Peter Criss [Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered]

Peter Criss, Kiss | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 16, 1997)
• Original Release Date: 1988
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
• Label: Island / Mercury
• ASIN: B000001ELH
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (97 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #16,331 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Japanese only SHM-CD (Super High Material CD - playable on all CD players) paper sleeve pressing. Universal. 2008. --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars LISTEN WITH OPEN EARS & AN OPEN MIND!, August 17, 2002

By 

LP Quagmire "The prison has not been built th... (Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Peter Criss (Audio CD)

This album has been run roughshod over since the day it was released. Its critics lambaste it for not sounding like a KISS record, which isn't entirely true - many of the songs on this album have a similar feel to the group's cuts that feature Criss prominently, (think "Nothin' To Lose," and "Mainline"). Probably due to the (much-deserved) success of Beth, Criss has never been recognized as the fine r&b/soul vocalist he truly is, and more than any other member of the band, he went into the studio to produce the album he couldn't make within the confines of KISS. With a rasp somewhere between Bruce Springsteen and Rod Stewart, Criss tempers the expected ballads with equal doses of rock and funk. Opener "I'm Gonna Love You" is a first-rate soul stomper, complete with punchy horns and Supremes-style back-ups. "Easy Thing" and "I Can't Stop the Rain" are big, epic love songs that Criss and his sandpaper lungs deliver beautifully, and his snappy version of "Tossin' & Turnin'" holds its own.
KISS were at the height of their popularity when the solo projects were released, and Criss could easily have stuck with the tried and true and been assured of strong sales. Daring to be different requires guts and should be commended, especially
when the end result is a fine album such as this.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Groovy, June 14, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Peter Criss (Audio CD)

I've listened to this album for 27 years and I like it more everytime I hear it. Maybe it has to do with getting old. Certainly not like Kiss at all but then again, Peter's roots were in Jazz and Swing. Any bluesy rocker type will love this cd. Hooked on Rock and Roll is a great feel good party song that sounds great cranked with a sub-woofer on! Good Production, good song writing, good original music(except for Tossin' and Turnin'). If Bob Seger fans had heard this back in the days of "Hollywood Nights" and "Till it Shines", this cd would have been really big(or should I have said album?). Peter, if you're reading, Great Job!

16 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars When it comes to KISS solos, this is the cat's meow, April 13, 2003

By 

Daniel J. Hamlow (Narita, Japan) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Peter Criss (Audio CD)

The KISS solo albums provided an interesting look at how each band member's style came out apart from the band. For the Cat Man, Peter Criss, who didn't sing enough songs, this was the perfect opportunity for his feline self to emerge. His album is a mixture of soulful piano and brass rock and slow ballads. There's nothing here that rocks as hard as anything from the KISS to Love Gun albums. Most of the material is mid-paced to downright mellow. There's a lot of personality in Criss's raspy voice, which is really heartfelt in the ballad songs. He also steps away from the drums in half the songs.

"I'm Gonna Love You" sports piano, rock guitar, a brass section and some soulful backing vocals.

"You Matter To Me" with the Farfisa-like synthesizers, could be easily remixed into an old school disco tune.

Peter does a decent and rousing cover of the insomniac "Tossin' And Turnin'" with a pair of soulful female backup singers. Curious that this was the one track that KISS fans really liked.

The sad Elton Johnesque "Don't You let Me Down" is the first of four sad killer ballads. The second, my favourite song here, "Easy Thing," as in "Love is such an easy thing to lose," is backed by strings, and actually outdoes "Beth" in its heartfeltness. The lullaby-like "Kiss The Girl Goodbye" with lines as "Time for me to fly/I will be home some day/baby please wait for me" might be a sequel to "Beth." Some of the guitar work reminds me of Heart's "Dog & Butterfly." And "I Can't Stop The Rain," another tearjerker with strings that become powerful with the chorus: "I can't stop the rain/here it comes again/lightning strikes across the sky/I can't stop the rain/here it comes gain. because lightning only blinds my eyes." At one point, he substitutes the words "it takes a witch to curse that g-----ned sky" for the last line in the chorus.

The rollicking "That's The Kind Of Sugar Papa Likes" could've been done by Blondie, say, Eat To The Beat era if they erased the soul edge to it. Steve Lukather from Toto does a guitar solo.

"Rock Me Baby" and "Hooked On Rock 'N' Roll" are songs in the same vein as "I'm Gonna Love You."

Vini Poncia co-wrote many of the songs with Criss, did backing vocals, and in addition to producing this album, would be the hand behind Dynasty and Unmasked, which, depending on how KISS fans view those albums, may not put him in a favourable light. I don't know--I liked those albums good enough. Despite being the lowest selling of the four KISS solo albums, Peter Criss's one remains my favourite.