Former Skid Row frontman Sebastian Bach recently shared his thoughts on the KISS members’ 1978 solo albums. He rated each member’s record and singled out one moment he does not care for during a conversation on the Shout It Out Loud Podcast.
Bach, a longtime KISS fan, went through each of the four solo albums in turn. The discussion began with a question about where he stands on the band’s individual 1978 releases.
When asked, “Where do you stand on the ’78 solo albums? There’s a lot of a lot of opinions on those,” Bach responded:
“Well, I love them. I love them. I don’t tell KISS how to be KISS. I think Gene’s is very… Okay, there’s one part I don’t like is the beginning the song ‘Burning Up with Fever,’ where they start with this acoustic thing that goes [mimics the intro]. What producer said that sounds great? I don’t understand that at all. Not a big deal, but yeah, I always cringe when I hear that.”
He then turned to Ace Frehley’s album, which he praised in detail.
“I love Ace’s. Love Aces’s album, ‘Rip It Out.’ Blows my mind. ‘Rip It Out’ rips. I also love the song on there, which is the last song on side one called, ‘What’s on Your Mind,’ which I think is a beautiful great song. And the way he plays the lead at the end, I don’t know what but it I got chills in my arms. I don’t know what it is about Ace’s sense of melody that just hits me right in the heart. Like that that little tiny little lead part would like just make my knees shake. I loved it so much. I have no idea why. I don’t know why. So, I love ‘Wiped‐Out.’ I think it’s hilarious. Anton Fig’s drumming is just outrageous. I love ‘Snow Blind.'”
Moving on to Peter Criss’s record, Bach said he has enjoyed it since childhood.
“I love Peter Criss’s solo album. I always have since I was a little kid. ‘You Matter to Me,’ I love that song. I don’t need to hear the same kind of music all the time. I don’t if Peter is coming from his jazz Gene Krupa soul background, that’s fine with me. I’m not telling Peter, ‘You should make this record cuz I think you should make this record.’ F*ck off with all that. I want Peter Chris to tell me what a Peter Chris record is.”
He closed with praise for Paul Stanley’s album, highlighting its opening and its ballad.
“I love Paul Stanley’s album. ‘Tonight You Belong to Me,’ the beginning intro is just incredible to me. That beginning the way that album starts. I love the ballad ‘Hold Me Touch Me.’ I think it’s a great song. Well, I love I’ve always loved ballads. I have great memories of that from from 1978 and nobody’s going to tell me any different.”
His opinions are easier to place against how the four albums actually performed when they came out.
Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss each released a self-titled solo album on September 18, 1978. All four records hit stores on the same day, one of the most ambitious and unusual releases in the band’s history.
Frehley’s record became the commercial standout. It climbed to No. 26 on the Billboard 200 and went platinum after passing one million copies sold, making it the best-selling of the four.
Its success was driven by “New York Groove,” a cover of a song written by Russ Ballard. The single reached No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was the only real hit to come from the four albums. It later became a regular part of KISS’ live set.
Simmons’ album had the highest chart placement of the four, peaking at No. 22 on the Billboard 200. It also went platinum. Criss’ record had the weakest chart showing, stalling at No. 43. It produced two singles, but neither charted.
