It started over 50 years ago. And decades later, it is obvious that the beginning of KISS was built on great music. Their debut album Kiss stands up to this day.
KISS
Produced by Kenny Kerner and Richie Wise
Released 18 February 1974
Side 1
Strutter (Stanley/Simmons)
Nothin’ To Lose (Simmons)
Firehouse (Stanley)
Cold Gin (Frehley)
Let Me Know (Stanley)
Side 2
Kissin’ Time (Mann/Lowe) Not on the earliest pressings of the album
Deuce (Simmons)
Love Theme From Kiss (Stanley/Simmons/Criss/Frehley)
100 000 Years (Stanley/Simmons)
Black Diamond (Stanley)
The release of Kiss in early 1974 was the culmination of years of trial and error for the four young men in the band: Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Peter Criss and Ace Frehley. The frustrating non-starter that was the band Wicked Lester had given way to KISS by late 1972, and in November of 1973 the new band found themselves in New York City’s Bell Sound Studios, finally rolling tape on a record of their own singular vision.
Often lamented by the band for its simplistic and dry production, their debut record is actually a great introduction to KISS. To the author’s ears it also sounds good all the way from the early 1970s vinyl editions, through the first CD editions of the 1980s (either the Japanese master or the American edition mastered by George Marino) and the 1990s (the remaster series), all the way up to the current heavyweight vinyl edition and high quality streaming.
Their record company Casablanca (founded by the fiercely independent industry pioneer Neil Bogart) had decided that KISS should be produced by their in-house duo Kenny Kerner and Richie Wise. The resulting sound, helped to tape by engineer Warren Dewey, is overly polite and certainly far removed from their live show’s thunder and lightning, but this crisp and clear presentation also grants the songwriting an opportunity to shine.
It might be easy to forget, but the true foundation of the KISS phenomenon is a bunch of great songs to go with the show. Back in the day, KISS actually excelled as writers of simple and catchy rock music, and the more restrained playing and singing on their debut album showcases this impressively. Lead vocals are effortlessly tossed around between Stanley, Simmons and Criss, as the band cruise through a collection of songs that they had already honed close to perfection through a year of intense rehearsals and club gigs.
Some of the all-time KISS greats are here: Strutter, Nothin’ To Lose, Firehouse, Cold Gin, Deuce, 100 000 Years and Black Diamond. The list is awesome, particularly for a debut record. The only tunes to drag the overall impression down somewhat are Kissin’ Time (which was only added to later pressings by way of record company PR and hype, and could in fairness be discounted), and the pointless instrumental Love Theme From Kiss which was edited down from an early live number called Acrobat. Knowing that the band had other material available that would show up on the next two records, the latter’s inclusion is hard to understand. On the other hand, there is a hidden gem here in the form of Let Me Know, a deliciously melodic composition previously known as Sunday Driver.
The album cover image by photographer Joel Brodsky was intended as a simplistic “With the Beatles”-style four-heads-in-a-frame type of hello to the world, but is marred by the decision to let a makeup artist take care of Peter Criss’ face, for the first and only time. There would be more fantastic KISS covers to come, but the first is certainly iconic in retrospect.
Kiss is the sound of KISS at their earliest and most innocent, before fame and before the clouds of conflict truly came into the relationships within the band. The album’s release in early 1974 marked the beginning of a nearly non-stop tour that stretched all the way into 1978, with only short respites from the road in order to produce more albums. Already in the late summer of 1974 KISS would return to the studio for their second album of the year, Hotter Than Hell (1974).
Over 50 years later, Kiss is perhaps even more a remarkable record. Not even The Beatles themselves, much less most other bands in music history, were able to draw on their debut album for live material throughout their career the way that KISS have been. The birth of a pop culture phenomenon and the launch of a merchandising empire – none of it would have been possible without a handful of great songs. The first KISS album is a timely reminder that in the beginning, getting the music right really mattered.
Place in KISStory:
6/6 Masterpiece
5/6 GREAT
4/6 Good
3/6 OK
2/6 Disappointing
1/6 Crap
STRANGE WAYS 