The bassist, singer and songwriter Gene Simmons co-founded Kiss back in 1973 in New York City alongside Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss. They quickly became during that decade one of the most successful and influential bands in the world. The group was active for 50 years until they decided to retire in 2023 but the only two original members of the band who were part of all their releases were Simmons and Stanley.
There are fans who love what both of them did without Frehley and Criss. But Simmons himself revealed which is, in his opinion, the worst album he ever made with Kiss.
Gene Simmons picks the worst album he ever made with Kiss
In the early 80s, Gene Simmons had the idea to make a concept album with orchestral elements, which would be the first and only like that done by Kiss. As he revealed in an interview with Classic Rock, in his opinion, the worst album he ever made was “Music From The Elder” released in 1981.
“I take the blame for it, because it was my idea. I remember telling Bob Ezrin that I was writing a movie script. We were making a concept album based on that. He said: ‘Let’s do our own Tommy!’ I said: ‘Yeah. If The Who can do it, why can’t we?’ Well, the straight answer is because we’re not The Who! There are some fans who love that record. To me it was dishonest. But really, the most dishonest record we ever made was Carnival Of Souls. (That was) when we were trying to follow a trend instead of just being ourselves,” Gene Simmons said.
When Kiss recorded “Music from The Elder”, the band was formed by Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley and Eric Carr. The album peaked at the time at number 75 on the United States Billboard 200 chart. It was the last album to feature Frehley until he reunited with the band in 1996.
Since Kiss came to an end in 2023 after 50 years on the road, Gene Simmons reactivated his solo career. He has been touring around the world playing his solo material, Kiss tracks and some covers.