From: Carlos Jackson

A little history before I review Psycho-Circus. As an African-American I'm defiantly a minority as far as Kiss fans go. But Kiss is the whole reason I started to listen to Rock music in the first place. As a very little kid (8) I saw Kiss perform 'Rock And Roll All Nite' on the Paul Lynn Halloween Special in 1975 and my whole life changed. Of course it was the makeup and costumes that first attracted me, but I fell in love with the music, it was like it triggered something inside me, which is why to this day 90% of the music I listen to is good old fashion Rock and Roll.

Okay enough rambling let's get to Psycho-Circus (PC). I don't think any album the originals guys put out would have lived up to the expectations; Kiss was extremely important to so many of us in the '70s. So I loaded PC into the CD player with a grain of salt. I was pleasantly surprised. This is a good album. Is it the best KISS album, no, but it is very far from the worst. Here is my song by song review:

Psycho-Circus: Great song, perfect opener. Paul's windpipes are at their best here. Great guitar work from Ace and Peter's drums sound great. I've heard some speculation that Peter doesn't play much on this album, well if they do have a 'ghost' drummer he is doing one hell of a Peter Criss imitation.

Within: Gene in complete 'Demon' mode. This song is fantastic. It's impossible not to bang your head during the chorus. One of my favorites.

I Pledge Allegiance To The State of Rock And Roll: The song title just reeks of cheese, and the song doesn't disappoint. Actually it isn't that bad, but I think most of us have out grown Paul's anthems.

Into The Void: The Spaceman is back!!! This is by far Ace's best song since the first Frehley's Comet album, the guitar work is simple fantastic. Gene and Paul's background vocals are reminiscent of 'Shock Me' and really add to the song. This one is a keeper.

We Are One: One of the biggest surprises on the album. Gene sounds great on this song and brings back memories of his solo album. I think it follows an underlying theme of the whole album, which is the reunion of the original members. Really good tune.

You Wanted The Best: Gene wrote this one, but all four of the guys sing this one!!! To me this song is just ok on the disc, but I have a feeling that live this will be one of the highlights of the show.

Raise Your Glasses: A weak Paul song, nothing special here.

I Finally Found My Way: Written by Paul and sung very well by Peter. However , even though I like this song a lot it suffers cause it sounds too by the numbers. Was it really necessary for Peter to sing a ballad? I just don't see the need for 'Beth' part two. Something close to 'Dirty Livin' from "Dynasty" would have been great.

Dreamin': Paul's best song besides PC. I think he plays the guitar solo on this one. Very good.

Journey Of 1,000 Years: Another fantastic Gene song and frankly my favorite song on the album. Very Beatlistic.

Well there you have. In my opinion Gene really stands out on this album, his songs are simple great. We could have used another song from Ace and an uptempo song from Peter, but there is always next time.

KISS ASYLUM -- KISS Museum News Archive Features Tour Dates Photos