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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 7, 1978)
Page 8B Top 10 Albums 1. Billy Joel — 52nd Street 2. Donna Summer —Live and More 3. Steve Martin — A Wild and Crazy Guy 4. Foreigner —Dou()/e Vision 5. Original Soundtrack — Grease 6. Styx — Pieces of Eight 7. Barbra Streisand Greatest Hits, Vol II 8. Neil Young — Comes a Time 9. Linda Ronstadt — Living in the U.S.A. 10. Rolling Stones — Some Girls Kiss produces four By Bruce Meyer United Press International Four or five years ago, after they had adopted their black costumes, explosive stage show and fright-mask makeup, but before they were taken to heart by millions of American kids, the members of Kiss had a plan. The idea was, of course, to make it big as a rock ‘n’ roll band — that was Phase One — but it would be merely the first step. Once that part was accomplished, Kiss could do all sorts of things, together and separately: music, movies, tele vision, comics, what have you. At the time, even to someone who recognized the market ing genius that went into the spectacular Kiss show, the whole thing seemed more like a pipe dream than a serious plan.But in one of those spectacular success stories that proves the old saw about selling the sizzle instead of the steak, Kiss made it, and made it big, combining ultra-basic music with elaborate razzle-dazzle showmanship that would have done P.T. Barnum proud. Now they’ve been on the tube, they’re in the comics and they’ve got a made-for-TV movie set for release this fall. Still, you can do only so much with one idea, and by last year it was pretty clear to everyone that musically the Kiss concept had been stretched much too thin. Kiss had not released a new studio album in more than a year, the show had stagnated and run out of technological innovations; it was time for Phase Two of the plan. So, during the past six months, all four members of the individual albums band have made solo albums. And those albums will proba bly surprise a lot of people, even if it’s partly because almost no one has ever taken them seriously as musicians. Of the four, bassist Gene Simmons’ sounds most like a Kiss album, sticking largely to the thunder-chord formula. But as one of Hollywood’s new kids in town, he has drawn a great list of guests, ranging from Donna Summer and Helen Reddy to Bob Seger and Cheap Trick guitarist Rick Nielsen — plu$, of course, Simmons’ current companion, Cher. The albums by Kiss drummer Peter Criss and guitarist- lead singer Paul Stanley are predictable. Stanley has pro duced a mainline hard rock album, adequate but hardly in spiring, while Criss stays mostly with laid-back, bluesy bal lads on the order of “Beth,” the decidedly un-Kisslike tune that first broke the band on radio. Criss, at least, seems as sured of a strong solo career. The most pleasant surprise comes from lead guitarist Ace Frehley — partly because no one knew quite what to expect from Kiss’ resident space cadet. It turns out to be the best album of the lot, a hard rocker with plenty of melody, as tonishingly strong vocals and certainly the best single tune to be found on any of the four records, a paean to the Big Apple by Russ Ballard called “New York Groove.” One suspects producer Eddie Kramer is due some of the credit here, but it’s still Ace’s album and a well-deserved success. But however the records could be ranked musically, they amount to a four-part collection that few hard-core Kiss fans will be willing to leave incomplete — which means four times as many albums sold. And that's part of the plan, too. Eagles release Christmas single By Robert Hilburn ' it- " He P la V ed f° r us ,ast September and I went crazy. I loved the Los Angeles Times song. We knew it was perfect for Don to sing. There hasn’t been a California’s best-selling chroniclers of urban malcontent, the decent Christmas record in a long time. So, we went ahead and Eagles, have stepped away from their usual country-rock shadings recorded it. for a sentimental slice of holiday rhythm and blues on their new Henley said he has liked the song ever since hearing it during his single. high school days in Texas. After deciding to record it, he and Frey The A side of the single is a remake of “Please Come Home for wrote “Funky New Year,” a mostly tongue-in-cheek tune about the Christmas,” and early ’60’s regional success for singer Charles typical New Year’s Day hangover. Brown. The flipside is an Eagles original titled “Funky New Year.” “We didn’t want to put anything from the new album on the back Neither song will be on the band’s next album, due early next year. of the single so we thought we’d better write something to go with “The record is an effort to comnpete with the Blues Brothers,” it,” he said. “Besides, we both know more about New Year’s than quipped the Eagles’ Glenn Frey from Florida, where the quintet is we do about Christmas.” working on the followup to Hotel California. Despite the authentic tone of “Please Come Home for Christ- “They’re trying to recycle the ’60’s soul music,” Frey said, poking mas,” the Eagles’ wry outlook surfaces in the photo on the single’s fun at comics John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd’s much-publicized jacket cover. It shows the band sitting glumly around a Miami attempts at moving over into the music field. “And we didn’t want a swimming pool in the sunshine trying to get some comfort from a couple of dilettantes to corner the market.” plastic Christmas tree. Seriously now . . . Henley said the Eagles already have finished a dozen songs for “We’ve always wanted to do a Christmas record,” he explained. the followup to “Hotel California,” the album that has sold nine “Whenever we talked about it, Don (Henley) would mention the million copies and whose title track won a Grammy as best single Charles Brown song. The last time he went to his mother’s house in record of 1977. The group is working against a Feb. 15 deadline Texas, he dug it out of his old record collection in the attic. and hopes to be on the road by March or April. Eagles