Kiss purists beware: the band’s 1982 album Creatures Of The Night does not include the classic Simmons-Stanley-Frehley-Criss quartet, the Cat (Peter Criss) having been replaced the preceding year by the Fox (drummer Eric Carr). Also note that despite being included in the artwork, the Spaceman (Ace Frehley) did not play on Creatures, the bulk of the ‘ghost guitaring’ being by Vinnie Vincent, soon to join full-time in the guise of the Ankh Warrior. [Enough Kiss characters – Ed.]
Kiss’s career was in the doldrums in ’82, the band licking their wounds after the release of concept-album cock-up Music From ‘The Elder’. A return to basics was required, and Creatures delivered. Highlights include the triumphant I Love It Loud, the rapacious War Machine and the tremblesome ballad I Still Love You, with Paul Stanley emoting like a motherfucker. (It wouldn’t surprise us to learn that he recorded his vocals while cradling an ailing puppy in his arms.) But averageness also prevails, especially on the Gene Simmons-led Killer, a leery debacle that has dated badly.
This super-deluxe edition – costing, wait for it… anywhere between £200 and £300 – offers more bonus tracks than a Black Friday sale at the Hornby warehouse; there are also kountless kollektibles.
The best bits are the super-rare stage sound effects, recorded and archived by Creatures tour sound engineer Harry Witz. We have adopted Bass Solo Wind And Gargoyles as our Ring doorbell tune and haven’t had an Amazon delivery in weeks.
