Destroyer: took the band to a new level, even though at the time it felt like a complete departure from the pure rock sound as producer Bob Ezrin pushed the band hard with strings, piano, and choir. The result was as close to a masterpiece as a band can get. “Detroit Rock City,” “Shout it Out Loud,” and “Do You Love Me” still brought enough rock sound to balance the album.

Rock and Roll Over: producer Eddie Kramer (KISS Alive!) took the band into an empty theater to record. The result was an album that has a real live feel to it. This time there would be no strings, piano, or choir, just straight raw rock. The star of the album is Ace Frehley. His solos were top-tier; this is the album he used an Echoplex delay or a Mu-Tron octave divider for the first time.

Love Gun: this album captured the original members at their peak. It is also the album Ace Frehley made his singing debut on with “Shock Me.” The album is solid and again straightforward rock, but the true charm of the album are songs that did not get much love, either from the band during concerts or fans. “Almost Human” and “Love For Sale” are really good rock songs sung by Gene Simmons.

Many rock historians believe KISS Alive!, Destroyer, Rock and Roll Over, and Love Gun are the gold standard to this day for bands releasing albums. The main reason is that each of the KISS albums was better than the one that came before. Will there ever be a 4- album run that is at least as legendary as the one in the mid 1970’s? Perhaps. But time has shown it does not happen all the time.