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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Glad to hear you say this.
I figured it was another cash-grab for Gene & Paul, like Destroyer Resurrected, which did not need to be resurrected. I think I’ll check it out now.
Destroyer wasn’t resurrected – it was simply re-embalmed. So much wasted potential on the re-release . The fact that they(Bob Ezrin) had to fly stuff in from the original album to fill out the “familiar” parts that were not on the multitrack master tape, to me, is cheesy. They (Bob Ezrin) should have just done a fresh clean 21st Century remix that had nothing to do with the original album – but they didn’t. And that’s why I say Destroyer was simply re-embalmed.
I bought it, thinking that Ezrin’s involvement lended validity to it. I liked it at first and then read the customer reviews on amazon and everybody trashed it. There was another aahhhAAHHH added to Beth and the lame original solo for Sweet Pain. The cover wasn’t even the proper original painting by Ken Kelly, which appears in Kisstory. I want Destroyer: The Deluxe Edition next time.
RockFiend: I’m with you. It was a horrendous waste, what Ezrin did with that Destroyer reissue. How about unearthing those lousy sounding bootlegs of them rehearsing in the studio, demos, etc, clean them up and as a an added bonus, a dvd of an unseen ’76 show? I mean come on, don’t these people know what we want?
Exactly. There are plenty of demos of Destroyer songs, including the original lyrics for Great Expectations. “You watch Ace playing guitar”, “You watch Peter beating his drums.” Not to mention the original demo for Beck, ala Beth. An unseen Destroyer show would still be Anaheim ’76, which is many people’s favorite bootleg but has never seen the light of day. It’s not on Kissology, even as a bonus disc. There’s also some cool dress rehearsal footage, etc. Destroyer: The Deluxe Edition could be great.
Eddie, have you ever listened to Joe Rogan’s podcast before? Recently he had not only Joe Perry on as a guest, but Paul Stanley as well. Thought you (or anyone else who reads this) might be interested in seeing them.
Paul
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgwoHp5cfls
Joe
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTOhFUI5IDM
Listened to the one with Paul. Felt like I was at a psychiatrist during most of it! But some interesting stuff for sure
Great review Ed..I really do like the remastering on this and the bonus disc is great!!! Definitely a great snapshot of the band at their original peak.
Dear Real Paul Stanley,
Your epic level of awesomeness amazes me. Please keep them coming!!! They are the best posts in the KISSTORY of the internet!!!!
Best Regards,
HD
Any truth in this?
http://www.kissfaq.com/forum11/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=104570&sid=c28b0bcd7daaf2ff6b40d60afc797dc9
Not that I’m aware of