I have to say this review was very unexpected! The last music from Peter Criss was the album “One For All” in 2007, a below par meandering album that was not the way I wanted things to end for Peter. Then I was aware he did a final goodbye show in Australia before retiring. And at 79 years of age now I did not expect Peter to be back, but I’m glad he is! At the end of the day, Kiss released their last new album of material “Monster” in 2012 (after Peter had left for a second time post reunion), nothing since even though they toured on for another decade. The view from their camp was that it was no longer profitable to make music, blame the streaming age, the fans killed music, I’m not working for free etc. But Ace Frehley continued to make music for the love of it, he was in the studio right through to the end, and (perhaps) making music because you love doing so may be motive enough?
As for Peter, I actually have two of his albums in my vinyl collection. I have the 1978 solo album and the 1980 solo effort “Out of Control” – I suspect a hard find nowadays!
If you are reading this review then I suspect that, like me, you are a fan of Kiss. I’m reviewing this new release because I am a fan of Kiss. Based on this I am not placing a backstory of Peter here, but I will note that his solo career has been a very mixed bag, nowhere near as successful as that of Ace, for example. This is because his albums were often weak, they often had a highlight but failed to deliver beyond that moment. What I will note however is that sometimes the highlights were very good indeed. I will select “I Can’t Stop the Rain” (1978) and “New Moon over Brooklyn” from Cat #1 (1994). Both of those songs are top drawer, emotion driven ballads with depth, feeling and real passion. They show everything that is good about what Peter can do. Here at Rock the Joint Magazine we spoke a while back to the keyboardist T-Bear who played on Peter’s 1978 album (and also on Gene’s) and he told us:
“Peter Criss gets involved. He says, “Man, if you’re doing Gene’s album, then I want you on mine!” The problem for me was that they were doing the recordings simultaneously, so how could I be in England and in the States at the same time? But he was determined, so as soon as I finished in England, I headed into the studio where Peter was recording, and I went in the studio and listened to a few tracks. Sean Delaney was there, and he tells me there is this one track that is all about the rain! I was asked to play on that. I listened to the bones of the track, walked right in, the piano was there, and I laid it down in one take. It was done in one take, it was magical! You could see everyone in the control room had been moved.”
And I have always really liked that song.
But on to the present day. I was aware, because we do get the music gossip here, that Peter was in the studio working on an album because he could see how The Stones and others of a similar age to him were still creating and he wanted to make music again.We have not received a press release and information on the whole thing has been limited, however the release date of December 19 has now been stated and we know the album will be released on Silver Cat Records on CD, vinyl and streaming.
The album track titles are also released, but my review today is connected to the single “Creepy Crawlers” – a Halloween release that is a prerunner for the album. Interestingly, the video came out as a ‘teaser’ of 31 seconds first, then the whole video was there and I had a listen to the track through, then it was taken down all over the place. I came back to the review today and the single had vanished. It is one of those moments where I scratch my head a bit as we live in an age where promotion is everything, release tracks in advance to gain media and traction. Releasing an album as a covert operation today makes no sense! I am no longer in a position to place the full video at the end of this review, for example. As for the song, it is not on Spotify, Apple or Amazon but the album will be on Bandcamp, link here. Again, from a marketing perspective if you have to go and hunt for music a fan will do so, but casual listeners won’t. From reading Peter’s book he complained about previous albums of his not getting the promotional work they deserved, but in this case even as a music magazine we have had to work hard to find and hear the track to review it and promote it. We think that if you preorder the album you get to stream the single now.
My review:
For this album Peter has brought on board John 5, Billy Sheehan, and Paul Shaffer. The sound was a bit unexpected, it had more than a touch of Alice Cooper in the vibe and there was a fine Halloween spookyness about it. The vocals from Peter were on the nail, but I think they were double layered toward mid-section, or maybe someone sang alongside him, I only heard the whole thing through once before it vanished, so I am unsure! I note Peter has redrawn his name as a logo where he incorporates the Kiss lightning bolts into his ‘Criss’ and a cross in the ‘t’ of Peter. The song uses the thunder and weather elements well, and the cat-like drum sound is effective, the whole song works like a horror movie soundtrack which plays out in the video that is removed at the time of writing! It is a very decent track, it is a modern horror rock sound that I was not expecting from Peter, shame so few people will be able to connect to it pre-release.
So…Just when you thought the Catman had hung up his sticks for good, Peter Criss pounces out of retirement with a Halloween treat that nobody saw coming! It’s been 17 years since One for All (a record that didn’t exactly go out with a bang), and at 79 years young, Peter’s back in the studio—because, unlike others we could name, he’s still doing it for the love of music.
His new single, “Creepy Crawlers,” arrived like a ghost in the night—appearing briefly online before vanishing faster than Gene Simmons’ patience with free downloads. What little the world got to hear was surprisingly strong: a thunderous, horror-tinged rocker with an Alice Cooper-style twist, some stormy drumming, and Peter’s unmistakable rasp layered with eerie flair. He’s roped in John 5, Billy Sheehan, and Paul Shaffer for good measure—now that’s a lineup!
Sadly, the promo strategy seems straight Scooby-Doo: no streaming, no press release, and a single that disappeared quicker than you could say “Bandcamp exclusive.” But if the rest of the album (out December 19 on Silver Cat Records) keeps up this spooky swagger, then maybe the Cat’s still got nine lives left after all.
If you want some speculation as to what is happening here, and please note this is our speculation here at the magazine with no supporting evidence: They dropped the video/single quickly to build buzz (Halloween timing fits “Creepy Crawlers” spooky theme). However the infrastructure for streaming/distribution (Spotify, Apple, etc.) wasn’t aligned yet. They then pulled it (or made it very limited) while they get the release plan in order, hoping to roll out the full album & single properly on December 19. The downside is casual fans are left perplexed and the impact is lost somewhat. (Peter, or your team- get in touch below or on our contact page, we would happily tell everyone what is going on!)
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Peter Criss website here
By Mark C. Chambers