001. Do Ya Wanna Touch Me Now (1992)
This song was written by Paul Stanley, Bob Ezrin, and Skid Row guitarist Dave "The Snake" Sabo and was apparently recorded for the "Revenge" album. It was listed for inclusion on the album quite late towards the end of 1991 will into early 1992, but was apparently left off the album so that "Carr Jam 1981" could be included. In another interview Paul would comment that the song was left off because "as good as the song is, we didn't need it. It's a very cohesive album that didn't need any more dynamite in it" (Kerrang #392).

002. Laughing When I Want To Cry (1992)
Gene has happily admitted that this song would not be suitable for a KISS record, still it was an interesting collaboration between him and Bob Dylan. The music was written at Gene's guest house, and while Gene would write a lyric for the song and demo it he considered it an unfinished work in progress.

003. Mongoloid Man (1976)
Written by Gene with Joe Perry of Aerosmith, and recorded with Joe and Michael Des Barres, this heavy riff ladden track (appropriate since Joe always liked his B.C. Rich "Bitch") has been described as being a dance version of "War Machine".

004. Never Living, Never Loving (1967/8)
By 1967 the young Paul Stanley had graduated from Incubus/Uncle Joe into the more serious band Post War Baby Boom. This band included Jon Rael, brother of Incubus/Uncle Joe guitarist Matt Rael. Recorded This group also featured a female lead vocalist, as a demo during a recording session arranged by an A&R representative in an attempt to get a recording deal with CBS/Columbia Records. Written by Paul Stanley, it's not clear whether Paul or Maxine sang the lead vocal since it has been mentioned that she lost her voice around the time of the recording session.

005. When Two Hearts Collide (1987)
During 1988/9 Paul was gearing up for the possibility of working with Cher, producing an album for her. At the same time he was writing material specifically geared outside of KISS, specifically the "Paul Stanley Compilation" publishing tape which he circulated in 1988 which included "When Two Hearts Collide", "Best Man For You" and "Jump The Gun". "When Two Hearts Collide" was written by Paul and Adam Mitchell and was originally intended for Cher's use. In 1989 Paul would comment that he had also written a song with Desmond Child for her with the possibility of doing a duet with her. Unfortunately, those plans were trashed due to scheduling.

006. Jump The Gun (1987)
Another of the songs from the "Paul Stanley Compilation" publishing tape "Jump The Gun" was a song that Paul Stanley co-wrote with Geoffrey Lieb, who is better known as Jeff Paris, who was a synthesizer player in the early 1980's and has co-written a vast amount of material with other song-writers and artists, including Vixen and Mr. Big. While Paul did not sing on the demo, it is likely that the vocals were by Jeff. Jeff would record the song, perhaps building on the original demo, with Paul being on backing vocals, for his 1993 album "Lucky This Time".

007. Detroit Rock City '98 (1998)
This song is essentially the final song KISS ever recorded in the studio as a band. Recorded in October 1998, the song was intended to be used on both the "Detroit Rock City" movie and soundtrack. Clocking in at some 6:50, the song stays very close to the original structurally, though the c1998 sound of the band is very evident, with the song being somewhat heavier and more ponderous. Gene's bass string slides are very much more evident a la "Deuce", and Peter's drums sound very much triggered. However, Ace's guitar playing is very fluid, and Paul's vocals are incredible. Essentially, one can take this song as a live in the studio recording. The song culimates with a long "Black Diamond" like outro piece, which was used to assist in the timings required to put the music in the movie. Because the production of the song was somewhat rough it would be replaced on the soundtrack with the earlier studio recording. The only place to hear parts of this song are in the movie, with the audience and sound effects hiding many of the interesting nuances of this recording.

008. It's My Life (1982)
"It's My Life" was one of the then uncommon Gene and Paul collaborations which was recorded for the "Creatures Of The Night" album in 1982. The song was completely finished When used on the Wendy O. Williams album in 1984 Gene would simply take the 1982 KISS demo and have Wendy's vocals recorded on top of it with lyrics which differed minimally from the original version plus somelead overdubs by Wes Beech. The guitar solo seems nearly identical to that on the demo, so even that may have been used. Later this song would be covered by King Kobra, and even re-recorded by KISS during their 1998 "Psycho Circus" album sessions. What is clear, to the majority of fans, is that this song is one of the finest KISS anthems to ever be discarded by the band and more than a few will be disappointed that it will not be the 1982 version on the box set.

009. Love Bite (1977)
Peter's demo writing was always very much connected with Stan Penridge, whom he'd been musically invloved with since 1970. Infact it was usually the case that Stan was the primary creative focal point, though Peter's jazz influences introduced a vibe into the music which made the sound unique. This song was a demo recorded at the Record Plant by Stan Penridge, playing Guitar and Bass, and Peter on Drums and Vocals in early 1977. It was intended for the "Love Gun", and was one of two contributions which Peter would bring to KISS for the album, but was not used due to the song's rather strong subject matter and conflict with another song starting with "Love"... "Love Gun" would be slighly more sublime, in an Aerosmith "Walk This Way" manner, that "Love Bite" with lyrics which went: I've been bit everywhere / But I've never been bit by a woman there // Love bite / Feels oh so right / Love bite / Leave your scar on me / Tonight! // Kiss me here, kiss me there / You can kiss me anywhere // etc. With KISS' fan demographics changing to the under 12 crowd, this would have left Jam's Mom utterly frothing and attempting to drive spikes into the hearts of the band members!

010. Outromental (1995)
Technically, there is no KISS song called "Outromental". The instrumental coda which would eventually gain that name was originally an ending piece to the song "Childhood's End". While the piece would be cut from the song, it was initially planned to have the album close with this short instrumental piece which came in some time after the end of the final track on the album, "I Walk Alone". In an interview Bruce explained the track and its' omission, "I think that was probably just an oversight from the people at the plant that were transferring what they call the part, and didn't realize that 30 seconds later there was gonna be an unindexed song 'teaser', you know, just 30 seconds of a tag, which originally belonged to 'Childhood's End'" (495/KISS Asylum w/ Bruce Kulick, 1997). This was somewhat similar to the "Rock And Roll Party" outro piece that the band (more Bob Ezrin) had done on the 1976 album "Destroyer", though in that case it was more a matter of making the album longer. Unfortunately, when the album was sent for pressing, because the song was not noted in any way, it was not included on the masters for the album. Only on the first copies of the Advance Cassette of the album would it appear, not even being included on later promotional cassette copies of the album. Catalog consultant, Robert V. Conte, came up with the name for the piece so as to have a name to refer to it as. It runs 1:13.

011. Ain't None Of Your Business (1976)
"Ain't None Of Your Business" is one of the earliest unreleased tracks to yet surface and was brought by Bob Ezrin to the album sessions when he was unsure what sort of material the band would have ready. Written by Becky Hobbs and Lew Anderson (a country partnership!), rather than Michael Des Barres, the song would be demoed with Peter Criss on lead vocals (though an instrumental version also circulates). While not used by KISS, the song would be recorded by Des Barres' band Detective the following May for their self-titled debut album (Swan Song SS-8417). Ponderous with its slow heavy throbbing, pulsing, and thunderous, ryhthm section, the song was very un-KISS like, with it's C&W roots, and unsuited to the band's style. One might also wonder about just how unsure Bob was of the band with the very-very slow chord progressions and simplicity of the song...

012. Rotten To The Core (1976)
Gene has claimed that he wrote this song about the Sex Pistols, "I wrote a song about them called 'Rotten To The Core'. Still have the demo. It was never released. I did that when I did 'Man Of 1000 Faces' and 'Howling For Your Love' and 'True Confessions'" (Gene Simmons interviewed by Ken Sharp for Goldmine Magazine #417, 1996). In 1998, while Gene was recycling material for the Psycho Circus album, Gene reitterated, "Rotten To The Core was really written for Johnny Rotten, believe it or not. We recently cut it. The core riff became 'Sweet & Dirty'. We just recorded it" (Gene Simmons interviewed by Ken Sharp for Goldmine Magazine 11/20/98). However, while it is likely that Gene was aware of the Sex Pistols, in 1976, following the band's visit to England in May of 1976, the song certainly shows that he had little concept about what John Lydon, Glen Matlock, Steve Jones, and Paul Cook, and for that matter the whole punk movement, was about. Regardless, Gene has long liked the title "Rotten To The Core", and has used the line in other lyrics. This demo, recorded at some point after the European Tour of 1976 has yet to fully surface as a KISS recording. Let me introduce you to pleasure / I will seduce you, my treasure / I know you'll ask me for more / You wanna know what's in store // And, what color is my heart? / Can it be torn apart? / Don't turn your back on me / Cause I'll give you misery // Don't you know I'm rotten to the core / Rotten to the core... etc

013. Deadly Weapons (1981)
When KISS were first reconvening to record the follow-up album to "Unmasked" they had intended to record a rock album more in the vein of what their fans would expect. As such it was most likely recorded at Ace's home studio in Connecticut, and was Eric Carr's first recording with the band. The song itself definitely comes across as being an "Unmasked" cutoff or transition piece. There are striking similarities in the song which while being 'heavier' would have been right at home on that album with watered-down production. Interestingly, this song never surfaces on any album and is eventually recycled by Gene for inclusion on the 1985 album "Asylum" as "Love's A Deadly Weapon", after some reworking.

014. Rumble (1979)
This track was one of several tracks which Peter brought to the "Dynasty" recording sessions, and one of his favorites. A typical Peter sounding demo, it had all the hallmarks of being a Stan Penridge, Peter, and Vini demo. Peter recalled, "I thought 'Rumble' was hot. I thought that was a hot song. Vini Poncia and I got into that. He helped me on the lyrics. We really dug that tune" (Peter Criss w/ Ken Sharp, 1993). Written about Peter's alleged youth with lyrics which were typically West-Side Story: "I've got a gang they call the Phantom Lords / We're the meanest suckers, you could ever know / Well it's Saturday night and the streets are dark / We're heading down to Prospect Park / Where there's gonna be, a rumble tonight". Unlike the other demos he did at the time, "Dirty Livin'", "Out Of Control", and "There's Nothing Better", this would be the only one never released.

015. Could It Be Love (1980)
In late 1995 Stan "Doc" Penridge offered for sale the master acetates of Peter's solo recordings at RCA Recording Studios in New York City during March to July 1980. Not only would this 2 disk set include the familiar recordings released as Peter's first post-KISS album "Out Of Control", but there would be two out-take songs, fully completed but not used on the album. This was one of those tracks, and it is interesting that the song was not used when it fit very well with the sound and style of the rest of the album, being one of the more rockin' songs. There'll be more discussion on this set later.

016. I Don't Want Your Romance (1976)
Stylistically, this song is right in the vein of "Burning Up With Fever", "Howling For Your Love", "Bad Bad Lovin", "High And Low", and "Man Of 1000 Faces" which were all recorded around the same time and feature strong female backing vocals. While demos, with several of these song being transformed, "I Don't Want Your Romance" sounds very much like a development piece. Parts of this song's music, notably in the first verses would become "Ladies Room" during the Rock and Roll Over Sessions, as would the lyrics though "Uh, you say you like to dance / And I think I'll take a chance / But I don't want your romance" would be changed to "You say you like to dance / Mmm, I think I'll take a chance / Ooh, baby, maybe it's time for romance".

017. Howling For Your Love (1976)
Another very strange Gene demo. The "the hour's getting late" lyric and music would later be used in "Plaster Caster", but much of the odd lyrics to this song remain unrecycled. This is something of a shame considering the great introduction, "Don't know how else I can say it / Don't know if you'd think it's strange / I don't know how to ask you politely / But let me put it this way...", though the chorus does get a bit tedious, even with the female backing vocals. Compared to the previous song, this one sound much less developed and rough, right down to the simplistic drums. As mentioned earlier, this song was recorded at the same time as "Rotten To The Core", "True Confessions", and "Man Of 1,000 Faces".

018. Stanley The Parrot (1969)
While this very early song shows Gene's emerging talent, it is a very strange country-folk fusion which is diametrically opposite to the personna and later writing style of the Demon. In essence, the piece is psychadelic and disjointed being composed of two separate parts, a 1:56 Instrumental / Harmonizing non-lyrical vocal introductory piece which leaves one wondering whether they're actually listening to the other Gene Simmons, the "Jumpin" one! The other 2:19 of the song is really a song, and while this piece has long been known in KISS circles as the song "Strutter" was based on, due to some of the chordal patterns, any connection is very hard to hear in the music, especially with the distraction of the extremely strange lyrics, which essentially go: Stanley the parrot / Regards himself as less than a man / He still regrets it / Even though he thinks he can // Summer is the time for making them / And Stanley doesn't think he can / He now regards himself as quite a man // Stanley the parrot / That one off, old Stan demands / He gave it to her /Despite himself, she said he was grand... Sounds more like a sex guilt song than anything! Gene has stated that it was the chords of the chorus he'd play for Paul all the time and with the addition of the riff basically became the verse of the song "Strutter". Regardless, that's one strange parrot! The song runs 4:15 of twangy Duane Eddy-style guitar (ask your parents!).

019. Stop, Look To Listen (1966)
This song is Paul Stanley's first recorded song, while a member of Incubus/Uncle Joe with Neil Teeman on drums and Matt Rael on guitar. Now that we have the box set we know that it was recorded at Mayfair Recording Studios in New York City, where Neil had been working as a clean-up boy. While Paul has described the band's sound as: "It was just turn the amps up real loud and I'll see you at the end of the song" (Sharp, Ken - Goldmine "Return Of KISS"), it should be remembered that this was really Paul's first band and that he was only 14. Therefore, all powerchords and volume on 11 can be forgiven, especially when the guy became the "Starchild"! While the band barely played live, they were more of a garage jam band, with two guitars and drums, which was more about friends hanging out attempting to play the popular music of the time which they liked. During this first foray into the recording studio, Paul would write this song in addition to singing the lead vocal.

020. Sword And Stone (1987)
"Sword And Stone", another of the KISS anthemic cast offs, was written by Bruce Kulick, Desmond Child, and Paul Stanley, and demoed for the "Crazy Nights" recording sessions. Recorded at Electric Lady Studios the track is nearly a complete KISS track, though it was left off the album because producer Ron Nevison was not particularly keen on the song. Within two years the German band Bonfire, who had in 1987, been recording in the studio next to KISS, would cover the song for the KISS involved "Shocker" soundtrack.

021. Dial "L" For Love (1987)
"Dial L For Love" was written by Eric Carr, Gene Simmons, and Adam Mitchell and was demoed, not fully recorded, for "Crazy Nights". Eric has commented that the song was not good enough (at that point) to make it onto the album, and that it was a song which was being worked on. As the primary writer of the song, Eric had taken it to Gene and Adam for polishing. Gene said at the time he felt that if KISS didn't use the song they'd give it to someone else to record.

023. Young Blood, Young Fire (1987)
During 1987 Vinnie Vincent put together a tape of publishing material which he hoped could be offered to other artists to record. This song, as the title might suggest was not written with the Rob Lowe film "Youngblood" in mind, even though it would have fit quite well. It is simply a matter that the film had been release prior to the song being recorded. Written solely by Vinnie the would be recorded on Vinnie's 12-track at his house with Jeff Scott Soto on vocals and old Warrior chum Jimmy Waldo on keyboards. The recordings actually make Jimmy more of the primary player because they are somewhat more prominent than Vinnie's guitar.

024. Sister (1995)
During 1995 Ace Frehley and his then band consisting of Richie Scarlet (Guitars/Vocals), Steve "Budgie" Werner (Drums), and Karl Cochran (Bass/Vocals) recorded a three song demo at Baby Monster Studios in New York City. The latest lineup of the Ace Frehley Band had finally stabilized in late 1994 when this song first made its live debut, somthing which Ace would have usually been against, "I don't believe in doing that because there's always someone there with a tape recorder and it's gonna get out. I would rather have the stuff come out fresh where nobody's heard it before" (SoundAttitude Magazine). Fortunately, the material did get out, and while Ace had expected to get the solo material out to the public in the autumn of 1995 something else got in the way.

025. High And Low (1976)
"High And Low" was another of the demos that Gene Simmons recorded prior to the "Rock And Roll Over" sessions of 1976. With parts combined with parts from Gene's original demo of "Bad Bad Lovin", the song "Calling Dr. Love" would appear. Parts from this demo used would include the verse "And even though I'm full of sin / In the end you'll let me in / You let me through, there's nothing you can do / You need my pleasure, don't you know it's true" with that last line being changed to "You need my lovin', don't you know it's true".

026. Are You Always This Hot (1987)
12 songs would be fully recorded for the "Crazy Nights" album, but only 11 would be used. This song, the one not used, was written by Gene Simmons and Adam Mitchell. This song has not yet made it into collector's circles, unlike some of the non-album demos from the album, nor was the track ever given to another artist to record. "Are You Always This Hot" was based on a song which had been solely written by Adam in 1981.

027. Spotlights (1978)
"Spotlights (And Lonely Nights)" is the only known out-take/demo from Peter Criss's solo album recording sessions. According to Peter, "it never got released. Sean Delaney is the only person I know who has it. What a great song that was, but people thought it was too depressing so the Company never released it" (KISS Army International via LF#80). But with lyrics like "Spotlights, and lonely nights / It's just a game I'm in / Wake up, in the morning / And I wonder, when will I see you again / And those rock and roll bars / And limousine cars / Just want somebody to hold / I don't need no friend with a helpin' hand / I don't need no drink, to help me pretend I'm alone", over a manic monotone piano key, it's not too surprising it was left off. What is interesting is that Sean's 1979 (released very early in the year and recorded in the latter half of 1978) solo album "Highway" (Casablanca NBLP-7130), just happens to have the track "Spotlights" on it. As a matter of discussion concerning the writing of the song in a June 29, 1978 memo from Bill Aucoin to Peter Criss, Sean had apparently agreed, "Spotlights (And Lonely Nights) - to be shared equally (50/50) for writers credit, copyright and royalties" (Aucoin). The version of the song recorded by Sean would have be his song with Richard T. Bear on piano, though it would only be credited to Sean since the agreement with Peter was only applicable if the song appeared on Peter's album, and published through Kick-A-Rock Music, Inc. (ASCAP) / Rock Steady Music, Inc. (ASCAP)....

028. Rock And Rolls Royce (1976)
Another example of the transitions Gene's ideas undergo in the song-writing process. This song initially recycled the part of "Drive Me Wild" which had been replaced by Paul's lyrics, however, the song would undergo further development and become "Love 'Em And Leave 'Em". The first verse, "My limousine is awaiting / And I see you comin’ my way (hey) / I’m sitting by the window / And you ask me which hotel I stay in / Well make a reservation / Between the hours of ten and two / Well, if you’ve got an opening (I'll remember) / I’ve got a stiff proposition for you", is very nearly identical to the first verse of "Love 'Em And Leave 'Em" which would make some minor modifications, and have some additions. The second verse would stay pretty similar: "So I give you my number / You say you’ll see me tonite / Baby you just have to remember / Check with me if it’s alright / You wanna be seat in the driver’s seat / Well if you do it alright with me", but would have the last two lines, originally "Just hop into my rock and Rolls Royce / 'Cause I’m not just one of the boys (hah!)" replaced with "I've got to hand it to you, baby / You know what a girl's gotta do / There's nothing else I'd rather do / With you, but I, but I". Musically, the verse arrangements were similar, but without there being a chorus it is very clear that this was a development piece. The free-form guitar solo indicates that Ace may have contributed...

029. Eskimo Sun (1969)
"Eskimo Sun" was originally recorded around 1969, since it was one of the tracks that Gene included on his rejected publishing tape. That version timed at 3:55 and was written soley by Gene. According to Gene, the song "is about a place where they make love at nighttime, which is six months out of the year. It's just a concept piece and that became 'Only You'... If you pick at the chords of 'Only You' that is 'Eskimo Sun'" (Goldmine, 7/19/96, interview w/ Ken Sharp). Like many other of Gene's early compositions, this song would tend towards the more mellow and would have a more McCartney/Beatles' feel to it...

030. Suitor (1971)
"Suitor" exists on tape somewhere, and was a song only performed live by Wicked Lester. Who it was written by, or what it sounded like, is unknown to anyone but those who played it or heard it at one of Lester's two live shows. While Paul has stated that Wicked Lester never recorded it, it is not clear whether he was just commenting on "properly recorded" or "demoed"...

031. Beck (1970)
The original demo of one of KISS' biggest hits was originally titled "Beck". The title was changed due to pressures from both other members of the band, and producer Bob Ezrin, who just saw the possibility of confusion at the nickname. Originally written by Stan Penridge and Peter Criss the song was almost a transcription of Chelsea guitarist Mike Brand's phone conversations with his wife Becky would was continuously calling up when the band was rehearsing. Essentially, while there would be revision to the song for recording by Peter in 1976, only the chorus was markedly different: "Won't you wait an hour / And I'll run right home to you / I know you love complaining / But Beck, what can I do?". When recorded in 1976, Bob Ezrin's minor lyric suggestions would get him a song-writing credit...

032. Daily Planet (1976)
While "Daily Planet" was recorded around the same time as "Rotten To The Core" and "High And Low" it seems to have not made it past being an instrumental track. Apparently Gene never got around to adding the vocals for the song, for the lyrics he wrote seem to have been a very early and strange effort: "Hey now / The World is going on and on / And it is the World you live on - Daily // So read all about it all / In the Daily Planet / Daily Planet / You never had it so good // Now I'm there / Writes about his friends from outer space / He's not from the human race / His friends call him Ace". While the lyrics seem to be a reaction about Ace's personality it is not known whether Gene would have used these lyrics which come from one of his lyric books...

033. Hot Lips (1989)
While there had not been much communication between KISS and Ace following his departure from the band, by 1989 Ace and Gene would be musically collaborating on a track, "Hot Lips", which never came to fruition. With how the relationship between Ace and Gene and Paul would break down in the early 1990's an odd collaboration between the two is a loss for all KISS fans...

034. Rock Your Mind (1989)
At the time that Ace Frehley was working on his "Trouble Walkin'" album, he hooked up with Eric Carr to write what they'd call "Breakout II". It was initially planned for Eric to record the song with Ace on the album, but Eric's contract with KISS apparently did not permit such an activity. Ace himself was never shy of announcing to audiences that Gene had not allowed Eric Carr to appear on the album, especially after Eric had passed away. However, the two had recorded the song in at least demo form with Eric singing lead. By that time it had already been decided to abandon the song, simply because it sounded too much like "Breakout"!

035. Island Of Lost Souls (1993)
"Island Of Lost Souls" was one of the first songs Gene demoed for the album which would follow "Revenge". First demoed in March 1993, the song was, according to Gene about, "how everybody gets up in the morning, gets dressed, made up, and when they're going about their day everybody seems to be together. But if you were an alien coming down to watch people, you'd see everybody looks really lost. Everybody seems to be together, but they're all lost in their own world. The glaze comes over the eyes and we don't look at each other you know. That song's very very aggressive, it's almost like 'Deuce' or 'Unholy' real uptempo stuff" (KISS Crazy #17). By the time firm reports about the next studio album started circulating in late 1995, no song with this title was mentioned, instead "Carnival Of Souls" would be listed so it is possible that the song had transformed...

036. Rock And Roll Survivor (1982)
While Peter Criss and Stan Penridge had recorded additional material and remixed the entire "Out Of Control" album in 1980, few demos circulate from the sessions of Peter's second post-KISS solo album. "Rock And Roll Survivor" is one of the few to make it into circulation and sees Peter singing more in a Bob Seger style reminiscing about his rock and roll lifestyle. In someways, the title would have been an appropriate album title for his second album, and would have made more of a link with the first album! When I was a young man, playing in a young band / I knew the freedom, of living in a new land / But now that I'm older, and the feeling's getting colder /And I'm getting tired, of looking over my shoulder // Guilty greatest, from county stages / Some nights passed so quickly, and others lasted ages / And I know the good times, and I know the hard times / But in such a few years, I've lived a lifetime // I'm a rock and roll survivor / I've learnt all that it takes / For each heart that catches fire / There's a thousand hearts that I break / And in a world of easy riders / Only outlaws are allowed / Just being a rock and roll survivor / It's enough to make me proud

037. So Many Girls, So Little Time (1983)
Written by Gene Simmons and Howard Rice, this song was first demoed by Gene around the time of the "Lick It Up" sessions. Because the demo is obviously Gene on his click-track, it would seem that the song idea was not complete or considered for use by KISS. By the time that Gene was producing Keel he would offer them this and two other songs which would turn up on the "Right To Rock" album in more polished form. With Gene's assistance that album would scrape into the top 100 reaching #99 in March 1985...

038. Somebody's Waiting (1989)
This song was first first brought to KISS in a group of four demos by Eric Carr, and regardless of the song being a monster ballard, it was rejected in favor of Paul's "Forever". The song would finally be completed with some additions by Bruce Kulick for inclusion on the "Rockology" album...

039. Do You Know What I Mean (1990)
By the time that most fans heard that Peter Criss and Mark St. John had gotten together in a band, they'd split up. However, invariably called Tree or The Keep, the project would provide the metamorphosis for Criss to emerge. This demo was one of a group of 10 recorded at Sound City Recording Studios in Los Angeles. Completing the lineup of the band was Michael Norton (Mark's brother) on bass and Michael McDonald on lead vocals. What makes this whole era amusing is that Michael McDonald's real name is David Donato (who also had a very brief tenure in Black Sabbath in early 1984 before getting replaced by Glenn Hughes), which essentially means that the band was really the original lineup of White Tiger with a new drummer. This song, however, would not be one of the original songs that would be written by Mark and Peter, in fact it would be the only song (to circulate) that had Peter on lead vocals. The original version of the song, written and recorded by Lee Michaels was a Top-10 (#6 - A&M 1262) hit in 1971 and can be found on his "Fifth" album (One Way 33644). Peter would re-record the demo in 1991 with his new band, CRISS, though the arrangement of the song would not differ...

040. Reckless (1989)
This song was the alleged collaboration between Ace Frehley and Blackie Lawless of WASP around the time of the "Trouble Walkin'" sessions. Ace and Blackie's releationship went far enough back for Blackie to have been in the audience of the Friday's TV show in 1982, and Ace would produce demos for WASP in 1983. Blackie, however, these days, suggests that Ace did nothing, and that Bill Aucoin was simply interested in the band in 82/3, but was too busy with Billy Idol for the band to want to sign with him...

041. The Days Of My Greasepaint (1988)
Between leaving Jane/Balls Of Fire in late-1986 and the formation of The Keep in late-1989, Peter had been publically quiet. While he had made guest appearances on albums by Black 'N Blue and King Kobra, he was concentrating on family and writing his infamous (non)book "A Face Without A KISS". At the end of this period Peter started getting active musically again and wanted to be in a traditional rock band with bass, ryhthm guitar, and lead. "The Days Of My Greasepaint" was a song which Peter wrote while working on his book, built out of the experiences he was recounting and revisiting. Along with the book, the exercise was apparently theraputic to Peter...

042. Elephant Man (1991)
"Elephant Man" would be the last song written by Eric Carr and while it was never recorded or demoed dates from the time of Eric's health battles. In some ways it may have been autobiographical with lyrics: Just like the elephant man / Nothing's changed inside / People don't seem the same / They smile with fear in their eyes / And the one true love / Shines through with the brilliance / Of a million suns / Aching with despair / Of things she cannot change / But seeing the pain he has / Just like the elephant man / Banished from the kingdom / By the evil king / And him not so secret queen / He sees the truth in the mirror / And feels the strength in his heart / Friends are there to hold him up / But only he can stop his fall /Just like the elephant man... It would be too easy to look at the song, and taking Eric's health, and other issues, and look at the lyrics allegorically, especially "Banished from the kingdom / By the evil king / And him not so secret queen", but that really serves no purpose and would be conjecture.

043. Legends Never Die (1982)
KISS actually recorded this Gene Simmons, Adam Mitchell, and Micki Free composition during the Creatures Of The Night sessions, but the song never had a vocal track put on it and was abandonded because Paul was not overly fond of the song. Later, Gene would simply take the KISS track and add Wendy O. Williams vocals to it. When discussing whether "Legends Never Die" was ever recorded by KISS with author Ken Sharp, Gene recalled, "we actually did. During the 'Creatures Of The Night' phase we tried it and Paul wasn't crazy about the tune. I don't think we ever put the vocal on. I think we only tried it as a band. It sounded very similar to the version that Wendy O. Williams recorded. Let me think about this, I think what I did was I took our version and put her vocal on it. That's what happened" (Sharp, Ken. Goldmine #417 - The Return of KISS). It would be this song on the Wendy O. Williams album that Eric Carr would get credited as guesting on drums, and naturally, with Gene as Reginald Van Helsing on bass, would tend in the direction of what Gene suggested had been the basis for the track. Originally titled, "When The Legend Dies", this song would later be covered by King Kobra and Doro.

044. Queen For A Day (1976)
If there is a holy grail in recorded KISStory, then perhaps this song, demo, incomplete or not, is it. Gene Simmons was working on this song to be Ace Frehley's lead vocal debut with the band in 1976. He never completed the lyrics, and while the band did record the song, no vocal track was cut for it. While it had been intended for inclusion on "Rock And Roll Over", there are rumors that a version of the song was tried out during the "Destroyer" sessions with Bob Ezrin, but this has not be substantiated. It is even odd that Gene was writing material for Ace when he had proven more than capable of bringing KISS quality material in the first place. Regardless, the song intended to be a vehicle to debut Ace Frehley on lead vocals, but apparently his confidence level was still not yet enough to take the center stage in a vocal capacity. Unfortunately, the incompleted song remains under lock and key and it is impossible to find out at what stage the song was at. According to Dale Sherman's research for his "Black Diamond" book the song was included on the list of masters to be sent to England for remix for the "Double Platinum" album in early 1978. That in itself may not indicate anything, because Gene would later record in Britain for and possibly may have considered finishing the track himself. In late 2001 there would be brief rumors that Ace had completed the track for inclusion on the KISS box set...

045. You Make It Hard (For Me) (1998)
Written by Sebastian Bach and Ace Frehley, this song was intended to be included on the Psycho Circus album, having apparently made it so far as to attain the approval of producer Bruce Fairbairn. As the title would suggest, there is some sexual innuendo reminiscent to KISS' own "(You Make Me) Rock Hard" from the Smashes, Thrashes, and Hits album of 1988. Unfortunately, the song would get scratched from the album. Sebastian recalls, "something happened and it wasn't on there. I talked to Gene Simmons and I asked him what happened and he said he didn't want any songs about sex on the new record because he had done so many songs like that. I thought Gene would have loved that, but, I was wrong. Maybe that'll come out on Ace's solo record if he does one" (ballbusterhardmusic.com). Ace and Seb would write the song in late January 1998 just prior to the album sessions starting, and parts of it were probably based upon a song of the same title Ace had written with Mary Kupersmith in 1985...

046. Sweet & Dirty (1998)
"Sweet & Dirty" was the result of Gene recycling an older demo, in this case, the core riff from the 1976 demo "Rotten To The Core", for use on a then current song. Considering that 19 songs were recorded for the album, with only "In Your Face" and "It's My Life" so far being released from that 9 track over-flow seletion, the quality of the original demo would make this an interesting song though how the riff was interpreted is unclear as are any lyrics for the song...

047. Baby, It's You (1984/5)
The date on this one is something of a guess, but with the keyboards heavy arrangement it is possible that it dates from the Arthur Stead lineup of Frehley's Comet. Regardless, "Baby, It's You", is one of the more obscure Frehley's Comet demos. However, as good as the song is, it is a cover of a Mack David, Barney Williams, and Burt Bacharach composition which also was recorded by The Beatles on their first album "Please, Please Me" in 1963. Written in 1962 the song has been covered by more artists than I care to list here (I'll mention the Carpenters for humor value for some), though it is interesting to note that Ace would cover "My Girl" around the same time. In 1990 Ace would again demo the song, this time with vocalist Mary Ann Sandiffio, lead vocalist with Black Lace and Bang Gang, for whom Ace was supposed to be producing a demo at Northlake Studios...

048. Life In The Woods (1973)
One of the very earliest KISS songs, "Life In The Woods" is also known by the alternative title "Want You Beside Me". Written by Paul the song was a riff based song that the band would perform at the Daisy. The song could hardly be considered to be a completely developed piece since it was by all accounts a very strange piece of music with lyrics which were generally just shouted out over the music. By August 1973 the song was starting to disappear from the band's setlist, even while the Wicked Lester material remained, but not before it was included in the set recorded by Eddie Solon at the 25 August 1973 show at The Daisy ("Acrobat" from this show was on the Box Set). While Gene has suggested that the band never recorded the song, there is the possibility that it was roughly recorded along with the rest of the band's repetoire prior to the first album sessions. Paul, in the box set linear notes lends support to this theory, "before we actually recorded the first album we set up at Bell Sound Studios... and recorded our live repetoire of songs. Doing so, so that the producers would have a sense of what was available and how it might hold together in album form, which songs to keep and which to discard" (Box Linears, 2001). Since KISS' set in the club days varied from 7 to 13 or more songs, it would seem likely that there are more "Bell Sound Studio Demos" than the four that were presented on the on the box set and that this (and other interesting songs) was one of them. According to Gene, the weirdness of the lyrics are self evident: "Life in the woods would be easy / Flowers and trees / Keeping in tune with the city / singing along with the breeze" (Ken Sharp Goldmine #417)...

049. Ain't That Peculiar (1989)
When one originally looked at the new KISS box set, they probably would have been pleased to see that there was a previously unknown and unreleased demo from Eric Carr it the form of "Ain't That Peculiar", whose music would eventually become "Little Caesar" on the "Hot In The Shade" album of 1989. Unfortunately, the song, at least it's lyrics were not written by Eric and were really a metalized cover of Marvin Gaye's (hear it) song of the same title. It would would not be too surprising that this may have been the original intention with Eric's R&B musical background and the sort of songs his 1970's bands were covering, let alone the continuous rejection of his own material when presented to the band. While some lyrics are changed, slighlty (as Ace did with his demo cover of Burt Bacharach "Baby, It's You"), the rest of the song is a definate match for the song written by William "Smokey" Robinson, Marvin Tarplin, Robert Rogers, and Warren Moore. The song reached #8 on the US singles charts in 1965...

050. Life & Liberty (1998)
An Ace Frehley and Anton Fig collaboration, this song was written around the time of the "Psycho Circus" sessions...

051. Together (1998)
Written by Peter Criss and Tommy Thayer, this songs was one of Peter's only contributions to the "Psycho Circus" album. With Tommy not only being the band's tour manager and involved in the business side (recently Box set), he has an association with Peter Criss going back to Peter's guest appearance on the 1986 Black 'N Blue album "Nasty Nasty" in addition to being the standby Ace Frehley at certain gigs on the Farewell Tour...

052. Penny Arcade (1976)
"Penny Arcade" was a demo Gene recorded at The Record Plant which eventually became "Radioactive" which would be recorded on his 1978 solo album. According to Gene in an interview with Ken Sharp in Goldmine Magazine, "I always was fascinated by the nickelodeon idea at the turn of the century. Sticking a penny and putting it into one of these things. You either get prizes or naked lady would start taking their clothes off. The idea of 'Penny Arcade' was really the beginning of 'Radioactive'"...

053. Fourever (1977)
"Fourever" and "You Wanted The Best" are almost symbiotic twins, apart from being written around the same time. Left only in very rough demo form the song is almost an internal rallying point for the band at the time that things were starting to get difficult with the relationships between the members: After all is said and done / We know we're number one / And we're gonna keep on shakin' the World, fourever, and ever / We don't care what they say / We're gonna keep on rockin' every day / We're gonna show them what it's all about, together/ Together // Were all for one, and one for all / Fourever, and ever / We're gonna do it all together / Fourever, and ever / And ever, and ever...

054. Rip And Destroy (1978)
Techincally, this song is only the second full KISS recording done in 1978 (the other being the re-recording of "Strutter"). While the band had originally intended upon recording all new songs for the KISS NBC movie "KISS Meets The Phantom Of The Park", time limitations, and other planned projects killed off the idea as being unrealistic. Since some new material was needed for the script, Paul took 15 minutes in his trailer to rewrite the lyrics to "Hotter Than Hell". The time spent on the song shows. Still, with the condition that the band was in at the time there was little choice but to take the easy road. I guess, also, that this song doesn't really qualify as a demo either. One chorus, one verse, repeat accordingly. Never performed by the "Real KISS", just the "Evil KISS": [Verse] It's time for everyone to listen good / We've taken all we can stand / You've got the power to rip down these walls / It's in the palm of your hand // [Chorus] / Rip, rip, rip and destroy / You know the hour's getting late / Rip, rip, rip and destroy / Break it down and seal your fate (whoa)...

055. Vampire Of Love (1978)
A companion piece to "Howling For Your Love", perhaps, that kept some of the imagry of Gene's writing very much in line with his appreciation of the horror movies of the past. What better way that to write, than to combine two favorite pastimes: Sex and horror flicks! Whether or not this song was ever demoed is not clear, it can easily be dated, the lyrics appearing on a solo album promo calendar in KISStory: Dark shadows of love slithering / Closer tonight / And I'm waiting for your love / Waiting by the moonlight / Surrender me your love / Before the sunlight // Your long and silky hair / Your neck virginal and rare / Your legs beyond compare / your lips, your heaving breast / My love is your test // Because love in a jugular vein / Is love I can't explain / I am your vampire of love // So love me tonight / Before the sunlight...

056. Too Many Mondays (1971/2)
When Wicked Lester recorded their "album" with Ron Johnsen, little of the material they would use was original. This song came from famed songwriter Barry Mann's 1971 album "Lay It All Out" ([UK] CBS-64805; [US] New Design) and was written by him and Cynthia Weil, the famed songwriting team. Interestingly, this album also features Carol King on piano and backing vocals (though not on the Lester related tracks) and Alan Schwartzberg on drums. Additionally, the sound engineer on the album is one Ron Johnson who would later produce the Wicked Lester album, providing plenty of future Konnections prior to Lester or KISS coming into the picture. This song was also released as a single (3:55), with a picture sleeve (New Design 1006, US) though it did not manage to chart. The song was also released on a 1972 triple-LP various artists compilation, "The Music People" ([UK] CBS 66315; [US] Columbia 31280). The song has also been covered by BJ Thomas (1971 - another Ron Johnsen connection) and Mary Travers (1973). While Paul Stanley would sing the song on the rejected album, a demo recording with Gene on lead vocals does exist. Regardless, his harmonizing starts the song...

057. Sweet Ophelia (1971/2)
Sung by Paul on the Wicked Lester reject "album", this was a second song which had been originally recorded for Barry Mann's 1971 album "Lay It All Out" (New Design) and was written by Barry Mann and Gerry Goffin. The version of the song recorded by Wicked Lester would be pretty honest to the original, but would skip one complete verse...

058. I Wanna Shout (1971/2)
This song was a Wicked Lester cover version of the Hollies' song "I Wanna Shout", sung by Gene, which was originally released in November 1970 on the band's post-Graham Nash album, "Confessions Of The Mind" ([UK] Parlophone PCS-7178) . It was written by Alan Clarke and Terry Sylvester, who had replaced Nash when he left to join a small irrelevant band with David Crosby and Stephen Stills (kidding!). The album only managed to reach #30 on the UK charts as the Hollies' success declined they would continue to release albums throughout the 1970's which were largly ignored. The concept of the piece would later provide the inspiration for KISS' 1976 recording "Shout It Out Loud", though the two songs are completely different...

059. Shocker (1990)
Recorded by Vinnie Vincent for his unreleased Enigma album "Guitars From Hell", this track saw him reunited with Vocalist Robert Fleishmann who had been replaced in the Invasion by Mark Slaughter. As usual, it was solely written by Vinnie, but was intented to be the lead off track on the album. Andre LaBelle drums...

060. I Wanna Love You (1987)
Written by Vinnie Vincent, this song would be the only one he demoed for "All Systems Go" the song would be developed and and retitled, becoming "Naughty Naughty" on the album...

061. Metal Tech (1988)
"Metal Tech" is technically neither song nor demo, it is a jam piece that comes, in three sections, on Vinnie Vincent's 1988 instructional video. Essentially, it is 7 minutes of Vinnie letting rip with numerous licks, demonstrating his unique picking style and phrasings, elements he would go into on the video. Accompanied by a drum machine and canned bass line, the piece, nonetheless, is an excellent demonstration piece of Vinnie's skill and style...

062. Best Man For You (1989)
Another of the keyboard ladden Paul demos from his home studio recording era of 1987-9. It is not clear where this demo was directed, though there are vocal elements which would be used on the recording of the "Crazy Nights" album, notably trasitions. The amount of keyboards on this demo tends to indicate that Phil Ashley was part of the recording process, since Bruce doesn't play on the track. The song was written by Paul Stanley and Jean Beauvoir...

063. Don't Let Go (1989)
This song was another of the demos put out by Paul for publishing, and was written with former KISS producer Vini Poncia whom the band were working with around the time of the "Hot In The Shade" album...

064. Wait For The Minute To Rock 'N Roll (1991)
"Wait For The Minute To Rock 'N Roll" was one of the five songs recorded for the first CRISS demo in 1991. Produced by Bob Dooley, the songs would be recorded at A&M Studios in Los Angeles. Featuring the involvement of Phil Naro, this was another of the songs he co-wrote with Peter. The song itself would be a mainstay in the live band's setlist for quite a while, usually being the set closing piece, with different lead singers...

065. No Matter How You Try (1968)
Eric Carr's pre-KISS band, The Cellarmen, recorded six songs in the studio during the five years that they were a band. "No Matter How You" try was one of two songs the band recorded as the backing-group for female singer Crystal Collins (not Gale as per "Black Diamond"). The songs have no writing connection with the band, who would also provide backing-vocals and harmonies. While the band had been friendly with Crystal prior to the recording sessions, the recording work apparently came about due to the band's manager setting up the session...

066. Have Love Will Travel (1977)
As the title suggests, as a lyric, "Have Love Will Travel" would become "Got Love For Sale" on the "Love Gun". The demo is notable due to it being one of the three demos Gene would record with Alex and Eddie Van Halen at Larrabee Studios in Hollywood, CA. Gene recalled, "I would usually go in and play all the instruments myself, but on this occasion I decided to call up the Van Halen brothers and ask them to come down and play. So both Alex and Eddie came down and played on cut 'Christine Sixteen', 'Got Love For Sale', and 'Tunnel Of Love', which later wound up on my solo record. We cut it live as a trio and Eddie came up with some solos afterwards. I liked his solo for 'Christine Sixteen' so much that when the band recorded it for 'Love Gun', Ace pretty much copied Eddie's solo note-for-note" (KISStory)...

067. You're My Girl (1980)
This full studio recording is the second unreleased recording from Peter's solo recordings at RCA Recording Studios in New York City in 1980. What makes the song different is the calypso, almost light reggae feel, that it has which makes it so different to the rest of the material on the album it is hardly surprising that it was left off the album, not to mention a soppy chorus: "'Cause you're my girl / You're my girl / You're my girl / And I love you".

068. Don't Run (1981)
Essetially, "Don't Run", which would be Elderfied into "Dark Light", would be Ace Frehley's final musical contribution to KISS. Originally a rather disjointed song with Ace talking more with low-vocals there seems to be a distinct lack of direction for the song, and it seems to fit closer, sytlistically, to the songs Ace was co-writing with "Crazy" Joe Renda (i.e. "Eugene"), though the comments are humorous at times: [Verse] What's wrong? / You're not happy girl (so what can you do about it) / Now be strong / And get confidence (you know you can't stick your head in the ground forever) / You got problems / So does everyone, so does every one (you don't want me to give you charity) / So use your mind / 'Cause it's all you've got (well your party's not too bad... hmph!) / You're so uptight / Now don't give up girl (that's not the way to handle it) / Just stand and fight / And use all your ..ds(?), and use all your mind // [Verse] You got courage girl / So use some of it (I don't mean, like, you've got to be tough or something) / Just think you'll see / It's not hard to be (it's not hard to be a problem solver, these days) / And don't forget / You've gotta stand your ground, so just stand your ground.

069. Don't Let The Blues Surround You (Love, Love, Love) (1970)
A demo from Lip's second recording sessions, again paid for by Karma Sutra records, the band would consist of Peter Criss (Drums/Vocals), Stan Penridge (Guitars/Vocals), and Michael Benvenga (Bass/Vocals)...

070. Baby, Hold On (1985)
The Penridge-Criss Alliance set up in Nashville in early-1985 to record a series of demos. While Peter's involvement in the band would soon cease, severing his relationship with Stan Penridge, this would one of the songs he would record lead vocals for. Produced and written by Stan "Doc" Penridge the demo would be recorded at Cinderella Studios in Madison, TN in early 1985. Peter Criss sings lead vocals and plays precussion. Band consisted of Stan Penridge (Vocals, Guitar), Alan Woody (Bass), Benny Harrison (Synthesizer, Keyboards, Vocals), and Tony Mercadante (Guitar, Vocals). Not a rocker neither was the song soft, building more off tradition R&B energy and style. Tell me you love me / Oh, show me you care / As long as you need me / I'll be there / As long as this feeling / Oh, keeps burning on / As long as we keep it going strong // Oh, baby hold on (baby hold on) / Just hold on to me, oh hold on / Oh, never let go / Just hold on to me, ooh hold on // So tell tomorrow / Are gonna be the same / Tell me that nothing gonna change // So honey believe me / Oh, take this one last chance / By me it's really / True romance (yeah)...

071. I Wanna Rule The World (1998)
During the chaotic "Psycho Circus" sessions nearly 20 songs would be recorded for use for the album. This Gene Simmons composition was written with Ace Frehley in mind. It was, however, not used. According to Gene, the song "was very Mott The Hoople, crossed with a bombastic John Bonham beat. You British like the heavier stuff, but we purposely left out a lot of the heavier ones because the record as it stands makes a much stronger musical statement"(Classic Rock, 1/99). It was one of the few songs considered for the album which had lyrics rather than just a title...

072. Jelly Roll (1976)
This demo song by Gene Simmons really has no connections, since it is so different to the sort of material he usually worked out. None of the lyrics from the piece, or the music for that matter, would be recycled for use on other songs: I saw her walkin' around the Watts St. corner / You turned to see her comin' your way (Lookin' so good) // She looks up, she see's your eyes are burning / They're burning right through your head (You're on fire) // [Chorus] She'll make your jelly... roll... / She'll suck your very soul... Jelly roll... Gene has suggested, "'Jelly Roll' was the first version that morphed into 'Rotten To The Core' which morphed into 'Sweet & Dirty'" (Gene Simmons interviewed by Ken Sharp for Goldmine Magazine 11/20/98). Yet, musically, the song is very different to either of those songs sharing no common components.

073. When You Grow Tired (1969)
"When You Grow Tired" was the second song recorded by The Cellarmen acting as a backing band to vocalist Crystal Collins. Like "No Matter How You Try", while the band had nothing to do with the writing of the material, the band was responsible for the arrangement, though the writer wasn't initially amused. The songs would be recorded on the small Jody record label...

074. I Found You (The One I Adore) (1968)
During The Cellarmen's second foray into the studio they recorded material for some song-writers who wanted to publish their material. While the band were not responsible for writing the material they did the arrangements. The song was written by Bob Dorsey and Harry Simon and produced by Vincent Vallis and Henry De Meo, who would also play the trumpet. Vincent was the head of Jody Records, the Brooklyn vanity label on which the songs were recorded. A very limited issue of the vinyl was made, mostly for those involved and for distribution to labels in hopes that the song would get picked up. Eric Carr would sing lead...

075. (What Happens) In The Darkness (1971/2)
Written by the ironically named Tamy Lester Shaw, this song would be covered by Wicked Lester during their ill-fated album recording sessions. Around the same time as Wicked Lester, the song was released as a single by the gospel-R&B band "Infinity" (USA, MCA/Uni 55327) backed with "Do Your Thing Like Jesus". It is currently not known whether Tamy Smith's connections with Infinity went any further than their recording her song rather than her being a member of the band. Infact the band's lineup is currently unknown. The Wicked Lester version varies only slightly from the Infinity recording of the song with the female and male singers trading off, much like Gene and Paul would on their version...

076. Run To Me (1989)
Apart from being a track written for "Hot In The Shade", but discarded, it is ironic that this song shares the same title with a song which Neil Bogart had recorded in the early 1960's. However, there the connections end, with this song being written by Paul Stanley, Vini Poncia, and Bruce Kulick. According to Bruce the song was simply a throw-away track (eh, like "Beth" was considered a throw-away in 1976) since it may have been written too late for use on the album...

077. Love Makes You Crazy (1990)
While Vini Poncia had been brought back into the KISS fold during the "Hot In The Shade" sessions, "Love Makes You Crazy" would see an interesting combination of writers. Written by Paul Stanley, Jean Beauvoir, and Vini, the song would never be used on any recordings, even though some Paul and Jean collaborations from this era would end up on Voodoo X and Crown Of Thorns albums...

078. The Game Of Love (1990)
Co-written by Paul Stanley and Bob Held, this song would be one of the last demoed with Eric Carr on drums and was recorded at Track Recording Studios in Los Angeles. Bruce would play guitar on the demo. In 1998 the band "Garbo Talks", which included Bob Held, would resurrect this demo, and others, and over-dub additional parts to complete the recordings...

079. Jenilee (1982)
There are few out-takes from Peter's 1982 album "Let Me Rock You" apart from several demo versions of songs included on the album. However, "Jenilee" was co-written by Peter and Jim Roberge who had also collaborated on "Bad Boys". Two arrangements were tried out on the song, alternatively with piano and guitar accompanyment. The subject matter, of course, is towards Peter's then new-born daughter, and the song is a really touching piece: When I look into your eyes / How they sparkle like wine / I know that you were sent from high above / I will always love you baby / You can count on me / Cause you'll always be, my Jenilee // I have waited such a long time / Just to see your face / It's seems it's been a thousand years for me / I will always love you baby / You can count on me / Cause you'll always be, my Jenilee // We will spend our days together / You and me / Everyday will be a holiday / Wait and see / I know the day will come / When you will say goodbye / But you will always be a part of me until I die (© Jenilee Music, Inc. & Pleasure's Mine Music)...

080. Bad People Burn In Hell (1991)
One of the earliest Criss/Naro collaborations during the first line-up of CRISS, this song would be a mainstay of the band's live set, though it would undergo transformation from the original demo form which had Phil singing lead. With copyright first registered in May 1991, the song's content was very much built around the negativity which Peter had in his personal life at the time...

081. Back In To My Arms Again (1984)
Dating from 1984, with copyright registered in August, this song was written by Ace and Arthur Stead and has long been considered one of the best unreleased pieces of material from the Comet. It too would get regular play in early Comet sets...

082. Animal (1984)
"I'm An Animal" was one of the very earliest Frehley's Comet songs and was written by Chris Kimsey and then keyboard player Arthur Stead. A favorite of the early live set, the song would get demoed but would never be properly recorded by the band. This song would be among the five songs the band did record at the Power Station Studios in New York with producer Chris Kimsey who had been slated to produce the first album. The song would be recorded by former member's of Frehley's Comet for release on the "Return Of The Comet" tribute album in 1997...

083. Eugene (1980)
While not technically a demo, "Eugene" would be Ace Frehley's first work outside of KISS. Written with "Crazy" Joe Renda, the song would recorded with Ace co-producing and playing syndrum. The bassist on the recording would be none other than John Regan. Childhood friend Rob Sabino would also appear on the full album. Contraty to popular belief the song is not about Gene Simmons. What Ace's contribution to the song-writing was is unclear since Joe Renda had originally written the piece in March 1979. Two versions of the song exist, the album version and an extended remix which was released as a promotional 12" single. This would be the only album the band would release, interestingly on Casablanca Records...

084. No, I'm Not Afraid (1991)
Another of the early Peter Criss and Phil Naro collaborations during the first line-up of CRISS. This song would be copywritten with a second group of Criss/Naro collaborations in May 1991. A power ballard, this sort of material is something which is completely alien to the type of material which one would expect from Peter. Complex, with plenty of time changes, the demo would be sung by Phil. With a plaintive chorus, "No, I'm not afraid, to turn and walk away / I won't let kill what's inside of me / No, I'm not afraid, you can't make me stay". Phil would recycle, with Mladen making some additions, the song as "Surrender (In The Name Of Love)", which forms part of the lyrics at the beginning of the song. This would be released on the European version of 24k's "Pure" album in 2000. Phil had also recorded the song with Mark St. John for Mark's 1999 EP...

085. When The Bell Rings (1970)
With Wicked Lester's material, and the sort of writing that Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons were doing around the time, it was obvious to most that this song was not written by the band. With lyrics about social action, the song seemed to be very much dated in the Vietnam era. Written by Austin Roberts and Christopher Welch the song was obtained by Ron Johnsen for the band to record. Gene and Paul would trade off on the verse vocals. "Too many people been sleeping too long / While the world is breaking up / The alarm is sounding, oh all around / Wake up! Wake Up! // It's ringing out a warning / 'Cause the line is forming / Getting plain to see / You know we've got to listen / We can't pretend it isn't / Talkin' to you and me"...

086. 4-9-5 (1981)
This jazz-rock fusion instrumental dates from Bruce Kulick's club days with New York's Goodrats. Named after an East Coast freeway, the chunking riff-ladden piece would be a favorite performed by Bruce and Eric Singer at some of their Expo appearances following their departure from KISS. For Eric, the very Gary Moore feel may have been a fun reminder of his past. Bruce would finally release a version of this instrumental on his "Audio Dog" EP...

087. Liar (1994)
An instrumental idea written by Bruce during the "Carnival Of Souls" sessions, the piece was used as a foundation to build other ideas for the album. They didn't make it either. With a bit of development "Liar" grew into a full instrumental which Bruce and Brent Fitz recorded for the "Return Of The Comet" tribute album. This song has been played numerous times at Expos and Bruce's clinics...

088. My Love Goes With You (1981)
"My Love Goes With You" was one of the two songs which came from Vinnie Vincent's early collaboration with Adam Mitchell in 1980/1. Demoed at the time, copyright of the song would be obtained in March 1982. Vinnie would resubmit a recording of the song in 1985...

089. Get The Led Out (1989)
This song was the first of Vinnie's "Guitars From Hell" recordings and was first copy written in August 1989. Vinnie would eventually release a recording of the song on his EP in 1996...

090. A Proper Son (1974)
This is not a KISS demo. However, it is so KISS related that it is too interesting to omit from this feature. This song would be written by Stephen Coronel and Neil Teeman. Both of their KISS connections sould be immediately obvious. Recorded in 1974 and published in a collection of Steve's songs in 1978, Stephen had been that "Character In Time" who was responsible for the connection of Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley musically. While he would have, by 1970 have played with both KISSers in sepatate bands, he would be the original lead guitarist in Wicked Lester. He would leave the band (be fired) during the album recording sessions and was replaced by Ron Leejack. Neil Teeman was involved with Paul Stanley from Paul's very earliest musical history being the drummer in Paul's first band, Incubus, which would later become Uncle Joe. Neil would record with Paul on the "Stop, Look To Listen" track which was recently released on the KISS box...

091. My Friend The Wizard (1966)
This is not a KISS demo. However, it also KISS related - or more appropriately Chelsea related. Prior to being in Chelsea with Peter Criss, Pete Shepley and Mike Brand wrote and recorded several demos together while members of the band "The Others" in the period 1965-8, while at the University Of Rhode Island. This one is simply the one with the more off-the wall title which was originally called "Off To See The Wizard". While they would later become the acoustic faction within Chelsea they were also the primary songwriters. They would leave the band together, with Peter, Stan Penridge and Michael Benvenga continuing as Lips. "My Friend The Wizard" b/w "Morning" (Jubilee 45-5550) was released in April 1967 and was the band's third and final single. Apart from Mike and Pete, other members of the band included Bob Johnson on bass, John Costa on drums, and Jim De Stout on guitar. Following the break up of the band in 1968, Peter would join the band The Van Goghs for the tail end of their active career. Copyright registrations appear for both "Off To See The Wizard" (RE-671-914) and "Morning" (RE-671-915), both registered on September 26, 1966...

092. Go Now (1973)
Paul Stanley has commented that this Moody Blues cover was regularly performed by KISS during their club days. Furthermore, he has suggested that it was recorded in some lower form by the band. This could mean that it was recorded live, or as a rough demo. The band would never properly record the song having never transformed it properly into an acceptable KISS format. It is possible that the song was recorded rough during the Bell Sound Studios demos sessions prior to the recording of the first album, though this is conjecture. It is interesting to note that the original version of the song was one of the earliers Moody Blues songs, well before Justin Hayward became involved in the band...

093. Our Love's On Fire (1984)
Bruce Kulick would play lead guitar on Rozetta's 1980 album "Where's My Hero" and also co-write one track "Pick Me Up" with her. Properly known as Rosetta Diliberti, Bruce's connection with her would not end with the session work he did in 1980 with him co-writing this and one other song with her in 1984. However, while these may have been intended for another Rozetta project the songs were not used and remained unpublished until 1987...

094. No Mercy (1987)
Written by Gene Simmons and Bruce Kulick around the time of the Crazy Nights album sessions this song never got past the song-writing stage...

095. Stranger (1974)
While Eric Carr's pre-KISS band Creation performed mainly cover material, they did record some originals during a foray into the studios with producer Lee Valentine. Written by John Henderson, this song moves away from the R&B sort of material the band covered and takes the sound back to late-1960's rock. The style of the song is very similar to the sort of material performed early by Big Brother & The Holding Company 1966/7, with an extended drum/guitar interaction break. That section, in itself, is an excellent demonstration of Eric Carr's drumming technique, along with some smokin' guitars...

096. Funk Rock (1988)
This instrumental jam has long circulated as being a Frehley's Comet demo from the "Second Sighting" era of 1988, however little additional information is available to add any creedence to the suggestion that it was a "demo" proper per say, versus just a rough idea workout. The demo, essentially, is built around a single riff with there being more of a break than chorus section. It is more of a discarded idea piece than anything else...

097. Wired Up (1984)
This demo dates from the earliest era of the Frehley's Comet band and is often referred to as being titled as "I'm So Wired" or "Gotta Find A Party" or combinations of the two. While the song was written in 1983 by Geoff Leib (Jeff Paris) and Jerry Knight, Jeff would only record the song for himself on his 1987 album of the same title. Fun lyrics include a chorus which goes, "I'm so wired / Wired up / I've gotta find a party / Fire's burning / Burning up / We've gotta have a party tonight"...

098. Betrayed (1982)
"Betrayed" was one of the earliest songs written together by Paul Stanley and Vinnie Cusano. At one point it was even considered for inclusion on the "Creatures Of The Night" album, but was apparently left off. It is not clear what level the recording reached on the song. Gene Simmons would later write a song using the same title for the 1989 album "Hot In The Shade"...

099. Drive Me Wild (1974/5)
While the transformation of elements of "Drive Me Wild" to create the KISS classic "Rock And Roll All Nite" are well known, it should be noted that "Drive Me Wild" was a song in its own right prior to Gene and Paul's patch work. According to Paul Stanley, he and Gene would combine their song ideas while still in Los Angeles following the conclusion of the "Hotter Than Hell" tour and Neil Bogart's demands that they write an anthem similar to Sly and the Family Stone's "I Want To Take You Higher". Gene's original song was basic, "You want to be in the driver's seat / Well if you do it's alright with me / just start me up and I'll take you ridin' // And if you want to go for a spin / I'll let you take me if you let me in / You drive me wild and I'll drive you crazy // You drive me wild // You drive me wild // You drive me wild // You show me everything you've got / Baby, baby that's quite a lot / And you think it's just about time to get you // And you say you'll be mine for a while / But you smile a crooked smile / You drive me wild and I'll drive you crazy". With the replacement of the chorus with Paul's "I wanna Rock 'N Roll All Nite And Party every day", to song's transformation was complete. Not to worry, Gene would recycle the discarded lyrics, notably "Love 'em And Leave 'em"...

100. Little Lady (1969)
"Little Lady" was written by Gene Simmons and Steven Coronel prior to Wicked Lester, and had been included on Gene's 1969/70 publishing tape in a 3:25 format. While the song would become "Goin' Blind" on KISS' "Hotter Than Hell" album, it would be one of the songs performed live by Wicked Lester. The song would get input from Paul Stanley who would suggest the addition of the line "I'm 93 and you're sixteen" and included a bass line which Gene "borrowed" from the group Mountain...

101. Over You (1988/9)
While Vinnie had wanted to get vocalist Goran Edman in his band prior to Mark Slaughter, and had Goran lay down his vocals to the tracks which had appeared on the first Vinnie Vincent Invasion album. It would take several years for him to get the chance to try and snag the vocalist again. Following being dropped by Chrysalis Vinnie brought Goran to Los Angeles to record demos, including this track which is one of the more obscure post-KISS Vinnie songs. Goran would also cut new versions of "Youngblood" and "My Love Goes With You" amoung the 9 songs Vinnie had him sing on as an "audition". However, while Vinnie shopped the demo around, eventually linking with Enigma, Yngwie J. Malmsteen had snagged Goran's services. The other musicians on the demo include Chris Lee on Bass and Andre Labelle on drums...

102. This Song's For You Mama (1976/88)
While Vinnie would re-record this song in 1988 as "Mama", to obtain the full copyright for it under Vinnie Vincent Music Publishing (BMI). It had originally been published by Connecticut Music Studios (BMI) in 1976. At that time the R&B/Gospel band "The Hitchhikers" with lead vocalist Kenny Hamber had recorded the song on their self-titled album for ABC/Dunhill Records (ABCD-973). Vinnie, himself, is credited as playing electric guitar on the album as one of the "additional musicians" performing. This, though, is probably only on the song itself, but not necessarily limited to just one track since his recording contributions are not specified on the credits. Regardless, "The Hitchhikers" was a R&B project out of Conneticut, which correlates very nicely with Vinnie's roots, and this may well be Vinnie's first professional recording credit. Some fans have long doubted that the song could have anything to do with Vinnie for it is simply unlike anything which would be expected from him. It is more Louis Armstrong than "Wiz", but does illustrate the incredible talent of Vinnie as a song-writer...

103. Carnival Of Souls (1993)
While "Carnival Of Souls" may have been an offshoot of the earlier demo "Island Of Lost Souls", it is in itself an angry piece which was demoed during both the "COS" and "Psycho Circus" recording sessions. It very much follows a similar vein to the sort of material Gene was writing in 1993 with lyrics: "Television, inquisition, circumcision / Advocation, flagulation, excommunication / To alone misery constantly / Well at least the God damn air is free // Condemnation, masturbation, united nation // Round and round it goes / This carnival of souls // Evolution, revolution, mass illusion / Racism, excorcism, creationism / Well I don't know and I don't care / Amnesty, sterility, infinity // Round and round it goes / Carnival of souls". The song, in this form, would be written around November 1993...

104. Rain Keeps Fallin' (1993)
While a song with "Rain" in the title would appear on "Carnival Of Souls", Gene Simmons had been writing "Rain Keeps Fallin" in September 1993. With interesting lyrics such as "Burning crosses in my own back yard" and "My names on a cool headstone with a pretty rose", little seems to have come from the song, though it would be considered for use or recycling on the "Psycho Circus" album in 1998...

105. I Will Survive (1984)
One of the earliest Frehley's Comet demos, this song was registered on June 11, 1984 and was written by Ace Frehley and Arthur Stead. As is the case with other early FC tunes it features a stong keyboard input, but also has a great chorus which goes: "Point me in the right direction / Then I'll stay alive / I'll stay alive // If you think you need a ticket to nowhere / I will survive / I will survive". Also has a great lyric "Don't want to cut my hair / Or wear clothes like my dad / I'm sick of going to the stupid school / Where they tell me that I'm bad". A fun song, sometimes referred to as "I'll Stay Alive", which unfortunately only circulates in pretty marginal quality unlike many of the other early songs...

106. I Got The Touch (1984)
A twin with demo 105 this is also one of the earliest Frehley's Comet demos, which was also registered on June 11, 1984. Like "I Will Survive", the song was written by Ace Frehley and Arthur Stead and may have been based on an earlier Stead composition "Out Of Touch". It also features a stong keyboard input though it's rather more anthemic. Has a cool chorus: "She knows, she knows / I've got the touch // She knows, she knows / Where to come for love". Like 105, great sound quality versions of this demo do not seem to widely circulate, and many copies seem to quite speeded up...

107. My Girl (1984)
Completing the trio of early Frehley's Comet demos, this cover of the classic R&B hit is something of an oddity for the band to have covered and judging by the quality of the recording may just have been the band having fun. It seems likely that Richie is handling the vocals on the song and the rendition is pretty faithful to the original...

108. More (Younger Generation, 1965)
One of three songs recorded by Vinnie Vincent's band, the Younger Generation, during their first foray into a recording studio in 1965. This recording session would be financed by Vinnie's father who had also recorded material during the 1940's...

109. Then I Made A Wish (The Cellarmen, 1968)
Written by Bob Dorsey and Harry Simon, the Cellarmen would record, and to a certain extent rearrange, this somewhat psychadelic piece at Jody Records in Brooklyn. This song would be the B-side of the privately pressed Jody 45. Like the A-side track, "I Found You (The One I Adore)", this track would be produced by Vincent Vallis and Henry De Meo...

110. Leeta (Gene Simmons, 1969)
"Leeta" demonstrates Gene's musical roots more than being a snapshot of where he was at musically in 1969. Heavy on the harmonies which had made his idols, The Beatles, famous, this song is also more heavy on the piano which seems likely to have been played, in exquisite manner, by Brooke Ostrander. Recorded during a session at Sander's Recording when Gene brought his band Bullfrog Bheer down to New York, the song is essentially a short ballad. Written soley by Gene the recording would initially be pressed on Sanders 7" acetate marked as recording #2. It would later be repressed on the backside of Gene's 10" Richcraft "Stanley The Parrot" acetate. Gene would distribute a 2:15 version of the song on his publishing tape. Lyrically, the song is basic revolving around a main verse comprised of: "Leeta forever please remember me / Leeta forever please remember me / I used to love her / Do you remember / Leeta, will you know" with a piano solo following the second repetition of the verse...

111. Against The Grain (Gene Simmons, 1969)
Written on an acoustic, this song was not written for any of the band's Gene played with around the time and was simply a piece he wrote: "It's much too bad you're in pain / His hands are at it again / it's too bad he's going / he's going against the grain // Just try and lie, right now you're sane / And his hands will try it again / It's too bad he's going / he's going // Against the grain // Against the grain"...

112. Baby, Let Me Go (KISS, 1973)
Apart from being one of the earliest KISS songs "Baby, Let Me Go" was for the earliest part of KISS' career their musical anthem and one of their set closing pieces (along with "Firehouse" and "Black Diamond"). It would retain this position until superseeded by "Rock And Roll All Nite". Written by Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley the song grew out of a riff Paul had been working on which had caught Gene's attention. He'd later pull the song together with structure and lyrics and create the energetic piece. The song would be demoed for inclusion on the debut album, but was left off at the time, even though it was part of the band's live set. By the time the second album was under construction the song would briefly be retitled "Rock 'N Roll" before getting its final title of "Let Me Go, Rock 'N Roll"...

113. Love Her All I Can (Wicked Lester, 1971/2)
According to Paul Stanley, this song "started off with a guitar part that was influenced or stolen, depending upon how you want to look at it, from the opening guitar figure in 'Can't Explain' by The Who. And, the guitar-bass figure is ripped off from 'Open My Eyes' by Nazz" (KISS Box Set Liners). By the time the song was originally recorded by Wicked Lester, for their twice-rejected CBS/Epic album in 1971-2, the song had been transformed from a standard rock song into a rather softer piece. Produced by Ron Johnsen it was recorded at Electric Lady Studios in New York City. The song was covered, or technically re-recorded, by KISS for their "Dressed To Kill" album in 1975, but had also been considered for recording during the band's "Hotter Than Hell" sessions and had been part of their live set having survived the transition of Gene and Paul's band into KISS...

114. Sunday Driver (Paul Stanley, c.1968)
While this song would later be recorded by KISS as "Let Me Know", following some lyrical modifications by Paul, the songs role is paramount in the history of KISS. Apart from being one of the earliest songs Paul wrote, this song would be one he played for Gene Simmons at their first meeting at Stephen Coronel's house. The lyrical modifications simply saw the addition of the ending lyrics "It doesn't matter what you wanna do / It doesn't matter where you wanna go / You just gotta decide girl and then you let me know, oooo, whoa-oh". It must be conjectured that there was possibly, at one time, lyrics incorporating the missing days of the week, including Thursday through Saturday! Maybe not!

115. My Uncle Is A Raft (Gene Simmons, c.1969)
Probably a piece written around the same time as "Stanley The Parrot", this song would seem to be written in an autobiographical manner about Gene's uncle Larry Klein with whom he and his mother lived following their emigration to America in 1958. While the lyrics may be lame in the *rock* sense, they do show a possibly sentimenal Gene: "My uncle is a raft / And he always keeps me floating / He is so good to me / He treats me tenderly / It doesn't matter who you are // My uncle is a raft / And he doesn't really know it / He is so good to me / It doesn't matter who you are". It is not clear whether Gene ever demoed the piece, or whether it was simply a lyrical idea piece...

116. Foxy Lady Revisited (Ace Frehley, 1987/8)
Ace Frehley's fixation with "Foxy Lady" is no surprise with him having played the song live during his solo career on numerous occasions, and having recorded the solo for the song on certain extra-KISS projects. Of course, there is also the legendary story of his being an unofficial roadie for drummer Mitch Mitchell, at Jimmy's last show in New York at Randall's Island in 1970 (possibly July 17, 1970), and the influence the guitarist had on so many players during his short career. During the song-writing prior to "Second Sightning" Ace recorded some ideas on tape, one of which would be titled, at the time, "Foxy Lady Revisited". This piece would not get used for some time, though it would be developed into "Shot Full Of Rock" on Ace's 1989 solo album. This early demo recording is often alternatively referred to as "Shot Full Of Rock (Instrumental)"...

117. Quick Lick Song (Ace Frehley, 1987/8)
Dating from the same period as "Funk Rock", this instrumental piece would later be developed into the song "Insane" on "Second Sighting". Because of the piece's later use, it is often referred to as "Insane (Instrumental)"...

118. Black Moon June (Gene Simmons, 1968)
This song would at times include lyrics "Much Too Soon" making it something of a hybrid since it often appears that the titles were interchangeable (or at least Gene may have intended to rewrite the song as such). Song features surreal lyrics, odd like many of Gene's early songs: "A wicked little lady / Walking through the park at noon / and someone soon / will look her over / give her a quarter // Black moon june / Much too soon // The man beind the fountain / pretends to drink and quench his thrist / He's not the first / To look over / He says she's his daughter". This song would be Gene Simmons without any band and has a closer feel, stylistically, to Jethro Tull than The Beatles. Not as strange as "Stanley The Parrot", perhaps, but still sticking close to topics close to Gene's heart while going off on a wild lyrical tangent!

119. She (Wicked Lester, 1971/2)
While "She" would initially be recorded by Wicked Lester the song dated back to Gene's Bullfrog Bheer band, and had been written by him and Steve Coronel. Steve's input was to have initially come up with the signature riff of the song which Gene then developed into a full song. Like "Love Her All I Can", this song would survive the transition of Wicked Lester into the KISS era and was long part of the band's live set before finally being recorded by the band on the "Dressed To Kill" album in 1975. Like "Love Her All I Can" it was also considered for recording on "Hotter Than Hell" though the band was able to come up with enough material at the time to avoid that. By the time KISS incorporated the song into their set the song would start to evolve somewhat musically, though Ace would borrow some structure from the Door's "Five To One" for the guitar solo.

120. Baby Driver (Lips, 1971)
While "Baby Driver" would be Peter Criss' sole song-writing contribution for the "Rock And Roll Over Sessions" in 1976, like much of the material he brought to the band the song was well rooted in his musical past. The song had first been demoed by he Stan Penridge and Michael Benvenga in 1971/2 during their RCA recording sessions. According to Stan, "the session date was 2/22/72", though this seems a bit out of date with the band already being on their last legs at that point - Benvenga was soon to depart the band to do session work (with the likes of John Lennon). Regardless, the song was inspired by Michael Benvenga's car, an Alpha Romeo in which he was deeply in love with, much to the amusement of Stan who would have been the key writer of the song.

121. Deuce (Gene Simmons, 1972)
"Deuce" was written by Gene Simmons during the winter of 1972 as Wicked Lester transformed into the band which would become KISS. Thus it is a pre-KISS song in one sense and post-Lester in another. Regardless, the song would become a piece central to the band for the rest of their career and be one of their signature pieces. According to Gene, the "basic lick came as a bastard - it came to me fast… A bastard son of 'Jumpin' Jack' meets 'Bitch' - lyrics came at the same times as melody" (First KISS, Last Licks liners). The song would come together quickly, in half an hour or so, and with some disjointed lyrics was "more concerned with conveying attitude than making sense" (Guitar World, 8/92). As would be the case with many early KISS songs, Paul Stanley would have a hand in the song contributing the intro section. The history of "Deuce" includes the then new song being performed by Peter, Paul, and Gene, as the final incarnation of Wicked Lester, for that band's record label A&R man Don Ellis. That performance would finally kill off Lester's usefulness to Gene and Paul. "Deuce" would also be the first song Paul "Ace" Frehley would play with the band during his audition on January 3, 1973.

122. Hotter Than Hell (KISS, 1974)
"Hotter Than Hell" was Paul Stanley's attempt to rewrite one of his favourite band's songs. According to Paul, "I was always a big fan of Free, and 'All Right Now' really meant a lot to me - it was a perfect song. 'Hotter Than Hell' was basically me re-writing that song. There's nothing wrong with stealing, as long as you do it right - and make sure that you're stealing a diamond, not a piece of glass. All bands start off being fairly derivative, and copying others is the first step toward developing your own style" (Guitar World, 8/92). The song, even being the title track of the second album, would not survive for long in the band's live set essentially being dropped following the European leg of the "Destroyer" tour in 1976 and rarely returning until 1992.

123. Psycho Circus (Weapons Of Mass Destruction) (Gene Simmons, 1998)
As had been the case where Gene Simmons had once suggested a song-title for "Black Diamond", which Paul then borrowed to write, and Paul had suggested "Christine Sixteen" which Gene proceeded to write, with the pre-conceived 'concept' for the KISS reunion album both Gene and Paul would write title tracks for the album. Only Paul's song would be used. "Psycho Circus (Weapons Of Mass Destruction)" was Gene's version of the title track which was a very much darker piece than Paul's song. It would see Gene dealing with lyrics concerning, as the title suggests, weapons of mass destruction.

124. Shandi (KISS, 1980)
"Shandi" has the dubious distinction of featuring only Paul Stanley on the recording. Bass would be provided by Tom Harper, Paul's guitar tech on the "Dynasty" tour. Keyboards were played by Holly Knight while, like the rest of the "Unmasked" album drums were played by Anton Fig. Paul would natrually sing and play all of the guitars. Paul wrote the song on a 12 string acoustic guitar looking to write something similar to Bruce Springsteen's " Ashbury Park (Sandy)", though no doubt with memories of "Hard Luck Woman"! "Shandi" would be the first single off "Unmasked" though would only manage to go top-10 in Australia and New Zealand...

125. Hope (Peter Criss, 1998)
Along with another song, "Hope" would be a tune written by Peter Criss for the KISS reunion album in 1998. Peter considered the song to be an excellent piece of work, naturally a ballad, which was written in a similar vein to the song Bob Ezrin and Paul Stanley eventually gave him to sing. As the title implies, the song was about Peter facing the numerous challenges in his life in a positive manner...

126. It's Gonna Be Alright (Gene Simmons, 1982)
Gene would offer this song to the band Heavy Pettin' who had opened up for KISS on the European leg of the Lick It Up tour, along with Helix, in 1983. Smashed Gladys would record a version of the song titled "Give It All You've Got" on their demo EP prior to their being signed by Elektra Records. A mellow rocker it seems to use a drum loop, but has decent lyrics: "Gonna be alright / Please sit down and don't be so / Try to put up a fight / C'mon let's give it a go / It's gonna be alright / I saw it all in the crystal ball / We're gonna hit the heights / Don't worry, I won't let you fall / I don't want to wait anymore / I don't want to face anymore"...

127. The Troubles Inside You (Eric Carr, 1987)
Co-written by Eric Carr and Mitch Weissman, Eric would demo the song playing all of the instruments himself. Nothing would ever come of the demo...

128. Boomerang (Gene Simmons, 1987)
Originally written by Gene Simmons and Bruce Kulick and demoed for the "Crazy Nights" album sessions the song would not reach a stage ready for consideration on that album. As a result it would be recycled for inclusion on "Hot In The Shade" in 1989...

129. No, No, No (KISS, 1987)
Originally titled "Assume The Position" and later "Down On All Fours", this song would be written by Gene, Bruce and Eric Carr...

130. Stutter (Paul Stanley/Gene Simmons, 1972)
The second of the pre-KISS later core-KISS songs would be Paul Stanley's "Strutter" which was written even before Peter Criss came into the picture. Like many other "collaborations" Paul borrowed the chord pattern of Gene's earlier "Stanley The Parrot" and developed a new song "once we picked up the tempo of it and started playing a lot of suspended chords, the song developed a real Stones-y kind of feel" (Box Set Liners). Paul saw the lyrics as describing, along with the strutting style of the song's music, how he saw the glam movement espoused in the early 1970's New York. Lyrically, the song is mostly Paul's creation, though Gene's would add the song's riff to the older original chord structure...

131. Every Little Bit Of My Heart (Paul Stanley, 1981)
While working on the "Elder" project Paul had the beginnings of a ballad called "Every Little Bit Of My Heart". While Paul had a very clear melodic structure for the song it was very apparent that he was still fleshing out the lyrics for the piece when he essentially abandoned it to work on other material for the album. Gene, however, liked the melody of the piece, rather than Paul's rather sappy lyrics, and took it and along with Bob Ezrin revamped the piece in the album's sole single in the US, "A World Without Heroes". The title would come from Lou Reed simply writing the title down, as an idea, on a piece of scrap paper which caught Gene's attention. Those original sappy lyrics essentially went: "I know you / Don't know what you want to do / I want you only // I don't love her / We went through it all before / I was so lonely / I want you only // Every little bit of your heart / There not your only tears apart / Our lips are lonely". This also explains why some of the early instrumental takes of "A World Without Heroes" are often referred to as being "I Want You Only"...

132. Polly Von (Chelsea, 1969)
While this song was arranged by the members of Chelsea for their 1970 Decca album, it is a traditional Anglo (with a suggestive Celtic past) folk song about love, pain, murder, and betrayal. It has and recorded by the likes Frankie Armstrong, and most famously Peter, Paul and Mary on their third, and landmark, "In The Wind" album which was released in late September 1963 (Warner Bros. WB-1507) and had an arrangement attributed to of Peter Yarrow, "Noel" Paul Stookey, and Mary Travers (in other words, the band). Much the same as the credit for the arrangement on the Chelsea album which really does not vary much from the form which was popular on the folk scene of the 1960's only changing the song from third to first person and moving the chorus in parts while skipping a final verse. Differing arrangements have been coming up for decades including those from the 19th Century though variations on the piece date back having appeared in print in 1772. Other titles for the piece include Variants and alternate titles include "Polly Vaughn", "At the Setting of the Sun", "The Shooting Of His Dear", "Young Molly Ban", "Molly Banding", "Molly Bawn", and "Molly Bond" throughout most Anglo speaking countries... Also recorded Harry Cox...

133. Adalyne (Criss, 1995)
While this song certainly got played live by the final incarnation of the band, it might also have been considered for use on the never recorded second Criss album. Co-written by vocalist Jason Ebs, the song was demoed in some form...

134. We Won't Take It Any More (Gene Simmons, 1983)
Long considered to simply be a Gene demo from "Asylum", this song was one of several Gene sent the band "Heavy Pettin'" for possible use. It wasn't, and seems more like the early stages of a demo work out rather than a completed idea. "We've been fooled so many times / We can't take it anymore // And it's over before it's begun / And we just wanna even up the score". From the sound of the demo it would seem likely that Eric Carr is on drums. Whether by Gene using a loop is not clear...

135. Love's A Deadly Weapon (1985)
While Paul and Gene had written "Deadly Weapons" back in 1980/1 the song's transition to the form it would take in 1985 was rather drastic. Taking the chorus of the original demo, "Love's a deadly weapon / And murder's on my mind (murder's on my mind) / I don't wanna threaten / I'm leavin'you behind" only the first two lines would survive, though some of the music would be incorporated in the new song. In 1984, as work began on the follow-up to Wendy O. William's "WOW" album, "Kommander Of Kaos". Gene Simmons was again considered for the role of producer though would have to pass due to the other projects he was working on. He would do some pre-production work with the band and heard a demo of a song by Rod Swenson and Wes Beech, called "Party". Gene liked the riff from the song and borrowed it (hence why Swenson and Beech are creditted on the album even though they didn't sit down with Gene and Paul to write the song). With a little arrangement of the old and new parts, Gene had a song with an interesting history!

136. Black Diamond (Paul Stanley/Gene Simmons, 1972)
"Black Diamond" is one of the earliest songs which Gene and Paul wrote together, even though the writing was credited solely to Paul. According to Paul, "Gene came up with the riff that's incorporated into the chords" (Guitar World, 8/92). The collaboration also goes a little bit further with Gene originally intending to write a song with the title and Paul grabbing it for his own use. According to Gene, "Paul had stolen some of my titles, like 'Black Diamond'" (Guitar World, 8/92), though he would later have revenge. Essentially, the song is about a black prostitute, though as would be the case with many early songs "Black Diamond" is more about the big guitar sound that Paul and Ace worked hard to get. Clocking in at 3:47 in its demo form, the song would be given to Peter to sing with his raspy lead vocals while Paul and Gene would provide the harmonies.

137. Christine Sixteen (KISS, 1977)
"Christine Sixteen" was Gene Simmons' revenge on Paul Stanley for stealing his "Black Diamond" song title. Gene would demo the song in Los Angeles with Alex and Eddie Van Halen, and the recording on the album would mimic the work done by the future Van Halen stars. Additionally Gene would play both the piano part and some rhythm guitar on the KISS studio recording. According to Gene, "as an afterthought, I again suggested putting in a Jerry Lee Lewis style keyboard part with a triad voicing, a simple one-handed pump. Again it was met with some negative comments; but one the keyboard part was put on it felt right… In the second chorus, I don't know why it felt right, but I started talking over it. In a sense the guy sees the girl coming out of school and he's obviously very anxious to have a go at her. Ater the song was mixed I played a version to Ace who didn't react well to it at all" (Box Set Liners). Gene would admit in another interview that he saw "that guy" as himself.

138. Plaster Caster (KISS, 1977)
Famed in pop culture Cynthia "Plaster Caster" Albritton was a groupie with a fetish for preserving for eternity, in plaster, the male appendage of many notable rock personalities. This 'hobby' had resulted from her being both an art student, with an assignment to make a cast of something solid, and a young woman interested in losing her virginity and exploring her sexuality. However, KISS were never immortalized in this manner, with Cynthia recalling, "they wanted people to believe they were in my collection. No way! I had to tell them at the time and Gene [Simmons] just kind of scowled at me. They had no idea that I felt that way before they wrote the song, believe me" (Mary Wisniewski - Triplefastaction....Velocity, Issue 1.2). Gene wasn't concerned about taking an amusing concept and turning it into a song, but he might have been less than amused to not be on Cynthia's list. Gene would play rhythm guitar on the recording.

139. Nowhere To Run (KISS, 1982)
One of Paul's favorite songs from "Killers" this track had originally dated back to the recording sessions prior to the "Elder" fiasco. By the time the band switched focus to the concept album this song would still be under consideration for use and sometimes shows up in collector's circles in a mix which segues to "Just A Boy". This may indicate that the song may have originally been considered to be part of the 'story' line for that aborted project. According to Paul, "I wrote this one abaout a woman who was in a relationship she wanted out of, found someone else. But then ran back to what was familiar, safe, and – miserable. I don't remember much about recording it except Gene, Eric, and me doing backup vocals" (FKLL Liners). That woman would be one whom Paul was having an affair with, with the song being Paul's "musical letter to her" (Box Set Liners) making the piece very much autobiographical. Bob Kulick would provide the lead guitars and the track would be the only new recorded with Gene playing bass. By the time KISS entered the Record Plant Studios in Los Angeles in the Spring of 1982 this song would be the only complete piece of the four new songs the band would record. Paul envisaged the song being "much more powerful and with the guitars in grander numbers and volume" (Box Set Liners), which might explain why this was one of the two tracks remixed in 1989. The song was also considered for "Creatures Of The Night" because "Killers" had only been released outside of North America and was remixed to bring the sound consistency in line with the rest of the tracks on "Creatures" and then dropped again.

140. Rotten To The Core #2 (Gene Simmons/Bruce Kulick, 1989)
In some ways the title of "Rotten To The Core" is the song which refused to die. Gene Simmons certainly liked it, and while the 1976 version he had recorded was never used he and Bruce would attempt to make the song work again in 1989. Bruce felt that the song "wouldn't work unless it was a band that I don't know maybe had that kind of attitude, to use the title" (KISS Crazy #11). The song would be dropped from consideration for the album some months before "Hot In The Shade" was released, but was mentioned early on as a candidate for use on the album.

141. Justice For All (Peter Criss, 1998)
Ironically written by Peter Criss with Gene Simmons in mind this was another track which would be discarded at an early stage. With some of the political problems facing the band throughout the recording of the album it may have had subtle over-tones about how Peter felt about the 1996/8 "Reunion" financial structure of the band. This would be another contribution rejected from the album sessions.

142. Too Far Gone (Ace Frehley Band, 1995)
Written by Ace Frehley and Richie Scarlet this song was a part of the Ace Frehley Band demo. However, the song dated back much earlier having been a crowd favorite when performed by Richie's band The Seducers in the mid to late-1980's, prior to his rejoining Ace in 1989. What contributions Ace made to the song, if any, for his credit are unclear. The Seducers included Richie on lead guitar and vocalsm Joey Criffo on drums, and Frank Deville on bass, and played the East Coast bar scene. The song would finally see release on Richie's "Insanity Of Life" with Ace and Steve Werner playing on the track. According to Richie the song is about "a chick who grew up listening to The Dolls, Sex Pistols & Nirvana. Now she belongs to a lost generation" (Insanity Of Life Liners, 2002), but that's pretty obvious from the lyrics!

143. Rock Warriors (White Tiger, 1986/7)
Originally released on Mark St. John's first post-KISS release, "White Tiger", in 1986, this song would be remixed the following year by Michael Wagner. For a while the song would be considered for use as a single for the album which had managed to sell a respectible 50,000 copies on a small independent label. It was also rumored at the time that the song would be included on the compilation "New Guitar Masters". However, with the band splitting during the pre-production work for their second album the song wouldn't be released until the album was reissued on CD in 1999.

144. Something Wicked This Way Comes (Doro, 1990)
While Doro would record "Something Wicked This Way Comes" for her Gene Simmons produced album, the song had originally been under consideration for KISS to use on the "Hot In The Shade" album the previous year, but was later cut from the album. The song was written by Gene solely.

145. Boyz Are Gonna Rock (Vinnie Vincent Invasion, 1985)
One of the three demos Vinnie Vincent recorded to secure a record deal with Chrysalis Records. The band used to record the demo would include Vinnie, Dana Strum, Robert Fleischman, and Pat Benatar drummer Myron Grombacher. "Boyz Are Gonna Rock" had started off as a Warrior demo in 1982, prior to Vinnie being recruited by KISS during the "Creatures Of The Night" sessions. Due to parts of the original being used on "And On The 8th Day" on "Lick It Up" it required reworking into the distinctive format the bombastic VVI recording took...

146. Happy Birthday U.S.A. (Vinnie Vincent, 1976)
On what may be Vinnie's first professional recordings, Vinnie would team with David Wolff, who would later be the manager and partner of Cyndi Lauper, to write a novelty song in honor of the American bicentenial celebration of 1976. The song, released as the A-side of a Phantom Records single (HB-10579), would be written by Wolff and Cusano though was creditted to their psyudonyms of Kid Cashmir (David) and Winnie LeCoux (Vinnie). While Vinnie would play lead guitar and share vocals on the A-Side, he would not be involoved in the writing of the B-side, "The Exorcism of Kazcnyz". That song would be written by Ed Sprigg, the producer of the tracks, and "Kid Cashmir". The song is performed as if it were a live recording...

147. Let's Put The X In Sex (KISS, 1988)
The first of two new tracks Paul wrote for inclusion on the compilation album, this song was one of the last Paul would write with Desmond Child. Recording of the song would be done at Right Track Studios in New York in July 1988 during the band's break from touring. Paul would record the vocals for the song in London while the band was in Europe for the continuation of their "Crazy Nights" tour and "Monsters Of Rock" appearances. Nearly universally the members of the band do not look back fondly on this track, though Paul has suggested that it was the best that he could come up with at the time. It is interesting to note that Bruce Kulick had produced a demo for the Los Angeles band Electric Angels at Amigo Studios in April 1988. This band included bassist Jonathan Daniels with whom he and Eric Carr would write material. One of the songs on this demo was called "You Put The X In Sex" which provides a tantalizing suggestion of where the idea for the song came from...

148. Dancin' With Danger (Frehley's Comet, 1988)
This song was originally written and recorded by the Canadian band "Streetheart", with Spencer Proffer, and released on their 1983 album of the same title (Boardwalk Entertainment Company NB-33265-1) which was, as wa