Just got a copy of the recently released special edition of Kiss Love Gun. So many of the many reissues that I get are pretty pointless. Many times the remastering is not even done well and the artist is not even involved. Not the case with this one. This truly is a great reissue and worth the purchase. Everyone knows by now I am still a huge fan of CDs and they are very much by far still my favorite format. When CDs are produced like this it’s another reason why I love them so much. This deluxe edition of Love Gun has great packaging, photos, liner notes by Joe Elliott of Def Leppard, a great booklet and even a magnetic love gun (the original album had a cardboard one which broke after a few snaps!). The remastered original album sounds crisp and punchy without the over compression and volume that plagues some of these remasters these days. The bonus disc has some cool gems including a demo for a Simmons song call “I Know Who You Are” which hardcore fans will recognize as the song it became on his solo album the next year “Living In Sin”. There is also a real interesting recording of a young Paul Stanley explaining how a song goes that he just wrote called “Love Gun” which is a learning demo. I also found the 1977 Montreal radio interview with Simmons interesting when he talks about the band not taking any major turns in their music or being so pompous to make a concept record. Fascinating when you consider the next album had a disco song and The Elder would come shortly after! Love Gun was the bands sixth studio album and for the most part the final ever studio record from the original band (Anton Fig would play on Dynasty and Unmasked despite Peter being pictured). It holds a special place for many because it was when Kiss was on top of the world, firing on all cylinders, featured the vocal debut of Ace Frehley, and featured a tour and stage show unlike anything anyone had seen. It was Kiss at their peak. I saw Kiss for the first time in December of 1977 and it was a game changer for me and so many. This special edition really took me back to ’77 again, being that kid in my bedroom with Kiss posters all over the wall and dropping the needle on the start of “I Stole Your Love”. It encompasses all that was so great about being a kid and being lost in the music and mystique of Kiss while staring at the album jacket. Tommy Thayer worked on this reissue and regardless of how you feel about his current role in Kiss he was a fan first and foremost and he certainly has always done a great job when it comes to capturing the history the right way. I hope the rest of the bands catalog eventually gets this treatment on CD.
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Love Gun is a great album. I will purchase the remaster after reading Eddies review. As a life long KISS fan and a fan of Eddies, it’s nice to read Eddie speaking like this about KISS.
Compared with Detroyer and Rock and Roll Over, Love Gun is a turd of a release (except for the title track, ISYL and Shock Me and some of Ace’s guitar work on other songs).
Surprised Eddie loves it so much.
I agree. Song for song, those records are indeed better overall and those songs you mentioned are as worthy as any other songs in the Kiss catalogue from the original 4. A few of the other songs on the Love Gun album, however, gave me the feeling I was listening to leftovers – in comparison to its predecessor. The feel of certain Love Gun songs also seemed to be catering more to a young audience in comparison to its predecessors. In other words, the tunes are a bit more of the bubble-gum variety – in my opinion. I own Destroyer and Rock and Roll Over, but not Love Gun. Anyone else have similar sentiments?
Well Rich, yes & no, IMO the only song that qualifies as bubble-gum, is “Christine Sixteen”, and I never liked “Hooligan”, or the remake of “Then She Kissed Me”, but other than that, I think LOVE GUN is a great album! 7 out of 10 ain’t bad. Out of the six-pack, (first 6 albums) my least favorite is DRESSED TO KILL, but overall I still love the album! 🙂
good album. better than some of their non-makeup or more recent fake-up albums. the weekest by the original lineup. their weekest beats many other bands yearest.
It’s not as strong as earlier releases from the original band but it has some great moments to, like the title track, I Stole Your Love and Shock Me (which only Ace can sing). I agree with you about Christine Sixteen. It’s a bubble-gum, kiddie song. Hooligan isn’t one of my favorites either. Still, it’s not a bad album. I give the original a B- and the reissue a B+. Trust me, those are good grades to me.
I saw this in my local record store (Vintage Vinyl, Eddie!!) and didn’t know anything about it. Had no idea they had a Love Gun special edition coming out, and hadn’t heard anyone talking about it or promoting it (very unlike KISS) so I assumed it was a nicely made but non-official reissue. Demos aren’t usually my thing so I didn’t pick it up. Getting the “Eddie Approval” makes me definitely rethink it and I might go and pick it up. Sounds great all around, and I kind of only believed that once I hear Eddie say it.
I agree with this pretty much line for line, ET. I too was at the KISS show at the Garden in Dec. 1977 (Dec. 14th, to be exact; still have the ticket stub) and I have heard the new version. It sounds great. One of the good points of current remasters is really bringing the low end out, and more clarity and separation of the guitars. The demos are cool. Didn’t listen to the interview yet, but good observation; now I’ll have to give a listen and chuckle.
Looking forward to NYE at Rock Bar in SJ, as it turns out, the owner, Susan and the in-house booker, Jimmy, are both friends of mine, so a decent chance I’ll be there, although it is in SJ, which is an hour away and that presents problems with driving down and back on that particular holiday. Hopefully, all will work out…
I’m very picky these days about what I buy when it comes to KISS because my days of giving Gene & Paul my money are definitely over – unless it is something truly worthy. I’m really not a fan of remasters, I find it hard to trust them because I know a lot of bands are adding re-recorded elements and doing other types of changes and to me that is a total desecration. As for the KISS catalog I’m perfectly happy with the original first pressings of the cd’s, I actually liked the layout on those a lot better than the ’96 remasters. The ’96 remasters didn’t even use the correct KISS logo…that always bugged me. All these liner notes on reissues annoy me too…why do I care what Joe Elliot has to say about Love Gun?? Just give me the lyrics, credits & photos and I’m happy. It’s gonna take a lot more than a magnetic toy gun to entice me to put more money in Gene & Paul’s pockets.
I bought it today and I love it. I haven’t heard the album in at least 25 years. I had it on cassette and when it was lost I never bothered to repurchase it. Although Love Gun is not my favorite Kiss album I don’t dislike it either. Some of my favorite Kiss songs are on it, like the title track and Shock Me. I’m glad I bought this deluxe edition. I’ve had a blast listening to it. It’s brought back memories of some great times in my life. It sounds great and I like the bonus stuff to.