Released: 1974
Tracks: Strutter; Nothin’ To Lose; Firehouse; Cold Gin; Let Me Know; Kissin’ Time; Deuce; Love Theme From Kiss; 100,000 Years; Black Diamond
Best track: Strutter
Track to skip: Nothin’ To Lose kinda bites, and Let Me Know is only OK
The demons of rock, the hottest band in the world, KISS! I like it, I think it’s a good album. Kiss never was very consistent with their albums, most have lots of dead spots, but this is mostly solid. From what I’ve always read on the internet, most people don’t care for this one too much. I have no idea why; I’ve always liked it.
There are a few throwaways on here, but there are also some absolute Kiss ‘Klassics’ too. Songs like Strutter, Firehouse, Cold Gin, Deuce, 100,000 Years, and Black Diamond are all still great songs that don’t get out of your head. Cheevy used to cover Strutter and it’s always been one of my faves by the band. It’s a great song and Kiss knew it too; that’s why it’s the opening track on their debut album.
They were never the greatest musicians in the world, but they made up for it with their live shows and their songwriting. The vocals, especially Gene’s, don’t have the power that they get in a few years, but they don’t distract from the music. Ace does some decent solos and the guitar work on 100,000 Years is especially cool. I really like how the end of Black Diamond does the very evil sounding trick of slowing the tape down. It’s a simple thing, but it really creates this whole darkness at the end of the album, it’s quite cool. All in all, a good debut and one of the few Kiss albums I’d recommend owning. They get better, but most of their future albums are never this consistent. Give it a shot.
Rating: 81
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