Kiss - Destroyer [Japanese Ed.] (1976)

Year: March 15, 1976 (CD Apr 25, 1986)
Label: Polystar Records (Japan), P33C-20006
Style: Hard Rock, Arena Rock, Glam Rock
Country: New York City, U.S.
Time: 34:18
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 211 Mb

In 1976, Kiss was already a legend. Following their successful 1975 album “Alive!”, the band had established themselves as a worldwide phenomenon. After years of effort and sacrifice, the quartet would enjoy the fruits of fame and money. However, the band’s ambition, alongside their management team, was ever-growing, leading them to hire Bob Ezrin to produce “Destroyer”. Ezrin, who had previously worked with bands like Pink Floyd, contributed to a true gem where each of Kiss’s members musically outdid themselves, breaking out of their comfort zone and resulting in an ambitious work that sold over 7 million copies.
Amidst this work, there were hundreds of disputes that would deteriorate the relationship between the four original members: Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Ace Frehley, and Peter Criss.
What can we hear? We hear a band stepping out of their comfort zone in Hard Rock to experiment with a much more technically advanced musical sound. It was also Kiss’s first album to feature additional musicians, such as the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, heard on songs like “Beth” or “Great Expectations”. Bob Ezrin, the producer of “Destroyer”, encouraged the band to experiment with a much richer musical sound, demanding each member to elevate their level of execution. This made Peter Criss (drums) and Ace Frehley (guitar) uncomfortable since they were already living a Rockstar life full of parties and addictions by this time.
We hear much more complex structures and arrangements compared to their previous works, resulting in a series of signature songs for the band and its members:
“Detroit Rock City”: Paul Stanley’s iconic track, featuring one of the best guitar solos in rock history, with Ace Frehley accompanying.
“Beth”: The song that would increase the fortune of drummer and vocalist Peter Criss, his standout moment through the band’s first ballad, arranged with piano and orchestra.
“God Of Thunder”: Originally written and performed by Paul Stanley but ultimately taken by Gene Simmons to bring life to his character through a song seemingly pulled straight from the depths of darkness.
(full version: therockreview.net/kiss-destroyer-eng)

Album recorded and mixed in the analog domain - AAD. That is, a minimum of digital processing.
A=Analog. D=digital. The first letter stands for how the music was recorded. The second letter for how it was mixed. The third letter stands for the format (all CD's will have D as the last letter).

01. Detroit Rock City (05:20)
02. King Of The Night Time World (03:17)
03. God Of Thunder (04:17)
04. Great Expectations (04:25)
05. Flaming Youth (03:00)
06. Sweet Pain (03:22)
07. Shout It Out Loud (02:50)
08. Beth (02:49)
09. Do You Love Me (04:55)

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Kiss - Alive! [Japanese Ed. 2CD] (1975)

Year: September 10, 1975 (CD Jul 12, 2006)
Label: Universal Music (Japan), UICY-93093-94
Style: Hard Rock, Rock
Country: New York City, U.S.
Time: 35:42, 42:44
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 283, 324 Mb

With 'Dressed to Kill' out and sales only slightly better than 'Hotter Than Hell', the only thing the band really had going for them was their live shows.  Their record label was nearly bankrupt and Kiss was about to lose their record deal and it was about to all coming to a crashing halt. The band had yet to receive any royalties after their pittance of an advance and their manager, Bill Aucoin, along with the band were ready to sue and get out of the contract.
In a last ditch effort to save the label and the band, Neil thought a Live album was the way to go.  The Live shows is where people finally understood what Kiss was all about.  With Gene Simmons spitting blood and breathing fire, with Ace Frehley's electrifying guitar solos, Paul Stanley's charm in his dialogue to the crowd and Peter Criss' drum riser and solo, Kiss was a Live band that needed to be heard LIVE!!  Plus, this was cheaper than an album, so they could afford to do this route.
'Alive!' was recorded over four stops on the Dressed to Kill Tour.  You had May 16 at Cobo Arena in Detroit, Michigan, naturally; June 21 at Cleveland Music Hall in Cleveland, Ohio; July 20 at RKO Orpheum Theater in Davenport, Iowa; and July 23 at Wildwoods Convention Center in Wildwood, New Jersey.  With four shows recorded, they could piece together a perfect live album…well…maybe not!
The album wasn't as "Live" as you would think.  There were numerous problems with the recordings.  The band didn't always sing perfectly in to the mic, notes were missed in their high energy performances and nothing seemed to carry-over as well as they thought it would.  They brought in legendary producer, Eddie Kramer, to fix the problems and it is immediately evident that they would have to go in the studio and overdub a lot of the album…okay, most of the album including the crowd noise.  From what I understand, the only thing that didn't get touched up was the drums which is a testament to how well Peter was playing back in those days and also to the fact he only had to sit there and play while the others ran around the stage and tried to play at the same time.
I mentioned early that Kiss was unhappy and trying to get out of their contract and five days after the release of the album (which was released on September 10, 1975), Bill Aucoin informed Neil that the band was leaving Casablanca.  Neil immediately signed a $2 million check and kept the band.  Luckily for Neil, the album sales went through the roof thanks in large part to the release of "Rock & Roll All Nite" as a single and that becoming the band's signature song. Kiss had done it.  They had a hit record and were now a successful band that were about to take over and rule the world.
I could go on and on about album details and could go in to the story of the two guys on the back cover, but I will avoid that as I am already taking up a ton of your time.  But I will at least say how lucky those guys were making that sign and being in the right place at the right time as they are now immortalized forever on a Kiss album!!  I think it is a great picture for the back cover and one of my favorites.
(2loud2oldmusic.com/2020/07/01/kiss-alive-1975-album-review-the-kiss-review-series/)

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Kiss - Dressed To Kill [Japanese Ed.] (1975)

Year: March 19, 1975 (CD Apr 25, 1986)
Label: Polystar Records (Japan), P33C-20005
Style: Hard Rock, Arena Rock, Glam Rock
Country: New York City, U.S.
Time: 30:33
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 196 Mb

Of all the bands who are regarded as "Classic", I will never understand why KISS is considered such. To be frank, they were the 70's version of Nickleback; a shitty, generic, Rock band with obnoxiously catchy singles and a basic understanding of "listenable music". With this in mind, one must always remember that even the worst of bands can produce a good album once in a while. KISS had that in Dressed to Kill.
Despite being only thirty whole minutes long, Dressed to Kill has a myriad of good tunes. Room Service features some of Ace Frehley's best guitar playing, riffing his way through excellent solos as Paul Stanley lights up with some excellent, hard hitting, vocals. One of the most notable changes from their first two albums was that Paul Stanley did the majority vocals in this album, as Gene Simmons was majority for their first two. This can be attributed to the fact that Paul's vocals were better received and of the financial failure of their sophomore album, which Simmon's was lead vocalist of.
Getaway is a very fun track, with booming drums from Peter Criss as Ace Frehley goes completely bonkers, doing all of the guitar work on the track with such excellent virtuosity. Rock Bottom remains one of my personal favorite tracks, with its somber tone reminiscent of Led Zeppelin IV's ethereal production quality. The sound quality of this record is top notch, especially when the hard guitar half breaks through the strings, completely doing a 180 on the entire track's atmosphere.
Of course I would be remiss if I didn't mention KISS' magnum opus. I'm talking, of course, about Rock And Roll All Nite. A bursting guitar-heavy track combining the talents of all four members of KISS evenly, creating a track that describes KISS to a tee. To be fair as well, Simmon's is the perfect vocalist for this track, as his hissing and talkative vocal performance add to the raw and unbalanced nature of the tune, as tamberine's begin meshing with guitars, chorus, and percussion to create pure madness.
Dressed to Kill is not perfect, it has flaws like every other KISS album. Cheesy lyrics, squeaky clean production, basic formula for every song, and repetition ad nauseum are easy to point out. The change is what Dressed to Kill offers that other KISS albums don't. That lies in its creative guitar playing from Ace Frehley, one of the best Rock singles of the 1970's, and Paul Stanley being majority singer for the record. In this instance, KISS reached their apex, and would never reach this height ever again.
(sputnikmusic.com/review/71446/KISS-Dressed-To-Kill/)

Album recorded and mixed in the analog domain - AAD. That is, a minimum of digital processing.
A=Analog. D=digital. The first letter stands for how the music was recorded. The second letter for how it was mixed. The third letter stands for the format (all CD's will have D as the last letter).

01. Room Service (03:03)
02. Two Timer (02:51)
03. Ladies In Waiting (02:34)
04. Getaway (02:46)
05. Rock Bottom (03:56)
06. C'mon And Love Me (03:01)
07. Anything For My Baby (02:36)
08. She (04:10)
09. Love Her All I Can (02:43)
10. Rock And Roll All Nite (02:49)

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Kiss - Hotter Than Hell [Japanese Ed.] (1974)

Year: October 22, 1974 (CD Apr 25, 1986)
Label: Polystar Records (Japan), P33C-20004
Style: Hard Rock, Arena Rock, Glam Rock
Country: New York City, U.S.
Time: 33:23
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 196 Mb

01. Got To Choose is a hell of a tune to open the album with for it’s an attitude-infused mid-tempo groove-focus rock masterpiece. No, it isn’t one of KISS’ most popular tunes, but if the infectious melody doesn’t get you, Ace Frehley’s exceptional blues-infused guitar licks will.
02. Parasite is riff heaven and between Ace Frehley’s skilled writing and Gene Simmons’ raw and aggressive vocals, Parasite is not only one of the heavier tunes KISS ever recorded, but it’s one of the greatest rock numbers from the era.
03. Goin' Blind slows the album’s pace with a ballad-focused tune. Simmons knocks the vocals out of the park, but interestingly his vocal presentation differs from what we normally associate with him. The variance reminds me of Steven Tyler’s vocal delivery on Aerosmith’s self-titled debut. It isn’t bad, not by any means, but it is unique.
04. Hotter Than Hell exudes swagger and confidence, driven by gritty, distorted riffs and a stomping rhythm section, but isn’t quite the ideal title track. It works, yes, but it isn’t a standout. Part of my love/hate relationship with the tune is the chosen tempo. While I acknowledge that it was written with Free’s All Right Now in mind, I find it’s a little too slow and would like to have seen it sped up by a few beats per minute.
05. Let Me Go, Rock And Roll is a fast-paced number that embodies the rock and roll spirit of the era with its relentless rhythm and infectious energy. If nothing else, the driving bassline, dynamic guitar solos, and overall mix capture the rawness of KISS’ early, yet compelling, sound.
06. All The Way may be an album-only tune, one that is unknown to many who haven’t listened to the album, but despite being lesser known, All The Way delivers a punchy, straightforward rock feel with an edgy guitar sound that is KISS 101.
07. Watchin' You has an incredible introduction, for the dense layering of guitars and a powerful rhythm section enhance the tune and ensure the intensity of the record is maintained. The musical bed alone is such a standout that Simmons need not have written or recorded lyrics for Watchin’ You could have been instrumental gold, had it been recorded with that intent. It isn’t that the vocals detract from the song, however, it’s that the musical performance is so much stronger than Simmons’ vocal delivery.
08. Mainline shifts the tone as Peter Criss takes over vocal duties for the first time on the album. With a Southern rock influence, the laid-back vibe is a precursor to many of KISS’ most memorable tunes and this is no exception for the chorus and overall upbeat nature of Mainline will stay with you well after the album has played its final note.
09. Comin' Home, while not as heavy as many of the other tracks, does circle back to the band’s melodic roots and in that regard is a hidden gem. It is, unfortunately, one of the most sonically compromised recordings from the album and even though it’s thoroughly enjoyable, it could have been so much more had more spit and polish been applied during the recording and mixing of the song.
10. Strange Ways is an ideal closer with its slow and heavy pace that allows Criss’ vocals to shine. It also features Ace Frehley at his very best, as the band works through the track’s sludgy and psychedelic rhythm, leaving a lasting impression; one that will compel you to play the album again or sit in contemplation of the music that you’ve just heard.
(subjectivesounds.com/musicblog/kiss-hotter-than-hell-album-review)

Album recorded and mixed in the analog domain - AAD. That is, a minimum of digital processing.
A=Analog. D=digital. The first letter stands for how the music was recorded. The second letter for how it was mixed. The third letter stands for the format (all CD's will have D as the last letter).

01. Got To Choose (03:54)
02. Parasite (03:04)
03. Goin' Blind (03:39)
04. Hotter Than Hell (03:31)
05. Let Me Go, Rock 'N' Roll (02:16)
06. All The Way (03:18)
07. Watchin' You (03:45)
08. Mainline (03:52)
09. Comin' Home (02:40)
10. Strange Ways (03:21)

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