KISS Music From The Elder

After Kiss’ decision to venture into pop music backfired with their hard rock audience and 1980’s Unmasked didn't ignite the faithful, the group made their next serious miscalculation by reuniting with producer Bob Ezrin, who’d done so well with them for 1976’s Destroyer and who was currently riding high due to his production of Pink Floyd’s 1979 album The Wall. Yet the group's decision to record a “concept” album, complete with members of the American Symphony Orchestra and The Roberts Choir, led to Kiss’ poorest sales to date. (Actually just Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons had wanted this; Ace Frehley voted no.) Even the presence of new drummer Eric Carr didn’t fire Kiss up to rock. Still, songs like “A World Without Heroes,” “I,” and the Simmons-Carr “Under the Rose” are much underrated, mostly for being less Kiss-like. The lessons would be quickly learned, and the subsequent Creatures of the Night would return the group to hard rock.