From: Joseph Reynolds

I have had the tape for about a month & have listened to it many times since. The following is my first month's impressions of this cd.

Psycho Circus- The first single for the upcoming cd, sung by Paul Stanley. My first impression of this song was "if this is the first single, then nothing else on the cd must be "single" worthy. I was hooked after hearing it the third time. It has a great breakdown in the middle of the song. Definitely the concert opening song.

Within- Gene Simmons first song of the cd. This is one of the two songs I would have worked hard on replacing. It reeks of Metallica & Carnival of Souls, Kiss' last studio venture that was Alice in Chains Meets Metallica. It is not a terrible song, it just does not fit with the rest of the cd.

I Pledge Allegiance- Probably the longest most cheesiest song title in the history of Kiss. Leave it to Paul Stanley to get away with it. Excellent chorus & vocals. Great breakdown of guitar riffs, Bruce Fairbairn definitely put his stamp on this one.

Into The Void- The first and only Ace Frehley contribution to this cd. It has the typical Ace guitar riffs which I am happy to hear. His voice has never sounded better. They should have given him two songs.

We Are One- A great Gene song. This song reminds me of Gene's solo album. Plenty of acoustic guitars mixed w/ electric, harmonies, sing along. Very Beatle-ish. A Jim Conlin toe tapper.

Raise Our Glasses- This is a Paul song that is so '80's pop metal. But again, no one can pull it off, but Mr. Stanley. It is reminiscent of Queen's "We Are The Champions". Only is subject matter, not melody or arrangement. I can see this song as a Fox NHL commercial.

You Wanted The Best, You Got The Best- The first song in Kiss history to be sung by all 4 members. It has a typical rock n roll beat. Again it can be perceived as cheesey, but I think they pull it off w/ a great melody. It is as quick in pace as Motley Crue's "Kickstart My Heart".

Finally Found My Way To You- The first & only Peter Criss song on the cd. This is a song written by Paul Stanley. It would have been nice to hear Paul sing this song just because his voice is stronger & cleaner than Peter's, but Peter pulls it off because their is a genuine feel in his voice. It's as if he means what he is singing. Beautiful orchestra arrangements on this one.

Dreaming- This is the second song I think should not be on the cd. It is the typical 80's metal song, where the artist comes up w/ the title. Sings the title, then comes up w/ one line, then sings the title again, then another line, then the title. I think you know what I mean. Not much thought into this song, but it is not unlistenable.

Journey of 1,000 Years- Great Gene Song. Very experimental for Kiss. It has a marching drum beat, w/ an acoustic guitar & full orchestra behind it. Very odd but very catchy. Great ending for the cd.

All in all I give Kiss credit for not putting one sex song on this cd. The majority of the songs are actually about them being in Kiss. It i nice to hear Kiss songs w/ plenty of harmonies & catchy melodies. This cd is very short & to the point. It is 45 minutes long. It is pure enjoyable pop, ear candy!! Bottom line is...it's not Dave Matthews, it has personality!!

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