Love Gun

Love Gun, the sixth studio album from American hard rock band Kiss, came out on June 17, 1977 through Casablanca Records. On that same day, Casablanca and FilmWorks shipped one million copies. The record earned platinum certification and became the band’s first top 5 album on the Billboard 200. It was remastered in 1997 and again in 2014. This album marks the first Kiss studio release with a lead vocal from Ace Frehley, making it the first where all four band members sing lead.

Before the album was finished, a Gallup poll showed Kiss as the most popular band in the United States, ahead of Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin, and the Eagles. On August 26, 27, and 28, 1977, the band recorded three shows at the LA Forum for their next release, the live album Alive II.

Paul Stanley said “I Stole Your Love” came together quickly, influenced in part by the Deep Purple song “Burn.” Gene Simmons’ “Christine Sixteen” shares a theme with “Goin’ Blind” from Hotter than Hell, both about older men lusting after underage girls. Tone Loc later sampled it for his 1989 hit “Funky Cold Medina.” Ace Frehley’s “Shock Me” was inspired by an incident during the Rock and Roll Over tour: on December 12, 1976, at the Lakeland Civic Center in Florida, Frehley touched an ungrounded metal staircase railing during the opening song, got knocked backward, and the concert was delayed for 30 minutes.

He lost feeling in his hand for the rest of the show. “Tomorrow and Tonight” was written to recapture the feel of “Rock and Roll All Nite,” and a soundcheck recording appears on Alive II. The title track shares many lyrics with Albert King’s “The Hunter,” a borrowing Stanley later acknowledged; Led Zeppelin had also used the song for “How Many More Times” on their first album. Stanley called “Love Gun” one of the five signature essential Kiss songs and the one he most enjoys performing.

“Plaster Caster” was inspired by Cynthia Plaster Caster, a groupie known for making casts of famous rock musicians’ penises. “Then She Kissed Me” is a gender-reversed cover of the Crystals’ 1963 single “Then He Kissed Me.”

According to engineer Corky Stasiak’s diary, Kiss started recording at the Record Plant on May 3, 1977, and finished on May 28, with the cover of “Then She Kissed Me” being the last track tracked. Frehley didn’t join the others until May 9, and many basic tracks were completed by Stanley, Simmons, and Peter Criss. Before entering the studio, Stanley made demos of his songs, arranging all parts himself, and the band recreated them for the final recordings.

Eddie and Alex Van Halen played on the demo of “Christine Sixteen,” and Simmons insisted the band replicate it note for note, including the lead solo. “Shock Me” was Frehley’s first recorded lead vocal; he sang it lying on the studio floor. He originally wanted Stanley or Simmons to sing it, but they encouraged him to try, with Stanley saying, “It’s way overdue.” Producer Eddie Kramer recalled recording Peter’s drums in a hallway.

While Simmons is often credited with piano on “Christine Sixteen,” Kramer said he played the part himself, with Simmons standing over him coaching him to “play like a Neanderthal.” Stanley played bass on the title track.

The album cover was painted by fantasy artist Ken Kelly, who had done the cover for 1976’s Destroyer. A cardboard “Love Gun” (assembly required) was included inside the album, along with a Kiss merchandise order form. The album was remastered and reissued on CD in 1997 as part of the Kiss Remasters series, and again as a deluxe edition on October 28, 2014, with sleeve notes by Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott and a second disc containing demos, live rarities, and a 1977 interview with Gene Simmons.

All tracks on the second disc were previously unreleased except the demo of “Reputation,” which had appeared on the compilation Kiss 40 a few months earlier. The three live tracks were recorded at the Capital Center in Landover, Maryland on December 20, 1977. Music writer Geoff Barton noted that the potential for the deluxe edition to be the greatest of all time was ruined by a too-clean remastering job and a track that has dated badly in “Christine Sixteen.”

Personnel on the album include Paul Stanley on vocals, rhythm guitar, bass on “Love Gun,” and first guitar solo on “I Stole Your Love”; Gene Simmons on vocals, bass, and rhythm guitar on “Christine Sixteen,” “Got Love for Sale,” “Almost Human,” and “Plaster Caster”; Peter Criss on drums and vocals; and Ace Frehley on lead guitar, vocals, all guitars and bass on “Shock Me,” and second guitar solo on “I Stole Your Love.” Additional musicians include Eddie Kramer on piano on “Christine Sixteen” and “Tomorrow and Tonight” and keyboards on “I Stole Your Love” and “Love Gun”; Tasha Thomas, Ray Simpson, and Hilda Harris on backing vocals on “Tomorrow and Tonight”; and Jimmy Maelin on congas on “Almost Human.”

Credits adapted from LP liner notes list Kiss as producers, Eddie Kramer as producer and engineer, Corky Stasiak as engineer, Dennis Woloch for cover and inner sleeve design, Ken Kelly for cover painting, and David Spindel for sleeve photography.