Kiss - Psycho Circus | ||
Tracks:
Bonus - Kiss screensaver (Win95) |
Album Cover: |
Label: Mercury Records Producers: Bruce Fairbairn Year: 1998 Total Playing Time: 44:26 mins:secs Review date: 12 Feb 1999 |
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| Rating: 8/9 | ||
| Verdict: It's great to hear Kiss still ' rockin' & rollin' all nite & partyin' ' every day after all these years. | ||
| Although I've bought 3 variations of Kiss Greatest Hits/Best Of albums over the years, the only other Kiss studio album I purchased was the cassette of Crazy Nights. And that has long since been chewed up & spat out by some tape recorder or other a long time ago.
It is easy to be cynical about Kiss and the reformation of the original line-up. Especially given the high profile of the Kiss marketing machine, with the Kiss dolls, comics etc. Anyway, after the tour, comes the new studio album. Even though, I handed out the £'s for this before reading any reviews etc, my expectations weren't that high. Kiss certainly have some great tunes under their collective belts over the years, but I always imagined their studio albums to be patchy affairs. Over years Kiss have added variations to the theme, most recently on the much maligned Carnival Of Souls album. With the original line-up together again, it is very much a case of back to basics - good time rock/metal with big hooks & big melodies. All 4 members turn up on lead vocals at some point on the album. Paul starts the show with the title track or as he puts it "the amplifiers start to hum & the carnival has just begun". Indeed, welcome to 45 mins of bombastic melody. Other songs with Paul on lead vocals are "I Pledge Allegiance To The State Of Rock & Roll", "Raise Your Glasses" & "Dreamin'". I think Paul comes out tops on the lead vocals stakes, as I prefer the songs on which he sings. Gene handles "Within", "We Are One" & "Journey Of 1000 Years". "Within" sounds familiar, but I can't think what it reminds me of. "We Are One" is bit of change of pace on the album. An acoustic led tune that features some Beatles-style harmonies. The final tune on the album, "Journey Of 1000 Years", is the least immediate tune here. Aces turns up on "Into The Void", which reminds me of the early days. If I said that "I Finally Found My Way" is ballad, it won't be a surprise that Peter "Beth" Criss does a sterling job on vocal duties. That just leaves the humbly titled "You Wanted The Best" which features all 4 sharing lead vocals. Cynical old me got a pleasant surprise listening to this. I'm not sure there are any bonefiday Kiss Klassics on here, but the old masters haven't lost their touch. The reunion has produced at least one decent album. | ||
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