30. I Want You (Rock And Roll Over, 1976)
Paul Stanley: “I wrote I Want You at a soundcheck on stage in England. There was something about being on some of those stages that just felt so magical because my heroes all played on them, and you kind of summon the spirits to enter your body.”
29. Calling Dr. Love (Rock And Roll Over, 1976)
This Gene Simmons jewel from Rock And Roll Over found its inspiration in an unlikely place: the legendary comedy trio the Three Stooges. The infectious ‘calling doctor…’ chorus was cribbed from dialogue pulled straight from Calling All Curs, a 1939 episode of their TV show.
28. Crazy Crazy Nights (Crazy Nights, 1987)
The band’s biggest hit of the 80s was Rock And Roll All Nite with a persecution complex, Paul Stanley proclaiming: ‘They try to tell us that we don’t belong/But that’s alright, we’re millions strong.’ It’s as daft as it is brilliant.
27. I Love It Loud (Creatures Of The Night, 1982)
As its title makes abundantly clear, this is the ultimate no-brainer rock anthem. Set to an earth-shaking drum beat, I Love It Loud is Gene Simmons’s hymn to heavy metal. ‘Rock on, I wanna be President!’ he declares, that famous tongue firmly in cheek.
26. Creatures Of The Night (Creatures Of The Night, 1982)
In 1982, Kiss delivered the heaviest album of their career in Creatures Of The Night. And it was the first song written for the album that became its title track and mission statement: a bombastic, balls-out heavy metal anthem.
25. I Stole Your Love (Love Gun, 1977)
This swaggering Love Gun classic is possibly one of Kiss' most underrated tunes. “I Stole Your Love came quickly," said Paul Stanley of the track. "It was kind of like the sister song to Love Gun. Swagger and attitude. That song was influenced in some ways by the Deep Purple song Burn.”
24. Rock Bottom (Dressed To Kill, 1975)
A rare Stanley/Frehley collaboration, this 1975 classic from Dressed To Kill is the perfect example of Kiss’ distinctive brand of light-and-shade dynamics, crazy-gluing a delicate, soft interlude into locomotive, piledriving rock thunder. The style was further explored on I Want You from 1976’s Rock And Roll Over album.
23. Hard Luck Woman (Rock And Roll Over, 1976)
A little more country than rock’n’roll – and covered by Garth Brooks – this was allegedly written by Paul Stanley as a possible song for Rod Stewart. Which probably explains why Peter Criss sings it in a raspy style that apes Rod The Mod.
22. Got To Choose (Hotter Than Hell, 1974)
Paul Stanley: “There was a band called Boomerang which featured some of the guys from Vanilla Fudge, and they did a version of Ninety-Nine And A Half (Won’t Do) by Wilson Pickett. I’m pretty sure that’s the riff I used in Got To Choose. It’s one of my favourite Kiss songs.”
21. Rocket Ride (Alive II, 1977)
Always a loose cannon, Ace Frehley appeared on only one of five studio tracks included on Alive II, but on that one track, Rocket Ride, he was smoking. Written and sung by Ace, it’s heavy and trippy… like Kiss on drugs.
