Love Gun was Kiss' fifth studio album in three years (and seventh release overall, peaking at number four on Billboard), and proved to be the last release that the original lineup played on.
By 1977, Kiss merchandise was flooding the marketplace (lunch boxes, makeup kits, comic books, etc.), and it would ultimately lead to a Kiss backlash in the '80s.
But the band was still focused on their music for Love Gun, similar in sound and approach to Rock and Roll Over, their previous straight-ahead rock release.
It included Ace Frehley's lead vocals on "Shock Me," as well as one of Kiss' best and most renowned hard rockers in the thunderous title track.
The album's opener, "I Stole Your Love," also served as the opening number on Kiss' ensuing tour, while "Christine Sixteen" is one of the few Kiss tracks to contain piano prominently.
"Almost Human" is an underrated rocker and features a great Jimi Hendrix-esque guitar solo from Frehley (no doubt due to ex-Hendrix producer Eddie Kramer manning the boards again), while "Plaster Caster" is a tribute to the famous groupies of the same name.
The only weak spots on an otherwise stellar album are an obvious "Rock and Roll All Nite" ripoff titled "Tomorrow and Tonight," and a pointless remake of the Phil Spector-penned classic "Then He Kissed Me" (reworked as "Then She Kissed Me").
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | I Stole Your LovePaul Stanley | Kiss | Play | 03:04 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 2 | Christine SixteenGene Simmons | Kiss | Play | 03:14 | 7 MB | 22 MB |
| 3 | Got Love for SaleGene Simmons | Kiss | Play | 03:28 | 7 MB | 23 MB |
| 4 | Shock MeAce Frehley | Kiss | Play | 03:48 | 8 MB | 26 MB |
| 5 | Tomorrow and TonightPaul Stanley | Kiss | Play | 03:39 | 8 MB | 25 MB |
| 6 | Love GunPaul Stanley | Kiss | Play | 03:18 | 7 MB | 22 MB |
| 7 | HooliganPeter Criss, Sean Penridge, Stan Penridge | Kiss | Play | 03:00 | 6 MB | 20 MB |
| 8 | Almost HumanGene Simmons | Kiss | Play | 02:48 | 6 MB | 19 MB |
| 9 | Plaster CasterGene Simmons | Kiss | Play | 03:28 | 7 MB | 23 MB |
| 10 | Then She Kissed MeJeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich, Phil Spector | Kiss | Play | 03:02 | 6 MB | 21 MB |
| 32 mins | 75 MB | |||||
| 29 mins | 206 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jeff Barry | Composer |
| 2 | Robert V. Conte | Liner Notes |
| 3 | Peter Criss | Composer, Drums, Producer |
| 4 | Ace Frehley | Composer, Guitar, Producer, Vocals |
| 5 | Ellie Greenwich | Composer |
| 6 | Mitchell Kanner | Redesign |
| 7 | Ken Kelly | Paintings |
| 8 | Kiss | Primary Artist, Producer |
| 9 | Eddie Kramer | Engineer, Producer |
| 10 | Joseph M. Palmaccio | Remastering |
| 11 | Sean Penridge | Composer |
| 12 | Stan Penridge | Composer |
| 13 | Gene Simmons | Bass, Composer, Producer |
| 14 | Phil Spector | Composer |
| 15 | David Spindel | Photography |
| 16 | Paul Stanley | Composer, Guitar, Producer |
| 17 | Corky Stasiak | Engineer |
| 18 | Dennis Woloch | Design |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |