I will start off by saying that I am not a major Kiss fan/historian, but have heard most of their albums and know a bit about them. I became more interested in Kiss after seeing the movie
Detroit Rock City and decided to listen a little further. After gaining success with their third album
Alive!, a live album that showed that Kiss can put on one hell of a show, they were now cranking out two albums a year. While Kiss may not be the greatest rock band ever or the most talented, they know how to rock and as I already said, put on a great live show. Kiss may also be more famous for the makeup they wear and their crazy on stage antics from spitting out blood to setting off fires. But either way, on this record,
Love Gun, they managed to put out a decent rock album consisting of a balance of hard rock songs to slower love songs. This album also contains some of Kiss's most famous tracks including Christine Sixteen, Love Gun, and Plaster Caster.
Love Gun was released in 1977, right at the peak of their popularity. This is Kiss's seventh studio release and their fifth release in three years.
Love Gun was also the last recording with the original line up of Paul, Gene, Ace, and Peter until their reunion tours years later. Right from the opening riff of
I Stole Your Love you know you're in for a hard rock record. While the title of the song may not indicate it, it is one of the more rock songs on the album and one of the best. A good way to start things off. Some other good rock songs of the record are
Shock Me, from the opening drum fill to the catchy riff and chorus it's definitely one of the best on the album and one of my favorite Kiss songs. This is also Ace Frehley's first lead vocal performance and does a fine job at it.
Another standout track
Plaster Caster, a song written as a tribute to groupies. Plaster Caster starts with a nice, though vey basic bassline by Gene and then the guitar comes in with a suitable riff. This song is not too hard but not too soft, as it flows well and leads into the album finale.
Almost Human is a mediocre rock track, which is revived with one of the best solos on the album as provided by Frehley. The title track
Love Gun is in opinion the best on the album. It is a great rock song with some stellar guitar, and probably Paul's best vocal performance on the album. And it fits nice right in the middle of the album. Another standout song is track number two,
Christine Sixteen, one of the bands more famous songs, opens up with piano and bass until the familiar riff comes in. The song is clearly written about a girl, something that isn't too uncommon for Kiss.
Hooligan and
Love For Sale are both decent songs if not generic, with nothing really too special and nothing that stands out to the rest of the record.
Tomorrow and Tonight is a fun track that is almost identical to
Rock and Roll All Nite (musically and lyrically), but not quite as good as.
'Then She Kissed Me' closes Love Gun on a slower, boring note.
Overall,
Love Gun is a fairly solid rock album and one of the betterreleases from the band during their 70's run, but there are far better rock albums out there. Love Gun is nothing ground breaking but fun to listen to from time to time. It is good studio release from a band that is more known for their live shows, but won't make you want to play it over again.
Standout Tracks:
Love Gun
Shock Me
I Stole Your Love
