Unknown Soldier

(Double Header- When two great albums were released by the same artist within the year, but due to my top 10 criteria I couldn’t fit both without eliminating somebody else. Main album first and the not so strong album second)

Everybody we're lookin' good, but the bitch looks better!

Overview
New York 1974 saw the debut release of one of the most influential and most charismatic acts in the history of ‘heavy music’ and that band was known as Kiss. The original Kiss line-up which would see out the rest of the decade, consisted of Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss, four guys that would take their rock images to new levels. Kiss of course would be known for their elaborate live performances and theatrical make-up and costumes. Now these aspects weren’t exactly new in the world of rock at the time, as we’d already had the Crazy World of Arthur Brown and more importantly the world had been exposed to Alice Cooper. Also the music world was littered with the flamboyance and ambiguity of the glam rock scene as well. Now what set Kiss apart from the aforementioned acts was their theatrical identity, as each of the four band members had their own individual image. Each band member had created their own unique character and the suitable make-up for their image. Paul Stanley was the Starchild, Gene Simmons the Demon, Ace Frehley the Space Ace and Peter Criss the Catman. So it certainly appeared that the band were taking their theatrics one step further, by creating their own identities within the band. This characteristic would help earn them, the spot as one of the biggest bands on the planet later on in the decade. As for the music, the band weren’t the most original out there and they basically used the trashy but seminal New York Dolls debut, which was released the previous year as their creative launchpad. This made the early Kiss sound a brand of hard-rock, infused with a heavy portion of rock ‘n’ roll, which usually demonstrated itself in an anthemic rock with sleek sounding hooks and what the band lacked in song writing ability, they more than made-up for with both attitude and their theatrical image. The first two Kiss albums are featured in this double-header, the Kiss debut album and Hotter Than Hell, and both these albums are a great double offering from the band. Kiss may well have been one of the biggest commercial acts in the world by the latter half of the decade, but their first few albums really did suffer from a lack of sales and it wasn’t until a few years later with their big breakthrough, that the music world finally discovered what the rawer early Kiss sound was actually like.

Paul Stanley- Rhythm/Vocals
Gene Simmons- Bass/Vocals
Ace Frehley- Guitar
Peter Criss- Drums

Production- Kenny Kerner/Richie Wise

Album
Strutter- With its brief drum intro, the song is an up-tempo rocker penned by Paul Stanley, even though the song had originally started out as a Gene Simmons composition. The song today is still regarded as one of the best songs in the whole Kiss discography. Nothin’ to Lose- With joint vocals by Gene Simmons and Peter Criss, this song is a good old fashioned rocker and supposedly about anal sex Kiss style! Firehouse- A slower song with some good guitar and drum work throughout, all worked into its plodding style. Gene Simmons used this song for his fire breathing concert performances at the time. Cold Gin- One of the most popular songs from the album, which also happens to be the only single composition by Ace Frehley. The vocals on the song are sung by the heavy voice of Gene Simmons and the song is regarded as an ‘alcohol anthem’ and often voted as one of the best drinking songs of all time! Let Me Know- One of the very first songs ever written by the band and with a heavy outro. Kissin’ Time- The only cover song on the album is a Lowe and Mann song from 1959 and was included in an attempt to give the band a hit single. Deuce- Another one of the best tracks from the album, with its great strutting rhythm and a long time concert favourite from the band. Love Theme From Kiss- An instrumental which fills out its 2 plus minutes aptly and in general a jovial tune. 100,000 Years- With its bass riff intro by Gene Simmons, the song is another solid effort by Kiss and again it’s composed by Paul Stanley. Black Diamond- Starts off like a ballad and soon emerges into a melodic rocker with some really beefed up sections on the song, it’s a great album closer as it pounds out the lights.

Verdict
This is an essential raw effort of its time and really demonstrates the fun aspect of the hard rock genre at the time. If we forget the lifting of ideas and song style from the New York Dolls debut just the previous year, the Kiss debut has enough about it to be called an essential Kiss release. Also on closer analysis, the Kiss debut probably draws on wider influences than the New Tork Dolls debut, as the album branches out wider and picks up on a variety of influences, right down to Led Zeppelin type heaviness which can be heard at the end of “Let Me Know”. Kiss always relied on classic hooks in their songs, to hide their own deficiencies as musicians, but here they cracked that nut with songs like “Strutter” with its classic beat, full of memorable hooks and a glam rock vibe, and it still sounds just as good today as when it first came out back in 1973! There is the fun of “Nothin’ to Lose” which is full of early Kiss riffs! Then there is the strutting style of “Deuce” with more great riffs and it’s probably the best Gene Simmons song on the album. The strongest track on the b-side of the album has to be “100,000 Years” and demonstrates what a great songwriter Paul Stanley is and the song is centred around some really great guitar work by Ace Frehley. Paul Stanley keeps the songs solid right to the end with the memorable “Black Diamond” to finish the album. Overall the Paul Stanley compositions such as “Strutter” “Firehouse” “Black Diamond and “100,000 Years” the latter written with Gene Simmons, probably stand as the pivotal tracks on the album, as they demonstrate the basis of the future Kiss sound. One of the best known songs though, is the Ace Frehley composition “Cold Gin” and most of the album material was written by both Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons, these songs are amongst the tightest and most focused on the album. The album though does have some weaker moments, “Kissin’ Time” is poor and the instrumental “Love Theme From Kiss” does show the limitations of the band as musicians and it could’ve benefitted from greater depth, which is strange really as all the band members most notably Ace Frehley and Peter Criss have their moments on the album. Despite these flaws both this album and Hotter Than Hell are two of the best examples of raw and raunchy sounding hard rock.

Babe I think I'm going blind and the bitch should know!

Paul Stanley- Rhythm/Vocals
Gene Simmons- Bass/Vocals
Ace Frehley- Guitar
Peter Criss- Drums/Vocals

Production- Kenny Kerner/Richie Wise

Album
Got to Choose- With a crunchy guitar start, Paul Stanley follows up the plodding “Firehouse” from the first album with a another similar cut here. Kiss the Parasite- In contrast to the opener, this track is a rapid-fire offering and again Kiss concentrate on heaviness here, the song is worth just listening to thanks to its dynamic riff. Goin’ Blind- A song about a 93 year old having a relationship with a 16 year old and the song ranks as one of the band’s best known early efforts. The Melvins did a cover of this song on their Houdini album and the Rush song “I Think I’m Going Bald” is a play on this song. Hotter Than Hell- The title track is a mid-tempo rocker and writer Paul Stanley stated that it was a re-write of the Free song “It’s Alright Now” personally I would never have guessed that! Let Me Go, Rock ‘n’ Roll- Basically a speeded up rock ‘n’ roll song and again has a real touch of speed and heaviness about it. All the Way- The first of two Gene Simmons songs appearing back to back on the b-side. Watchin’ You- Probably the stronger of these two songs and again really has that crunchy metallic feel about it. Mainline- A melodic Paul Stanley effort and nothing special. Comin’ Home- One of the stronger songs on the b-side and actually sounds a bit like a glam anthem from the era. Strange Ways- The first ever Peter Criss solo song and it’s one of the best on the b-side and it shows that the band had three very able singers on board.

Verdict
Most of the ingredients found on the debut set can also be found on Hotter Than Hell, as from the word go with “Got to Choose” the plodding style of “Firehouse” can be heard but now in a much heavier way. In fact a central aspect to this album seems to be its heavier feel over the debut and this is noticeable on “Got to Choose” and really becomes even more evident with the metallic feel of “Kiss the Parasite” and this song really benefits from Ace Frehley’s flowing guitar, and he also shared writing credits on this song. The heavier direction on the album seems to have come from Gene Simmons (I’m guessing this here) as two of his tracks on the b-side “All the Way” and “Watchin’ You” are heavy numbers without a shadow of a doubt! Reviews of this album, often rate it as a notch lower than the debut set, but I don’t wholly agree with that opinion, as I think the songs on this album are just as tight throughout and with memorable songs like “Goin’ Blind” the album goes hand in hand with the debut quality wise. The riffs are equally as memorable on this album as well, with some of the great riffs being laid down on “Kiss the Parasite” and “Hotter Than Hell” which really are two top draw songs. If there has to be a winner between the Kiss debut and Hotter Than Hell, then the debut probably just sneaks it, largely because the b-side of the debut is slightly stronger than the b-side of Hotter Than Hell, despite the fact that the flip side of the debut does have a couple of weaker tracks. I say this with caution though, as the b-side of Hotter Than Hell does contain the essential “Watchin’ You” and the Peter Criss both penned and sung “Strange Ways” which is a great song. Overall the Hotter Than Hell album is essentially more of the same, albeit a heavier more direct listen throughout. Once again this album failed to break the band commercially and actually fared worse than the debut in terms of album sales, but years later it became a real fan favourite amongst Kiss fans.

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