Band:	KISS
Album:	Rock And Roll Over
Style:	Hard rock
Release date:	1976
Guest review by:	omne metallum

01. I Want You
02. Take Me
03. Calling Dr. Love
04. Ladies Room
05. Baby Driver
06. Love 'Em And Leave 'Em
07. Mr. Speed
08. See You In Your Dreams
09. Hard Luck Woman
10. Makin' Love

Three albums in two years is a big ask for any band; to be able to release three albums of high quality is something that is often the exception to the rule. That is what KISS managed to do between 1976/1977, and it is in the middle of this trilogy we find Rock And Roll Over. The weakest link in an otherwise cast-iron chain, the album is a solid batch of rock 'n' roll from the self-styled best band in the world.

Starting off with a great bait and switch introduction to "I Want You", the band waste little time on introductions and get straight down to business. Running through tracks like "Calling Dr. Love" and "Love 'Em And Leave 'Em", you get yourself another fine fix of the face-painted quartet as they unleash ten more tracks of rock 'n' roll.

The band are on a roll here and keep up the momentum in terms of their musicianship; while not a band that would challenge themselves regularly, sometimes being able to find room in a limited space without sounding like a rehash is just as impressive. The band are giving it their all and sound full of youthful energy.

While not a critique as such, I do find some funny moments on the album; owing to the rushed schedule, the band's lyrics do sometimes come off portraying unintentional meanings perhaps as an understandable oversight. The two that stand out like sore thumbs are "Ladies Room" which, rather than sounding like women wanting to get with a band member owing to their fame, sounds like the band are trying to solicit a prostitute. The second moment is "Mr Speed" which takes the line "I'm so fast the ladies call me Mr Speed" as a compliment rather than well, not something I'd expect Stanley or Simmons to be boasting about.

The production is a bit flat in places; while much better than the band had faced only a short few years earlier on the likes of Dressed To Kill, it does seem to have less dimension to its sound than Destroyer before it. It is not a record killer by any means, it just seems to be a step back when the band looked ready to make great strides forward. Kramer is a legendary producer and one that needs no introduction, but I wouldn't put this anywhere near his best work.

When I mentioned it being the weakest link, it is only for the other albums being that bit better than Rock And Roll Over being that bit worse. The easiest comparison would be between "Beth" on Destroyer and "Hard Luck Woman" here; while the latter is a strong song in its own right, it is a weak follow-up to a song that is still fresh in the memory at this point. While the album is a consistent strong effort, it lacks the peaks that would adorn the two albums that bookend this trilogy.

Rock And Roll Over is a good album overshadowed by great albums, well worth listening to and shining a light on it. While not featuring stone cold classics, it maintains a high level of consistency that makes it compelling listening throughout.