Casablanca, 1978
Acquired: Love Garden Shotgun Room, Used, 2008
Price: $1
FINALLY, something that sounds like a KISS record! Well, at least based on the first song, “Tonight You Belong to Me,” which I thought was going to be some more sappy shit. But no! The guitars on this are pretty badass and the chorus is like...kinda damn good. It's epic! Yes, this one does have the sissiest song titles (the previously mentioned track, as well as “Wouldn't You Like to Know Me,” “Take Me Away (Together As One),” and “Hold Me, Touch Me (Think of Me When We're Apart)” are my favorites), but it kind of rocks. There are some sick guitar solos (though not played by Stanley, as he is the trademark rhythm guitarist), and fuck, I can't get over how good this song is. That is, good compared to the rest of the shit I've been hearing. And yeah, actually good in its on right. “Move On” could be good if it weren't for the awful unintentional sing-speak of the vocal line. However, this record DOES contain a lot of that gospel back-up singer stuff, which the other two prominently feature. But that was the schtick back then (just look at Bob Dylan's records from that area, rife with gospel singers). I really can't get over how much this doesn't suck. I mean, granted the shitty song title and some awful lyrics, “Wouldn't You Like to Know Me” is a fucking awesome slice of cock-rock power-pop. This is the only KISS solo record I've heard with any sort of weight. Not like depth, because these are by nature shallow as hell, but there's some OOMPH behind those guitars. Maybe it's because it's decently produced. And again, I can't complain about the bitchin' guitar solos because as a rhythm guitarist myself, I always push for sick riffs (mostly to cover up my ineptitude as a guitarist, though). Honestly, that song almost has a, dare I say, GBV-esque quality to it. It's short, it's poppy and full of crunchy guitars. The track that follows though, “Take Me Away,” is some lame-ass shit. Regardless, this one sucked the least.
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