You can ridicule them as musical sludge peddlers who have always been just savvy marketers under garish makeup, but in the mid-'70s Kiss had their moment, none bigger or musically consequential than the 1976 release of Destroyer. While devoted fans may argue that Love Gun is perhaps the last of the classic Kiss albums worth having, Destroyer is the first album where their musicianship—never a strong point—increased in quality. Gone were the plodding tempos, sloppy playing, and badly recorded tracks of the band's preceding (but increasingly treasured) early albums. A focus on making a record that would be respected, was suddenly a career goal. Most of the improvements on Destroyer are due to producer Bob Ezrin, most famous as the producer of Alice Cooper and Pink Floyd, who according to Kiss' Paul Stanley conducted a "musical boot camp" that taught them discipline and some much needed basics in musical theory. Ezrin also championed the use of sound effects like the famous car crash in the opener, "Detroit Rock City," the use of both the Brooklyn Boys Chorus and Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 8 Op. 13 "Pathétique" in "Great Expectations" and the New York Philharmonic backing "Beth."
Destroyer is the first Kiss album where the overall sound had depth and presence. Simmons' vocals on "Sweet Pain" and "God of Thunder" were the best of his career. "Shout it Out Loud" and "Beth" were both bonafide hit singles—the latter a tender ballad sung by the drummer! This was also the first time outside musicians were featured, such as guitarist Dick Wagner—best known from Alice Cooper's band—who plays electric guitar on "Flaming Youth" and "Sweet Pain. Having been reissued innumerable times (see savvy marketing above), including a full-on remix by Ezrin in 2012 with Destroyer Resurrected, this 45th anniversary edition features copious bonus material and along with another fresh remaster of the original album. The 20 demos show the effect the band's newfound fame had on their songwriting as there are several quality song ideas that eventually found their way onto later Kiss albums. The 22 outtakes and alternate versions show how Ezrin focused the band's growing ambitions. As much as the band's live energy was captured on their initial breakthrough, 1975's Alive, the show here from 1976 at L'Olympia in Paris is presented in terrible, thin and harsh bootleg quality sound. With demos that will entice serious fans and the best sound the original album has ever achieved, Destroyer turns 45 in style, with an even bigger celebration for 50 just around the corner, no doubt. © Robert Baird/Qobuz