Who Did It Best?

Of the four solo albums that KISS did back in the 70s, which one of the guys did it best in your opinion???

For me, I would have to vote for Ace.  While he never had as strong of a singing voice as everyone else in the group, his solo album here had the most consistent sound overall.  For a solo project, Ace nailed his and gave KISS fans what they would have wanted.

The weakest, to me, was Peter Criss' release.  While I love most of the songs, his album was more akin to that of Bob Seger in my opinion.  It wasn't anywhere close to the sound of KISS.  Wearing the makeup and releasing these with the KISS name on it gave fans the impression what these should sound like.  For me, Peter was the furthest from that sound.

I'd be hard-pressed to disagree with anything you've said.

I think it's mostly agreed that Ace had the best of the bunch.

Easy. Ace.

Honestly I think they are all pretty terrible but I picked Ace. I believe this was their first attempt at a cash grab, releasing 4 albums at the same time.

Ace hands down

MikeInFla wrote:Honestly I think they are all pretty terrible but I picked Ace. I believe this was their first attempt at a cash grab, releasing 4 albums at the same time.

No doubt about that whether it was the band or the label that was doing the grab.  However, it seems that Ace took it the most serious and set out to make a rock album that the fans would love.  The others took more chances, but all the songs just don't feel like KISS.  With that KISS brand on it, it needed to sound like 4 albums by one cohesive band.  Otherwise, just take of the makeup for one album and each do a solo project their way.

I don't even remember did the other members play on each of the albums or idd they use various studio musicians?

I personally don't remember, despite being a KISS fan back then..lol...

Cash grab or not, I think it is/was a cool idea. I wish more bands did it.

MikeInFla wrote:I don't even remember did the other members play on each of the albums or did they use various studio musicians?

They used a lot of studio musicians.  It would have taken forever for the four guys to create four albums at the same time and each of them playing all the songs.  They used outside help.

Easily Ace in my opinion.  Next would be Paul....I think I remember only about half of Gene's being listenable and I have completely blocked Peter's contribution from my memory.

I would also agree that Paul's was the next best.  Gene's was mostly good, but there were a few skippers on there.

Ace, no question.  Paul had some good stuff, but Ace nailed it.



Arttie

No brainer for me Ace killed it.

I'm clearly in the minority here, but as an (almost) lifelong KISS fan, Paul's album is the best in my view although Ace's album is strong too. I vehmently disagree that these albums "were all pretty terrible." Both Ace and Paul's albums (and even Gene's in a few places) feature brilliant moments with great performances and quality songwriting. Paul's album is certainly the most KISS-like, if you will, with his only mistep being the ballad "Hold Me, Touch Me." That's a cringe-worthy song at best. On the other hand, "Tonight You Belong To Me" is EPIC. Apart from the ballad, Paul's album is a quality release that is far too often overshadowed by Ace's solo LP. It's far from terrible.

Ace's solo LP is a great recording too and the accolades it receives are well-deserved. I don't think anyone, particularly anyone in the KISS camp, thought Ace could pull off such a brilliant album, but he did. While "Rip It Out" and "New York Groove" get most of the attention, the standout track on Ace's solo LP is "Snowblind." That album holds up well today. Sadly, he's never matched his '78 solo release, and that's a shame because he has a unique sound.

Gene's album is markedly different from what one would have expected of him at the time, but in hindsight one can see that he embraced the solo album concept for what it was: he made an album he liked. Apart from "Radioactive," much of Gene's songs don't sound like KISS. There are some gems buried in the album though. "Mr. Make Believe" and "See You Tonight" are fabulous songs, and Gene has revisited those tracks over the years whether with KISS in an unplugged setting or through solo performances.

Peter's solo album, is, sadly, quite weak. His voice is strong, but the songs are mostly forgettable and certainly far from what KISS fans likely wanted to hear from him. "I Can't Stop the Rain" is a passable ballad, but that's about the only noteworthy song on the album.

All said, the solo albums are often unfairly maligned. Granted, releasing those albums was a mistake, but it was a stop-gap measure to keep the band intact when both Ace and Peter wanted to walk out to pursue solo careers. Ace and Paul's work shine; Gene's is a curious recording, and Peter's album was indeed "pretty terrible."