Published on May 6, 1997
With all the fuss and press over the Kiss reunion tour of the
past year or so, it may surprise some of our readers that we
haven’t reviewed a Kiss album on “The Daily Vault” until now.
It may also surprise people to know that
Rock And Roll Over was the first Kiss album I ever bought.
I’ve made no secret that some of my best finds are at used record
stores and garage sales. In fact, it was at a garage sale when I
was in high school that I found this particular album, paid my
quarter for it, and rushed home to see what the big deal over Kiss
was. And it wasn’t that I was ignorant to the band’s history –
“Tears Are Falling” was plastered all over MTV, but the band was
far from their glory days of the ’70s.
Paul Stanley and crew were at the top of their game when
Rock And Roll Over came out in 1976 – they were coming off
the smash hit
Destroyer, featuring “Detroit Rock City.” To some people,
this album was a step backward for Kiss – if you will, the
beginning of the end of the classic period.
And while there are some good songs on this album, the sad fact
is this album has not withstood the test of time. The majority of
the album is “filler” – songs that sound like they were leftovers
from previous albums.
Let’s first deal with the hits. “Calling Dr. Love” typifies the
cock-rock that Kiss has pushed forward throughout their almost
25-year career, but it is one of their better efforts. And while
Kiss may have shocked their fans with Peter Criss’s ballad “Beth”
on
Destroyer, the inclusion of a Paul Stanley ballad in “Hard
Luck Woman” feels natural. The guitar work of Stanley and Ace
Frehley is incredible. (Interestingly enough, the cover of this
song on the tribute album
Kiss My Ass even beats the original – covered by one Garth
Brooks.)
Other minor hits from this album include “I Want You” and “Mr.
Speed,” as well as “Ladies Room” – some of which made it onto their
second live album
Alive II (though I don’t remember any of these tracks being
performed on their recent tour).
But that’s where the fun stops on
Rock And Roll Over. Kiss tries to put on a decent show with
the remaining five songs, but they just don’t stand up to their
best work. “Take Me” is a little too graphic (these guys were
getting parallel almost every day, and they have to sing such
braggadoccio as “Put your hands in my pockets / Strap on to my
rocket”? Give me a fuckin’ break.). Other songs sound like the rest
of Kiss’s catalogue. “See You In Your Dreams” and “Love ‘Em And
Leave ‘Em” could have easily come off of
Dressed To Kill – or even a later album like
Dynasty.
But this doesn’t necessarily make
Rock And Roll Over a bad album – it’s just cut out of the
same old mold the rest of their albums to that point (aw, who am I
kidding – their whole catalog is like this) were. But it does make
for an entertaining listen, at the very least.