Used LP: Kiss: Kiss (without "Kissing Time")

$

39

Kiss: Kiss

USED ALBUM

• Strutter
• Nothin' to Lose
• Firehouse
• Cold Gin
• Let Me Know
• Kissin' Time
• Deuce
• Love Theme from Kiss
• 10,000 Years
• Black Diamond

• George Marino: Mastering
• Joseph M. Palmaccio: Remastering
• Eddie Solan
• Richie Wise: Producer
• Mitchell Kanner: Art Direction, Design
• Joel Brodsky: Photography
• Robert V. Conte: Liner Notes
• Rock Steady: Concept, Direction
• Gene Simmon: Bass, Vocals
• Lockart: Art Direction, Design
• Bruce Foster: Piano
• Warren Dewey: Engineer
• Kenny Kerner: Producer
• Peter Criss: Drums, Vocals
• Ace Frehley: Guitar, Vocals
• Kiss: Main Performer
• Gene Simmons: Bass, Vocals
• Paul Stanley: Guitar, Rhythm, Vocals, Guitar (Rhythm)

• Kiss' 1974 self-titled debut is one of hard rock's all-time classic studio recordings. Kiss is chock full of their best and most renowned compositions, containing elements of Rolling Stones/New York Dolls party-hearty rock & roll, Beatles tunefulness, and Sabbath/Zep heavy metal, and wisely recorded primal and raw by producers Richie Wise and Kenny Kerner (of Gladys Knight fame). Main songwriters Stanley and Simmons each had a knack for coming up with killer melodies and riffs, as evidenced by "Nothin' to Lose" and "Deuce" (by Simmons), "Firehouse" and "Black Diamond" (by Stanley), as well as "Strutter" and "10,000 Years" (collaborations by the two). Also included is the Ace Frehley alcohol anthem "Cold Gin," "Let Me Know" (a song that Stanley played for Simmons upon their very first meeting, then titled "Sunday Driver"), and one of Kiss' few instrumentals: the groovy "Love Theme From Kiss" (penned by the entire band). The only weak track is a tacky cover of the 1959 Bobby Rydell hit "Kissin' Time," which was added to subsequent pressings of the album to tie in with a "Kissing Contest" promotion the band was involved in at the time. Along with 1976's Destroyer, Kiss' self-titled debut is their finest studio album, and has only improved over the years. ~ Greg Prato, All Music Guide

• Rooted in the campy theatrics of Alice Cooper and the sleazy hard rock of glam rockers the New York Dolls, Kiss became a favorite of American teenagers in the '70s. Most kids were infatuated with the look of Kiss, not their music. Decked out in outrageously flamboyant costumes and makeup, the band fashioned a captivating stage show featuring dry ice, smoke bombs, elaborate lighting, blood spitting, and fire breathing that captured the imaginations of thousands of kids. But Kiss' music shouldn't be dismissed — it was a commercially potent mix of anthemic, fist-pounding hard rock driven by sleek hooks and ballads powered by loud guitars, cloying melodies, and sweeping strings. It was a sound that laid the groundwork for both arena rock and the pop-metal that dominated rock in the late '80s. Kiss was the brainchild of Gene Simmons (bass, vocals) and Paul Stanley (rhythm guitar, vocals), former members of the New York-based hard rock band Wicked Lester; the duo brought in drummer Peter Criss through his ad in Rolling Stone and guitarist Ace Frehley responded to an advertisement in The Village Voice. Even at their first Manhattan concert in 1973, the group's approach was quite theatrical; Flipside producer Bill Aucoin offered the band a management deal after the show. Two weeks later, the band was signed to Neil Bogart's fledgling record label, Casablanca. Kiss released their self-titled debut in February of 1974; it peaked at number 87 on the U.S. charts. By April of 1975, the group had released three albums and had toured America constantly, building up a sizable fan base. Culled from those numerous concerts, Alive! (released in the fall of 1975) made the band rock & roll superstars; it climbed into the Top Ten and its accompanying single, "Rock 'N' Roll All Nite," made it to number 12. Their follow-up, Destroyer, was released in March of 1976 and became the group's first platinum album; it also featured their first Top Ten single, Peter Criss' power ballad "Beth." A 1977 Gallup poll named Kiss the most popular band in America. Kiss mania was in full swing and thousands of pieces of merchandise hit the marketplace. The group had two comic books released by Marvel, pinball machines, makeup and masks, board games, and a live-action TV movie, Kiss Meet the Phantom of the Park. The group was never seen in public without wearing their makeup and their popularity was growing by leaps and bounds; the membership of the Kiss Army, the band's fan club, was now in the six figures. Even such enormous popularity had its limits, and the band reached them in 1978, when all four members released solo albums on the same day in October. Simmons' record was the most successful, reaching number 22 on the charts, yet all of them made it into the Top 50. Dynasty, released in 1979, continued their streak of platinum albums, yet it was their last recorded with the original lineup — Criss left in 1980. Kiss Unmasked, released in the summer of 1980, was recorded with session drummer Anton Fig; Criss' permanent replacement, Eric Carr, joined the band in time for their 1980 world tour. Kiss Unmasked was their first record since Destroyer to fail to go platinum, and 1981's Music from the Elder, their first album recorded with Carr, didn't even go gold — it couldn't even climb past number 75 on the charts. Ace Frehley left the band after its release; he was replaced by Vinnie Vincent in 1982. Vincent's first album with the group, 1982's Creatures of the Night, fared better than Music from the Elder, yet it couldn't make it past number 45 on the charts. Sensing it was time for a change, Kiss dispensed with their makeup for 1983's Lick It Up. The publicity worked, as the album became their first platinum record in four years. Animalize, released the following year, was just as successful, and the group had recaptured their niche. Vincent left after Animalize and was replaced by Mark St. John; St. John was soon taken ill with Reiter's Syndrome and left the band. Bruce Kulick became Kiss' new lead guitarist in 1984. For the rest of the decade, Kiss turned out a series of best-selling albums, culminating in the early 1990 hit ballad "Forever," which was their biggest single since "Beth." Kiss was scheduled to record a new album with their old producer, Bob Ezrin, in 1990 when Eric Carr became severely ill with cancer; he died in November of 1991 at the age of 41. Kiss replaced him with Eric Singer and recorded Revenge (1992), their first album since 1989; it was a Top Ten hit and went gold. Kiss followed it with the release of Alive III the following year; it performed respectably, but was not up to the standards of their two previous live records. In 1996, the original lineup of Kiss — featuring Simmons, Stanley, Frehley, and Criss — reunited to perform an international tour, complete with their notorious makeup and special effects. The tour was one of the most successful of 1996, and in 1998 the reunited group issued Psycho Circus. While the ensuing tour in support of Psycho Circus was a success, sales of Kiss' reunion album weren't as stellar as anticipated. Reminiscent of the band's late-'70s unfocused period, few tracks on Psycho Circus featured all four members playing together (most tracks were supplemented with session musicians), as the band seemed more interested in flooding the marketplace with merchandise yet again instead of making the music their top priority. With rumors running rampant that the Psycho Circus Tour would be their last, the quartet announced in the spring of 2000 that they would be launching a U.S. farewell tour in the summer, which became one of the year's top concert draws. But on the eve of a Japanese and Australian tour in early 2001, Peter Criss suddenly left the band once again, supposedly discontent with his salary. Taking his place was previous Kiss drummer Eric Singer, who in a controversial move among some longtime fans, donned Criss' cat-man makeup (since Simmons and Stanley own both Frehley and Criss' makeup designs, there was no threat of a lawsuit) as the farewell tour continued. With the band scheduled to call it a day supposedly by late 2001, a mammoth career-encompassing box set was set for later in the year, while the summer saw perhaps the most over-the-top piece of Kiss merchandise yet — the "Kiss Kasket." The group was relatively quiet through the rest of the year, but 2002 started with a bang as Gene Simmons turned in an entertaining and controversial interview on NPR where he criticized the organization and berated host Terry Gross with sexual comments and condescending answers. He was promoting his autobiography at the time, which also caused dissent in the Kiss camp because of the inflammatory remarks made towards Ace Frehley. Frehley was quite angry at the situation, leading to his no-showing of an American Bandstand anniversary show. His place was taken by a wig-wearing Tommy Thayer, but no one was fooled and the band looked especially awful while pretending to play their instruments during the pre-recorded track. The appearance was an embarrassment for the group and for their fans, but Simmons was quick to dismiss the performance as another in a long series of money-oriented decisions. The band kept touring the globe with no new album in stores, but in 2008 they returned to the studio, re-recorded their hits, and released Jigoku-Retsuden aka KISSology or Kiss Klassics. The release was exclusive to Japan until a year later when it became a bonus disc for the band's first studio album in 11 years, Sonic Boom. Produced by Paul Stanley and Greg Collins, the album was exclusively distributed in North America by the Wal-Mart chain of stores.

FINE PRINT

• All pictures are of the exact item being sold.
• Your item(s) will be shipped the next business day after I receive your payment.
• I always leave feedback before your item ships. Please consider leaving feedback for me after you have had a chance to inspect and enjoy this item.
• Please avoid questions on the last day of the auction. I might not have enough time to give you an answer before the auction ends.
• Payment by PayPal only (except for items when local pick-up has been arranged).
• All album reviews, credits and artist biographies are from All Music Guide. If you haven't been to their web site, you have to check it out. It's one of the most comprehensive music references on the internet. In some cases, credits may include reissue (CD) information. Obviously any credits referenced to CDs do not apply to these album releases.
• All sealed albums are being sold as collector's items and cannot be returned due to manufacturer's defects. It may be almost impossible to replace many of the sealed albums that I am selling.
• IT IS NOT MY INTENTION TO MAKE A PROFIT ON THE POSTAGE. ANY ACCIDENTAL OVERCHARGE GREATER THAN $1 WILL BE REFUNDED TO YOU.

Shipping

• Pick-up is fine with me. Just be prepared to pay by cash. No shipping fees apply. E-mail me to setup a time that is convenient for the both of us.
• All uninsured and underinsured shipments are the responsibility of the buyer.
• I have started to add a $1.00 "handling fee" which is to help defray the cost of a new mailing box. This is approximately what I pay for them from BagsUnlimited. If you opt to have your record(s) shipped by Priority Mail, I will refund the dollar since the box from the Post Office is free. If don't chose Priority Mail and you feel that the dollar is unfair, let me know so I can refund it. Upon refunding your dollar, I will package your album(s) in an "almost new" mailer which was used to send a record to me.

• Foreign buyers must pay with US dollars through PayPal only. Please do not send cash - it's too risky.
• SHIPPING: I will send an invoice with options for the cost of shipping after the auction ends. You will have the choice of the following two options:
• USPS First Class International: Estimated delivery time to most countries is about 10-30 days. (Customs may delay delivery)
• USPS Priority Mail International: Estimated delivery time to most countries is about 6-10 days. (Customs may delay delivery)
• All uninsured and underinsured shipments are the responsibility of the buyer.
• I have started to add a $1.00 "handling fee" which is to help defray the cost of a new mailing box. This is approximately what I pay for them from BagsUnlimited. If you opt to have your record(s) shipped by Priority Mail, I will refund the dollar since the box from the Post Office is free. If don't chose Priority Mail and you feel that the dollar is unfair, let me know so I can refund it. Upon refunding your dollar, I will package your album(s) in an "almost new" mailer which was used to send a record to me.
• The buyer is responsible for all customs regulations and fees in their own country.
• You can go to the USPS International Postage Calculator to approximate the cost of your postage. The shipping weight for this record is listed near the beginning of this listing. If you are purchasing multiple records and need to manually calculate the postage, subtract 8 ounces for each additional record.

Counter by AuctionTamer