From: Jeff Harshman

Well, ladies and gentlemen, I too have been fortunate enough to receive an advanced tape of the upcoming Psycho Circus album, and I've decided to submit my review.

A couple of notes before I begin the track by track review.

Number 1: I am giving KISS the benefit of the doubt, and am approaching this album and review by assuming that this album is indeed the four original members of KISS. Contrary to all the rumors, I do believe this is the original band (with one minor POSSIBLE [that is the key word] exception that I will mention in the review) playing on the album. ("But Jeff!! Jeff!!! My sister's friend knows this guy who has a cousin who lives in Phoenix and he has this dog named Earl who goes to this vet who has an ex-girlfriend in Los Angeles who talked to a street vendor who heard from a VERY reliable source that Peter isn't playing on this album. In fact, neither are Gene, Paul or Ace!! No original members are on this record!! They don't even sing!! It's actually Hanson and the Spice Girls singing through computerized voice enhancement devices that cause them to sound like the members of KISS!!! That's what I heard!!! It HAS to be true!!!!!")

Number 2: Up front I'm going to tell you that I like the album. I like the fact that KISS can evolve with the times. Lots of people have griped about the sound of Psycho Circus, because it doesn't sound like 1976 KISS. Well, boys and girls, it's 1998. I like the fact that the original KISS has regrouped, and has chosen to create a kick butt rock album that is modern and fresh, rather than choosing to recreate the sound from the 70s (which is great...don't get me wrong!).

Okay...with all that said...here's my track by track critique of the reunited original KISS lineup's new opus "Psycho Circus":

"Psycho Circus": As many have said, the intro to this is spectacular. The circus music sets the mood. Once the gong sounds, the music takes a dark, evilish style turn. Then...Ace's guitar starts...and we're off for the ride of our lives. Peter's drumming reminds me of Eric Carr's on the "Creatures..." album (another critique which has been mentioned before). The bass drum solo part, while Paul speaks, reminds me of Metallica's "Enter Sandman" a bit. All around this is a real winner. Simply put, this song absolutely rules. They could make an awesome video for this...let's hope they do.

"Within": A dark, grungy sounding song. As it's been said many times, this is very COSish. The lyrics delve into strange contradictions and have almost a mystical feel to them. Gene sounds great. Though not a "Demonish" song, this song rocks. Now...onto the guitar. I believe Ace is playing on this song. Yet...there is a bit of guitar work on this song that sounds a little Bruce Kulick-ish. (Yes, this is the one minor exception I mentioned). I don't believe Bruce played a lot on this album. But, we do know he worked on some demos and co-wrote "Dreamin'". Perhaps some of the demo guitar work was worked into this song. But Ace could play it too. So hey, who knows? But overall, I disagree with the people who say this is a throw away song. I like it a lot. It rocks...and will hopefully make it's way into the PC tour set list.

"I Pledge Allegiance": Now...this is the Paul Stanley of old. This song is a real rocker that's a throwback to classic Stanley. Yet, it's not one of my favorite tracks on the album. Trust me, I like the song, but it just doesn't grab me like some of the other tracks. I guess I just find the whole "I pledge allegiance to the state of rock n roll" thing a little cheesy. But hey, there's nothing wrong with a little cheese. ;) This song would be really cool live. The drum beat is very catchy (go Pete!).

"Into the Void": Ace rules! Ace can't sing worth anything...but I LOVE his songs! They just have a great laid back feel-good rock n roll feel to them. I doubt this one will be a single, but it may pop up in the tour set list (as one person noted it may be like "2000 Man" and show up from time to time). A catchy tune...if you're an Ace fan (he's my favorite member), you'll love it!

"We Are One": I remember when I first heard the sound bite of this song I thought "What the hell is this???" Now, after listening to the full song several times, it's one of my favorites on the album. Once again, it's not a "Demonish" Gene song, but it's great. It's hard for me to describe the type of song this is. It's just really neat. I find myself singing the chorus a lot. The "You are me, I am you" lyrics reminds me of the Beatles "I Am the Walrus" a bit. I kinda doubt this song will be performed live. But, it could be really cool if it was. And a video could be great.

"You Wanted the Best": This song rocks. It reminds me of "Rock N Roll All Nite". Each member singing is awesome. Ace's solo is one of the best of the album. Yet, the lyrics suck. I sing them over and over...but they're dumb as dirt. Not that they're anything really wrong with that, but these lyrics make "Tell me what you want, what you really really want..." sound like a lyrical masterpiece. :) Overall, this is a great track. Get past the fact that the lyrics are probably some of the cheesiest ever recorded by KISS, and you'll love the song. I do. The British gibberish at the end is reminicent of something the Beatles might have done. Overall this is a winner. So anyway, bite the bullet, sit back and jam, and...uh...don't forget to zig-a-zig ah...

"Raise Your Glasses": Another of my favorite album tracks. This reminds me of 80s hair metal a little. Very cool song. It has real live performance and video possibilities. The cheese factor is here a little in the lyrics...but not nearly as bad as YWTB. Next to the title track, this song is probably the second best Paul track on the album. A real feel-good rock song, this gets a big thumbs up.

"I Finally Found My Way": While this song doesn't really fit in with the rest of the album, consistency wise (hey, neither did "Beth"), this is a beautiful song. Peter sings his heart out. This song almost has a Billy Joel feel to it. It also reminds me of some sort of John Lennon solo song. It's very pretty. In concert, this song will make the women scream ("I write the songs that make the young girls cry..." oh sorry, slipped into Barry Manilow mode for a sec...), and make everyone hold up their lighters. I dunno if they'll remove "Beth" from the set to make room for this, but I imagine Peter will get the chance to sing this in front of many rabid fans.

"Dreamin'": Another 80s hair bandish song, Paul once again sounds great (as Ron said, he could sing the phone book and sound good). Yet, like "I Pledge Allegiance", this song doesn't grab me like the others. It's cool, I don't hate it, but it doesn't give me the reaction that songs like the title track, "Raise Your Glasses" and "We Are One" do. This is a straight ahead rocker. I don't really know if this has a future single or concert wise, but it isn't a throw away.

"Journey of 1000 Years": "Don't stop believing...hold on to that feeling..." Oh sorry, wrong Journey. Seriously though, this song is awesome. A great way to finish off the album. Mystical and Elder-esque, this song brings the album to conclusion by incorporating an orchestral version of Ace's "Psycho Circus" solo and revisiting Gene's "Within" lyrics. Once again, Gene is not very "Demonish", but he sounds really cool. A very cool way to finish out the album, almost like the Beatles "A Day in the Life" finally to "Sgt. Pepper". (No, it doesn't sound like that song at all, it just reminds me of the musical techinque that the Beatles used on that album.) This song could possibly close out the Psycho Circus tour set. (Though, Gene and the boys may prefer to end the concert on a more rocking note...RNRAN once again.) All in all, this song is a perfect conclusion.

So, overall the Psycho Circus album rules. Don't listen to this album expecting to hear "Destroyer Revisited", because you won't find it. As a few people have said, this album really has no comparison in the KISS catalog. It incorporates different musical styles into an awesome rocking mixture. My only suggestion is that Gene should have had at least one "Demonish" song (like "God of Thunder", "Unholy", etc.). Yet, this album does not lack. On September 22, run...do not walk, to the nearest record store!! The Psycho Circus is coming to town.

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