The big drawback is Ace's singing voice, which for the most part is flat and oft-putting. That, and all of the songs are about getting extremely wasted. Many people have speculated that this album functioned as a spotlight for Ace's talents, but on the contrary - I think it was more of a subconscious cry for help, but the protagonist was too burrowed in his own head to realize it. Another item of note here was that Anton Fig, who would become Peter Criss' in-studio replacement for the next couple of Kiss records (more on that later), plays drums throughout.

By this time, KISS-hysteria was in high gear. Sold-out shows, past albums constantly being re-released and selling like hotcakes, merchandising and fan club memorabilia going through the roof - all in all, while across the water, England was ostensibly burning under the banner of the punk rock, these guys were living the rock 'n' roll lifestyle for all it was worth. Well, at least Ace and Peter were, as Gene and Paul abstained from drugs and alcohol, only part taking in the hedonistic pursuits of the fairer sex. But hey, five studio albums, one live album, tons of live shows, of basically the same shtick over and over and over…and by now two things were happening. Folks in the band were really getting full of themselves, buying into their own hype and ego, and conversely, just getting lazy, too. Here is where a guy like Bob Ezrin could have stepped in as producer and in the very least, righted the ship for a period of time, enabling the band to release a small series of significant efforts in album format. But instead, Love Gun is the last real gasp, and even then, that's debatable. There are some damn fine tracks here, but in evidence as well, harbingers of the heaping bowls of BS that was to come en masse, and quite soon at that.

Recorded in Los Angeles by the Kerner/Wise team, and apparently it did not go so well, for various reasons. The sound of this one is not as clean and polished as the debut, which many people prefer. I just take it for what it is, really. There are some great songs here, a few not up to snuff, and what might be suffering in comparison to the first album is that unified mindset, even though I feel like I am splitting hairs.

Here it is - the debut album in all of its' dumb, mongrel glory. People absolutely love or hate it, which to me, can only mean that it is undoubtedly a gross, stupid, lazy, slobbering, yet somehow supremely well-executed shock rock classic. The first of two records produced by the Kenny Kerner-Richie Wise production team (ex-Dust). Hard to say if this or the next album is the best raw/unfiltered KISS record (they are damn close) but you get the idea.

Building from the song “Meninblack” on The Raven, the Stranglers found themselves with the time and resources to riff on that idea however they wanted to, and this album was the end result. JJ Burnel has claimed that it may be the first “techno” album, but as usual, the truth is far harder to ascertain. Certainly, the music is keyboard-emphasized, but not exactly the danceable New Wave most people think of when they think of the genre. Not with the obscure references to aliens, the often-confusing rhythmic patterns, and the deadpan and/or hollowed-out delivery coming from the vocalists on all of these tracks. And to think, the band actually thought something like “Thrown Away” would be a hit? Yeah sure – if the chart was on Hades, or someplace similar. This is, for all intents and purposes, the Stranglers’ indulgence album. And more power to them, I say, because many tracks here are quite interesting and need quite a few listens to properly sink in. The cover itself looks like a complicated tome for an even more overwhelmingly complicated volume of work within. Of course, when one hears the aural content, the only real confusion arises from the theme, which like most of these affairs, is rather undefined to begin with.It is Greenfield and the rhythm section doing yeoman’s work, not only holding it together for the sake of pure comprehension, but also giving life to what could have been otherwise staid textures and moods.