Published on May 16, 2001
The rise of Kiss’s popularity can literally be traced as you
listen to the seminal hard rock group’s first few albums. But in a
similar vein, one can trace the downfall of Kiss by listening to
the post-
Destroyer works.
Make no mistake,
Destroyer is a killer album. The follow-up,
Rock And Roll Over, had some interesting songs, but dipped
far too much into the well of filler material.
Love Gun, Kiss’s 1977 release (and sixth studio effort),
showed that the band’s vice-like grip on their material had
loosened considerably.
Oh, there’s still some entertaining material on this disc. The
title track is the epitomy of the cock-rock lifestyle these guys
have seemed to be all about since day one, but one can’t help but
smile at this track, in all of its dirty glory. “Christine
Sixteen,” possibly one of the original songs about jailbait, is
infectious enough to keep the melody locked in your brain for far
longer than you want it to be. Likewise, “Plaster Caster” combines
a powerful groove with an interesting, aah, mental picture of
what’s going on. (Believe it or not, this song is based in reality
– search on the web for stories about Cynthia Plaster Caster. No
joke.)
Even guitarist Ace Frehley gets into the act with his first lead
vocal, “Shock Me”. Okay, it’s not the best song that Kiss has ever
come up with, but it also isn’t the worst. For a first effort, not
bad – and Frehley would prove in enough time that he could pull off
being the front man for a band.
Too bad that this is where the praise for
Love Gun abruptly ends. The rest of the album collapses into
a “been-there, done-that” mess. On one side, you have songs which
are lifting ideas, grooves – cripes, even bits of guitar solos –
and repackaging them as new. “I Stole Your Love” is a third-rate
“Detroit Rock City”; “Tomorrow And Tonight” tries to be the next
“Rock And Roll All Night” anthem, and fails miserably. On the other
side, you have an absolutely atrocious cover of “Then She Kissed
Me,” a song which absolutely, positively, did not have to be
remade. (Including a cover on this album seems to suggest that Kiss
was running low on creative ideas – like recycling guitar licks
wasn’t a red flag.)
In the middle of this are songs which, frankly, will never be
remembered in the same breaths as the classics. Tracks like
“Hooligan,” “Almost Human” and “Got Love For Sale” all just dribble
from the speakers, making you wonder just what was happening with
the band who said that if “you wanted the best, you got the
best”.
Granted, there’s enough material on
Love Gun to warrant adding it to your collection, though any
of the best-of packages could fill those voids just as easily. As
is stands now,
Love Gun is the picture of a band who were starting to shoot
blanks.