I Pledge Allegiance to the State of Rock & Roll - Kiss, Cuomo, Curtis
Into the Void - Kiss, Cochran, K.
We Are One - Kiss, Simmons, Gene [1]
You Wanted the Best - Kiss, Simmons, Gene [1]
Raise Your Glasses - Kiss, Knight, Holly
I Finally Found My Way - Kiss, Ezrin, Bob
Dreamin' - Kiss, Kulick, Bruce
Journey of 1,000 Years - Kiss, Simmons, Gene [1]
In Your Face - Kiss,
Japanese edition of their 1998 album with 'In Your Face' added as a bonus track. 11 tracks total, also featuring the singles 'Psycho Circus' & 'We Are One'. A Mercury release.
Japanese edition of their 1998 album with 'In Your Face' added as a bonus track. 11 tracks total, also featuring the singles 'Psycho Circus' & 'We Are One'. A Mercury release.
CD Reviews
Unfortunately - NOT the original KISS!
berg | CA, USA | 10/29/2001
(2 out of 5 stars)
"Fans of the Original KISS saw this album as a dream come true: Gene, Paul, Ace & Peter back together and in the studio cranking out a new KISS album! Great concept, however, the cd is clearly a typical Gene & Paul album with a bunch of studio musicians rounding things out. This has been admitted by each band member by now: Ace and Peter barely played on this. What was the point of that? Go purchase "Asylum" or "Crazy Nights" if you want to hear the 'Gene & Paul Project' that KISS became after Ace and Peter left the band. These guys should have locked themselves in a rehearsal loft like the old days and created REAL KISS music again! What a horrible disappointment this album is.
As for the actual tunes, things get off to a pretty good start with the title track and "Within" (even though this song is clearly a "Carnival of Souls" leftover). From there, we are left with a bunch of self-aware hackneyed anthems about the band, the fans, and what they have meant to each other. The only other redeeming tune is Gene's final song on the album which could have fit nicely onto "Destroyer" back in 1976.
One hopes that before KISS calls it quits, they will make an album that features only Gene, Paul, Ace, and Peter singing, writing, and playing. Give us an actual Original KISS album in the incredible tradition of KISS, Hotter Than Hell, Dressed To Kill, Alive, and Rock And Roll Over. Give us the four guys who started this whole thing - there's nothing like Gene, Paul, Ace, & Peter together."
A revolting chunk o' dung
Jeff Beck (jtbeck@playersisland.com | 12/14/2001
(1 out of 5 stars)
"It seems that Simmons/Stanley have become so full of themselves at their advanced ages that they now believe that extremely weak songs by the 2 of them (Just think "Hot In The Shade" or any of the other embarassing efforts on their collective parts) are much better than anything Peter or Ace may have to offer. In fact, this whole album feels like Paul & Gene saying, "Ace, Pete -- we have the power here, & we're still (...). Our songs are far superior to anything you have a part in, and we're REALLY Kiss, not you!"Wrong, fellas. Dead wrong.Ace's sole contribution, "into the Void" is light years beyond the rest of this (stuff). Granted, Pete's song (as sappily penned by none other than Paul) is not good, either, but wouldn't it have been nice to get one last classic KISS album as opposed to Gene/Paul scraps? Guys, you ain't the band by yourselves, no matter what you think. (...), the 4 of them didn't even play together on most of this album. Even a (bad)effort by all 4 throughout would have somehow seemed fulfilling, in a weird, disjointed sort of way -- at least they would have failed as KISS (more Frehley would have prevented this fate, I assure you) instead of Simmons/Stanley's musical rummage sale, which was the product that we actually got (Ace & Peter are FULL members, guys, whether you like it or not). I grew up a masive, worshipful fan. As I get older, the egos of Stanley/Simmons now overpower what might have been an awesome finish to one of my favorite bands of all time. Don't waste your $$$ on this disc. Buy some classic Kiss & wait for Ace's next solo instead. When they were a band, they (were great). Now, as a simple, corporate entity dominated by 2 bitter members who refuse to forgive & forget, they just (are bad)."
A great CD plus package for a true KISS fan.
berg | 07/23/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"By now, every Kiss fan has purchased the original release of the Psycho Circus CD. Some of us really like it and some of us have been let down. Regardless of that we all agree that a new album by the original line-up was something we could not pass up! Kiss fans, if you dare, buy this version of Psycho Circus! Not only do you get the original disc but the bonus disc is priceless. It has almost a Kiss Alive edge to it. Ace delivers a very cool guitar solo, Peter's drumming is super, and Gene & Paul deliver the goods as usual. I feel that this is a sleeper disc because of the split by Kiss fans on this album, but believe me when I tell you it is worth the price. Gene Simmons once said that Kiss has not recorded their greatest effort yet. True. But this is a great CD to buy for your hard earned buck. If you do not have this disc yet, do not buy the domestic version. The import package is a overall better buy for the true Kiss fan!"
Good, But Not Quite A Classic
Erik Rupp | Southern California | 04/20/2000
(4 out of 5 stars)
"PSYCHO CIRCUS has been much maligned by both crtics and fans. It has also been praised by both; believe it or not both ROLLING STONE and ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY gave the album good reviews (I guess hell must really have frozen over!). The truth is that this is a solid Hard Rock album with a couple of great songs. Album opener "Psycho Circus" easily qualifies as a KISS classic. Both catchy and powerful, it is the perfect updating of their 70's style. "Within" is a dark, dynamic song from GENE who attempts to put a 90's spin on "God Of Thunder," with fairly successful results. "I Pledge Allegiance..." is one of those "good, but not as good as it should have been" songs. You hear some good ideas, and it is fairly catchy, but Paul's choice of working with co-writer Holly Knight sabotages any chance the song had of being a classic. Ace Frehley makes his one songwriting contribution with "Into The Void," easily one of the best songs he has co-written in 20 years, and one of the 3 new KISS classics on the album. "We Are One," is a good pop tune, with a very nice sentiment, but should not have been included on an album already overloaded with "pop" songs. "You Wanted The Best," on the other hand, is the third of the new KISS classics on the album. With a grinding riff over a "Ballroom Blitz," or "Kickstart My Heart" type drum part, it sounds the most like KISS from the 70's out of all the songs on PSYCHO CIRCUS. Paul Stanley makes one of his best "Pop-Metal" contributions ever with "Raise Your Glasses," one of the most infectiously catchy songs of the last 10 years, not just from KISS, but from anyone. The real letdown is the ballad "I Finally Found My Way," which was written by Paul and former KISS, Alice Cooper, and Pink Floyd producer Bob Ezrin. It is a truly mediocre entry in an already mediocre genre - the Rock Ballad. Things pick up a little with Paul's "Dreamin," which, yes, is very similar to Alice Cooper's "I'm Eighteen." It also has significant differences from that song, and stands up on its own as a moody, dynamic track co-written by former KISS guitarist Bruce Kulick. The American version of the album ends with "Journey Of 1,000 Years," a song which would have been very much at home on Gene's solo album from 1978. Not a particularly heavy or "Rockin" song, it is an above average "filler" track. The Japanese version ends with a song written by Gene for Ace to sing, called "In Your Face." "I.Y.F." is a truly uninspired song, which if you look up the word 'mediocre' in the dictionary, I belive it is listed as the newest definition (5. listen to "In Your Face" by KISS). But the truth is with so much solid material, and 3 new classics, PSYCHO CIRCUS is definitely worth buying for any KISS fan. Both the die-hards and the casual fans alike will enjoy this one if they give it a chance."
It was worth the wait.
Jeff Beck (jtbeck@playersisland.com | USA | 12/07/1998
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This is dinosaur rock at its best! I've been waiting years for the original four members to come to their senses and give the fans what we've been begging for. And they've delivered in Spades (a wink to Ace). From the title track to the closing strains of JOURNEY OF 1,000 YEARS it's Classis KISS with a slightly updated feel. Songs like WE ARE ONE contain an overdue nod of the head to us fans who have kept them in champagne all these years. While songs like WITHIN (which sounds like it was probably intended for use on CARNIVAL OF SOULS) offer us a harder edged more modern sound that is offset by the pure 70's guitar pyrotechnics of Ace Frehley on INTO THE VOID. This album also marks the re-emergence of Gene Simmons as a major songwriting force in the band. The last few years his contributions have been minimal and half hearted, but no more. Gene really shines in the Circus. There's something to love in this collection for KISS fans of every KISS era."
Track Listings (11) - Disc #1