you for this video. Kiss was my obsession during my teenage years. Another fan recently made a ranking video and, although I agreed with him for the most part, your ranking is closer to mine. What I think is that the only studio albums made after they ditched their makeup and costumes that rank among their best are "Lick It Up" and "Revenge" (although "Carnival Of Souls" is interesting). Nothing else can touch what they did up to "Creatures Of The Night". I think you should have mentioned "Killers" and "Smashes, Thrashes & Hits". Mostly compilation albums, but they have brand-new stuff at the time that qualifies for a ranking in my opinion. And what about the studio side of "Alive II"? "Rocket Ride" is one of the best Kiss songs ever! Some random remarks: "Alive!" is one of my top two live rock albums ever. I also like "Alive II" a lot, but I don't rank it as high. Ace's solo album is one of the best straight-ahead, no-frills hard rock albums from the seventies. Paul's solo album is the most Kiss-like and Gene's is the most eclectic. "Got Love For Sale" is perhaps my favorite deep cut from Kiss. While everybody else was panning "The Elder", I was in my room playing air drums to "I", "Dark Light" and "Mr. Blackwell". Thank you again!
I grew up with the 70s Kiss but Creatures is definitely my favorite Kiss album hands down..I even have a soft spot for Animalize and the Elder. Most of 80s and 90s Kiss is really underrated in my opinion as they're many good tunes off those albums..
Great vid. KISS has always been my favorite band. I can’t even attempt to rank the albums because each has a special place in my heart. I’m one of the weird guys that is more partial to Bruce’s playing than the other players but absolutely love every album.
Pete, I really enjoyed this listing. Even though our lists are not similar in structure, we share the same reasons for liking certain albums along with certain songs, especially with the four solos. My top four have not changed in over thirty years, and my number one definitely got me into conflict with a lot of people; but at least one of my best friends loves that particular album as well: 1 Music From the Elder 2 Destroyer 3 Creatures of the Night 4 Hotter Than Hell 5 Kiss 6 Crazy Nights 7 Carnival of Souls 8 Revenge 9 Rock 'N' Roll Over 10 Love Gun 11 Dressed to Kill 12 Lick it Up 13 Dynasty 14 Monster 15 Animalize 16 Sonic Boom 17 Unmasked 18 Asylum 19 Hot in the Shade 20 Psycho Circus As for the solos: 1 Paul Stanley 2 Ace Frehley 3 Gene Simmons 4 Peter Criss These last four haven't changed in order for me either since they came out in '78. My view on both Gene and Peters' albums concurs with your own, with both Ace and Pauls being way ahead of the other two. I used to tell people who were doubtful about listening to them that between Paul and Aces' albums you get the most well-rounded Kiss sound.
Yes!! Hotter than Hell is my top Kiss album too.. from the very beginning Heavy and dark -. that's when they had the menacing heavy metal bite. Favorite on here is without a doubt - Parasite. However, minor correction -Peter sings on Strange Ways😁
Great to see Hotter Than Hell getting some love. Always been one of my favorite albums. Round it out with Rock 'n' Roll Over, Destroyer, and Alive! and you have a pretty good collection! To me that's the core of Kiss.
My Top 13 Favorite KISS Albums! 13. Lick It Up 12. Dynasty 11. Ace Frehley 10. Alive 2 9. Unmasked 8. Alive! 7. Creatures of the Night 6. Love Gun 5. Destroyer 4. Rock and Roll Over 3. Kiss 2. Hotter than Hell And #1. Dressed to Kill.
It’s possibly my favourite Kiss album. I know I’m in the minority on this one but there’s a maturity in the writing which is unusual for Kiss. Unmasked must be their worst by a long way.
I understand your feelings about The Elder. But, it´s like a weird place for a glam rock band like KISS. Prog rock is not KISS territory. Like I said on a previous comment, I somehow lost interest in KISS music.Therefore, I never got into The Elder.
@@mahogany174"Prog"? KIZZ Fans would say so, King Crimson fans not so much. The Elder was KIZZ caving in to the Critics and it backfired. Misguided perhaps but still way better than Unmasked.
oh man YES!!!!!!!!! I havent seen the video and already love it!!! had been waiting for this one for so long! thank you so much pete, for all the effort you put into this chanel to entertain a bunch of strangers. i much appreciate it!!:)
I saw Paul doing an unaccompanied lead solo in 1983, when Vinnie was in the band. Vinnie was playing fine. No need to cover for anyone, just Paul's ego.
Great video 1. Rock and Roll Over 2. Hotter Than Hell 3. Unmasked 4. Creatures of the Night 5. Lick It Up 6. Revenge 7. Dressed To Kill 8. Dynasty 9. ACE FREHLEY 10. KISS: Music From the Elder.
I actually saw an interview where they said that they did record with make up and stage outfits in the 70s and early 80s. To me it makes those early albums more legit Kiss u know
Hey Pete, Just stumbled on your site. Found it very fascinating especially when you critique Kiss and their albums. Keep up the great work! and the term your looking for is Guilty pleasure! I've been a fan since 1976 and I think my first album was Alive 1. I could not stop listening to it. Been a fan ever since and like you I'm a little apprehensive with the late eighties Kiss. Keep rockin'!!!
I'm glad too see that you have at least given "Unmasked" a few more years time to like the album more than you thought originally! To me, the "REAL KISS" was 1974-1982. I tried and tried to like ANYTHING KISS did after "Creatures..." and I even tried to "force" those album upon myself and I just couldn't do it' They just were NOT the same band without that makeup mystique. I heard the first KISS album in 1974 when I was 9 years of age and I heard the sound of LIFE!! I actually was fortunate to get to hear the band BEFORE seeing what they looked like. My cousin made me a cassette tape of the first album in early summer of '74 and I played the living shit out it for a few weeks and then I seen the band responsible for this GREAT music on a late night TV rock show and needless to say I was blown away by what I was seeing and hearing! I couldn't believe it!! Then of course, Hotter...Dressed...and then KISS-ALIVE!!!!!....Speechless! And three more mind blowing albums and another KISS-ALIVE II!!....I have to admit that the studio side 4 was better to me than the 3 live sides. I love the album BUT it just didn't have something that ALIVE had. They just seem to rush all the songs and seemed not to care as much. Then, the CULT CLASSIC "KISS MEETS THE PHANTOM OF THE PARK" I know it's a movie BUT I don't care. The movie should be a CULT CLASSIC!!....Then the SOLO albums. I still loved KISS but I could feel gravity's start to pull. THEN these three fucking, amazing and the three most UNDERRATED KISS albums came in the order of "Dynasty/Unmasked/Music From The Elder" ALL of those albums were instant classics to me. I call those three KISS albums "THE THREE MOST UNDERRATED TRILOGY OF KISS ALBUMS"!! In the late 1970's a new brand of rock/pop music was breaking out in which I absolutely embraced! Call it what you will: NEW WAVE or PUNK but I loved it and it's very clear that both Dynasty and Unmasked were influenced by this movement of new music. I know that's why I love those two albums so very much. Fell in love with the first time I heard them. I can't even get into just how incredibly passionate I am about UNMASKED! So diverse. Ace has many great solo's on many songs BUT for whatever reason, the solo on the song "Talk To Me" is my all time favorite Ace solo. Don't ask me why.... It just is. "KISS- Music from The Elder is KISS's MASTERPIECE!!" GREAT, GREAT album. It's not even an album, it's an event!!...I was going to try to rank my top ten favorite KISS albums, BUT just can't do a top ten favorite list. It's impossible! I need to include KISS-ALIVE and the SOLO's and even the "re-mixed" DOUBLE PLATINUM needs to be included. To me the SOLO's whether it being a solo or collectively need to be in there as well. From 1974-1982 KISS released 17 albums including live, solo and an odd re-mix album and I hold them ALL singly and collectively dear to my heart and to my very soul. In my opinion, the REAL KISS was over from the release of "Lick It Up" on up. So I cannot use any of those albums. All I can say with complete and unadulterated confidence is that these days when I go to play a KISS album, it will either be "HOTTER THAN HELL" or the mighty "UNMASKED".
I was not a huge KISS fan, but I 've changed my opinion when I saw them at a live concert. I enjoyed their music a lot and in my opinion they give their strong versions of the classics songs. They give really the best alive and I loved this show. Anywhere my top list: Kiss alive I and II Hotter than hell Kiss Destroyer Dressed to kill Creatures of the night
I've been a KISS fan since 1975. The image on that shirt you're wearing (the cover of Alive) was the first time I ever set eyes on them. I also wasn't a big fan of the 80's era KISS.
Yeah ...Tommy could have covered the left eye and dressed like a pirate, seeing that he's been ripping of Ace's solos for years. And Eric could have been the Hamburgerlar because he's another thief.
Was a freakin Big KISS fan when I was a kid in the 70's until Dynasty. Alive got me into them which is my favorite followed by all the 70's albums. The 80's forward not so much. Have to agree with Hotter then Hell a killer album I listen to that one a lot.
You need to listen to CREATURES OF THE NIGHT...great album and better then some of the earlier stuff. And I've been a fan since 1975. The also lost me after Dynasty, but got me back for a few albums with CREATURES And LICK IT UP. Gave up on them again with Animalize until the reunion.
I Was Made For Loving You is definitely a guilty pleasure song! Dynasty was the first Kiss record I listened to. I think my parents bought it at Jamesway for my 11th birthday. Good times! 😎
1. Rock & Roll Over 2. Love Gun 3. Dressed to Kill 4. 1st Album 5. Destroyer 6. Hotter than Hell 7. Creatures of the Night --------------------------- 8. Dynasty 9. Unmasked 10. Psycho Circus --------------------------- 11. Lick It Up 12. Crazy Nights 13. Hot in the Shade 14. Asylum 15. Revenge 16. Music from the Elder -------------------------- 17. Animalize 18. Carnival of Souls 19. Sonic Boom 20. Monster I break mine into tiers.
Hotter Than Hell is such a fantastic album, it definitely deserves more credit than its given!
Yup, I agree. The only problem was the production. Even the remastered versions still sound as if they were recorded in a garage with a £20 cassette recorder🤣
Good songs but unlistenable production, destroyed it for me
Such a damn shame, if the production was better, Hotter than Hell might be the best.
“Guilty pleasure” is what you were trying to say at 14:00
"Guilty pleasure" is a term that best defines KISS, at least for me, especially if you love stuff like DIE-NASTY, errr..sorry Dynasty or Unmasked.
Hi Bryce I'm your biggest fans
Lucas Sloan thanks dude!
You beat me to it!!🤘
Anyone who was alive during the 70's and saw Kiss when they first came out....seriously, they were the real deal.
My fav is Creatures of the night, so heavy!!
WAR MACHINE!!!!
*Iván Hernández Vélez* Little known fact about the *Creatures* cd the song *Danger* was written for a James Bond movie that never got made. It was called *Danger Never Sleeps* If you read the lyrics to the song *Danger* you can see what I mean.
Eric carr had the best drum sound ever!
Same
Eric’s drumming on that album was monstrous
The weird middle period of KISS (Dynasty, Unmasked, The Elder), are lost masterpieces in my opinion. I find these albums so fun and interesting. The history at this time is fascinating too. I don't know what it is but I love this era. They have really gotten better over time. Undiscovered gems, in my opinion.
Dynasty is an underrated album and has aged well in my opinion. I'm not the biggest KISS fan but that album I enjoy.
I and Under the Rose were the two standout songs from the Elder album.
yes but don't forget *Creatures of the Night!!!* the BIG Four on the Floor and in the discman!!!
Barf
You use Masterpeice as if you have no clue what it means....Abbey Rd Masterpiece ..Elder Masterpeice🫤
“Hotter than Hell” might be my favorite as well. Ace’s solo on “Strange Ways” never fails to give me goosebumps.
Same here. You have good a good ear for great music. Take care and Right On man.
The only problem with Hotter Than Hell is it sounds like it was recorded in a broom closet ! But the songs are very strong on that album!
Strange Ways I think is Peter vocal. Hotter than Hell also my fav nice job
yeah, you are correct. Gene on the chorus, which was what I was thinking about!
I always thought it was Ace that sings lead on Strange Ways but it does sound like Peter, maybe you are right .
@@domico5838 Peter on vox... Ace's first lead vocal is Shock Me... Strange Ways is one of my fav KISS tracks....
You are correct
@@domico5838 Ace was not confident enough to sing at that time.
All you need is alive 1 and alive 2. I know they aren’t considered studio but they are by far the 2 albums to have
Kiss songs really come alive in the live setting! I totally agree.
Add Destroyer, Love Gun and the Ace Frehley solo album to these two albums and that´s all the KISS stuff you need.
Kiss's Unplugged CD is a must also. To me it is a MASTERPIECE. I do agree that Alive 1 and Alive 2 are most definitely at the top. For me the Unplugged CD is at number 3.
Agreed. I’m getting into the deep tracks on their studio albums, but just about all of the songs that I heard on the first two live albums sound far better there than their studio doubles.
John Katsoudas Forgot the unplugged. That’s a really good record.
Hell yes! There’s not a lot of people that would put Hotter than Hell as their #1! I love the warm vintage sound that album has
Hotter Than Hell Is definitely my #1. Love it.
Form me MUSIC FROM THE ELDER!!!! AND KISS, HOT..AND DRESSED TO KILL
Lead vocal on “STRANGE WAYS” is the raspy primal screamer: PETER CRISS. But you can hear Gene prominently during the chorus.
Right , no idea how AnyOne could get that wrong ☹️
I had to go listen again because on my mind all I could hear was the chorus and Gene Simmons.
Gene Simmons was the world's best background singer in 74-75, inc. "Anything for My Baby," "Firehouse" (Double Platinum version), "Love Her All I Can," and "Hotter Than Hell."
That's what I was thinking was Gene on the chorus, and should have clarified that.
Yes, it was written by Frehley but sung primarily by Criss with Simmons singing backup.
I love and own every KISS studio album. There's gems off each one and I always keep coming back to the ones I get sick of.
Pete Im fiftyfour to I remember kiss as a young kid had all the album's the seventys music was the beat John Bristol ct love your show😀
Growing up in the 70's KISS was the first Rock band I got into and I still like them. Love Carnival of Souls very underrated.
I'm watching this video not believing how HIGH The Elder was getting. Top freaking 10! Love. It.
If you can get over it being "KISS" it's fantastic. The Oath is my favorite KISS song ever.
I got the album in 82 and loved it. Most Kiss fans probably just wanted a rock album like before. No mention that the CD has the songs in the correct order. The Record Company moved the songs to make the album more popular and the story did not make sense.
The Oath is pretty damn good. And kinda fun on guitar.
"I" th-cam.com/video/Ta5WqG3qXTE/w-d-xo.html
Musically "The Elder" is a pretty good album. But I think at the time it came out many fans were too ignorant to accept a "show"-band making a serious record. I am not the biggest KISS fan, but I like and know quite a bit of their stuff. I'd even put "The Elder" on my top 5 list.
The elder is horseshit. Ruined my 9th birthday
Two years later and I have found myself enjoying some kiss. This channel helped me to dig a bit deeper. Thanks Pete
Absolutely love Music From The Elder after all these years. The Oath, Under the Rose and Only You are awesome tunes. Unmasked as well has grown on me. Naked City is one of Gene’s best in my opinion. Spot on with Dynasty and can’t argue with the top 5. Great stuff Pete!
I'm so glad seeing people praising Music from the Elder. I remember reading negative comments about it, but I decided to buy it anyway because it was SF oriented conceptual album. I didn't know much about original Kiss lineup and I approached to it open-mindedly - and I was blown away. I still think it's quite natural for a SF nerd like Gene Simmons is, wearing armor and axe-bass, to create and play songs about swords forged in flames, ancient oaths, and heroes destined to save the world.
NNNNNNNO
Peter sang "Strange Ways", not Gene
1974: KISS and Hotter Than Hell
1975: Dressed To Kill and Alive
1976: Destroyer, Rock n Roll Over
1977: Love Gun and Alive 2
Very busy band the first few years. I was 15 when Rock and Roll Over came out and it remains my favorite to this day. Great list, Pete
It was 1976, I was 12 years old and my first KISS album was "Destroyer". It was my introduction to KISS and rock music in general. Due to the success of "Destroyer", their label Casablanca, had re-packaged the first 3 albums in a collection called "The Originals". You got "KISS, "Hotter than Hell", and "Dressed to Kill". There was a very cool booklet of photos, trading cards, and stickers. That is when I became a member of the "KISS ARMY".
It is great to see you in times like these and hear you talking of something "normal"! Thank you so much for being just there! Your Voice and face keeps me warm and cozy. Now "Play On..!" I'm really excited! Hugs from Germany!
Great comments and analysis as always Pete! Great thoughts on each album. My all time fav in the list is RNR Over. Great tunes top to bottom, great vocals, harmonies, Ace's leads riveting, and totally killer with not a filler on the album. It's stuck in my soul, in a good way. Anyway, great job Pete. By the way, God bless you and the family in this time with your father-in-law situation. Take care mate.
To me, Revenge is easily in my top 5 Kiss albums. It's raw, powerful, great songs and the input of Eric Singer brought a whole new level of energy to this band.🥁🥁🥁
In my opinion he contributed to their survival in these years. 🤘🦇🦇
Revenge is such a hard and fun album and the live albums following it have a renewed energy
@@augustgeary5538 Totally! 🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻
Dressed to Kill was my first Kiss album. It doesn’t quite top Hotter Than Hell for me (my fave as well), but it’s a close second. I loved it when Gene and Paul sang together. Seemed like that dropped that approach after Destroyer. Peter Criss’ voice also added a soulful element that they never regained.
Kissology 1 features their full b&w (which makes it cooler) Winterland show which is from the Hotter Than Hell tour. Very freaky, before the little kids got into them. Highly recommended.
I can't rank them, but these are my top 10 favourite Kiss studio albums (chronologically):
KISS
HOTTER THAN HELL
DESTROYER
ROCK N ROLL OVER
DYNASTY
MUSIC FROM THE ELDER
CREATURES OF THE NIGHT
LICK IT UP
REVENGE
PSYCHO CIRCUS
Anyway, HOTTER THAN HELL is my favourite album from original lineup - dark, heavy riffs, weird lyrics, good solos, cool bass lines (that intro in Goin blind...), strange production almost like it was recorded in a cave (and I like it! ) - but this is original Kiss in my head, not Rock n roll all nite and I was made for lovin you. Check out black and white video of Wachin you and Parasite from Winterland 1975.
CREATURES OF THE NIGHT is my favourite non-original lineup Kiss album. Love every song there, heavy Kiss, production built around Eric Carr's drum thunder. Wish i could see them on Creatures tour when they were playing on Maracana in Rio, in front of 150 000 fantastic Brasilian fans...
@Christopher Bingham it was my first Kiss album. My friend wanted to buy me Best off CD, but he could't find it in te record store, so he bought me theirs last album. That was the reason I became fan. Many years later I found out how much it is different from other stuff in Kiss catalog. I wish they played more than first four tracks...especially We are one, Journey of 1000 years, Dreaming...I even played Psycho circus PC game :)
46 years later. I finally found kiss. I m 60. And was 15 in 75. And was a jerk thinking they were just an novelty act. Picked up kiss alive. Destroyer. Rock n roll over and love gun. Love it. Some great rock n roll. Thanks Pete.
It's very cool that you have gone back and checked out this band's albums after so many years. I've been a Kiss fan since I was five years old, and I'm nearing fifty now, and I will admit that I loved the make-up and the wild stage shows when I was a kid, but I always really loved their songwriting, first and foremost, and the songs have kept me coming back. 1982's "Creatures of the Night" is a great, very hard-rocking album that should have sold millions. The albums after they took their make-up off have some great songs too. I particularly love 1983's "Lick It Up" album. Even though Pete doesn't like 1989's "Hot In the Shade" album too much, I really enjoy many of its songs. Kiss has a great catalogue of music-- so much to discover, especially for new fans! Enjoy!
@@christianman73 creatures of the night is an amazing and very underrated kiss album.
Wow! Oh yeah!! Thank you for your Top Kiss CD's/albums!! I agree with you about your Kiss review. I love your Kiss Alive shirt!! Cool , hot and spot on review!!🎵🎤🎸🥁
Hey Pete, I'd really like to see your cd collection that you have behind you. Could you please mull over it sometime for us? Cheers mate.
I agree would love to see what he has.makes mine look pale by comparison
I love the Hotter Than Hell album. Right from that opening chord of 'Got to Chose'...😎
I saw Space Ace's stage outfit from '75, encased behind glass, at the Hard Rock in Atlantic City some 15 years ago- sweat stains & all... At the same time, I saw a drawing made by Jim Morrison from when he was a teen. It was a depiction of the concert he'd seen of Screamin' Jay Hawkins, of pall bearers carrying a coffin. (Hawkins stage entrance)
Cool, cool stuff. 😎
I've always liked Hotter Than Hell. I know and understand complaints about recording quality. But I don't mind it.
@@WhatsWrongWithTheStreet
It makes it unique & totally 70s, doesn't it ?
I'm a 70's Kiss guy: 4. Love Gun 3. Rock and Roll Over 2. Destroyer 1. DRESSED TO KILL
My favorites from each decade: 70's - self-titled debut, 80's - Creatures of the Night, 90's - Revenge!
Revenge is much higher on my list too. Way above Unmasked and Sonic Boom
I really like old Kiss stuff, my first paid concert was Kiss with Arrowsmith at Painter's Mill Music Fair in Balitmore Maryland back in the 70s. The venue probably held less than 25 hundred people, it was cool because it had a rotating stage in the venue with every one sitting around it
CREATURES OF THE NIGHT 1982 my favorite - and this coming from a soon to be 58 yr old and very first concert was 12-16-77 @ the infamous Madison Square Garden. I have every album. First group I really got into. Listen to all to this day/. My least favorite is Psycho circus. Never cared for that album. Just my opinion! Still a Top 5 group for me. It dominated my childhood. Tremendous memories. Loved this episode PETE. Thank you !!!!
War Machine has always been one of my favorite songs. Great album!
I can't believe that this dude ranked Creatures of the Night at number 7. That's EASILY a top 2 or top 3 album-EASILY!!! I really feel, now that I think about it that it deserves to be ranked Number 1!!! Think about it:Dynasty-Kinda poppish. Unmasked:Super-poppish, and wimpy as all get-out! Music From The Elder: Somewhat better than Dynasty and Unmasked, but still lacking in Heaviness, at least to some degree. Creatures of the Night was a brilliant return to their Mid to Late 1970s form. DEFINITELY!!!
@@sadusattack2628 It's got a LOAD of power behind it! DEFINITELY one of my favorite songs from the entire album!!!
Creatures is definitely an incredible album! My favorite with Hotter than hell! Its powerful and mean! To me Kiss' greatest album without the original members! I'd also take Creatures over Destroyer any day damn that album is overrated and the songs are overplayed after all these years!! Just my opinion though..
@@ronaldshank7589 yeah thats crazy actually but he likes the 70s albums more i respect that
I'm in the secondary camp but watched anyway, cause it's still interesting and i love seeing people being enthusiastic about the music they love
AnimaliZe was my introduction to kiss..spring of 84
Thrills In The Night :)
Underrated album
I know that Carnival of Souls isn't in the normal style of what Kiss typically did but I love that album. It is one of the heaviest albums they ever did and definitely the darkest. Heavy and Dark, Two things I love. And the material is very good. A very underrated album in my opinion.
Heavy and Dark. Are you into fat girls from the hood?
Every legitimate Metal fan not kizz fan appreciates COS as easily best Kizz
Love it all. Crazy nights and hot in the shade both good. The era of Bruce was great. I still feel he was the best guitarist they had. I feel you though....original was always better. Thanks bro.
Love this channel and these lists!
Pete do you like Dire Straits? If so, a top 10 songs or ranking the albums (I know they haven’t got many) would be great. Stay safe as always. 👍
I LOVE "Industrial Disease". Not a huge fan overall, but I can't listen to that one enough !! Same with "Sausalito Summer Nights" by Diesel, roughly from that same era....😎
Craig Fazekas A clever song, Industrial Disease. Haven’t checked out Diesel yet. I’ll put that on the list!
@@badwolfarchives3246
Sausalito Summer Nights by Diesel is a bit "pop", but the lyrics are good & the guitar hook knocks me out...😎 There is a longer version & a single edit both here on TH-cam. Regards-
I can still remember the decision I had to make when shopping for an album. Music from the Elder or Ted Nugent's Intensities in 10 Cities. I went with Nugent.
Music from the elder is good..reminds me of the early 80s..I remember seeing them perform a world without hero’s on solid gold.
I'm doing a full re examination of Kiss' studio discography, and I must say 'Unmasked' and 'Music From the Elder' sound WAY better now than they did when I was younger and only looking for hard rock in my Kiss records. They're probably gonna end up above "Animalize", "Psycho Circus" and maybe even "Monster" by the time I'm done.
My favourite is Revenge, a badass album from start to finish!
Absolutely!
Unholy pretty much made that album!
@@ktee1403 I was flipping through channels when I landed on MTV back when that came out and the video was on...I was like...who the hell are these guys? Being a Kiss fan since 3rd grade, I was amazed that this fresh sound was coming from these guys. Their best album.
Been waiting on this one! KISS has been my favorite band since 1977! Ace and kiss are the reason I play guitar! Dig your choices! Totally agree kiss alive is my favorite, with rock n roll over is my fav studio album!
KISS are awesome got me into classic rock. I'm only 25 and mostly listen to 60's-90's music. Also Love these Ranking Videos Pete helps me find some awesome new stuff to check out.
check out UFO the (schenker years)
classic rock or early Metal?
@@marksantucci4230 both
1) Rock and Roll Over
2) Love Gun
3) KISS
4) Dynasty
5) Dressed To Kill
6) Hotter Than Hell
7) Destroyer
8) Unmasked
9) Asylum
10) Lick It Up
11) Monster
12) Hot In The Shade
13) Crazy Nights
14) Sonic Boom
15) Animalize
16) Creatures of The Night
17) Music From The Elder
18) Psycho Circus
19) Carnival of Souls
20) Revenge
Alive! was my first KISS album, and Dressed To Kill was my first KISS studio album. I was a huge fan back then. They lost me after Creatures Of The Night, and my ranking reflects that. So, studio albums only...
1. Dressed To Kill
2. Hotter Than Hell
3. KISS
4. Rock And Roll Over
5. Destroyer
6. Creatures Of The Night
7. Dynasty
8. Love Gun
9. Music From The Elder
10. Unmasked (In truth, the studio tracks from ALIVE II would go here, but since that was mostly a live album I've left them off.)
nice list I will give you an A+ 98 %?
10 - Unmasked
9 - Lick It Up
8 - Dynasty
7 - Love Gun
6 - Dressed To Kill
5 - Creatures Of The Night
4 - Hotter Than Hell
3 - Destroyer
2 - Rock And Roll Over
1 -KISS (S/T 1974)
Solo albums
4 - Peter Criss
3 - Paul Stanley
2 - Gene Simmons
1 - Ace Frehley
Gary great list I will give you a 98% A+
Best album: Rock And Roll Over (Eddie Kramer + KISS)
(The first 3 are missing Kramer... see Alive versions)
*Pete*
The term you were looking for was *GUILTY PLEASURE.* Kiss's *I Was Made For Loving You* is also my guilty pleasure song. Like the version on Alive III. Love *Domino* & *I Was Made For Loving You* on Alive III.
Best from the 70s: Hotter Than Hell, from the 80s: Creatures Of The Night, From The 90s: Revenge and Psycho Circus
It may be because I'm from a later generation but I think Psycho Circus was one of their best. It sounds like an updated version of their classic songs from the 70's.
Pete, I gotta’ admit, I’ve never liked KISS. But, I appreciate that they have their own “army”, and following......Really like the channel, keep on keepin’ on, brother.
Hi Pete. After I watched this ranking and KISS having had the importance it had in my life as a 12 year old, I decided to tackle this ranking as well. KISS - Alive! was the album that got me into KISS and music, and saying that, just like you mentioned Alive! and Alive II are my fave albums that really show you what the band was all about and have the best best versions of a lot of there earlier material. Well, 43 years have passed and I not only have grown as an individual but I learned to hear and love so many music generes as well, that my initial love for KISS has changed a lot. I've tried to tackle this ranking objectively, not as a KISS fan but as a music lover and was quite surprised at my final result. I do have the total discography, not only on CD but on vinyl as well. I did listen to the all these albums again as I had not Heard some in quite awhile, and of course I did have a different View of a lot of the stuff! The early KISS studio recordings suffered a bit in my ranking and I atribute that to the below par production on a lot of them. Well, enough said and here is my ranking:
01. Creatures of the Night - 76%
02. Destoyer - 74%
03. Music From The Elder - 73%
04. Dynasty - 72%
05. Dressed to Kill - 71%
06. Love Gun - 70%
07. Lick It Up - 69%
08. Hotter Than Hell - 68%
09. Unmasked - 68%
10. Animalize - 67%
11. Rock And Roll Over - 66%
12. KISS - 66%
13. Psycho Circus - 65%
14. Revenge - 65%
15. Crazy Nights - 65%
16. Asylum - 64%
17. Carnival Of Souls - 63%
18. Hot In The Shade - 58%
19. Sonic Boom - 58%
20. Monster - 45%
Love The Elder. I think they thought because Bob Ezrin just had a hit with Pink Floyd’s The Wall that lightning would strike for them as well. I liked when Kiss went outside their comfort zone. Love Carnival of Souls as well.
we gotta donate more so as a “completist” Pete can fill out his KISS catalog
1: Alive
2: Destroyer
3: Dressed to Kill
4: Kiss
5: Lick it Up
Lick it up before Creatures of the night?
@@fredgagnon6601 ...yeah..I think that with Vinnie they got a cool twist on the riffs and he added much to bands sound!☺
@@johnp1787 Vinnie was on 80% of CREATURES OF THE NIGHT and was on that tour. Last guy in new make up.
@@petepiper7038 ..Cool!...yeah Creatures is really good..just outside my top 5 so....
Your story reminds me of a similar tale from the history of one of my absolute favorite bands: Jon Schaffer of Iced Earth saw KISS in 1979 for the first time, and like you, his dad took him to the show. He was inspired by the experience of seeing Ace Frehley to become a musician. One of the greatest, most creative, most formidable epic/power metal bands of all time was the ultimate result. So, thanks Ace and KISS!! \m/ \m/
I knew Peter’s solo album was in trouble when my PARENTS liked it!!
Even at eight years old I knew that was wrong!! 😃
Victor Armenta lmao
My grandparents loved that album! Lol
Beth, what can I do?
*Victor Armenta* If KISS were smart they would have promoted Peter's record on radio and it would have been a massive hit. But KISS wanted to be Rok and Roll not R n B or Softy Rock like Rod Stewart or Bob Seger was back then.
There’s definitely a third camp of people out there, Pete. Those people who really don’t care for Kiss all that much-but don’t necessarily hate them, either, and do love some of their songs. I am one of those people, and although my Kiss fandom isn’t exactly, well, huge, I still found this video entertaining and well-done. I will never hate on anyone for his or her musical tastes.
I’m not a huge KISS fan, but enjoy ‘Alive’ a lot. And for me, ‘I Was Made For Lovin’ You’ is no kind of guilty pleasure. Why feel guilty for loving a great song? It’s a classic pop record and easily my favourite of theirs.
Not really a Kiss fan, but your opinion and for a lack of better word, expertise, is refreshing and interesting and informative and enjoyable, you don’t even have to be a fan of the bands. ✊🏿🤎🖤🤘🏾
Crazy Nights is in my top 3 albums! Phenomenal album!
Solid rankings Pete. Mine wouldn't be much different. Like you, Alive! is my favorite, but not just of KISS. It's my all-time top album.
I'm like you, the two live albums are my go to Kiss records.
One of the best Pete's Video ever...I love does nostalgic stories ! Keep it up Pete you are doing awesome job on your channel! Love you !
I was in the army too back in the 70s, the demon was my favorite, seen them 3 times in concert, and still listen to the albums today....i remember watching the tom Snyder interview with them on t.v....ace was fucking hilarious
ace / tom snyder...best kiss moment ever
@Tyler Morrison i was huge fan back then, and watched when it aired.....i walked away loving ace. (and tom "got it" too...he was usually a stick in the mud....tom's best moment too!)
I’m not the lead guitar player I’m the trout player
@@Twotontessie I'm not a spaceman. I'm a plumber.
Best interview ever!
Unmasked, criminally underrated, one of their best in my book, right up there with their debut, and DTK.
Thank you for this video. Kiss was my obsession during my teenage years. Another fan recently made a ranking video and, although I agreed with him for the most part, your ranking is closer to mine. What I think is that the only studio albums made after they ditched their makeup and costumes that rank among their best are "Lick It Up" and "Revenge" (although "Carnival Of Souls" is interesting). Nothing else can touch what they did up to "Creatures Of The Night".
I think you should have mentioned "Killers" and "Smashes, Thrashes & Hits". Mostly compilation albums, but they have brand-new stuff at the time that qualifies for a ranking in my opinion. And what about the studio side of "Alive II"? "Rocket Ride" is one of the best Kiss songs ever!
Some random remarks: "Alive!" is one of my top two live rock albums ever. I also like "Alive II" a lot, but I don't rank it as high. Ace's solo album is one of the best straight-ahead, no-frills hard rock albums from the seventies. Paul's solo album is the most Kiss-like and Gene's is the most eclectic. "Got Love For Sale" is perhaps my favorite deep cut from Kiss. While everybody else was panning "The Elder", I was in my room playing air drums to "I", "Dark Light" and "Mr. Blackwell".
Thank you again!
Great list !
I will say that Paul Stanley's solo album was criminally underrated at the time.
Great tunes on there !
Yeah, I'm a moron. Now go rain negativity on the rest of humanity.
I grew up with the 70s Kiss but Creatures is definitely my favorite Kiss album hands down..I even have a soft spot for Animalize and the Elder. Most of 80s and 90s Kiss is really underrated in my opinion as they're many good tunes off those albums..
Great video Pete. I agree with your number 1. Hotter Than Hell is the quintessential Kiss album for me. Used to be Destroyer. Very enjoyable video.
Love The Elder. And always have since it was released.
same here fantastic album
God...what an embarrassment for Kiss!😂
Great vid. KISS has always been my favorite band. I can’t even attempt to rank the albums because each has a special place in my heart. I’m one of the weird guys that is more partial to Bruce’s playing than the other players but absolutely love every album.
Ozone off the Ace Frehley album is easily one of the best hard rock songs ever made.
Pete, I really enjoyed this listing. Even though our lists are not similar in structure, we share the same reasons for liking certain albums along with certain songs, especially with the four solos. My top four have not changed in over thirty years, and my number one definitely got me into conflict with a lot of people; but at least one of my best friends loves that particular album as well:
1 Music From the Elder
2 Destroyer
3 Creatures of the Night
4 Hotter Than Hell
5 Kiss
6 Crazy Nights
7 Carnival of Souls
8 Revenge
9 Rock 'N' Roll Over
10 Love Gun
11 Dressed to Kill
12 Lick it Up
13 Dynasty
14 Monster
15 Animalize
16 Sonic Boom
17 Unmasked
18 Asylum
19 Hot in the Shade
20 Psycho Circus
As for the solos:
1 Paul Stanley
2 Ace Frehley
3 Gene Simmons
4 Peter Criss
These last four haven't changed in order for me either since they came out in '78. My view on both Gene and Peters' albums concurs with your own, with both Ace and Pauls being way ahead of the other two. I used to tell people who were doubtful about listening to them that between Paul and Aces' albums you get the most well-rounded Kiss sound.
Yes!! Hotter than Hell is my top Kiss album too.. from the very beginning
Heavy and dark -. that's when they had the menacing heavy metal bite. Favorite on here is without a doubt - Parasite. However, minor correction -Peter sings on Strange Ways😁
Great to see Hotter Than Hell getting some love. Always been one of my favorite albums. Round it out with Rock 'n' Roll Over, Destroyer, and Alive! and you have a pretty good collection! To me that's the core of Kiss.
I dont think New York Groove was written for Ace,it was a cover song ,and minor hit for a New York band from the early 70's called Hello
I never knew that. Thanks for the info.
written by English singer/songwriter Russ Ballard, Ace hated it and didn't even want to put it on the album.
My Top 13 Favorite KISS Albums!
13. Lick It Up
12. Dynasty
11. Ace Frehley
10. Alive 2
9. Unmasked
8. Alive!
7. Creatures of the Night
6. Love Gun
5. Destroyer
4. Rock and Roll Over
3. Kiss
2. Hotter than Hell
And #1. Dressed to Kill.
I really actually kinda dig The Elder. It's Proggie like Styx.
It’s possibly my favourite Kiss album. I know I’m in the minority on this one but there’s a maturity in the writing which is unusual for Kiss.
Unmasked must be their worst by a long way.
@@mahogany174 I've never listened to the Elder but can assure you it's better than Unmasked.
I understand your feelings about The Elder. But, it´s like a weird place for a glam rock band like KISS. Prog rock is not KISS territory. Like I said on a previous comment, I somehow lost interest in KISS music.Therefore, I never got into The Elder.
Iván Hernández I wouldn’t say the Elder is prog rock at all.
@@mahogany174"Prog"? KIZZ Fans would say so, King Crimson fans not so much. The Elder was KIZZ caving in to the Critics and it backfired. Misguided perhaps but still way better than Unmasked.
oh man YES!!!!!!!!! I havent seen the video and already love it!!! had been waiting for this one for so long! thank you so much pete, for all the effort you put into this chanel to entertain a bunch of strangers. i much appreciate it!!:)
I saw Paul doing an unaccompanied lead solo in 1983, when Vinnie was in the band. Vinnie was playing fine. No need to cover for anyone, just Paul's ego.
Great video
1. Rock and Roll Over
2. Hotter Than Hell
3. Unmasked
4. Creatures of the Night
5. Lick It Up
6. Revenge
7. Dressed To Kill
8. Dynasty
9. ACE FREHLEY
10. KISS: Music From the Elder.
I love Kiss and I really enjoyed this. Your number one was a cool choice that I didn't expect. It is worthy though. 🤗
I just could never get behind The Elder and Shandi is one of my guilty pleasures. Great channel. Keep it up!
I am sure that KISS never recorded an album with their make-up on, so it's surely all in your head :)
Arto Deep
I actually saw an interview where they said that they did record with make up and stage outfits in the 70s and early 80s. To me it makes those early albums more legit Kiss u know
either way most of there stuff outside of the 70s is garbage
Kelly Robertson one person’s garbage is another persons gem it’s all a matter of opinion
@@kellyrobertson9401 you have to admit that CREATURES OF THE NIGHT is better than DYNASTY and UNMASKED.
Because I discovered your channel I now have so many albums to listen to and discover...thanks..!
Haha, Music from The Elder is one of my favourites, odd favourites, too. 😅
Hey Pete, Just stumbled on your site. Found it very fascinating especially when you critique Kiss and their albums. Keep up the great work! and the term your looking for is Guilty pleasure! I've been a fan since 1976 and I think my first album was Alive 1. I could not stop listening to it. Been a fan ever since and like you I'm a little apprehensive with the late eighties Kiss. Keep rockin'!!!
I'm glad too see that you have at least given "Unmasked" a few more years time to like the album more than you thought originally! To me, the "REAL KISS" was 1974-1982. I tried and tried to like ANYTHING KISS did after "Creatures..." and I even tried to "force" those album upon myself and I just couldn't do it' They just were NOT the same band without that makeup mystique. I heard the first KISS album in 1974 when I was 9 years of age and I heard the sound of LIFE!! I actually was fortunate to get to hear the band BEFORE seeing what they looked like. My cousin made me a cassette tape of the first album in early summer of '74 and I played the living shit out it for a few weeks and then I seen the band responsible for this GREAT music on a late night TV rock show and needless to say I was blown away by what I was seeing and hearing! I couldn't believe it!! Then of course, Hotter...Dressed...and then KISS-ALIVE!!!!!....Speechless! And three more mind blowing albums and another KISS-ALIVE II!!....I have to admit that the studio side 4 was better to me than the 3 live sides. I love the album BUT it just didn't have something that ALIVE had. They just seem to rush all the songs and seemed not to care as much. Then, the CULT CLASSIC "KISS MEETS THE PHANTOM OF THE PARK" I know it's a movie BUT I don't care. The movie should be a CULT CLASSIC!!....Then the SOLO albums. I still loved KISS but I could feel gravity's start to pull. THEN these three fucking, amazing and the three most UNDERRATED KISS albums came in the order of "Dynasty/Unmasked/Music From The Elder" ALL of those albums were instant classics to me. I call those three KISS albums "THE THREE MOST UNDERRATED TRILOGY OF KISS ALBUMS"!! In the late 1970's a new brand of rock/pop music was breaking out in which I absolutely embraced! Call it what you will: NEW WAVE or PUNK but I loved it and it's very clear that both Dynasty and Unmasked were influenced by this movement of new music. I know that's why I love those two albums so very much. Fell in love with the first time I heard them. I can't even get into just how incredibly passionate I am about UNMASKED! So diverse. Ace has many great solo's on many songs BUT for whatever reason, the solo on the song "Talk To Me" is my all time favorite Ace solo. Don't ask me why.... It just is. "KISS- Music from The Elder is KISS's MASTERPIECE!!" GREAT, GREAT album. It's not even an album, it's an event!!...I was going to try to rank my top ten favorite KISS albums, BUT just can't do a top ten favorite list. It's impossible! I need to include KISS-ALIVE and the SOLO's and even the "re-mixed" DOUBLE PLATINUM needs to be included. To me the SOLO's whether it being a solo or collectively need to be in there as well. From 1974-1982 KISS released 17 albums including live, solo and an odd re-mix album and I hold them ALL singly and collectively dear to my heart and to my very soul. In my opinion, the REAL KISS was over from the release of "Lick It Up" on up. So I cannot use any of those albums. All I can say with complete and unadulterated confidence is that these days when I go to play a KISS album, it will either be "HOTTER THAN HELL" or the mighty "UNMASKED".
Rock and Roll Over has always been my fave.
Too bad you don't like "Crazy nights", it's a wonderful album and it's not as "pop" as Unmasked.
Definition of wonderful-an adjective I've never heard used to describe a Kiss album during their entire career.
@@guillermo3564 If you don't like Kiss, I don't know what you are doing here. Do you have a life?
Fred Gagnon That is a garbage record. Really really bad.
@@5tar5z You must be right since you are the god of music!! Aren't you?
Worst album in their catalog
I was not a huge KISS fan, but I 've changed my opinion when I saw them at a live concert. I enjoyed their music a lot and in my opinion they give their strong versions of the classics songs. They give really the best alive and I loved this show. Anywhere my top list:
Kiss alive I and II
Hotter than hell
Kiss
Destroyer
Dressed to kill
Creatures of the night
I've been a KISS fan since 1975. The image on that shirt you're wearing (the cover of Alive) was the first time I ever set eyes on them. I also wasn't a big fan of the 80's era KISS.
KISS is Awesome !!
One of My All Time Favorite Bands 🎸🎸👍
If Tommy and Eric had their own make-up or no one had make-up, I'd have no problem with KISS.
Yeah ...Tommy could have covered the left eye and dressed like a pirate, seeing that he's been ripping of Ace's solos for years. And Eric could have been the Hamburgerlar because he's another thief.
Can't wait to hear it.
Was a freakin Big KISS fan when I was a kid in the 70's until Dynasty. Alive got me into them which is my favorite followed by all the 70's albums. The 80's forward not so much. Have to agree with Hotter then Hell a killer album I listen to that one a lot.
You need to listen to CREATURES OF THE NIGHT...great album and better then some of the earlier stuff. And I've been a fan since 1975. The also lost me after Dynasty, but got me back for a few albums with CREATURES And LICK IT UP. Gave up on them again with Animalize until the reunion.
I Was Made For Loving You is definitely a guilty pleasure song! Dynasty was the first Kiss record I listened to. I think my parents bought it at Jamesway for my 11th birthday. Good times! 😎
Been waiting for this. Gotta go with Revenge as one of my favorites.
1. Rock & Roll Over
2. Love Gun
3. Dressed to Kill
4. 1st Album
5. Destroyer
6. Hotter than Hell
7. Creatures of the Night
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8. Dynasty
9. Unmasked
10. Psycho Circus
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11. Lick It Up
12. Crazy Nights
13. Hot in the Shade
14. Asylum
15. Revenge
16. Music from the Elder
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17. Animalize
18. Carnival of Souls
19. Sonic Boom
20. Monster
I break mine into tiers.