I find, like most other KISS fans do, that Peter Criss is the most disappointing of the 4 solo albums.  Has anyone ever noticed that there seem to be 2 theories on Peter Criss: 1) Peter is the crown jewel of KISS whose drumming and vocals were never appreciated by the money-hungry Paul and Gene, or 2) a hack jazz drummer with a god-awful voice who couldn't write a good song if he had a gun to his head, and made a name for himself simply by being in an otherwise talented group (can you say Ringo Starr?).  Sorry Catman fans...I tend to lean towards the latter.
    That aside, Peter Criss does have a few good songs on it, most notably I'm Gonna Love You and You Matter To Me.  I Can't Stop The Rain and Hooked On Rock 'N' Roll are OK; the rest of the songs are awful.  Even when I try to separate the album from being linked to KISS, I still can't give it any praise.   I should note though that my impression of this album has increased significantly in recent years (maybe it's my advancing age?!).  You should have heard what I thought about the album 5 years ago!
    It is interesting though how much different Peter's songs are from the KISS "sound".  There really isn't any song on the album that would fit into the KISS canon.  However that was one of the main points in Peter leaving the band; he felt that his songs weren't accepted by Paul and Gene.  I do feel, though, that Paul and Gene were wise in limiting the number of songs that Peter contributed to KISS.  His songs just don't have that KISS "feel" to them and the fact that Peter's album was the lowest-selling of the four proves this point.

Interesting facts:

• Peter was already unhappy with the lack of acceptance of his songs by KISS.  He felt that a solo effort would get his songs recognized and he would be given the credit he felt he deserved as a songwriter.  Although Peter Criss reached platinum status, it was the lowest-selling of the four solo albums which frustrated Peter even more; it was likely the straw that broke the camel's back.  Within 2 years, Peter was out of KISS.
• Peter felt that he would pay tribute to his musical influences on Peter Criss, giving it an R&B feel.
• Peter was born George Peter John Criscuola on December 20, 1945 in Brooklyn, New York.
• Peter's hero was Frank Sinatra.
• Peter's first drumming gig was at a bar mitzvah playing Hava Nagila.
• Peter got a call from Gene and Paul after placing an ad in Rolling Stone advertising himself as "a drummer with eleven years experience willing to do anything to make it".
• Peter's first "real" band was Chelsea who got a two-album deal with Decca Records in 1969.  Chelsea would later morph into Lips in 1970.
• Peter was heavily influenced by jazz and swing music, especially Gene Krupa, and his drumming often conveyed that style.
• Peter married his first wife, Lydia, in 1972.
• The first KISS song Peter played was Strutter which Gene and Paul had been working on.
• Peter was unable to play drums on every track because of a car accident in June of 1978 that injured his hands.  Another result of this car crash was that Peter ended up short on material and had to use unreleased songs co-written by Stan Penridge (who co-wrote Beth with Peter) from his pre-KISS endeavor, Lips.
• All of Peter's dialogue in the October 1978 TV movie KISS Meets The Phantom of The Park was dubbed by Norman Alden, the voice of Aquaman on NBC's The All-New Super Friends Hour.  Peter refused to go back to the studio to record his loops so Alden was forced to dub in all of Peter's dialogue.
• Each of the four solo albums contained a fold-out animated color poster of the respective member.
• $2.5 million was spent by Casablanca in marketing the 4 solo albums.
• Peaked at # 43 on Billboard's album chart.
• Click here to go to Criss Cat Club, the one and only Peter Criss web page.
• Click here to read my reviews of Peter Criss' post-KISS solo albums.

     Ace's solo is the most surprising because up until that point, we had only heard him sing 2 songs: Shock Me and Rocket Ride.
    With Ace Frehley, he, of course, sings on 8 of the 9 tracks and it is arguably the best of the solo efforts.  There really isn't a bad song in the bunch although Wiped-Out is a little weaker than the rest.  New York Groove, I'm In Need Of Love, Rip It Out, and Speedin' Back To My Baby are the best songs on the album followed closely by the instrumental Fractured Mirror, which showcases Ace's incredible talent on guitar (as if we didn't know already).  There are a lot of weird sound effects that can be heard on the album which shows that Ace was willing to make the most of his solo effort by experimenting with different sounds.
    Overall, Ace Frehley outshines Gene's, Paul's and, especially Peter's albums in musicianship to be my favorite by far.

Interesting facts:

• Ace designed the KISS logo.
• Ace was born Paul Daniel Frehley on April 22, 1951 in Brooklyn, New York.
• Ace ran with street gangs as a kid.
• Ace joined the band after answering an ad in The Village Voice asking for a "lead guitarist with flash and ability".
• Ace recorded an album for RCA Records with his band Millemo in 1971 that has never been released.
• Ace cites Cream, Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck, and The Who as his biggest influences.
• Ace's wife, Jeanette, whom he married in May of 1976, co-wrote Speedin' Back To My Baby with him.
• Anton Fig and Will Lee, later of the David Letterman show's CBS Orchestra, played drums and bass on the album, respectively.  Anton Fig would also work with Ace in Frehley's Comet a decade later.
• Snow Blind, Ozone, and Wiped-Out showcase Ace's favorite hobby at the time: drugs and booze.  In fact, Ace's weekly Dom Perignon bill at the time was reported to be $1,000!
• Eddie Kramer produced Ace Frehley as Ace was pleased with Kramer's work on Alive!, Rock and Roll Over, Love Gun, and Alive II.  Kramer also produced KISS' original demo tape that they pitched to Casablanca Records in 1973.
• Ace Frehley was recorded at Ace's new home studio, "The Mansion" in Sharon, Connecticut.
• Ace's album reached # 26 on Billboard's album charts--second in position only to Gene's.
• New York Groove is a cover of the 1975 U.K. hit by the group, Hello.
• Ace's solo album helped him overcome his fear of singing lead hence his vocals became more evident on the next 3 albums.
• Ace's next solo effort wouldn't come to light until 1987's Frehley's Comet.
• Check out the best Ace Frehley site on the Net--acefrehley.com.
• Click here to read my reviews of Ace's post-KISS solo albums.

    Though there will never be any dispute over who my favorite KISS member is, Gene's album failed to live up to what I was hoping for--a super-heavy, raunch-fest from the evil "god of thunder and rock and roll".  What Gene Simmons offers the fans is a bizarre mixture of Disney songs, sound effects, Kate Sagal (Married With Children's Peg Bundy), and (oh no!) more choirs.  It is the most musically diverse of the four solo albums but it does not disappoint if you can listen with an open mind.
    From the get-go, Radioactive opens with a bizarre string section and creepy laugh.  Then we're treated to Donna Summer on Burning Up With Fever, Cher as a groupie propositioning Gene over the phone on Living In Sin, a tribute to Lon Chaney on Man of 1,000 Faces, and finally Jiminy Cricket (I mean Gene Simmons) crooning that old Pinocchio staple, When You Wish Upon A Star.  Wow!  There is never a dull moment on this album as each song offers another surprise.  You literally don't know what will be next.  Gene belting out an aria with Pavarotti?  See You Tonite, Mr. Make Believe, and See You In Your Dreams are the best songs on the album.  At the other end of the scale we've got the dreadful threesome of Burning Up With Fever, True Confessions, and Living In Sin. Gene Simmons clearly shows that The Demon IS capable of writing about more than just nailing women.  Best moment on Gene Simmons: the falsetto ending of When You Wish Upon A Star.

Interesting facts:

• Gene went for real musical diversity with his special guests on the album; Bob Seger, Aerosmith's Joe Perry, country star Helen Reddy, Donna Summer, Janis Ian, Cheap Trick's Rick Nielsen, Cher, Kate Sagal (Peg Bundy), The Doobie Brothers guitarist, Jeff "Skunk" Baxter, and the Azusa Citrus College Choir.  Gene also wanted Liberace, Sammy Davis Jr., Dinah Shore, Paul McCartney, and Chaka Khan to appear on his album but they did not for various reasons.  The result was one of the most expensive records ever produced at the time.
• Ace Frehley was supposed to play the guitar solo on Tunnel of Love but commitments to his own solo album prevented it.
• Gene Simmons was the highest charting of the four solo albums, peaking at # 22 on the Billboard album chart.
• Gene Simmons was recorded by Gene and Double Platinum producer Sean Delaney in a barn near Oxford, England.
• Gene was born Chaim Witz in Haifa, Israel on August 25, 1949.  He came to the United States at age 9 and soon changed his name to Gene Klein.
• At 6'2", Gene is the tallest member of KISS.
• Gene can speak several languages including Hebrew, Hungarian, Spanish, and of course, English.
• Gene is the only original KISS member with a post-secondary education, having graduated from Richmond College in Staten Island, New York with a teaching degree.
• Gene trained to be a rabbi as a teenager but chose to become a teacher instead.  He would eventually teach sixth grade in New York's Spanish Harlem district.
• Gene worked as an editorial assistant for Vogue and Glamour magazine.
• Gene is a huge horror movie fan.  His favorite actors include Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff, and silent horror film star Lon Chaney.  Gene paid homage to Chaney with Man of 1,000 Faces, which was the actor's nickname.  Chaney always did his own makeup for his films including The Hunchback of Notre Dame and the original Phantom of the Opera and earned the nickname for his ability to transform himself into indistinguishable characters.
• A magician named Amaze-O taught Gene how to breathe fire.
• During the mid 1970's, Gene wore braces on his bottom teeth.
• By early 1978, Gene was in a heavy relationship with Cher and was acting as a father-figure for her 2 children, Chastity and Elijah (Yikes!).  Problems occurred because Cher was a big star at the time and was constantly being photographed by the press; Gene of course had that makeup thing where he wanted to keep his identity a secret.  Gene went so far as to invest a reported $1 million into purchasing and furnishing a lavish New York apartment for Cher and her kids but once it was completed in the summer of 1980, their relationship dissolved.
• Gene wrote some songs with Bob Dylan in the 1990's.
• In the early 1980's, Gene had cosmetic surgery done on his nose.
• Gene's album was the most heavily criticized by fans and critics who dismissed it as being "silly", "strange", and "stupid".  This caused Gene to return to what he traditionally was writing about--that's right...nailing women!
• Gene re-recorded See You In Your Dreams because he wasn't happy with the original version on Rock and Roll Over.
• Gene's collection of Polaroids catalogue the reported 2,000 women he has slept with.
• Check out The Gene Simmons Worship Page, or  The Demon's Lair.  Also available is the Gene Simmons filmography at the Internet Movie Database.

    Paul Stanley is the most KISS-like of the four solo albums, probably because Paul is the main songwriter and vocalist in the band (duh).  It is for this reason that Paul's album is my second favorite behind Ace's.  I've always felt that Paul Stanley has one of the best voices in rock and roll (and as the reunion tour showed, he's still got it!).  The vocals on the album are excellent as usual and I really like all the acoustic guitars.
    Tonight You Belong To Me, Love In Chains, Move On, It's Alright, Wouldn't You Like To Know Me, and Ain't Quite Right are great songs with the catchy hooks that Paul always manages to nail.  Ain't Quite Right reminds me a lot of I Still Love You from Creatures of The Night.
    There are ballads aplenty here especially Hold Me Touch Me (Think of Me When We're Apart) and Ain't Quite Right whichhave all the charm of a good KISS weeper like Beth or Forever.  The only songs that don't quite measure up to the rest are Take Me Away (Together As One) and Goodbye.  They just aren't as grabbing as the rest of the material on Paul Stanley.
    Overall, this album is a very listenable and worthy venture.

Interesting facts:

• Paul was born Stanley Harvey Eisen on January 20, 1952 and grew up in Queens, New York.
• Paul attended the New York City High School of Music and Art, which was later made famous on the TV show, Fame.  He later moved on to Bronx Community College as an art major, but did not graduate.
• Paul suffered from a cauliflower ear until surgery corrected the deformity.
• In 1967, Paul recorded a demo with his band Post War Baby Boom called Never Loving, Never Living that remains unreleased.
• Before Paul developed his Starchild makeup, he sported what has become known as the Bandit, which featured a Lone Ranger-type mask across his eyes.  It can be seen in early promo shots for the KISS album.
• Paul enlisted the talents of Bob Kulick (who previously worked on the new tracks from Alive II, and was likely going to be the guitarist for KISS before Ace auditioned) and Rod Stewart's drummer, Carmine Appice, in recording the album.
• Paul Stanley's first outside songwriting job was a song co-written with Desmond Child titled "The Fight" that appeared on a 1979 album by Desmond and his band Rouge.
• Paul once dated Cher's sister, Georganne LaPiere.
• Peaked on the Billboard album chart at # 40--only Peter's album charted worse, at #43.