Love Gun

Love Gun
Studio album by Kiss
Released June 17, 1977[1]
Recorded Record Plant Studios, New York City, May 1977
Genre Hard rock, heavy metal
Length 32:57
Language English
Label Casablanca
Producer Kiss, Eddie Kramer
Kiss chronology
Rock and Roll Over
(1976)
Love Gun
(1977)
Gene Simmons
(1978)
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [2]
Vista Records [3]
Pitchfork Media (9.2/10)[4]
Blender [5]
Rolling Stone [6]
Truemetal (90/100)[7]
Metal Nightfall [8]
This table needs to be expanded using prose. See the guideline for more information.

Love Gun is the sixth studio album by American hard rock band Kiss. It was certified platinum on June 30, 1977, just two weeks after the album's release.[9]

Love Gun is notable for being the first Kiss album to feature a lead vocal performance from Ace Frehley. This marks the first album for the group to feature lead vocal performances from all four band members. It was also the last studio album to feature the entire original lineup of Kiss on every track, as drummer Peter Criss was replaced by session drummer Anton Fig for much of 1979's Dynasty.[10]

A cardboard "Love Gun" (assembly required) was included inside the album,[11] along with a Kiss merchandise order form.[12] Shortly before Love Gun was completed, a Gallup poll indicated that KISS was the most popular band in the US, beating Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin, and the Eagles.August 25–26, 1977—KISS records 2 shows at the LA Forum to be used as live material for their next release, Alive II.

Contents

Songs

I Stole Your Love

Written by Paul Stanley, "I Stole Your Love" is in the same vein as songs like "Makin' Love" and "C'mon and Love Me".

"Christine Sixteen"

Then-unknown guitarist Eddie and drummer Alex Van Halen played on the demo of this song.[13] The meaning of the lyrics are similar to "Goin' Blind" from Hotter Than Hell, as "Christine Sixteen" is about a man who fell in love with a sixteen year old girl named Christine and "Goin' Blind" is about a ninety-three year old man who fell in love with a girl who is also sixteen years old.

"Shock Me"

The song was inspired by an event that took place during Kiss' Rock and Roll Over tour, when Frehley suffered an electric shock. On December 12, 1976, Kiss performed a concert at the Lakeland Civic Center in Lakeland, Florida. During the opening number, Frehley touched a metal staircase railing, which was ungrounded. He was knocked to the ground, and the concert was delayed for 30 minutes. The show was eventually completed, and he claimed to have lost feeling in his hand for the remainder of the concert.[14]

"Tomorrow and Tonight"

This song was written to try to recapture the feeling of "Rock and Roll All Nite", but never reached the success of the original. A sound check recording of it appears on Alive II.

"Love Gun"

The title song has been played on every Kiss tour since its release. Paul Stanley has cited it as one of his favorite Kiss songs.[15]

"Plaster Caster"

This song was inspired by Cynthia Plaster Caster, a former groupie famous for casting penises of famous rock musicians[16] like Jimi Hendrix, as well as breasts of female musicians.[17]

"Then She Kissed Me"

This song is a gender-reversed cover of The Crystals' 1963 pop classic "Then He Kissed Me".[18] It is one of many gender-reversed cover versions of the song.

Cover art

The album cover was painted by fantasy artist Ken Kelly,[19] who previously did the cover for 1976's Destroyer. The album art of shock rock band GWAR's 2009 album Lust in Space is a homage/parody of Love Gun's album art.

In pop culture

The back cover of Nirvana's album Nevermind features a photograph of a rubber monkey in front of a collage created by its singer/guitarist, Kurt Cobain. The collage features photos of raw beef from a supermarket advertisement, images from Dante's Inferno, and pictures of diseased vaginas from Cobain's collection of medical photos. He noted, "If you look real close, there is a picture of Kiss' Love Gun cover in the back standing on a slab of beef."

Track listing

No. Title Writer(s) Lead vocals Length
1. "I Stole Your Love"   Paul Stanley Stanley 3:04
2. "Christine Sixteen"   Gene Simmons Simmons 3:14
3. "Got Love for Sale"   Simmons Simmons 3:29
4. "Shock Me"   Ace Frehley Frehley 3:49
5. "Tomorrow and Tonight"   Stanley Stanley 3:40
6. "Love Gun"   Stanley Stanley 3:18
7. "Hooligan"   Peter Criss, Stan Penridge Criss 3:01
8. "Almost Human"   Simmons Simmons 2:49
9. "Plaster Caster"   Simmons Simmons 3:27
10. "Then She Kissed Me"   Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich, Phil Spector Stanley 3:02

Personnel

Charts

Chart Peak
position
USA Billboard 200 4[20]

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
United States (RIAA)[9] Platinum 1,000,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

  1. ^ "Kiss A;bum Focus - Love Gun". KISS FAQ. http://www.kissfaq.com/KissFAQ-wiki/index.php?title=Kiss_Album_Focus_-_Love_Gun. Retrieved June 11, 2011. 
  2. ^ Love Gun at Allmusic
  3. ^ http://www.vistarecords.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=albumreviewsanddiscussion&action=display&thread=78
  4. ^ http://web.archive.org/web/20030626074933/www.pitchforkmedia.com/record-reviews/k/kiss/love-gun.shtml
  5. ^ http://www.blender.com/guide/back-catalogue/52637/love-gun-l.html
  6. ^ "Kiss: Album Guide | Rolling Stone Music". rollingstone.com. http://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/kiss/albumguide. Retrieved 26 August 2011. 
  7. ^ http://www.truemetal.it/reviews.php?op=albumreview&id=6301
  8. ^ http://metal.nightfall.fr/index_444_-love-gun.html
  9. ^ a b "American album certifications – Kiss – Love Gun". Recording Industry Association of America. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?artist=%22Love+Gun%22.  If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
  10. ^ "Criss Q and A". http://www.petercriss.net/homepage/sub/drumqa/default.htm. Retrieved 2009-01-26. 
  11. ^ "KissFAQ Love Gun love gun". http://www.kissfaq.com/albumcovers/lovegun/lovegun_gun.jpg. Retrieved 2009-01-26. 
  12. ^ "KissFAQ Love Gun merchandise". http://www.kissfaq.com/albumcovers/lovegun/merch_1.jpg. Retrieved 2009-01-26. 
  13. ^ "Allmusic review "Christine Sixteen"". http://www.allmusic.com/song/t1691404. Retrieved 2009-01-26. 
  14. ^ Gooch, Curt and Jeff Suhs. KISS Alive Forever: The Complete Touring History, Billboard Books, 2002. ISBN 0-8230-8322-5
  15. ^ Leaf, David and Ken Sharp. KISS: Behind the Mask: The Official Authorized Biography, Warner Books, 2003. ISBN 0-446-53073-5
  16. ^ "AllMusic song review "Plaster Caster"". http://www.allmusic.com/song/t1691411. Retrieved 2009-01-26. 
  17. ^ "Cynthia Plaster Caster official website". http://www.cynthiaplastercaster.com/flash/home.html. Retrieved 2009-01-26. 
  18. ^ "Rolling Stone review Love Gun 1977". http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/kiss/albums/album/322352/review/5941238/love_gun. Retrieved 2009-01-26. 
  19. ^ "AllMusic Love Gun credits". http://www.allmusic.com/album/r11060. Retrieved 2009-01-26. 
  20. ^ Love Gun at Allmusic