Kiss
Love Gun

THE REVIEW

I am about to review the finest work of Kiss right after two other great albums such as "Destroyer" and "Creatures Of The Night", in fact, these three CDs form that sacred trilogy that no Kiss fan should miss and that all enthusiasts of Hard'n'Heavy should listen to at least once.

This work, released on 06/30/77, is an album containing songs that drove entire audiences wild on stage, such as the mighty title track "Love Gun" or the beautiful "I Stole Your Love." But those who don't know this album are surely wondering why I am praising it so much, now I will analyze it thoroughly so that at the end of the review everyone will have a clear idea of this masterpiece of the kiss (at least I hope so).

Well, after inserting the CD into our stereo, we will immediately be shaken by the beautiful intro of "I Stole Your Love", indeed the band's two electric guitars will blend to create a harsh harmony that will immediately immerse us inside this track, which finds its main strength especially in Paul Stanley's high voice. It has often been an opening track at many Kiss concerts because it has the ability to provide an adrenaline rush that you will feel increasing throughout the rest of the album. Right after, a rhythmic piano riff will welcome our ears into another cornerstone of the band, "Christine Sixteen", quite peculiar as this track is a fusion between a Power Ballad and a Hard Rock song. The Demon on vocals begins to growl, and this Kiss hit starts to captivate us more and more. I would gladly emphasize the guitar work done by Frehley in this song, which is not weak at all, especially notable in the final refrains with the vocal overdubs (typical of Kiss; for another example, listen to "We Are One") where, while Gene Simmons growls "I gotta have you," the rest of the band keeps insistently repeating the chorus. A very beautiful and enjoyable track, but let's move on to another piece like "Got Love For Sale" where the guitar's beginning is quite dark and immediately captures our attention, and our attention is not in vain because the piece does not decline at all. The chorus is quite pleasant, and Gene Simmons' good vocal performance and a strong and energetic guitar make this song a good track. Perhaps, to fully appreciate this song, it needs to be listened to several times because at first glance, it may seem pointless and childish.

And now, after a brief drum roll, the guitar of new singer Frehley transports us into the new track "Shock Me" where we find Ace Frehley behind the microphone. Surely a comparison between the songs sung by Criss and Frehley needs to be made because as beautiful as "Shock Me" is, it cannot compete with the Catman's songs such as "Beth" and "Hard Luck Woman," but it remains an excellent track. The guitar solo dominates in a truly remarkable track, with the chorus being quite catchy, and as I mentioned before, the solo is one of Kiss's finest. Now let's move on to a very beautiful track, i.e., "Tomorrow And Tonight, full of adrenaline, exuding energy from every pore, it seems made for letting loose, the chorus is very captivating, but it is the verses that provide the energy, Paul’s voice does not drop in the slightest, and as a final result, we have this beautiful piece. The only flaw is Ace's not overly loaded solo, but this casts no shadow over a track that I am sure you will like very much and fill you with energy. Now let's move on to the title track and bow before the magnificent "Love Gun", the hardest piece of the entire album. It is very tough, and even Paul's female voice takes on more aggressive tones in this, which is among the most beautiful Kiss songs. The chorus is something enticing and mischievous to the nth degree, a series of backing vocals repeating the phrase Love Gun delights our auditory organs, and then the icing on the cake is that fabulous solo comparable to a tornado, compliments to the guitarist and to Paul for writing such a piece, but let's move on now. Here comes Peter's singing moment which, after pampering our eardrums with alluring songs like "Beth" and "Hard Luck Woman", presents us with a very strong track, "Hooligan". In fact, Peter never disappoints us; every time he sings, it's magic (in addition to the previously mentioned tracks, there is also the magnificent "Black Diamond", how could we not mention it?). The track is in full Kiss style and is quite hard, and despite Peter being engaged in singing, he certainly does not lose reliability on the drums, where he performs truly powerful riffs.

Then a rocking guitar and a gong strike open the doors to "Almost Human", a track by Gene with very strong and fast tones. The bass parts are truly well executed, and the chorus with background vocals is truly haunting—a track that strongly ignites those harsh tones that Kiss would fully develop in "Creatures Of The Night." Truthfully, the drums and guitar solo do not manage to reach a high enough level in this track as Gene does, who manages to deliver a really good piece of work. And it is always Gene's bass that opens "Plaster Caster", a piece with rhythms and guitars in full Kiss style. Here Gene's voice abandons the growling tones to take on a more subdued tone. The song has a very funny lyric because it talks about a groupie who made plaster casts of rock stars' genitals. Just to make you smile, I'll transcribe a piece of the track "She's a collector and she wants a piece of me, she’s got my tool in her hand"—I don't know if it makes you laugh, but it sure brought a smile to my face.

And now here comes the last track, "Then She Kissed Me", which, being a Hard rock track, is very relaxing and sweet. Paul's voice is more melancholic than ever, Ace's guitar performs very sweet riffs, and a background of drums and castanets gives the song a Spanish rhythm that closes this album beautifully and relaxes the listener's ears significantly.

Well, this is "Love Gun." I hope I was exhaustive, also because I've spent hours writing. I offer you this review and suggest you buy this beautiful album, I assure you, you won't regret it.