1.) Kiss, Gene Simmons – Gene Simmons Vinyl, LP, Album, Stereo - 1st French Pressing - 1978 - FR - Casablanca – 407-CBO. 71039 Media: VG+ TO EX / Sleeve: VG+ A1 Radioactive 3:52 A2 Burning Up With Fever 4:19 A3 See You Tonight 2:30 A4 Tunnel Of Love 3:49 A5 True Confessions 3:30 B1 Living In Sin 3:50 B2 Always Near You / Nowhere To Hide 4:12 B3 Man Of 1000 Faces 3:16 B4 Mr. Make Believe 4:00 B5 See You In Your Dreams 2:48 B6 When You Wish Upon A Star 2:44 Most Kiss fans associate Gene Simmons with the band's hardest-rocking compositions; after all, he's responsible for such heavies as "Watchin' You," "Calling Dr. Love," "Larger Than Life," and "Goin' Blind." So many Kiss fans must have been surprised when they heard Gene's diverse 1978 solo album, with songs that contained choirs and string arrangements, plus elements of Beatles pop, '70s funk/disco, and feel-good rock & roll. Granted, there are a few heavy rockers (such as the single "Radioactive," "Burning Up With Fever," and "See You in Your Dreams"), but Simmons was always a closet Beatles fan, as evidenced by "See You Tonite," "Always Near You," "Man of 1,000 Faces," and "Mr. Make Believe." The only real misstep is a preposterously embarrassing cover of the Disney classic "When You Wish Upon a Star" (complete with Disney-esque sound effects/music). But Simmons made sure that the top artists of the day lent a hand (Aerosmith's Joe Perry, Cheap Trick's Rick Nielsen, Donna Summer, Cher, Bob Seger, Jeff "Skunk" Baxter, Helen Reddy, and Janis Ian), which makes Gene's solo album an unpredictable yet ultimately enjoyable release. 2.) Kiss, Ace Frehley – Ace Frehley Vinyl, LP, Album, Stereo - 1st French Pressing - 1978 - FR - Casablanca – 407-CBO.71040 Media: EX / Sleeve: VG+ A1 Rip It Out 3:39 A2 Speedin' Back To My Baby 3:35 A3 Snow Blind 3:54 A4 Ozone 4:36 A5 What's On Your Mind? 3:26 B1 New York Groove 3:01 B2 I'm In Need Of Love 4:36 B3 Wiped-Out 4:10 B4 Fractured Mirror 5:25 Of the four Kiss solo albums released simultaneously in 1978, the best of the bunch is guitarist Ace Frehley's. Similar in approach to Paul Stanley's album, Frehley did not stray far from the expected heavy Kiss sound (like Gene Simmons and Peter Criss did with their releases), but Ace was equipped with better compositions than Stanley. With future Late Night with David Letterman drummer Anton Fig helping out (as well as Letterman bassist Will Lee on three tracks), Frehley proved once and for all that he was not simply a backup musician to Kiss head honchos Simmons and Stanley. All of the tracks are strong, such as the venomous opener, "Rip It Out," as well as a few tracks that confirm how Frehley was indulging in alcohol and drugs a bit too much by the late '70s ("Snow Blind," "Ozone," and "Wiped Out"). You'll also find many underrated compositions ("Speedin' Back to My Baby," "What's on Your Mind?," "I'm in Need of Love"), a gorgeous instrumental ("Fractured Mirror"), and the Top 20 hit single "New York Groove." Unfortunately, when Ace left Kiss in 1982 (eventually forming Frehley's Comet), he never came close to topping this solid and inspired 1978 solo outing. 3.) Kiss, Paul Stanley – Paul Stanley Vinyl, LP, Album, Stereo - 1st Japanese Pressing - 1978 - Japan - Casablanca – VIP-6577 Media: VG+ / Sleeve, OIS & Insert: VG+ to EX A1 Tonight You Belong To Me 4:39 A2 Move On 3:08 A3 Ain't Quite Right 3:35 A4 Wouldn't You Like To Know Me 3:18 A5 Take Me Away (Together As One) 5:35 B1 It's All Right 3:34 B2 Hold Me, Touch Me 3:40 B3 Love In Chains 3:31 B4 Goodbye 4:09 Paul Stanley's 1978 solo album was the most Kiss-like of the four, sounding more like an official band release rather than a solo outing. But this isn't necessarily a bad thing -- Stanley had become a seasoned hard rock songwriter by this point, churning out some of Kiss' best material ("Love Gun," "Detroit Rock City," "I Want You," etc.), and wisely stuck to his winning formula on Paul Stanley. With the help of studio musicians, as well as guitarist Bob Kulick (who was almost an original member of Kiss, and brother of future Kiss replacement guitarist Bruce) and Rod Stewart/Vanilla Fudge drummer Carmine Appice, Stanley's album is on par with Ace Frehley's as far as consistency is concerned. A couple of epic compositions (by Kiss standards) are highlights -- "Tonight You Belong to Me" and "Take Me Away (Together as One)" -- as are the more straightforward tracks "Ain't Quite Right," "Wouldn't You Like to Know Me?," "It's Alright," and "Goodbye." While his other Kiss bandmates took more chances with their solo records (with varying results), Stanley's album is more or less what a new Kiss album released in 1978 would have sounded like. 4.) Kiss, Peter Criss – Peter Criss Vinyl, LP, Album, Stereo - 1st French Pressing - 1978 - FR - Casablanca – 407-CBO.71042 Media: EX / Sleeve: VG+ A1 I'm Gonna Love You 3:18 A2 You Matter To Me 3:15 A3 Tossin' And Turnin' 3:58 A4 Don't You Let Me Down 3:38 A5 That's The Kind Of Sugar Papa Likes 2:58 B1 Easy Thing 3:53 B2 Rock Me Baby 2:50 B3 Kiss The Girl Goodbye 2:46 B4 Hooked On Rock And Roll 3:37 B5 I Can't Stop The Rain 4:25 This album has been run roughshod over since the day it was released. Its critics lambaste it for not sounding like a KISS record, which isn't entirely true - many of the songs on this album have a similar feel to the group's cuts that feature Criss prominently, (think "Nothin' To Lose," and "Mainline"). Probably due to the (much-deserved) success of Beth, Criss has never been recognized as the fine r&b/soul vocalist he truly is, and more than any other member of the band, he went into the studio to produce the album he couldn't make within the confines of KISS. With a rasp somewhere between Bruce Springsteen and Rod Stewart, Criss tempers the expected ballads with equal doses of rock and funk. Opener "I'm Gonna Love You" is a first-rate soul stomper, complete with punchy horns and Supremes-style back-ups. "Easy Thing" and "I Can't Stop the Rain" are big, epic love songs that Criss and his sandpaper lungs deliver beautifully, and his snappy version of "Tossin' & Turnin'" holds its own. KISS were at the height of their popularity when the solo projects were released, and Criss could easily have stuck with the tried and true and been assured of strong sales. Daring to be different requires guts and should be commended, especially when the end result is a fine album such as this. __________________________________________________________________ These records have been cleaned with a professional ultrasonic machine. New inner and outer sleeves included. Fast & careful shipping.