Barely over a year since KISS released their debut, the band was in dire straights. Casablanca Records was out of money and the band though a hot commodity live, were selling little records. It was so desperate that for their 3rd album Neil Bogart, the head of their label, produced as they couldn't hire a producer. This album would produce some of KISS' best known songs and its tour would finally help pay off their dues.
Track List
1.Room Service-A faster rocker opening up the album. The production right away feels a bit less exciting where every instrument feels a bit...thin. However this is a decent opener that im sure live was quite powerful.
2.Two Timer-This one slows down the tempo to a bit of a bluesy rock feel. The chorus is pretty catchy as well with a nice swagger to it. This one has a bit of a heavier feel to it as well.
3.Ladies In Waiting-This one feels like its a bit empty like the tempo never got to where it really wanted to go by the chorus. Just feels a bit like its lacking power. This one has always felt a little forgettable to me.
4.Getaway-The energy goes up a bit here but the guitars still sound a bit flat. Another song im sure benefited in the live scene. The chorus I will say is pretty damn catchy though and the solo sounds great.
5.Rock Bottom-Opening with some extended acoustic guitar playing, this one launches into the hardest rocking tune so far. The energy feels higher than the previous few tracks. This is one of the highlights I tend to throw out when this album is mentioned.
6.C'mon and Love Me-This is, to me, the standout track on the album. Pauls vocals are very catchy and I love Ace's high string bends it just has the DNA of a great KISS tune.
7 Anything For My Baby-At first, the gang vocals sound really off but as the song progresses they sound a lot better fitted. Its a pretty catchy pop rock number but its one that took a few listens for me to get into. Its definitely another highlight.
8.She-This one steals some of the heaviness from the last two albums with a real good main riff. This one could have easily been on Hotter than Hell. There is some great vocal harmonization going on as well.
9.Lover Her All I Can-This one has a good upbeat riff to it and I can feel that if the production wasnt as thin, it would pack alot more powerful. As it is though its a pretty decent track especially this far into the album.
10.Rock and Roll All Nite-The one KISS song im sure noone can ever listen to again its so overplayed. Well the live version anyways. Listening to it more critically there is some interesting things going on such as Genes busy bassline and Ace's solo will always be the best part. A good song to end the album no matter how many times its been beaten into our heads.
Overall, the album gets a 7 out of 10. This one personally is the weakest out of the first three records. The album doesnt start to really sink in until about 4 songs in. The production also just feels incredibly thin and takes away what could make some of the lesser songs have more staying power. However, the songs that are good are VERY good and make the album still worth a listen for those tracks alone. Now with album three under their belt, the band figured in order to really make a mark in the industry it was time to bring the excitement of the live show to wax and here is where the major turning point for the band would happen.
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