Search - Kiss :: Dynasty

KISS goes Disco Pop.

Rock N Rolla | Detroit Rock City, Michigan | 11/11/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Okay, sure, there are some Rockin' tunes on this album, but there is definately no mistaking that strong Disco atmosphere that permeates throughout this album. I can remember back in 1979 when I initially heard the first track, I Was Made For Lovin' You. What the?! This isn't the KISS I know and loved! What happened? Over the years I have grown to appreciate the song, but back then, well, I didn't much care for it. I thought Paul should have put it on his solo album instead of a KISS album.



Moving on to song number two, the album picks up considerably with the cover version of the Rolling Stone's song, 2,000 Man, sung by Ace Frehley. Now we're talking! Leave it to Space Ace to rock you out. Then comes another leftover from Paul Stanley's solo album, Sure Know Something. What the Hey? To quote Gene Simmons line from a Family Guy KISS spoof episode, "That does NOT Rock!"



Next up is Peter Criss singing about how he can't wait to "..set myself free!" in the Discoey, Dirty Livin'. Hey, Criss, there's a lot of dirty jobs out there, but, I don't think being a drummer in a mega-successful Rock band qualifies in that category. But what do I know? Maybe the cable TV reality show, Dirty Jobs, can do a segment on it to show us all what it's really like?



The next track is the album's best, in my opinion, it's Gene Simmon's, Charisma. But it pales in comparison to past Simmons' efforts. It's still pretty good though, and quite catchy. Magic Touch is another Paul Stanley crooner that is a good song, but, sadly, it just doesn't rock. Which brings us to the 2nd best song on this album, Hard Times, which is brought to us by Ace Frehley, who once again rocks us like we need to be rocked on a KISS album.



After this comes the Gene Simmons song, X-Ray Eyes, which definitely sounds like a leftover from his solo album. It's not bad, but, not great either. And finally we come to the closer, Save Your Love by the mighty Space Ace. It's an okay song, but, not one of my favorite Frehley creations. Maybe it's the dull way that Paul and the rest of the backup are singing their vocals. They sound so lazy and uninspired in some parts, you can almost picture them reading a magazine in the recording booth while they were singing.



Anyway, that concludes KISS Dynasty. Wait a minute? Where's track ten? Shouldn't there be another track to round the album out? Let me guess, no one had any more leftovers from their solo albums to contribute, right? Ha! Just joking. Seriously though, Dynasty is the album that made me start to lose interest in KISS for a few years. It supplied very little of the type of hard rockin' material that I had come to depend on from this great band in the past and I was dissapointed, to say the least. Even the album cover was tepid at best. Just look at those mugs on Frehley and Criss. They do not look like happy campers. Believe me, I know the feeling."