One of the ideas behind all four of Kiss‘ original members issuing their own solo album on September 18, 1978, was to help rekindle and unite the band that was breaking off into different factions.
However, looking back on it today, it did the complete opposite: Peter Criss would exit the band two years later, while Ace Frehley would follow suit four years later.
And with ’78 being the first year in Kiss’ recording career up to that point that not a single studio album of original material was issued, we’ve assembled tracks from all four of the solo albums, resulting in what could have been a single kick-ass Kiss album.
SIDE ONE
Gene Simmons – Radioactive
Featuring one of the spookiest sounding openings of any Kiss-related tune, this Gene Simmons rocker also features a short but sweet guitar solo by none other than Aerosmith‘s Joe Perry.
Ace Frehley – Rip It Out
One of Ace Frehley’s hardest-rocking tunes would have served as the ultimate one-two punch if it had followed “Radioactive.” It features some great drumming from Anton Fig years before he became a member of Paul Shaffer and the World’s Most Dangerous Band and the house band for David Letterman‘s late-night TV shows.