22. Psycho Circus (1998): A very difficult album for me, as I was so excited for this reunion. I saw the band multiple times without makeup, but was sort of wearing thin on the studio material, and I even got the chance to see them on their epic reunion homecoming at Madison Square Garden (the show I saw was the night before the version on the bonus disk in the Kissology III set). So a new album seemed like the best of all worlds. I like some of the songs – other than the title and chorus, “Psycho Circus” is an excellent song, “Within” is creepy Gene at his best, and “I Pledge Allegiance…” is vintage Paul “rawk and roll” - but as a lifelong fan, and half-assed musician, I knew on first listen that other than vocals, Ace was not an active participant, and Peter was basically non-existent. It wasn’t long before it became official: Kevin Valentine played all the drums except one song, and Tommy Thayer played most of the leads on the record (Ace only played lead on two songs). “You Wanted The Best” was supposed to be some sort of self-referential, self-celebratory anthem for the reunited band, but the song itself sucked, and the sentiment behind it fell flat once the truth came out. “I Finally Found My Way” is an overly clichéd show spot for Peter, but he didn’t even play drums on the song. I know most people don’t agree with me, but a lot of the bitching that Peter and Ace have done since falls largely on deaf ears for me, because they were more than willing to play along when the money was flowing in, but when Paul and Gene called BS on their antics and the money stopped, all of a sudden Paul and Gene are Beelzebub’s henchmen. Paul has since said that this album is not a favorite of his, as he famously clashed with the now-deceased Bruce Fairbairn. In fact, at one time, Paul vowed never to make another Kiss album again produced by someone else (and they haven't).
21. Revenge (1992): I’m going to hear about this, I just know it. But perhaps that’s why this album is here. It’s SUPPOSED to be the return to form: Bob Ezrin producing, Vinnie Vincent co-writing, stripped back sound, probably the best "band" that Kiss has ever had…and largely it is good, but for me it just tries too hard and doesn’t quite measure up to the expectations. Don’t get me wrong; I like it - “Unholy” is a legendary track, there are few outside writers, and Gene is present on this record in a way he hadn't been for years - but every high point seems to be balanced by something lesser, and while every album has it's clunkers, it seems like the low points here are more prominent. The subpar “Domino” was a single, the downright shitty “Spit” was played live, and the treacly "Every Time I Look At You" was also a single, for example, . I’m a big fan of “God Gave Rock’n’Roll To You II” despite the cheesy chorus; I just love when Gene and Paul sing together, and the melodies are strong. Also like the “Summertime Blues” quote in “I Just Wanna”. The tribute “Carr Jam” is sort of lost on me; it’s a curiosity, but I think the aforementioned “God…” was a much more fitting and apt tribute. The rest of the songs are strong, this is a good record, but it’s not one I come back to a lot and I'm not sure why. To me, it is above-average for everyone else, but just middle-of-the-pack Kiss.
Trivia: What is the only song on "Psycho Circus" that all four members actually play their instruments on?
Topic: KISS Discography - My Life As a Kiss Fan (Read 62224 times)
