Unknown Soldier

Overview
The early 1980s was actually the first time that I’d heard of Kiss and from what I’d read I was determined to get an album of theirs and try them out. I also knew that around this time they had taken off their famed make-up as well! I was therefore determined to get an album with them wearing their facial makeup and theatrical costumes, and on going to my local record shop I saw the cover of Destroyer and instantly bought that album! It was an album that I loved from the first listen and still to this day I think it’s without doubt their finest work as a band. Hindsight now tells us, that this album had been planned with this in mind, which is no surprise considering that the band had just made their commercial breakthrough with the classic live double-set Alive and in the process had helped save the record label Casablanca’s bacon! The band knew both their limitations as musicians and the general confines of their basic sound, as they also knew that another big commercial success was needed for both them and the label to profit from Alive. The band knew that maestro producer Bob Ezrin was just the man they needed for this album, especially after his instrumental work in first turning Alice Cooper into a household name and also in his ability to infuse ideas into those artists that he had worked with (he was literally a band member at times with Alice Cooper) Bob Ezrin in return, also knew that Kiss now needed a big bombastic sound to go with their new found fame and larger than life image. Destroyer would be that album and was recorded over the 1975 to 1976 period at the Electric Lady Studios in New York, and the album would be just as much a Bob Ezrin album as it would be a Kiss album. Bob Ezrin co-writes on most of the songs and was behind the use of strings, a choir and the use of sound effects on the album, aspects all fairly alien to the band. The work ethic in the studio of Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss had improved tenfold under Bob Ezrin, who as usual used outside musicians to boost parts of the album when he thought they were required. The album art was supplied by fantasy artist Ken Kelly, whose album art was so good that it actually inspired me to buy the album! As is often the case, the album was slammed by the critics of the day, but as always the album has since been seen as an essential heavy metal release of the 1970s and has topped various musical polls over the years. As a further point of interest, there is actually a 2012 remix of this classic album available as well and was remixed by Bob-Ezrin.

Paul Stanley- Rhythm/Vocals
Gene Simmons- Bass/Vocals
Ace Frehley- Guitar
Peter Criss- Drums/Vocals

Production- Bob Ezrin

Album
Detroit Rock City- A sound effects intro, first has the sound of cutlery being washed along with a radio being played and then the reporting of a motor accident that will take place later in the song. Then there is the sound of somebody starting a sports car and listening to the Kiss song “Rock and Roll all Nite” the song then revs in with a powerful opening section with Paul Stanley on vocals, we then learn that the song is about this ill-fated guy on his way to a rock concert and the song then finishes with the actual car crash! King of the Night Time World- Paul Stanley then launches into the strong second track and again it has that sing-along vibe all over it. God of Thunder- A slow throbbing muscle track that benefits from the even heavier voice of Gene Simmons and hell this song always sounds so good especially when played extra loud! The song also has some interesting sound effects……. sadly the kid is not one of them! Great Expectations- Something of a surprise track here and in many ways the theatrical Bob Ezrin is extremely influential in its construction and the choir blends in well as well. Flaming Youth- A party sounding track that actually sounds more like a Kiss track from earlier albums, but it does have a slight Bob Ezrin feel to it as well. Sweet Pain- A typical album tracked penned and sung by Gene Simmons, and is highlighted by a Dick Wagner solo (Alice Cooper Band) where he replaced Ace Frehley for this track. Shout it Out Loud- The lead single off the album and sung by both Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons, and it’s a strong song without a doubt. Beth- A power ballad and the only song on the album sung by Peter Criss, and it’s the great success story of the album, and in many ways one of the reasons why the album ended up being so successful as a platinum seller. Do You Love Me?- This is the bombastic penultimate track and its powerfully and dominantly sung by Paul Stanley, and in many ways it’s a song that sums up the attitude of the band. Rock and Roll Party- Basically a short sound effects style instrumental to finish the album.

Verdict
The first thing to notice on Destroyer is the distinct sound that it has over the first three studio albums. Firstly the production is a world away from the almost back-room effort of the first three albums. The second aspect is the far greater musical accomplishments that the album has to offer, but most importantly the fun sounding rock and roll of the first three albums, has now by and large given way to a far more bombastic heavier sounding feel. The album strongly benefits from Bob Ezrin’s touch and he certainly encouraged the band to go for a big sound overall, whilst keeping the catchy vibes of the first three albums. The album is immediately highlighted by both its powerful and bombastic type anthem tracks, such as the opener “Detroit Rock City” the second track “King of the Night Time World” and the lead single “Shout it Out Loud” which is probably the best advert for a typical 1970s anthem style sounding track, but the best might just be the second to final track in the infectious “Do You Love Me?”. The real heavy metal classic on the album is “God of Thunder” which just sounds like a booming 1970s sludgy metal track! The power and loudness of the album is then brought down on a couple of occasions, firstly with the experimental “Great Expectations” and its use of a choir. On the second occasion it’s even more startling with the Peter Criss penned ballad “Beth” a beautiful song written by a band that probably weren’t expected to write such material. “Beth” is probably one of the earliest and best examples of what a power ballad is and even to this day it’s one of the very best ever written. The use of sound effects on the album, works far more often than it doesn’t and on songs like “Detroit Rock City” it makes superb use of these affects, but then one of the best songs on the album “God of Thunder” does lose some points by having an annoying kid shouting in certain parts of the song, but that’s a minimal gripe! In some ways the bombastic feel of this album was quite unique for its time and I can think of nothing around this time within the heavy genre that could match this for a bombastic blast, not at least until Meat Loaf released Bat Out of Hell a year later.


Paul Stanley- Rhythm/Vocals
Gene Simmons- Bass/Vocals
Ace Frehley- Guitar
Peter Criss- Drums/Vocals

Production- Eddie Kramer

Album
I Want You- A punchy opener and the band sound like they’ve been doing this thing for years now with some great guitar by Ace Frehley. Take Me- The second Paul Stanley track in a row and the hooks are just flowing like a river now. Calling Dr.Love- With a slightly heavier pace and slower feel, the first Gene Simmon’s track on the album was one of the singles released from the album. The song was actually inspired by a Three Stooges episode called “Men in Black” and guess what as a Three Stooges fan I love that episode! Ladies Room- A heavy intro and again highlighted by a catchy hooks, whilst maintaining its steady rhythm throughout. Baby Driver- In stark contrast to “Beth” Peter Criss uses his hard rock sounding voice to saunter in and out this catchy number, and it’s just the type of song to have you buzzing for the rest of the day! Love ‘Em and Leave ‘Em- A great anthem sounding track by Gene Simmons and an example of just how strong some of the later albums tracks are. Mr.Speed- Another gem and you get the feeling that these songs are just not going to run out. See You in Your Dreams- Gene Simmons has always proved that he can write catchy songs as good as Paul Stanley can and here’s an example of that. The song would go onto appear on his future solo album a few years later. Hard Luck Woman- A single written for Rod Stewart, but after the success of “Beth” the band decided to keep it themselves and it was the first leading single from the album. The problem when I hear this, is that I also hear “Maggie May” and not a Kiss song. Makin’ Love- A fairly frantic album closer to close a great album.

Verdict
It seemed that Kiss turned out to be a band with very much their own mind when it came to deciding what they wanted, especially after the mammoth success of the Destroyer album. The band could’ve continued with the expansionist sound of Destroyer as most people would’ve expected them to, but the band now decided to return to the rawer hard rock sound of the first three albums. It was a bold move by the band, but then again when you’re one of the biggest bands in the country these moves can often pay off and it seems that the band were determined to see justice done to the quality of their first three albums and get them recognized as the band’s true early sound. But of course things were different now, as they could now have the production values that they wanted for this album. They decided to bring in Eddie Kramer who had produced the Alive album and he was able to give them a raw sound but with a crystal clear production, that also had a buzzing live feel about it! The band put together a collection of ten catchy songs that were full of hooks with an in-your-face sound, which was guaranteed to get fans buying their back catalogue, as any of these songs on Rock and Roll Over could’ve been on those earlier albums. The album is highlighted by a string of catchy gems such as the album opener “I Want You” “Take Me” and the strutty “Mr.Speed” amongst others. Then of course there is the sleazy sounding hard rock of Gene Simmons on “Calling Dr.Love” and the catchy “Ladies Room” an easy choice of a single here, along with fan favourite “Love ‘Em and Leave ‘Em”. Drummer Peter Criss who was by now a recognized vocalist in the band had the great and bouncy infectious “Baby Diver”. The album also has a strong contribution from Sean Delaney almost a member of the band as their road manager and most importantly as their stage choreographer. Rock and Roll Over at just thirty three minutes is a superb slice of an-in your-face bubblegum style hard rock with hardly a minute wasted, excepting of course the terrible Rod Stewart sounding single “Hard Luck Woman”. Kiss would unsurprisingly be a huge inspiration on the future 1980s hair metal movement in the USA and it was common knowledge that most of those bands had listened fairly obsessively to the early Kiss discography, and if I had to hazard a guess on which of these early albums was the most influential on that movement, I might just pick Rock and Roll Over as being the most influential of them all.

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