Episode 602.

NME January 15, 1977

KISS Rock And Roll Over

(Casablanca Import)

MUCH, MUCH against my better nature I must admit to having had quite a laugh listening to this one. Kiss however are pushing themselves into amusingly ghastly quarters in the numbered vault.

Once considered the very crust of hopeful predictions of outlasted hasty demise, partook company with Alice Cooper, Bob Ezrin and even Kim Fowley, our kultur shock heroes just refuse to go away and die. The recipe for their continuing success would be obvious: just keep pumping out those records.

This fanciful little offering produced by Record Plant wonders Eddie Kramer (he of Zeppelin fame) and cut his vinyl teeth on Ted Nugent) surely throws a few hot slices into the oafish oven, that sound they got on back to their original motifs of exploitation heavy metal and preserved their commercial balance by dispensing with their most hideously obnoxious singles as a whole, left to rot by everyone and no one. Who’s fooling who? Soon it will be time for Kiss to fall into the so-bad-it’s-nearly-good category and most of the ditties herein fully deserve that compliment. Take Mr Speed and Calling Dr. Love f’rinstance. Admirable pastiches of Kiss doing Frank Zappa doing Kiss.

The riffs are choice, stolen from the Stones, The Faces, a couple of obligatory originals, it will pass. You get a sticker, a disgustingly contrived, transparent questionnaire so as Gene, Paul, Ace and the cat geezer can give ya more of what ya want next time. Kiss wants to know about you? How old are you? How did you find out about this album?

Next stop, Kiss get elected to Jimmy Carter’s House of Un-American Activities — under 12 division.

They aren’t that stoopid either!

After they take off the make-up and don the sneakers Kiss like to get smashed. Last time over here Ace (good name) Frehley was so far removed from his natural box he could hardly stand up.

Best rip-off is a piss-take on Rod Stewart, “Hard Luck Woman,” which is superb.

This is the nastiest album Kiss have ever made and if it’s cool to like Thin Lizzy, I’m keeping one step ahead with this. Good to see the true spirit of unashamed idiocy lives on. Don’t just stand there, rock and roll over or something.

Max Bell

(There are no plans to release this album in the UK at the moment, since Casablanca have severed their UK distribution deal with EMI.)

Press requests please contact Michael Brandvold at www.michaelbrandvold.com

Since launching in 2012 Three Sides of the Coin has been viewed or listened to over 6,000,000 times. Three Sides of the Coin has been joined by special guests including former KISS lead guitarist Bruce Kulick, Eddie Trunk, AEW Superstar and lead singer of Fozzy Chris Jericho, Angel lead guitarist Punky Meadows, Five Finger Death Punch guitarist Jason Hook, Vinnie Vincent Invasion and Slaughter lead singer Mark Slaughter, Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider, comedian Craig Gass, KISS’ former business manager Chris Lendt, the Black Veil Brides’ Andy Biersack, Frank Munoz associate producer for Ace Frehley’s Anomaly album, award winning songwriter Adam Mitchell, Ed Kanon (Peter Criss’ drum tech), Kevin Valentine (drummer on KISS’ Psycho Circus album). Three Sides of the Coin was picked (October 2013) as a ‘What’s Hot’ podcast by Apple’s iTunes.

In the early ’90s, Michael Brandvold launched the fifth ever website on the Internet devoted to KISS, KISS Otaku. He built, launched and maintained Kissonline.com (KISS’ official web presence). He now owns Michael Brandvold Marketing, providing marketing services and digital strategy to musicians. Tommy Sommers spent 15 years on the record show circuit collecting, trading and selling memorabilia / Kiss merchandise. He is now a successful residential Real Estate agent in the Minneapolis / St. Paul area. Tommy has also produced a KISS song For The Oddfathers and is the owner of Rock Steady Digital Photography. Mark Cicchini, is a world renown KISS collector. KISS have used parts of Mark’s vast KISS collection for audio, video & print materials including their book NOTHIN TO LOSE, CD re release of the LOVE GUN album & the VH1 Ultimate Album KISS ALIVE! special as well as many other KISS projects. His wife also makes a mean meatloaf!!!

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