Destroyer, R&R Over, & Love Gun was the perfect Trifecta. Each album is great. Of the three, R&R Over captured their live sound the best. I could be wrong but I recall reading that R&R Over was recorded in a theater as opposed to a studio. It could be the reason why it captured KISS’s live sound the best. Great show! Keep up the good work!
Yes they recorded it in a theater and in the halls, toilets and stuff. It sounds very live but as an sound engineer I have to put Love Gun above RARO sound wise.
Totally dig the channel and especially this episode! You guys should do more! Great chemistry! KISS is and always will be my fav band! Been a fan since 77, yes I’m old (50) lol!
I was 11 also, they were coming to Billings Mt and mom said I was to young to go from Wyoming, (my cousins got to go who were the same age). I didn't get to see KISS till 85 on the Asylum tour after moving to Denver when I had graduated High School.
I remember Summer of 77, we were on a family vacation road trip to Idaho to visit my aunt, uncle and cousins. I was 11 and kept hearing the album promo on the radio station we were listening to. I couldn't wait to get home to buy Love Gun on 8-Track (still have it)!
The album cover denim jacket. My best friend and still is very artistically inclined, did the Led Zep Swan Song logo for my jacket. Great memories. Love your show.🍺🍺
When I was in grade school in ‘77, a classmate brought Love Gun to show and tell, and OMG, I was hooked! I walked home with that kid and he invited me into his house and played the album and KISS Alive for me. I next did chores around my house and my parents took me to the local record store and I bought my first KISS album, “Destroyer,” which I still have! Great memories!
Good show! My first KISS album was Destroyer for my 7th birthday in 1976. I didn't ask for it but one of my friends brought it for my gift. Had no idea that over the next 3 yrs I would get totally immersed in and become a fanatic of the band. Within a few months I had the Originals (first 3 records comp), then ALIVE!, then got Love Gun when it was released in 77....no idea how I missed the release of R&R Over?! Stayed a huge fan through the solo records but only had Ace's and Paul's. Ace's is my favorite by far! Moved on from the group after Dynasty in 79. But still a HUGE fan at age 55 of the 74-79 era of KISS. Webb in ATL BTW - Paul plays the first part of I Stole Your Love solo, you can hear when Ace takes over. Same thing happens in I Want You on R&R Over.
Great video!!! Eddie Kramer did their 1st demo ever he did alive,rock and roll over, Love gun ,alive 2 & The outstanding 1978 ace Frehley solo album!!!
That's true. I didn't know that until last year. I could never understand why Eddie wanted to join KISS in 1982. But the fact Gene used them as session musicians and produced a demo with them explained a lot. Imagine if they said yes to Eddie. LoL. The fans would probably recognize him after a while as he was well established by 1982.
Great album, I was a French 13 years old living in The States. With Destroyer a year before I immediately became a Kiss fan. Ace became my favorite, Shock Me just blew my mind and still does. I agree I Stole Your Love is powerfully. As for the cover, you're right we could stared at it for hours. I really liked the way the four of 'em stand with heroic postures. I still got the cardboard gun that was in the album. I saw my first Kiss concert that year december 12th in Louisville with ac/dc opening. Man, I loved to find that on the Internet. Even just the audio.
Kiss was the best at putting out fun music. Destroyer, Rock and Roll Over, and Love Gun are my 3 favorite Kiss studio albums, and Rock and Roll Over takes the cake for best cover art and album title.
They did it on the Kruise. It sounds good on album but didn't carry over to the stage. And there's songs that worked great on stage but didn't make it for more than a few shows, for some reason. Take Me and Is That You is among them.
My first album was Hotter than hell. And I was five. My second album was rock and roll over. I never got over Kiss. I still have my original tapes and they still play .I took care of them. It's cool that I found your video.
I think I was 11 years old when this album came out. to me kiss weren't just musicians they were superheroes I remember thinking this is what they look like 24 hours a day. Love gun or deuce are my two favorite Kiss songs.
The way I see it, the older kids initially loved Kiss and their younger brothers and friends learned about them and were blown away. Once us you get kids liked them, the older kids were done with they. Hence the tiny 3000 people crowds that showed up for Creatures of the Night Tour. But the younger kids hung on and 40 years later here we are!
The Album release was Timed just right for my 12th Birthday…remember staring at the cover after the trip back ‘home’ seemed an eternity. Loved straight away from opening riffs off I Stole Your Love. Cemented to elevated status once track 3, Shock Me, came on. “ That’s Ace” I announced immediately. Back then many people had never heard Ace talk…I knew straight away. Magic times Wes were lucky to experience in real time.
I came in on randrr too, I've said it before and I'll continue to say it, us kids that grew up through the seventies and early eighties had the best of everything man lol!
LG was my first Kiss album as a 5 year old Kiss fanatic. It was always a favorite of mine . Rock and roll over and LG are quite similar. I feel LG is more polished where RARO is more raw. RARO is better in my opinion. LG has 4 huge tunes but RARO is more consistent . Love the episode guys Rock on!
You guys should check out the band Klassik 78. They are not a tribute band in the sense they play Kiss covers, but they write and perform original songs heavily inspired by the 70s era of Kiss and imitate the members voices and overall sound of that era pretty faithfully. If ypu didnt know better you might think the songs are lost 1978 tapes
Eddie Kramer - R n R Over. Supposedly R n R Over is recorded live in the studio. Rock 'n' roll Over was recorded live in the Star Theater in Nanuet, New York, 1976, according to AI Overview. I remember reading about this in Rock Scene or CREEM magazines back in the day.
I got a gift from my late beloved mother in late 77 from one of the grocery store in town, Lee's Big Star ⭐.RARO and LGUN.they also carried creem and hit parader and circus mags.my favorite all time albums to today. I like destroyer songs live when played by original KISS
And thayer and Singer especially Singer are my #2 lineup they did great when I saw them live. KISS worked their makeup like the masked wrestlers of the seventies as one old timer called mr.wrestling 2 would go to a side street and put his mask on before I'm he pulled up to the arena. Phantom shoulda got a Grammy ,gold globe, Oscar, Emma,and Susie Q
Discovered Kiss with I was made for loving you and bought Dynasty. Then came Unmasked and I liked that one better. Then I bought the Love Gun-album and immediately hated I was made for loving you...
This is their most complete release. They were very tight after many years on the road and you can hear that on the performance. The mix is better than any of their 70s albums, except for Alive! The songs. The cover art. The outfits. The stage show. It all clicked in 1977 and Love Gun is a product of that.
As a 70's kid other than liking the hits Kiss just never grabbed me, I was more of an ELO fan, then the 80's came and became huge on Zeppelin, Rush, Sabbath, Pink Floyd, Beatles
The Hotter Than Hell album has the best guitar riffs, and imo, the proto punk/garage rock production was a plus, giving this release some street cred, not too different then the New York Dolls, or The Stooges. Hotter Than Hell is all killer, no filler, and will always be my personal fav.
I Really Like This Album 💿. All the songs are Great and it’s the first time we heard Ace Sing. And it’s the First Time in KISSTORY. That All Four Members of the Band. Singing on the Album. Gene wanted Ace to sing Parasite or Strange Ways on HOTTER THAN HELL Album. But Ace wasn’t sure how he would’ve sounded like if he did it. So Ace didn’t. But this Album was the Next Step for ALIVE II . ROCK AND ROLL OVER. Was recorded live. The Band was on stage. While they recorded the Album. That’s what I read. Anyways. Love Gun is on my Top 5 Best KISS albums. 🔥⭐️👽😺 Ken Kelly did the Album cover and Destroyer
We all really need to get behind this idea. ZZ Top did that Netflix documentary. We need to get them all together and do that. Somebody's gonna go quickly. This needs to happen. Call Eddie Trunk!!!
Eddie has too much bias. He's an Ace fanboy. To make a great documentary serie about KISS, you need a person who isn't biased and not that into the band. Only a person like that can tell the true story. And no involvement from Paul. He has to stay far away.
I need someone to show me a photo of the 30 foot prancing cat banner that folded out as Peter’s drum kit rose to30 feet above the band ? Have you seen any pictures of this taking place ?
Ace never liked his voice but I feel that hearing yourself the first time was a shock (no pun intended) but he got the last laugh (once again no pun intended) when the solo albums were released.
Phantom of the PARK!, I'm so glad it exist as well and although it's all corny in so many ways it will always be near and dear to my heart. Androids taking over an amusement park ? Hmmmm look where we are now. Looks like Abner Deaveraux won ! LOL ...KISS #1. THANK YOU FOR ANOTHER STELLAR EPISODE
Nobody was a bigger KISS fan than myself in 1977. I've always felt that Love Gun was a step backwards in their catalog. While I Stole Your Love, Love Gun and Shock Me were stand out tracks, Hooligan, Then She Kissed Me and Plaster Caster were WAY less than stellar. I'm thankful it exists though. The cover alone makes it worth the six bucks I paid for it back in the day, lol.
Correct! Look at this. Stunning good picture and sound quality from 1977 Largo. Looks almost like 4K. (the solo is at 2:32). th-cam.com/video/9n3thgPu1iY/w-d-xo.html
Meanwhile, 19 years later. Pretty cool video too with lots of audience recording. Same sharing solo between Paul and Ace. Crazy to think that this video from 1996 is almost 35 years old. th-cam.com/video/Q_J7rYBAbLk/w-d-xo.html
I was 10 years old when this album came out, and my friends and I to this day think Christine 16 is creepy because Gene has this thing for someone underage. Rumor is that Alex and Eddie Van Halen are playing on this track, it sure sounds like their voices.
Hey guys...Eddie Kramer did their 5-6 song demo for the 1st album but did not get asked back til R&R Over in 76 after they wanted to go back to a more straight ahead hard rock sound that had been over produced with Bob Ezrin...that's why RRO was made so quickly after Destroyer to appease original fans of their first 4 records sound. Webb in ATL
My grandmother got me this album for Christmas when I was 9 ! It was in 77, and I couldn't believe she got it for me, I remember being embarrassed because the girls boobs on the cover !! Ha ha, then in 82 she gave me pac man fever album for Christmas! What a let down !!!!
I did (and do) like the Love Gun album. I think Love Gun is my #4 favourite KISS album. I think the reviews were pretty accurate for the most part. Favourite song off this album? I really like the title track, I Stole Your Love, and Plaster Caster, but if I've Got to Choose, it has to be Love Gun. I also liked Music from the Elder, but bear in mind: when this came out there was a lot of negative criticism against KISS ("KISS SUCKS!") as the snobbery of 80s' Progressive Rock began trending. KISS was coerced to change their look by cutting their hair and losing their platform boots. The Elder is KISS's "progressive" album. Similar pressure years earlier from the Disco suits at the record company resulted in I Was Made for Loving You. I'm sure it was some other Label Suit who was responsible for The Elder. The take-away is Stick to Your Guns: AC/DC never had a disco song, progressive piece, or power ballad and they've done just fine. Cheers!
Kool. The studio or being in it or using it ultimately makes most lose the idea of live, or a simple approach. To me they never topped Detroit Rock City.
It's almost maddening listening to you guys poo-poo my two absolute FAVORITE songs on the 'Love Gun' album. Contrary to what you think, "Almost Human" had nothing to do with Gene's "Demon" character (and wasn't a continuation of "God of Thunder" at all.) but, was essentially a retelling of a classic werewolf horror story. 2nd... while it seems to be a popular consensus with a majority of fans...I'll never understand people's "meh" opinion on the song, "Got Love For Sale"?!? It's a SOLID "Gene tune" - Has that MEAN guitar riff to open the song with a killer vocal line on the choruses. ...I don't get it. What's "meh" about it?! One thing I will concur about, is that "Rock and Roll Over" is also the album that got me into KISS when I was knee-high to a grasshopper in the late 70's (it's STILL my favorite KISS album to this day.) I would love to be a potential guest on one of these KISS related segments to offer a differing perspective on a variety of subjects with the band... Lemme know!
Anyone else notice that Pete played fills all through ought the first 3 albums and very few on the second 3? Great grooves as always but not a lot of fills.
Simple songs? They needed to GTFO. They always tried to peg Kiss that way but they knew better. Kiss songs were not simple they were well structured and diverse. Who else was harmonizing the guitar parts at that time? Paul and Ace did from the first album forward. Genes walking bass lines had a movement and a bounce that played a big part in their sound. KISS used brilliant arrangement techniques like the key changes in Fire House and they know how to changed the musical landscape mid song and transport the listener to a whole new dimension and they did this in many songs. Often they wrote interesting middle sections into the songs when most bands couldn’t be troubled to go beyond a simple AB, ABC, or AAA format. Critics LABELED KISS as simple because they were afraid they’d be judged for recognizing the fact that KISS was comprised of talented and creative musicians.
I saw the LOVE GUN/ALIVE 2. Tour in new york city as a kid, Fun album but those Pearls' peter used did not sound too good in the final mix. They sure did Crank up pauls vocal tracks but maybe a bit too much.
I always thought Love Gun was the weakest of the original 4. Quite a bit of filler on it. But if you took the studio cuts from Alive 2 and put them in place of those weaker cuts, you’d have the greatest KISS album IMHO. Always thought those studio cuts got lost in the shuffle and were wasted. What a shame because they were solid tunes. They didn’t even play any of them when they went out and did the Alive 2 tour.
Not my favorite album. Live 2 was the last album I bought of theirs. I guess I was getting older. My brother bought the first album before the extra song was added. Saw them on the Alive tour at the Capitol Theater then many large venues after that. They were fun but I moved away from the bubble gum to more prog that I was also listening to at the time. Great live band.
Love Gun was a bit of a disappointment to me. After Rock and Roll Over, Love Gun seemed to lack fire and conviction. It came out later that Ace didn't actually play lead on several tracks. Contrary to most fans "Almost Human" might be my favorite track on the LP
"Love Gun" is a good album primarily because of Eddie Kramer's production (the 2nd studio, and 3rd overall release), and THEN the songs. KISS fans tend to overlook the sad fact that the band's first 3 studio albums sounded limp, lame, muddy, and castrated. It wasn't until "Alive!" (1975) when Eddie Kramer was hired as producer, that the real, powerful, kid ass SOUND of KISS was finally heard on an album. Then the band made a major mistake and brought in Bob Ezrin to produce "Destroyer", which featured some good songs, but the production was as bad as the first 3 studio albums. Having tasted the real sound of KISS on "Alive!", fans were naturally outraged and didn't hide it, forcing the band to re-hire Eddie Kramer for "Rock & Roll Over" and "Love Gun". It mustn't go unnoticed that the only 1978 solo album - Ace's - which was the most successful and to date. still respected, was also produced by Eddie. Unfortunately, KISS now full of themselves (Gene and Paul, primarily) went back to hiring lame and limp sugar pop producers who had nothing to do, and no business being around heavy rock music. About "Love Gun" - While there are a couple of songs that are mere filler, it would be a great album if it weren't for the ultimate piece of shit track that should have been nipped at the bud. The and should have refused to record "And Then She Kissed Me", as it totally erased whatever good vibe the previous tracks made you feel. A total letdown. When I play the album on LP or CD, I life the needle or hit STOP on the player right before that track comes up. I hate it. And it was a sign of many bad things to come.
I was 13 when this album came out and I was a big Kiss fan at the time. Did not like this album at all. Started getting into Black Sabbath, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, and Rush. That was the end of Kiss for me.
“Shock Me” wasn’t a hit… Ace’s disco remake “New York Groove” was a hit. Gene’s solo album charted higher on billboard than his did (22-26). Every album released since then was marginal at best.
Almost Human, which I like a lot, seemed like an Alice Cooper style song to me. I thought Hooligan was awful. Then She Kissed Me was an unnecessary cover slapped on for gimmick’s sake. I give the record a solid B. I believe the band peaked with Destroyer and R&RO.
I agree about Hooligan, horrible song. “Dropped out of school when I was 22, what can I do, to satisfy you?” Really? Do you blame the girl with lyrics like that?
Love Gun was KISS at their peak on all levels. Everything was a build up to this album. Yes, it has a couple of bad songs but the good ones makes up for it.
Destroyer, R&R Over, & Love Gun was the perfect Trifecta. Each album is great. Of the three, R&R Over captured their live sound the best. I could be wrong but I recall reading that R&R Over was recorded in a theater as opposed to a studio. It could be the reason why it captured KISS’s live sound the best.
Great show! Keep up the good work!
Yes they recorded it in a theater and in the halls, toilets and stuff. It sounds very live but as an sound engineer I have to put Love Gun above RARO sound wise.
I have vivid memories of listening to this album before going outside to terrorize the neighborhood on my Huffy Thunder road BMX bike.
Terrific - thank you (from the UK) for sharing!
I never was a kiss fan , but i appreciate a handful of tunes . Shock me is one of my favorites . Thanks for the video Robert 😊
My favorite Kiss album with Dressed to Kill close behind it, I love the 'bubblegum' rock'n'roll of classic Kiss.
Totally dig the channel and especially this episode! You guys should do more! Great chemistry! KISS is and always will be my fav band! Been a fan since 77, yes I’m old (50) lol!
I was 11 years old and love Gun was also my first album.. My first concert was the Dynasty tour great memories..
Same, same!
I was 11 also, they were coming to Billings Mt and mom said I was to young to go from Wyoming, (my cousins got to go who were the same age). I didn't get to see KISS till 85 on the Asylum tour after moving to Denver when I had graduated High School.
I was 11 also ALIVE 2 was my first concert
@@Ewok009 Lucky!!! I was 12 when I bought "Love Gun", but didn't go to a Kiss concert until Dynasty/The Return of Kiss a couple years later.
@@tbury2516 Asylum tour rocked! Good setlist and I think that's when they started playing "Won't Get Fooled Again" as an encore.
I love this! I got into KI$$ in 1977. Keep up the good work.
I remember Summer of 77, we were on a family vacation road trip to Idaho to visit my aunt, uncle and cousins. I was 11 and kept hearing the album promo on the radio station we were listening to. I couldn't wait to get home to buy Love Gun on 8-Track (still have it)!
The album cover denim jacket. My best friend and still is very artistically inclined, did the Led Zep Swan Song logo for my jacket. Great memories. Love your show.🍺🍺
When I was in grade school in ‘77, a classmate brought Love Gun to show and tell, and OMG, I was hooked!
I walked home with that kid and he invited me into his house and played the album and KISS Alive for me.
I next did chores around my house and my parents took me to the local record store and I bought my first KISS album, “Destroyer,” which I still have! Great memories!
That is a great story!
Good show! My first KISS album was Destroyer for my 7th birthday in 1976. I didn't ask for it but one of my friends brought it for my gift. Had no idea that over the next 3 yrs I would get totally immersed in and become a fanatic of the band. Within a few months I had the Originals (first 3 records comp), then ALIVE!, then got Love Gun when it was released in 77....no idea how I missed the release of R&R Over?! Stayed a huge fan through the solo records but only had Ace's and Paul's. Ace's is my favorite by far! Moved on from the group after Dynasty in 79. But still a HUGE fan at age 55 of the 74-79 era of KISS.
Webb in ATL
BTW - Paul plays the first part of I Stole Your Love solo, you can hear when Ace takes over. Same thing happens in I Want You on R&R Over.
Great additional info!
Great video!!! Eddie Kramer did their 1st demo ever he did alive,rock and roll over, Love gun ,alive 2 & The outstanding 1978 ace Frehley solo album!!!
Thanks for the additional info!
Ace has said that he really liked Eddie Kramer, and disliked Bob Ezrin. No wonder he produced Ace's 1978 solo album.
That's true. I didn't know that until last year. I could never understand why Eddie wanted to join KISS in 1982. But the fact Gene used them as session musicians and produced a demo with them explained a lot. Imagine if they said yes to Eddie. LoL. The fans would probably recognize him after a while as he was well established by 1982.
Great album, I was a French 13 years old living in The States. With Destroyer a year before I immediately became a Kiss fan. Ace became my favorite, Shock Me just blew my mind and still does. I agree I Stole Your Love is powerfully. As for the cover, you're right we could stared at it for hours. I really liked the way the four of 'em stand with heroic postures. I still got the cardboard gun that was in the album. I saw my first Kiss concert that year december 12th in Louisville with ac/dc opening. Man, I loved to find that on the Internet. Even just the audio.
I have to admit I had no idea there was a gun included! I didn't have this LP when I was a kid. How cool!
Kiss was the best at putting out fun music. Destroyer, Rock and Roll Over, and Love Gun are my 3 favorite Kiss studio albums, and Rock and Roll Over takes the cake for best cover art and album title.
Why Why Why didn't they play "Mr. Speed" live??? I love that song. I can't find it live anywhere.
Ain’t that the strangest thing.
I too love that song WTH? I think they occasionally do it on their cruise gigs
Occasionally. But NEVER with the classic line up. I figured maybe Tommy Thayer would bring it back.
Mr Speed is my favorite Kiss song
They did it on the Kruise. It sounds good on album but didn't carry over to the stage. And there's songs that worked great on stage but didn't make it for more than a few shows, for some reason. Take Me and Is That You is among them.
Cool fun video. I give Paul Stanley props for keeping the band afloat all of these years.
My first album was Hotter than hell. And I was five. My second album was rock and roll over. I never got over Kiss. I still have my original tapes and they still play .I took care of them. It's cool that I found your video.
I think I was 11 years old when this album came out. to me kiss weren't just musicians they were superheroes I remember thinking this is what they look like 24 hours a day. Love gun or deuce are my two favorite Kiss songs.
On I stole your love its both Paul and Ace doing the solo
They trade out parts in the solo right?
@@donmurray8632 Paul begins the solo, then Ace finishes up, just like on "I Want You".
The way I see it, the older kids initially loved Kiss and their younger brothers and friends learned about them and were blown away. Once us you get kids liked them, the older kids were done with they. Hence the tiny 3000 people crowds that showed up for Creatures of the Night Tour. But the younger kids hung on and 40 years later here we are!
The Album release was Timed just right for my 12th Birthday…remember staring at the cover after the trip back ‘home’ seemed an eternity. Loved straight away from opening riffs off I Stole Your Love. Cemented to elevated status once track 3, Shock Me, came on. “ That’s Ace” I announced immediately. Back then many people had never heard Ace talk…I knew straight away. Magic times Wes were lucky to experience in real time.
I came in on randrr too, I've said it before and I'll continue to say it, us kids that grew up through the seventies and early eighties had the best of everything man lol!
So true!
We sure did. We even got to experience the 90s. After that, thing turned quickly into bland copy paste music.
LG was my first Kiss album as a 5 year old Kiss fanatic. It was always a favorite of mine . Rock and roll over and LG are quite similar. I feel LG is more polished where RARO is more raw. RARO is better in my opinion. LG has 4 huge tunes but RARO is more consistent . Love the episode guys Rock on!
You guys should check out the band Klassik 78. They are not a tribute band in the sense they play Kiss covers, but they write and perform original songs heavily inspired by the 70s era of Kiss and imitate the members voices and overall sound of that era pretty faithfully. If ypu didnt know better you might think the songs are lost 1978 tapes
Love this, thank you, please dig up more old reviews!
Dynasty my first Album loved it
It's my favorite Kiss album
I like ur studio.
My review when it came out was I wish my friends would give my kiss album back so I can listen and check it out.
"And Then He Kissed Me" was by the Crystals, 1963.
Hey deebs, great show. One fast suggestion, you should let your guest talk just a tad more. You keep Kissterrupting him 😂
My best friends mother had a white Trans-Am with T-Tops I will never forget driving with the tops off jamming Kiss in that car
Eddie Kramer - R n R Over. Supposedly R n R Over is recorded live in the studio. Rock 'n' roll Over was recorded live in the Star Theater in Nanuet, New York, 1976, according to AI Overview. I remember reading about this in Rock Scene or CREEM magazines back in the day.
The first part of the solo on I Stole Your Love is Paul. Ace comes in after that.
I got a gift from my late beloved mother in late 77 from one of the grocery store in town, Lee's Big Star ⭐.RARO and LGUN.they also carried creem and hit parader and circus mags.my favorite all time albums to today. I like destroyer songs live when played by original KISS
And thayer and Singer especially Singer are my #2 lineup they did great when I saw them live. KISS worked their makeup like the masked wrestlers of the seventies as one old timer called mr.wrestling 2 would go to a side street and put his mask on before I'm he pulled up to the arena. Phantom shoulda got a Grammy ,gold globe, Oscar, Emma,and Susie Q
My first Kiss album was Alive. Next was Rock and Roll Over, then Destroyer, then Dressed to Kill and Hotter Than Hell, then KISS then Love Gun 🤘
"Almost Human" is a amazing song and yes, a "God of Thunder" bis repetita 😀.
They opened with i stole your love alot .
Love Love Gun!
Discovered Kiss with I was made for loving you and bought Dynasty. Then came Unmasked and I liked that one better. Then I bought the Love Gun-album and immediately hated I was made for loving you...
The Elder had some great music on it !
This is their most complete release. They were very tight after many years on the road and you can hear that on the performance. The mix is better than any of their 70s albums, except for Alive!
The songs. The cover art. The outfits. The stage show. It all clicked in 1977 and Love Gun is a product of that.
Love Gun was my second record, after KISS Alive II.
As a 70's kid other than liking the hits Kiss just never grabbed me, I was more of an ELO fan, then the 80's came and became huge on Zeppelin, Rush, Sabbath, Pink Floyd, Beatles
The Hotter Than Hell album has the best guitar riffs, and imo, the proto punk/garage rock production was a plus, giving this release some street cred, not too different then the New York Dolls, or The Stooges. Hotter Than Hell is all killer, no filler, and will always be my personal fav.
I Really Like This Album 💿. All the songs are Great and it’s the first time we heard Ace Sing. And it’s the First Time in KISSTORY. That All Four Members of the Band. Singing on the Album. Gene wanted Ace to sing Parasite or Strange Ways on HOTTER THAN HELL Album. But Ace wasn’t sure how he would’ve sounded like if he did it. So Ace didn’t. But this Album was the Next Step for ALIVE II . ROCK AND ROLL OVER. Was recorded live. The Band was on stage. While they recorded the Album. That’s what I read. Anyways. Love Gun is on my Top 5 Best KISS albums. 🔥⭐️👽😺 Ken Kelly did the Album cover and Destroyer
We all really need to get behind this idea. ZZ Top did that Netflix documentary. We need to get them all together and do that. Somebody's gonna go quickly. This needs to happen. Call Eddie Trunk!!!
Eddie has too much bias. He's an Ace fanboy. To make a great documentary serie about KISS, you need a person who isn't biased and not that into the band. Only a person like that can tell the true story. And no involvement from Paul. He has to stay far away.
RR over was my 1 st too fav albums
LOVE GUN!
I need someone to show me a photo of the 30 foot prancing cat banner that folded out as Peter’s drum kit rose to30 feet above the band ? Have you seen any pictures of this taking place ?
Ace never liked his voice but I feel that hearing yourself the first time was a shock (no pun intended) but he got the last laugh (once again no pun intended) when the solo albums were released.
Phantom of the PARK!, I'm so glad it exist as well and although it's all corny in so many ways it will always be near and dear to my heart. Androids taking over an amusement park ? Hmmmm look where we are now. Looks like Abner Deaveraux won ! LOL ...KISS #1. THANK YOU FOR ANOTHER STELLAR EPISODE
Nobody was a bigger KISS fan than myself in 1977. I've always felt that Love Gun was a step backwards in their catalog. While I Stole Your Love, Love Gun and Shock Me were stand out tracks, Hooligan, Then She Kissed Me and Plaster Caster were WAY less than stellar. I'm thankful it exists though. The cover alone makes it worth the six bucks I paid for it back in the day, lol.
My sister bought me Love Gun for Christmas...my mother was horrified. I became quite the air guitar player locked in my room thereafter. 💌🔫
Also Plaster Caster is NOT on that album as the reviewer says lol. It’s on HTH
The first half of the solo in I Stole Your Love was Paul I believe?
Correct! Look at this. Stunning good picture and sound quality from 1977 Largo. Looks almost like 4K. (the solo is at 2:32).
th-cam.com/video/9n3thgPu1iY/w-d-xo.html
Meanwhile, 19 years later. Pretty cool video too with lots of audience recording. Same sharing solo between Paul and Ace. Crazy to think that this video from 1996 is almost 35 years old.
th-cam.com/video/Q_J7rYBAbLk/w-d-xo.html
I was 10 years old when this album came out, and my friends and I to this day think Christine 16 is creepy because Gene has this thing for someone underage. Rumor is that Alex and Eddie Van Halen are playing on this track, it sure sounds like their voices.
Imagine Love Gun with Bob Ezrin behind the boards and on co-writes. It would be Destroyer part 2....basically
The oldest - and on going joke is that Rock Critics are mainly Failed musicians and mostly from 'Rolling Stone magazine' 😂
Hey guys...Eddie Kramer did their 5-6 song demo for the 1st album but did not get asked back til R&R Over in 76 after they wanted to go back to a more straight ahead hard rock sound that had been over produced with Bob Ezrin...that's why RRO was made so quickly after Destroyer to appease original fans of their first 4 records sound.
Webb in ATL
Yeah, Destroyer was a production departure for sure, thanks to Mr Ezrin. That's great extra context! Thank you!
My grandmother got me this album for Christmas when I was 9 ! It was in 77, and I couldn't believe she got it for me, I remember being embarrassed because the girls boobs on the cover !! Ha ha, then in 82 she gave me pac man fever album for Christmas! What a let down !!!!
That is super funny!
I did (and do) like the Love Gun album. I think Love Gun is my #4 favourite KISS album. I think the reviews were pretty accurate for the most part. Favourite song off this album? I really like the title track, I Stole Your Love, and Plaster Caster, but if I've Got to Choose, it has to be Love Gun. I also liked Music from the Elder, but bear in mind: when this came out there was a lot of negative criticism against KISS ("KISS SUCKS!") as the snobbery of 80s' Progressive Rock began trending. KISS was coerced to change their look by cutting their hair and losing their platform boots. The Elder is KISS's "progressive" album. Similar pressure years earlier from the Disco suits at the record company resulted in I Was Made for Loving You. I'm sure it was some other Label Suit who was responsible for The Elder. The take-away is Stick to Your Guns: AC/DC never had a disco song, progressive piece, or power ballad and they've done just fine.
Cheers!
Kool. The studio or being in it or using it ultimately makes most lose the idea of live, or a simple approach. To me they never topped Detroit Rock City.
Rock n Roll Over has a fuller sound than Love Gun does.
Hooligan is the second best song on the album... Almost Human is all KISS...Chicken salad, Roast Beef..........😮😮😮😮😮
Stole your Love was the Best!
Kramer was a guitarists producer. The man worked with Hendrix. Ace was his best with Kramer. Ezrin was a much better fit for Cooper
It's almost maddening listening to you guys poo-poo my two absolute FAVORITE songs on the 'Love Gun' album. Contrary to what you think, "Almost Human" had nothing to do with Gene's "Demon" character (and wasn't a continuation of "God of Thunder" at all.) but, was essentially a retelling of a classic werewolf horror story.
2nd... while it seems to be a popular consensus with a majority of fans...I'll never understand people's "meh" opinion on the song, "Got Love For Sale"?!? It's a SOLID "Gene tune" - Has that MEAN guitar riff to open the song with a killer vocal line on the choruses. ...I don't get it. What's "meh" about it?!
One thing I will concur about, is that "Rock and Roll Over" is also the album that got me into KISS when I was knee-high to a grasshopper in the late 70's (it's STILL my favorite KISS album to this day.)
I would love to be a potential guest on one of these KISS related segments to offer a differing perspective on a variety of subjects with the band... Lemme know!
Anyone else notice that Pete played fills all through ought the first 3 albums and very few on the second 3? Great grooves as always but not a lot of fills.
I thought rock and roll over was a great album their best studio album IMO.
Simple songs? They needed to GTFO. They always tried to peg Kiss that way but they knew better.
Kiss songs were not simple they were well structured and diverse.
Who else was harmonizing the guitar parts at that time? Paul and Ace did from the first album forward. Genes walking bass lines had a movement and a bounce that played a big part in their sound. KISS used brilliant arrangement techniques like the key changes in Fire House and they know how to changed the musical landscape mid song and transport the listener to a whole new dimension and they did this in many songs.
Often they wrote interesting middle sections into the songs when most bands couldn’t be troubled to go beyond a simple AB, ABC, or AAA format.
Critics LABELED KISS as simple because they were afraid they’d be judged for recognizing the fact that KISS was comprised of talented and creative musicians.
I saw the LOVE GUN/ALIVE 2. Tour in new york city as a kid, Fun album but those Pearls' peter used did not sound too good in the final mix. They sure did Crank up pauls vocal tracks but maybe a bit too much.
Eddie Kramer = best Kiss
I always thought Love Gun was the weakest of the original 4. Quite a bit of filler on it. But if you took the studio cuts from Alive 2 and put them in place of those weaker cuts, you’d have the greatest KISS album IMHO. Always thought those studio cuts got lost in the shuffle and were wasted. What a shame because they were solid tunes. They didn’t even play any of them when they went out and did the Alive 2 tour.
Not my favorite album. Live 2 was the last album I bought of theirs. I guess I was getting older. My brother bought the first album before the extra song was added. Saw them on the Alive tour at the Capitol Theater then many large venues after that. They were fun but I moved away from the bubble gum to more prog that I was also listening to at the time. Great live band.
Personal opinion of course but Rock & Roll Over > Love Gun.
Love Gun was a bit of a disappointment to me. After Rock and Roll Over, Love Gun seemed to lack fire and conviction. It came out later that Ace didn't actually play lead on several tracks.
Contrary to most fans "Almost Human" might be my favorite track on the LP
Love gun is a great album (though not as good as R&RO). But i dont think it captures KISS' live sound any more than the other studio albums
"Love Gun" is a good album primarily because of Eddie Kramer's production (the 2nd studio, and 3rd overall release), and THEN the songs. KISS fans tend to overlook the sad fact that the band's first 3 studio albums sounded limp, lame, muddy, and castrated. It wasn't until "Alive!" (1975) when Eddie Kramer was hired as producer, that the real, powerful, kid ass SOUND of KISS was finally heard on an album. Then the band made a major mistake and brought in Bob Ezrin to produce "Destroyer", which featured some good songs, but the production was as bad as the first 3 studio albums. Having tasted the real sound of KISS on "Alive!", fans were naturally outraged and didn't hide it, forcing the band to re-hire Eddie Kramer for "Rock & Roll Over" and "Love Gun". It mustn't go unnoticed that the only 1978 solo album - Ace's - which was the most successful and to date. still respected, was also produced by Eddie. Unfortunately, KISS now full of themselves (Gene and Paul, primarily) went back to hiring lame and limp sugar pop producers who had nothing to do, and no business being around heavy rock music. About "Love Gun" - While there are a couple of songs that are mere filler, it would be a great album if it weren't for the ultimate piece of shit track that should have been nipped at the bud. The and should have refused to record "And Then She Kissed Me", as it totally erased whatever good vibe the previous tracks made you feel. A total letdown. When I play the album on LP or CD, I life the needle or hit STOP on the player right before that track comes up. I hate it. And it was a sign of many bad things to come.
Dave Bautista has lost a lot of weight here.
I think Destroyer is overrated RNR over and LG blow destroyer away
I stole your love one of there best
Wow I loved Hard Luck Woman when I was a kid ......Your weird😮
I was 13 when this album came out and I was a big Kiss fan at the time. Did not like this album at all. Started getting into Black Sabbath, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, and Rush. That was the end of Kiss for me.
My least favorite 70's KISS album , although it does contain two gems in the title track and Shock Me.
Everything kiss did was to sell tix
Mine was hotter than hell
Take out “Christeen Sixteen” and “Shock Me” and you have a great album,
LOL two of the biggest hits on the album- Take out 'Tomorrow & tonight' SUCKED awful vocal mix too 😅
“Shock Me” wasn’t a hit… Ace’s disco remake “New York Groove” was a hit. Gene’s solo album charted higher on billboard than his did (22-26). Every album released since then was marginal at best.
Almost Human, which I like a lot, seemed like an Alice Cooper style song to me. I thought Hooligan was awful. Then She Kissed Me was an unnecessary cover slapped on for gimmick’s sake. I give the record a solid B. I believe the band peaked with Destroyer and R&RO.
I agree about Hooligan, horrible song. “Dropped out of school when I was 22, what can I do, to satisfy you?” Really? Do you blame the girl with lyrics like that?
@@greengrass1072 It's just rhyme. "School" and "two". It's catchy. It is just supposed to sound cool. That is what Kiss is all about.
Love Gun was KISS at their peak on all levels. Everything was a build up to this album. Yes, it has a couple of bad songs but the good ones makes up for it.
That's far from their worst lyrics lol. But silly lyrics was always a part of the KISS thing. It was just about having fun. Not making too much sense.