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Gene Simmons (album)

Gene Simmons is the first solo album by Gene Simmons, the bassist and co-lead vocalist of the hard rock band Kiss. It is one of four solo albums released by each member of Kiss, but yet still under the Kiss label, coming out alongside Peter Criss, Ace Frehley, and Paul Stanley. It was released on September 18, 1978. Reaching number 22 on the US Billboard 200 albums chart, it was the highest-placing of all the four Kiss solo albums. Mainly a hard rock style album, it also features choirs and string arrangements on some songs, as well as incorporating various musical genres including Beatles-inspired pop, 1970s funk, and rock and roll.[1]

Gene Simmons
Cover by Eraldo Carugati
Studio album by
Gene Simmons
ReleasedSeptember 18, 1978 (1978-09-18)
RecordedApril–July 1978
Studio
Genre
Length38:58
LabelCasablanca
Producer
Gene Simmons chronology
Gene Simmons
(1978) 		Asshole
(2004)
Singles from Gene Simmons
  1. "Radioactive"
    Released: 1978

Album information

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Although he is the bass player in Kiss, Simmons played mainly electric and acoustic guitars on the album, leaving the bass duties to Neil Jason. The album features guest appearances from well-known musicians, including Aerosmith's Joe Perry, Bob Seger, Cheap Trick's Rick Nielsen, Donna Summer, Helen Reddy and Cher. Though an unknown at the time, backing vocalist Katey Sagal would go on to a successful television career.

Simmons re-recorded "See You in Your Dreams" because he reportedly was not happy with the way it was recorded on Rock and Roll Over.[2] Simmons said that he covered "When You Wish Upon a Star" because he related to the song and was a fan of Disney movies. "When I first heard that song I could barely speak English but I knew the words were true. Anybody can have what they want, the world and life can give its rewards to anyone".[3]

The songs "Burning Up with Fever", "Man of 1000 Faces" and "True Confessions" were demoed in August 1975 for the Destroyer album, but rejected by producer Bob Ezrin.[4] They were finally released in 2021 on the bonus disc in the 2CD and Superdeluxe box set versions of Destroyer.[5] "See You Tonite", based on an acoustic Wicked Lester demo from August 1971,[6] was also demoed in 1975, and the demo versions of all four songs are on the Gene Simmons Vault box set, along with a 1976 demo of "Mr. Make Believe"[7]

On the original CD release in 1988 the first two songs are split incorrectly. The introduction that leads into "Radioactive" is split at the 51-second mark while the rest of "Radioactive" and all of "Burning Up with Fever" are played in the second track. However, the track listing of the cover lists the two songs as two separate tracks. The rest of the CD is split correctly.[8] The 1997 remastered edition fixes this mistake with "Radioactive" and "Burning Up with Fever" being split as two separate tracks. The introduction played before "Radioactive" is left in as part of the song.

Reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [1]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal3/10[9]
Pitchfork5.0/10[10]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide     [11]
Spin Alternative Record Guide3/10[12]
Uncut     [13]

The album reached number 22 on the US Billboard 200 albums chart, making it the highest-placing of all the four Kiss solo albums of 1978. It was certified platinum on October 2, 1978, having shipped 1,000,000 copies.[14]

AllMusic gave the album 3 stars out of 5 and called it an "unpredictable yet ultimately enjoyable release."[1]

Track listing

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All credits adapted from the original release.[15]

All tracks are written by Gene Simmons, except where noted

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Radioactive"3:50[a]
2."Burning Up with Fever"4:19[b]
3."See You Tonite"2:30
4."Tunnel of Love"3:49
5."True Confessions"3:30
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
6."Living in Sin"Simmons, Sean Delaney, Howard Marks3:50
7."Always Near You / Nowhere to Hide" 4:12
8."Man of 1000 Faces" 3:16
9."Mr. Make Believe" 4:00
10."See You in Your Dreams" 2:48
11."When You Wish Upon a Star"Ned Washington, Leigh Harline2:44

Personnel

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Gene Simmons

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Additional personnel

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  • Neil Jason – bass
  • Elliot Randall – guitars
  • Allan Schwartzberg – drums
  • Sean Delaney – percussion, backing vocals
  • Ron Frangipane – symphonic arrangements and conductor of Members of the New York and Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestras
  • Gordon Grody, Diva Gray, Kate Sagal, Franny Eisenberg, Carolyn Ray – backing vocals
  • Eric Troyer – piano and vocals on "Radioactive" & "Living in Sin"
  • Steve Lacey – guitars on "Radioactive"
  • John Shane Howell – classical guitar, segue between "Radioactive" & "Burning Up with Fever"
  • Richard Gerstein – piano on "True Confessions" & "Always Near You / Nowhere to Hide"
  • Joe Perry – guitars on "Radioactive" & "Tunnel of Love"
  • Bob Seger – backing vocals on "Radioactive" & "Living in Sin"
  • Rick Nielsen – guitars on "See You in Your Dreams"
  • Helen Reddy – background vocals on "True Confessions"
  • Jeff "Skunk" Baxter – guitars on "Burning Up with Fever", "See You Tonite", "Tunnel of Love" & "Mr. Make Believe"
  • Donna Summer – background vocals on "Burning Up with Fever," & "Tunnel of Love"
  • Janis Ian – backing vocals on the "Prelude to Radioactive"
  • Cher – spoken word phone call on "Living in Sin"
  • Mitch Weissman & Joe Pecorino (Beatlemania) – backing vocals on "Mr. Make Believe", "See You Tonite" & "Always Near You / Nowhere to Hide"
  • Michael Des Barres – background vocals on "See You in Your Dreams"
  • Richie Ranno – guitars on "Tunnel of Love"
  • The Citrus College Singers – chorus on "True Confessions" & "Always Near You / Nowhere to Hide"

Production

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  • Gene Simmons – co–producer
  • Sean Delaney – co–producer
  • George Marino – mastering
  • Eraldo Carugati – album cover

Charts

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Chart (1978-1979) Peak
position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[16] 32
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[17] 21
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[18] 24
US Billboard 200[19] 22

Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[20] Gold 50,000^
United States (RIAA)[21] Platinum 1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

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Footnotes

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  1. ^ Only says 46 seconds on some CDs when playing them in CD players.
  2. ^ Says 7:23 in length on some CDs when playing them on CD players.

Citations

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  1. ^ a b c Prato, Greg. "Gene Simmons / Kiss - Gene Simmons review". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
  2. ^ Gene Simmons, by Gene Simmons
  3. ^ "Gene Simmons Album - When You Wish Upon A Star". KissFAQ.com. Archived from the original on June 16, 2013. Retrieved April 6, 2013.
  4. ^ Linnaeus, Carl (2014). Kiss - den osminkade sanningen. ISBN 9789187301896.
  5. ^ "Review: KISS Destroyer 45th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition". November 16, 2021.
  6. ^ "Kiss Related Recordings; WICKED LESTER - Paul Stanley Reel August 7, 1971". www.kiss-related-recordings.nl. Retrieved September 29, 2024.
  7. ^ "Kiss Related Recordings; GENE SIMMONS 1966 - 2016 the Vault 11 CD Boxset 2018(chronological order)".
  8. ^ "Gene Simmons - Kiss: Gene Simmons". Discogs. Retrieved April 17, 2018.
  9. ^ Popoff, Martin (October 2003). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 1: The Seventies. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 164. ISBN 978-1894959025.
  10. ^ Josephes, Jason (June 26, 2003). "Kiss - Gene Simmons". Archived from the original on June 26, 2003. Retrieved January 10, 2012.
  11. ^ "Kiss: Album Guide". rollingstone.com. Archived from the original on June 27, 2011. Retrieved September 4, 2011.
  12. ^ Cohen, Jason (1995). "Kiss". In Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig (eds.). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. p. 212. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
  13. ^ Kulkarni, Neil (December 1997). "Made up for it". Uncut. No. 7. p. 100.
  14. ^ "RIAA Gold & Platinum Database: Gene Simmons". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
  15. ^ Kiss (1978). Gene Simmons (LP Sleeve). Los Angeles, California: Casablanca Records. NBLP 7120.
  16. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 19. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  17. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 0088a". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  18. ^ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005 (in Japanese). Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  19. ^ "Gene Simmons Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  20. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Gene Simmons – Kiss". Music Canada.
  21. ^ "American album certifications – Gene Simmons – Kiss - Gene Simmons". Recording Industry Association of America.
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