I Still Love You, Vol. IV: The KISS Albums
Creating something out of too many things
One of the most infamous moves in KISStory was the band releasing four separate solo albums on September 18, 1978. KISS manager Bill Aucoin suggested the band take a year off to complete solo albums due to rising tensions within the band, and his idea was that he could ship a million of each of them. As KISS fans already know, that plan didn’t quite work out, due to KISS fatigue in the rock and roll market, and the mixed quality and styles of all four albums. The question has been posed to the KISS Army for years: what would have happened if the band only released one album? What tracks from each member’s album would make the cut as the lost 7th KISS album?
These have always been difficult questions for me personally, as I don’t have the strongest affinity for any of the albums outside of Ace Frehley’s, one of the heaviest and loudest albums of the entire KISS discography. But I think I finally have my answer as to what would make the most sense and sounds like a somewhat cohesive album from four very disparate efforts. Today I’m going to talk about that “what if” album the way I see it, and the why I chose the songs I chose. First, some background.
Artist: KISS
Album: KISS II
Release Year: 1978
Label: Casablanca Records
Most people, the band included, consider the solo albums as KISS’ first musical misstep, and the first instance of their initial downfall in the late ‘70s into the early ‘80s. Despite their “SuperKISS” status, they just couldn’t hold the momentum. So instead of the band losing steam, I envision them entering their third era with this album. You can view the KISS albums as trilogies, starting with the early albums pre-Alive!, and second three albums pre-Alive II. If KISS II was released as I see it, it would have made the perfect first album for their third trilogy, seamlessly transitioning into 1979’s Dynasty, which I think would have made 1980’s Unmasked much more successful.
KISS II also represents the idea that KISS would have gone into the studio together in 1978 to capture the energy of their first album as opposed to trying to move things in all different directions. So I looked at the 1974 self-titled debut and picked songs from the solo albums that I thought best matched the energy of each of the original KISS album songs, mirroring the same lead singer as much as I could.
Side A:
Strutter ‘78 (Double Platinum)
Yes, it is true that the bands disco-fied version of KISS album opener ‘Strutter’ was not featured on a solo album, but on their first greatest hits album Double Platinum also released in 1978. The compilation featured a number of remixed songs from the first six albums, with this one being the most standout and different. When I talk about capturing the energy of the first album for a new era, it can’t be done better than this recording.
You Matter To Me (Peter Criss)
Peter Criss’ 1978 solo album is often ranked as one of band’s worst efforts by most KISS fans, but its mix of rock and soul has really grown on me over the years, and I think it’s a much more genuine album than Paul Stanley’s Soul Station album Now And Then from 2021. ‘You Matter To Me’ is pure AM gold and was absolutely the sound of the time. Plus, Criss had just spawned great hits with KISS via 1976’s ‘Beth’ and ‘Hard Luck Woman,’ so putting him in the track two position wouldn’t be out of the question here. Criss shares vocals with Gene Simmons on the original KISS A2 track ‘Nothin’ To Lose,’ which is another reason I’ve put this track here.
Living In Sin (Gene Simmons)
Moving onto the Gene-echoed portion of ‘Nothin’ To Lose,’ I am a minority fan of the song ‘Living In Sin.’ It’s honestly one of the few songs on his album that I can stomach without skipping, but I also think it mirrors the vintage rock and roll glam vibe of ‘Nothin’ To Lose’ very well.
Wouldn’t You Like To Know Me (Paul Stanley)
Possibly my favorite song across all four solo albums, Paul Stanley’s power pop tribute and ridiculously titled ‘Wouldn’t You Like To Know Me’ should have been a gigantic hit for the band. Without it being released as a single, let alone being one of the 40 new songs KISS released in one day, it never had its shot. Putting this song in the ‘Firehouse’ position hopefully could have primed it to be a decades-long KISS classic.
Rip It Out (Ace Frehley)
Ace Frehley wrote ‘Cold Gin’ for the debut KISS album, but refused to sing it. This pattern repeated with a number of songs until 1977’s Love Gun when he finally sang ‘Shock Me,’ now regarded as one of his and the band’s greatest tracks. It’s an absolute rocker, as is ‘Rip It Out,’ the opening song from Ace’s solo album, and in an alternate world a killer album track for KISS II.
Tunnel Of Love (Gene Simmons)
Since Gene Simmons sang ‘Cold Gin,’ I felt it important to give him another vocal cut at this point in the album. While not a song I love all that much, it might be the closest thing on his album to the bite of ‘Cold Gin,’ the song and the nonexistent bar order.
Side B:
Ain’t Quite Right (Paul Stanley)
‘Let Me Know’ is one of the deeper tracks on the KISS debut, but is still a hard-edged rocker. I think ‘Ain’t Quite Right’ serves the exact same purpose on Paul Stanley’s solo album, so it wasn’t difficult to add it here as the Side B opener.
New York Groove (Ace Frehley)
On most pressings of KISS, Side B opens with ‘Kissin’ Time,’ a Bobby Rydell cover that was supposed to only be a promotional recording for a KISS-hosted kissing contest. It was added later on, making the very first pressings of KISS without it a highly-sought after collectors’ item (PSA: I am still looking for one, please contact me if you have one). The biggest hit off of any of the solo albums was Ace Frehley’s cover of the Hello song ‘New York Groove,’ so it absolutely had to be on this album somewhere. I decided to make a one for one cover version trade, and while someone would probably suggest it should open the side instead of be in the B2 position, I think it works just fine here.
Radioactive (Gene Simmons)
The lead single from Gene Simmons’ solo album and by far the most well-received, it appears here to take the iconic ‘Deuce’ spot from the original KISS album. The song isn’t nearly as heavy as its intro suggests, but is definitely the best song to put in this position for me.
Fractured Mirror (Ace Frehley)
KISS did very few instrumentals in their lengthy career as a band, 1974’s ‘Love Theme From KISS’ being the only official one until 1981’s ‘Fanfare’ introduction off of (Music From) The Elder (not including the hidden track ‘Rock And Roll Party’ at the end of Side B of 1976’s Destroyer). Amongst the entire tracklisting of all four solo albums, Ace Frehley’s ‘Fractured Mirror’ is also the lone instrumental cut, which made 100% sense as a guitar player. It’s not a bad track at all, and easily fits in this track position for ‘Love Theme.’
Tonight You Belong To Me (Paul Stanley)
Paul Stanley gets lead vocals on ‘100,000 Years,’ a song made much more memorable in its drum-solo-filled version on 1975’s Alive!. The original version is a dark, riffy rocker, as is ‘Tonight You Belong To Me’ from his solo album, a fan favorite and a song that totally could have worked on a KISS II-like album
Kiss The Girl Goodbye (Peter Criss)
After Paul’s intro on ‘Black Diamond’ the track gets thrown to Peter Criss to sing lead for the rest of its duration, the other guys only coming in to back him up on the chorus. Criss’ solo album closer ‘I Can’t Stop The Rain’ is a beautiful ballad that I hesitated not including in this tracklisting, but I thought ‘Kiss The Girl Goodbye’ would have made more sense to close a KISS album in 1978. While it certainly isn’t as heavy as ‘Black Diamond’ (it really isn’t heavy at all), it evokes similar emotions as a final note for the album. Additionally, KISS had just closed their 1977 album Love Gun with a cover of The Crystals’ ‘Then He Kissed Me,’ cheekily changed to ‘Then She Kissed Me,’ and clearly only chosen because of the word “kiss” being in the title. With that said, it only made sense to have ‘Kiss The Girl Goodbye’ as KISS II’s closing number.