Peter Criss (album)

Peter Criss is the first solo album by Peter Criss, the drummer of American hard rock band Kiss. It was one of four solo albums released by the members of Kiss on September 18, 1978, but yet under the Kiss label, coming out alongside Ace Frehley, Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley. The album was produced by Vini Poncia, who went on to produce Dynasty (1979) and Unmasked (1980) for Kiss.

Songs
Four of the tracks ("I’m Gonna Love You", "Don't You Let Me Down", "That's the Kind of Sugar Papa Likes" & "Hooked on Rock 'n' Roll") were originally written in 1971 for Criss's pre-Kiss band, Lips. Criss also covers "Tossin' and Turnin'", which was a No. 1 hit for Bobby Lewis in the U.S. during the summer of 1961. The song was subsequently covered by Kiss on their 1979 tour.

Reception
Reviews for Peter Criss were mostly negative. In a retrospective assessment AllMusic called it "the most undistinguished of the bunch, lacking hooks on either the pop-metal rockers or the power ballads, as well as personality throughout." The album was the lowest charting of all the Kiss solo albums of 1978, reaching No. 43 on the US Billboard album chart. Of the four solo albums, Peter Criss was the only album to have two singles released from it: "Don't You Let Me Down" and "You Matter to Me", neither of which charted. In an interview in Goldmine magazine, Stanley and Simmons dismissed the record as being completely opposite of the aims of what Kiss music was about.

Track listing
All credits adapted from the original release. All songs were written by Peter Criss and Stan Penridge, except where noted.

Cover versions

 * Harvey Milk covered "Easy Thing" for their compilation album The Singles.
 * Awaken covered "I'm Gonna Love You" on their double album Party in Lyceum's Toilets.
 * The Slam covered "Hooked on Rock 'n Roll" on their album Hit It!.

Personnel

 * Peter Criss – lead vocals, drums on all songs except tracks 6–7, and 10, percussion on track 8, backing vocals


 * Additional personnel
 * Allan Schwartzberg – drums on tracks 6-7 and 10
 * Bill Bodine – bass guitar on tracks 1-5 and 9
 * Neil Jason – bass guitar on tracks 6-7 and 10
 * Art Munson – guitars on tracks 1-5 and 9
 * Stan Penridge – guitars on 1-5 and 8–9, backing vocals
 * Elliot Randall – guitars on "Easy Thing" and "I Can't Stop the Rain"
 * John Tropea – guitars on tracks 6-7 and 10
 * Brendan Harkin – guitars on "Easy Thing"
 * Steve Lukather – guitar solo on "That's the Kind of Sugar Papa Likes" and "Hooked on Rock and Roll"
 * Bill Cuomo – keyboards 1-5 and 9
 * Richard Gerstein – keyboards on tracks 6–7, and 10
 * Davey Faragher, Tommy Faragher, Danny Faragher, Jimmy Faragher, Maxine Dixon, Maxine Willard, Julia Tillman, Vini Poncia, Annie Sutton, Gordon Grody – backing vocals
 * Tom Saviano – Horns arranged
 * Michael Carnahan – saxophone solo on "Tossin' and Turnin'", baritone sax on "Hooked on Rock 'n' Roll"
 * Lenny Castro – percussion on "Tossin' and Turnin'" and "Don't You Let Me Down"


 * Production
 * Mike D. Stone – engineer at the Record Plant, New York City
 * Eraldo Carugati – album artwork

Release history

 * Casablanca NBLP-7122 (September 18, 1978): 1st LP issue (with poster)
 * Casablanca NBPIX-7122 (September 18, 1978): US picture disc
 * Casablanca 826 917-2 (1988): US 1st CD release.
 * Mercury 314 532 386-2 (September 16, 1997): Remastered CD (with poster)
 * Universal Music B0020537-01 (2014): Remastered LP (with poster)