B5Erik

Hmmm...

Are we really done discussing ALIVE II?

Hokeyboy

If we're done discussing ALIVE II, we could turn our attention to 1988's Japan-only release LADY OF TOMORROW:




(And if anyone wants to know what the hell I'm talking about... you'd have to be a PHIL HENDRIE fan and living in South Florida around September, 1996...)

B5Erik

Yeah, I guess you're ready to move on....


And so were Ace and Peter, so the KISS Solo Albums were recorded and released in 1978 to make them happy.


Released simultaneously on September 18, 1978.

Paul Stanley Track Listing:

1. Tonight You Belong To Me
2. Move On
3. Ain't Quite Right
4. Wouldn't You Like To Know Me
5. Take Me Away (Together As One)

6. It's Alright
7. Hold Me, Touch Me
8. Love In Chains
9. Goodbye

Produced by Paul Stanley and Jeff Glixman.


Gene Simmons Track Listing:

1. Radioactive
2. Burning Up With Fever
3. See You Tonight
4. Tunnel Of Love
5. True Confessions

6. Living In Sin
7. Always Near You/Nowhere To Hide
8. Man Of 1,000 Faces
9. Mr. Make Believe
10. See You In Your Dreams
11. When You Wish Upon A Star

Produced by Sean Delaney and Gene Simmons


Ace Frehley Track Listing

1. Rip It Out
2. Speeding Back To My Baby
3. Snow Blind
4. Ozone
5. What's On Your Mind

6. New York Groove
7. I'm In Need Of Love
8. Wiped Out
9. Fractured Mirror

Produced by Eddie Kramer and Ace Frehley.


Peter Criss Track Listing:

1. I'm Gonna Love You
2. You Matter to Me
3. Tossin' and Turnin'
4. Don't You Let Me Down
5. That's the Kind of Sugar Papa Likes


6. Easy Thing
7. Rock Me, Baby
8. Kiss the Girl Goodbye
9. Hooked on Rock `Nī Roll
10. I Can't Stop the Rain

Produced by Vini Poncia


This is where KISS really became the KISS Machine - The Empire, The Dynasty - everything except a focused Rock Band.

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The initial idea to do the solo albums actually goes back to 1977, but the story goes that they did the solo albums to keep Ace (and Peter) in the band. Ace wanted to do a solo album, so they all did solo albums, or so their story goes. But stories of contractual agreements signed for the solo albums have their origins in 1977, so who knows for sure? Like all things KISS, when the story is better than reality go with the story (or so Gene would have their publicists do).

As for the albums themselves they were largely self indulgent (Gene, Peter), and only occasionally sounded much like KISS (Paul, Ace).

Ace's is generally considered the best of the four (at least that's the conventional wisdom of a slight majority of KISS fans), but many find it just a bit too psychedelic and drug influenced to list it at the top of the heap ("Snow Blind," "Ozone," "Wiped Out" - the last of which sounds like a heavy, demented Surf song), although it does feature some really, really good songs like, "Rip It Out," "Speeding Back To My Baby," "What's On Your Mind," and "I'm In Need of Love".

Paul's album sounds the most like KISS, and has some great straightforward Hard Rock songs ("Tonight You Belong To Me," "Wouldn't You Like To Know Me," "It's Alright," "Love In Chains," "Goodbye") but it also features a sickeningly sweet disco-era ballad in "Hold Me, Touch Me."

Gene's album is psychedelic, but not in a drug influenced way. It's just - weird. The album is HEAVILY influenced by the Beatles, but also a lot of mainstream pop from the 70's. The Hard Rock influences are blended in, but in a subtle way. The album features several well written songs ("Radioactive," "Burning Up With Fever," "See You Tonight," "Tunnel Of Love," "Man Of 1,000 Faces," and "Mr. Make Believe"), and some bewildering decisions (Why in the world remake, "See You In Your Dreams," just two years after the original was on Rock and Roll Over? Especially when the new version is just poppier and watered down? And then, "When You Wish Upon A Star?" It's a great sentiment, but Gene's vocal is just poor at best. In fact, I'd be willing to bet that was the first take - I know he's capable of better.) - all making for a strange album that divided KISS fans then, and still divides KISS fans today.

Peter's album? Blue Eyed Soul. 60's Pop/Rock. An album that was already retro in 1978. Not one great song on the album, although some of the material isn't bad. His long time songwriting partner, Stan Penridge, wrote most of the original material (with Peter helping a little, in whatever way he could). Stan was a good guy from all accounts - and I actually corresponded with him via e-mail shortly before he died. He seemed like a nice guy, and was going to send me HIS original mix of Out Of Control on CD, but died before he could mail it. Bummer. Anyway, Peter's 1978 solo album is the only "KISS" album of original material that I don't own on CD.

All four albums sold fairly well - unless you take the hype into consideration, and unless you take the 1.25 million units of each album shipped at the time of release into consideration, and unless you consider that just two years later the albums were found in cut-out bins for $2.99 each.

Of course, all the excess on the release side can be laid right at the doorstep of Casablanca Records founder, owner, and President, Neil Bogart (gleefully encouraged by KISS manager Bill Aucoin). KISS ended up suing over the distribution of the albums to cut-out distributors at $1 per copy (their permission was not sought, although contractually it was required). They won a few hundred thousand dollars from new Casablanca owners PolyGram records in the early 80's, but sought over $2 Million. (That suit ended up biting them in the butt when Ace left and PolyGram renegotiated their contract down in retaliation for the suit.)

But in 1978, anyway, things were looking good. The albums sold respectably well (with the possible exception of Peter's), and the band was riding high on the ratings success of KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park on NBC. And earlier in the year the Double Platinum "Best Of," collection had sold over a million copies.

But the wheels were coming off, even if the band and Bill Aucoin didn't know it (or didn't want to know it).

Applejack

Probably like most other people, I haven't listened to the solo albums in a very long time because I don't remember them being very good.

I do, however, really like new york groove. I used to hate it, but for some reason, I have grown to love it. Maybe it is because I really like Ace Frehley. I should probably listen to his cd again because maybe I would like it more now.

I can't believe that Gene Simmons covered "when you wish upon a star". I don't know how that even sounded like a good idea

Hokeyboy

I rank ACE FREHLEY's solo album up there with the best of the middle-era (76-77) KISS albums -- it's not a perfect album, but it rocks hard and fast and fun. Ace shows a rip-snortin' playfulness here that fulfills the promise of both SHOCK ME and ROCKET RIDE. "Rip It Out", "Ozone", "Snowblind", and "Speedin' Back To My Baby" are great rock tunes. "New York Groove" was a hit tune, and some really good 70s-styled New-Wavey-Pop. "Fractured Mirror" is a solidly-crafted instrumental that closes the album wonderfully.

"Whats On Your Mind" and "In Need Of Love" are both OK. "Wiped Out" is forgettable.

So that's six good tunes, two OK, 1 ehh. I'd give Ace Frehley **** out of *****. An album revisited by me more often than ROCK AND ROLL OVER or DESTROYER.



PAUL STANLEY's album is also a solid hybrid of hard rock, melodic rock, pop rock, and power ballads. His was the only album with only original songs, and it showed exactly what Paul brought to KISS: the hooks, the melodies, the choruses, and that voice. "Tonight You Belong To Me" is a classic hard rocker, starting slow and building to a sudden rock explosion. The superior "Take Me Away (Together As One)" has a similar vibe, but has more of a heavier feel. "Aint Quite Right" is a harbinger of a more soulful sound he'd bring to Dynasty (and beyond), but its much less gimmicky and more mature than the songs on that album. "Wouldn't You Like To Know Me" would fit right in on UNMASKED, with its pop hooks and anthemic chorus, as would "It's Alright".

"Hold Me, Touch Me" is the big ballad on the album, and it really, really sucks. It's pretty fey, even by Paul standards. "Love In Chains" is OK, as is "Goodbye", but neither track stands out so much. "Move On" was played a bunch on his solo tours, and it is a hard rocker but I'm not a fan. It has a kind of generic feel to it, in both the music and songwriting.

So with Paul, we got 5 really good songs, 2 OK ones, and 2 forgettable ones. If you ever want to know where KISS gets much of their hooks from, listen to Paul's album. As a pop/melodic/hard rock album, it's pretty damn good and easily should be part of any KISS fan's collection. I'd give it *** 1/2 out of *****, maybe closer to **** on some days.


PETER CRISS ... sorry no. I like "blue-eyed soul" and R&B in general, but this album is mostly unlistenable. * out of *****.

GENE SIMMONS -- I think Erik had it right. This album is just plain WEIRD. I give credit to Gene for trying something radical here, but it just didn't work at all. None of the songs are good. Some are OK -- I sorta think "See You Tonite", "Mr. Make Believe", and "Man of 1,000 Faces" aren't bad, just nothing that great -- but the rest of the album just... sucks. That's 0 good songs, 3 OK ones, and 8 forgettable ones. ** out of *****, maybe **1/2 some days because it's just so audaciously ridiculous!

Well poop.

Hokeyboy

My current rankings (modified a bit from before, as my opinions fluctuate from time to time):

Kiss: * * * * *
Hotter Than Hell: * * * * 1/2
Dressed To Kill: * * * 1/2
Alive!: * * * * *
Destroyer: * * * 1/2
Rock And Roll Over: * * *
Love Gun: * * * *
Alive II: * * *
Peter Criss: *
Ace Frehley: * * * *
Gene Simmons: * *
Paul Stanley: * * * 1/2

islandclaws

Ace: Great solo record. Plenty of catchy hooks and good tunes. It's a solid album all through, and ranks right up there with the best the band did with their original lineup.

Paul: Aside from a couple of ok tracks his album is also pretty solid. Very different in tone than Ace's, but a nice compliment to what Ace produced. Paul has the best voice in Kiss, IMO, so hearing him get a full album to himself is a big plus.

Gene: Very odd album indeed. I like a few cuts, but that might only be because the rest of the album is so weak that they stand out a bit more.

Peter: The less said the better.

Jason

Gene's solo album is probably the worst of the bunch, simply because he didn't take it seriously. It just seems like every half-baked idea or joke that came up in casual conversation was tossed onto a record. It has no focus or purpose. He probably had little interest in the solo album project, and is a savvy enough businessman to know that they wouldn't sell well.

Peter's solo album, while terrible, at least expresses the interests of the artist.

cactusoly

Ace is the only one who took it seriously I think. This is the only of the solo albums I listen to

B5Erik

No, Paul took it VERY seriously. That's part of the reason he wanted to do his 1989 solo tour - he wanted to play those songs live.

Paul's is my personal favorite out of the four.

Rocketdog2000

Gotta take a momentary jump back to Alive II!, because I'd yet to weigh in on that one.

To me, while I know I listened to it a lot when I was younger, I don't so much anymore. For the "Live" part of the album, it's decent enough, but lacks the same magic as Alive!. I don't particularly feel that any of the live versions are better than their studio counterparts - so that's kind of a wash.

So that really only leaves the new studio tracks to talk about - a hit and miss set of affairs. What's kind of interesting to me when listening to them in hindsight, is how similar some of these tracks would be to the material on the upcoming solo albums. Paul's "All American Man", is not bad, and could easily fit onto his solo outing. Same with Ace's "Rocket Ride" - hands down the best of the lot - and it was something he was saving for that album, until the need for some new studio cuts arose for this album. What's also interesting is that it's also the only song of these studio tracks that Ace even plays on. Pretty much the rest of the guitar duties for the other songs are all Bob Kulick.

That leaves Gene's two numbers - the first of which, "Rockin' In The USA", is a throwaway, and the other, "Larger Than Life", is actually my second favorite of the studio cuts. It's the next logical progression after "God Of Thunder" to "Almost Human" to this.

"Any Way You Want It", however is another head scratching cover choice. Love the original Dave Clark Five version, and I get that the band did, too - but what the fuck is it doing here?

OK, back to the regular flow - although you forgot kinda forgot Double Platinum.

Rocketdog2000

Solo albums it is then...

As I've previously stated, my older brother & I are huge KISS fans. When the solo albums came out, we couldn't, however, afford to buy them all right away - so we each got one first, then we each got one of the others, latter, so eventually we had them all. My bro, being a big Peter Criss fan, got his first, and I got Ace's. Then I got Gene's, and he got Paul's. So in retrospect, we each got a really good one, and one that was WTF?

Rating them now, I'm pretty evenly split on Ace's and Paul's, as to which is my favorite. Song for song, they are the most KISS like, and I quite like them both -but as the years have passed, may have to give the nod to Paul.

On Paul's we've got "Wouldn't You Like To Know Me", "It's Alright", "Take Me Away (Together As One)", "Tonight You Belong To Me", "Love In Chains" and "Goodbye".

Fave's of Ace's would be "Rip It Out", "What's On Your Mind", "Speeding Back To My Baby" and "Fractured Mirror".

Other than that, they're both great, so really not a lot else to say about them.

As for the other two, it's a bit of a catch 22. While they most assuredly do not sound much like KISS, they are true solo albums in spirit for that very reason. After all, what's the point of making a solo album if it's just going to sound like your band? If your goal, however, is to stretch out and achieve something different, than do that. On that level, if no other, these albums succeed.

Gene's clearly shows where he was at, at the time -all over the place, and living the high life of excess and being famous. The list of guest musician appearances on this thing approaches ludicrous speed. It's weird, it's different, it's out there - but it also has a few good moments. "See You Tonight" is the album's best, and I also like "Always Near You/Nowhere To Hide" and yes, even "Radioactive". The rest, I've really gotta be in the mood to listen to.

Which leaves us with Peter. This is easily the most un-KISS like of the lot. It may not be anything any KISS fan ever wanted to hear (or hear again, for that matter), but as Jason quite rightly pointed out - it "at least expresses the interests of the artist". This is truly where Peter's head was at, and why he was more and more veering stylistically away from the band. He figured if people really liked "Beth", then he'd give them an album of stuff like it, as well as paying homage to the stuff he liked growing up - R&B, soul, crooners and "old school" rock 'n' roll. I never fully took to it (my bro, however, being the Criss fanatic he was, still loved it anyway), but could appreciate some of it for what it was. Namely, I can dig "Don't You Let Me Down" and his cover "That's The Kinda Sugar Papa Likes".

Ironically, the solo albums were conceived as a way of trying to still keep the band together - but it didn't work. From here on out (even though the beginnings were earlier), and for some time after, KISS would truly become a band in name only. The following string of albums would see a marked increase of outside studio musicians, writers and influences - while the "band" performed less and less as one in the studio. In some cases, with some members, if at all. But more on that as we get to those individual albums.

Spiderbite

Just finished listening to the solo albums in alphabetical order just to be fair.

I have always stated that at least, on this forum, I am the odd man out when it comes to the solo albums. I love Gene's, like Peter and Ace's, and abhor Paul's.

Peter. After listening with a critical ear while doing work this morning, I can see why many might dislike Peter's album. It is cheesy, very lovey-dovey, and is a definite product of it's time. It sounds like most 70's adult contemporary (though they weren't calling it that at the time I don't think) music and that doesn't bother me at all since I am a heavy fan of that genre. Very soft rock/pop music. I dig it and I listen to it the second most of the solo albums. Rating: ***1/2 out of *****

Ace. Woah. Gotta admit that I never truly realized how alcohol soaked this solo album is. Over the years I have always listened to it quite passively and never paid much attention to it. The music and hooks are great but the lyrics are pretty weak. But that's whatcha get when almost every song is about getting bombed. An enjoyable album but weaker than most of his KISS compositions. It just seems to be missing any heart. Rating: *** out of *****

Gene. Awesome album and I love almost every minute of it. I listen to this album as much or more than many of my KISS stuff. Most every song is hook-laden and it is just a lot of fun. If Ace's album is soaked in alcohol, this one is soaked in pussy. I even like his cover of When You Wish Upon A Star. It sounds sincere and a little heart breaking. Definitely not what the average KISS fan was expecting in 1978. Sean Delaney said that Gene was crying at the end of that take and he wouldn't let Gene do it over. That's why Gene's voice cracks at the end. Gene admits this and says that this song was completely for himself and it means a lot to him. Anyway, all you haters out there, give it a fresh listen with an open mind. This is the best of the solo albums by far as it is so far removed from the normal KISS stuff but still catchy and fun. Rating: ****1/2 out of *****

Paul. Just finished this one and now I remember why I only pull it out of mothballs every so often. This is one truly awful album from beginning to end. It is just so generic and bland that I nearly fell asleep. This doesn't sound like KISS. It sounds like the voice of KISS making a Barry Manilow album without the decent lyrics and hooks. This album is probably one of the worst in my entire KISS collection and I hope I don't have to listen to it anytime soon. His solo album last year was better than this drivel. Rating: *1/2 out of *****

Hokeyboy

Hey was the Eric Carr solo album REALLY being planned in 1980, or is this just a Kiss urban legend?

cactusoly

there was a solo album that came out after his death called Rockology

B5Erik

From everything I know it's a litle of both. I think the idea was briefly kicked around to give Eric more name recognition and to continue the 4 recognizable names & faces (still following the Beatles template), but as Eric was just a band employee and not a full member, and because their sales had dropped off with Unmasked (and the band was regrouping to try and recover lost fans) that idea never went anywhere.

It could have been a really interesting album, though.

B5Erik

But as we're getting ahead of ourselves with talk about 1980 I guess it's time to go back to 1979 and discuss....

DYNASTY

Released on May 23, 1979.

Track Listing

1. I Was Made For Lovin' You
2. 2000 Man
3. Sure Know Something
4. Dirty Livin'

5. Charisma
6. Magic Touch
7. Hard Times
8. X-Ray Eyes
9. Save Your Love

Produced by Vini Poncia, Engineered by Jay Messina.

Line up: Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Ace Frehley, Peter Criss. (Drums on all tracks except "Dirty Livin," Anton Fig.)




Dynasty was the last KISS album to feature Peter Criss until Psycho Circus in 1998. "Dirty Livin," was the only song that Peter would appear on (both playing drums and handling lead vocals). For the rest of the album the drums were handled by Anton Fig (who had just played on Ace's solo album).

Dynasty plays out a bit like an extension of the solo albums. Paul's material would fit fairly well on his solo album, as Ace's original songs would fit on his solo album. Gene's songs play like a cross between his solo album and his material on Love Gun. There are some really good songs here - "Magic Touch," is a great KISS song, as is "Hard Times." Gene's songs are good, but not great.

Then there's, "I Was Made For Lovin' You." Paul's ode to the Disco phenomenon that had just peaked. It's a very well written song, but ends up sounding like watered down, Disco-flavored KISS. It translated well when played much heavier (1990 to present), but on Dynasty it really does sound like blander, Disco influenced KISS (circa the Love Gun era). It was a huge hit, and was an example of how a big hit single can sometimes hurt a Hard Rock band by alienating their original fanbase.

After this album KISS would never again reach the height of the success they enjoyed from late 1975 through 1978 (not with an album release, anyway).

Hokeyboy

Ahhh yes, Dynasty....

My *MOM* bought this album in 1979 because she loved I WAS MADE FOR LOVIN' YOU. That says so much that I'm not even going to follow it up with any commentary whatsoever.

Dynasty continues the evolution of KISS's sound from Heavy Rock to Hard Rock to Pop Rock/Disco... the results are a "softer", or shall we say, "safer" sounding band exploring a more polished, consumer-friendly sound. I will go on record to say I enjoy "I Was Made For Lovin' You" as a fantastic piece of pop/disco songwriting of the era. A great song. The album segues immediately into the hard rockin' opening of Ace's cover of the Stones's "2,000 Man", easily one of his shining moments with the band and not only a great cover, but easily outpaces the original. "Sure Know Something" returns Paul to his pop/disco milieu -- this is no doubt a disco tune, just with a harder feel than IWMFLY.

Then the album... kinda nosedives hard. Not to say there aren't good tunes coming up, but nothing as good as these 3.

"Dirty Livin'" is Pete's disco/r&b tune, and it's pretty bland. It's nowhere near as awful as most of the tunes off his solo album, but you never really need to hear it again after one listen. (Did anyone ever hear the mashup cover of this and "That's The Kinda Sugar Papa Likes" on MUSIC FROM THE FAQ? Kinda cool in its own way)

Gene's "Charisma"... I'll flat out say it: I hate this fucking song. HATE IT. With its weird robotic chorus, poppy bassline, heavy-on-the-reverb vocals, disco beat, and obnoxiously self-congratulatory lyrics, I actively want to kick a pigeon whenever I hear it.

"Magic Touch" is an OK tune. I'm not entirely enamored of it, and it's nowhere near the level of the opening 3 tracks, but it's decent enough.

"Hard Times" is a pretty cool Ace song. The album finally gets a bit of rock on, after an onslaught of pop/disco/r&b (with the exclusion of "2,000 Man" -- thanks again, Ace!). I love the continuous riff of the song and the thunder of the chorus. (On his last tour, Ace went straight from his "Rip It Out" opener into "Hard Times". 'Twas greatness).

"X-Ray Eyes" is good tune. As Erik mentioned, this is Love Gun-ish Gene, more melodic with a rock/pop edge (good riffing, strong chorus, heavy on the piano). After the debacle of "Charisma", this is a welcome reminder that Gene didn't have his head totally lost up Cher's twat.

"Save Your Love" is the worst song on the album by **FAR**. Ugh. 2 out of 3 aint bad Ace, but this song is just freakin' AWFUL, and a weak ending to the album. Just a bad song in every conceivable capacity. Is it worse than "Charisma"? Yes. "Dirty Livin'"? By far. Full pigeon genocide.

So here's my song ranking:

2,000 Man
I Was Made For Lovin' You
Sure Know Something
Hard Times
X-Ray Eyes
Magic Touch
Dirty Livin'
Charisma
Save Your Love

The "problem" with Dynasty is that it is so slick, so defanged, with all the rough edges sanded down, it's just not a KISS album... certainly not the one fans were expecting. But upon giving it a re-listen, it's not a bad album at all. Actually, it's pretty good. I'd go far as to say the opening 3 songs are really damn good, "Hard Times" and "X-Ray Eyes" are very good, "Magic Touch" is OK, and "Dirty Livin", "Charisma", and "Save Your Love" just totally blow. Five good-to-great songs, 1 OK, 3 total crap.

Dynasty also has the absolute worst album cover and packaging to date. For the heralded "Return of KISS", the whole package looks bland as hell. Then again it sold 3 million (based off of the success of IWMFLY) but the ensuing tour LOST money (each show cost $1million+ to produce, and there were entirely too many children and families attending now, making KISS somewhat "less than cool").

DYNASTY is plagued by being KISS's "jump the shark" album, the exact point where they had commercial success but everything afterwards plummeted into free-fall.

So overall: I'd still give it * * * 1/2 out of * * * * *. It's not a traditional KISS album, and it suffers for it in the minds of fans (Vince Poncia really brought out the Pop/disco hooks of the era, which was not necessarily a bad thing, but it took away what many of the hardcore fans WANTED from KISS), but DYNASTY holds up as a good album with much to offer.

My current rankings:

Kiss: * * * * *
Hotter Than Hell: * * * * 1/2
Dressed To Kill: * * * 1/2
Alive!: * * * * *
Destroyer: * * * 1/2
Rock And Roll Over: * * *
Love Gun: * * * *
Alive II: * * *
Peter Criss: *
Ace Frehley: * * * *
Gene Simmons: * *
Paul Stanley: * * * 1/2
Dynasty: * * * 1/2

Rocketdog2000

Dynasty is another album I love, and still give a lot of play to. Vinnie Poncia's weak production aside, pretty much all the song's are great ("X-ray Eyes" would be the only one I'm not fond of.) Had this album been made with a different producer, one with a more rock/hard rock approach instead of pop, it would be completely killer.

What's funny is that Peter demanded that the band use Poncia as producer (who had just produced his solo album) or he threated to quit again - and in the end Criss was only on one track on the album. Combine that with then management's thoughts the the band should try and maintain the mass appeal they were reaching, and the band struggling to stay together, and it's easy to see how this decision ended up happening. Not to mention what followed.

The other ironic thing is that Paul Stanley initially wrote "I Was Made For Loving You" more as a lark, just to prove how easy it was to write a "hit" single for the times. What was unfortunate, as B5Erik pointed out, was that idea proved so good, the parties involve decided to use it, proved themselves right, but also ultimately ended up alienating a good portion of the band's original fan base doing so.

Spiderbite

We just seem to be on opposite ends of the KISS spectrum throughout this thread.

Charisma is my favorite song on Dynasty. Once again Gene delivers a really catchy tune with a dirty grove and great vocals. Best song on the album in my opinion. And the lyrics are badass as well. Cocky as fuck. I can see where someone might not like that but damn he was and still is a cocky bastard. The song just reinforces it even more.

I Was Made For Lovin' You and Sure Know Something fit well together as song siblings. People bash them for the disco grooves but damn they are tasty pop candy. Two of Stanley's best at a great simple pop song. He will ultimately tread these Top 40 type waters again with "Forever" later down the road but fail miserably. But that is for another album discussion.

X-Ray Eyes is alright. Not Gene's best but better than a lot of the other stuff here.

Magic Touch is pretty weak. Mark Walhberg's singing of "You Got The Touch" always pops into my head now when I hear Magic Touch thanks to Boogie Nights so it is a tough listen without laughing. They both have craptastic lyrics.

2,000 Man has grown on me over the years. I hate The Rolling Stones so I was apt to hate this song initially anyway.

Dirty Livin', Hard Times, and Save Your Love are pretty much dull shitola.

So a very mediocre album. It just doesn't sound like ANY of the four have their heart in it anymore. We all know Ace and Peter's story at this time but even Gene and Paul sound really really bored. Next to Dressed To Kill, this is their weakest studio album in the make-up.

I like the cover of Dynasty. It is definitely another Beatles cover as their self-titled one was. It always reminded me of A Hard Day's Night. Don't know if that is what they were going for but whatever.

My rating: *** out of *****

Rocketdog2000

I have a hard time understanding how you can love Peter's solo album so much, and not like "Dirty Livin'"? It's easily better than most of the songs on it.

Spiderbite

I never said I love...I just like it better than Ace or Paul's. Dirty Livin' and the other two songs just seem like paint on the wall...dull and lifeless. I don't think Dirty Livin' would even fit on his solo album. Just a quick ditty phoned into an album that he wanted nothing to do with. Yeah, you could tell he was writing about wanting to get out of the business and it was a personal song...but he still sounds bored.

B5Erik

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Here are my favorite tracks from Dynasty

Magic Touch.........................................................................Hard Times
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Sure Know Something...................................................................X-Ray Eyes
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B5Erik

One thing I remember from the 1979-1980 era were all the, "Is Heavy Metal Dead?" cover stories in various Rock magazines. Paul and Gene had to be very well aware of all that, which was likely just another thing that led to the watered down, slicker, more radio friendly version of KISS that showed up on Dynasty.

Even so, I still like the album a lot. You can hear the progression from Rock and Roll Over to Love Gun to Dynasty.

Dynasty was the first time, however, that Gene and Paul started reacting to what was happening and to what was popular in music rather than just writing from the gut and going with whatever came out naturally. It was something that they would never get away from, unfortunately. Even so, they put out several good (and a couple great) albums after that. But Dynasty was the start of the shift from KISS as leaders of the pack to guys just trying to keep up with what was going on.

Giantrobo

I loooove "Dynasty". Even the weaker songs are at the very least catchy and easy to listen to IMHO.

I do believe "Magic Touch" and "Sure Know Something" are in my "Top 10" list of KISS songs. The Acoustic version of "SKS" is also on that list.