''Let Me Rock You'' is the third solo studio album released by American musician and former

Kiss A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...

drummer

Peter Criss George Peter John Criscuola (born December 20, 1945), better known by his stage name Peter Criss, is a retired American musician, best known as a co-founder, original drummer, and vocalist of the hard rock band Kiss (band), Kiss. Criss establi ...

. Due to poor sales for his previous album, '' Out of Control'', ''Let Me Rock You'' was not released in the United States until 1998, when it was reissued on CD. The album was produced by

Vini Poncia Vincent "Vini" Poncia Jr. (born April 29, 1942) is an American musician, songwriter and record producer. Life and career The 1960s In the 1960s, Poncia formed a songwriting team with Peter Anders (née Peter Andreoli). An album of songs co-writt ...

, who previously produced Criss's 1978

solo album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records coll ...

(officially released as a Kiss album). ''Let Me Rock You'' features the song "Feels Like Heaven", written by Criss's former bandmate,

Gene Simmons Gene Simmons (born Chaim Witz; he, חיים ויץ, ; born August 25, 1949) is an Israeli-American musician. Also known by his stage persona The Demon, he is the bassist and co-lead singer of Kiss, the hard rock band he co-founded with Paul ...

. The album cover features Peter Criss for the first time without his Kiss makeup, as he did not appear on the cover of his solo album ''Out of Control.'' One year later, Kiss also decided to take off their makeup for their ''

Lick It Up ''Lick It Up'' is the eleventh studio album by American rock band Kiss. Before its 1983 release, the band members appeared on MTV without their trademark make-up. It was the first public appearance without make-up by the band, and their first ...

'' album. Only one single from the album was released— "Tears" (with a cover of

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

's "

Jealous Guy "Jealous Guy" is a song written and originally recorded by English rock musician John Lennon from his 1971 album ''Imagine (John Lennon album), Imagine''. Not released as a single during Lennon's lifetime, it became an international hit in a v ...

" as the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

). Vinnie Cusano co-wrote the song; the same year the album was released, Cusano became known as

Vinnie Vincent Vincent John Cusano (born August 6, 1952), better known by his stage name Vinnie Vincent, is an American guitarist. He is a former member of the rock band Kiss from 1982 until mid-1984 during the band's transition out of their 1973–1983 make ...

, replacing Kiss guitarist

Ace Frehley Paul Daniel "Ace" Frehley (; born April 27, 1951) is an American musician, best known as the original lead guitarist and co-founding member of the hard rock band Kiss. He invented the persona of The Spaceman (a.k.a. Space Ace) and played wit ...

in time for the ''Lick It Up'' album. Singer-songwriter

John Waite John Charles Waite (born 4 July 1952) is an English musician. As a solo artist, he has released ten studio albums and is best known for the 1984 hit single " Missing You", which reached No. 1 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and the top ten on ...

later covered "Tears" on his 1984

Gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

-certified album, ''

No Brakes ''No Brakes'' is the second solo album by John Waite. It was released in the United States in 1984 on the EMI America label. It features Waite's biggest hit single " Missing You" which hit #1 on Billboard's Album Rock Tracks and the Billboard ...

'', turning the song into a top-40 hit in the U.S. The album charted for two weeks in Norway, peaking at #29.

Track listing

#"Let It Go" (Tommy Faragher,

Davey Faragher David Allen "Davey" Faragher (born August 18, 1957) is an American bass guitarist from Redlands, California. Faragher's career took off and received critical notice as a founding member of the nineties band Cracker, and his subsequent work wit ...

Brie Howard Brie Howard-Darling (also known and credited as Brie Darling, Brie Howard, Brie Brandt, and Brie Berry) is an American drummer, singer, percussionist, songwriter, artist, cake designer, and actress of Filipino and European descent. She has recor ...

) – 4:05 #"Tears" ( Vinnie Cusano, Adam Mitchell) – 3:36 #"Move on Over" (

) – 3:48 #"

" (

) – 3:58 #"Destiny" (Charlie Midnight, Cash Monet, Jeff Schoen) – 4:11 #"Some Kinda' Hurricane" (

Russ Ballard Russell Glyn Ballard (born 31 October 1945) is an English singer, songwriter and musician. Originally coming to prominence as the lead singer and guitarist for the band Argent, Ballard became a songwriter and producer by the late 1970s. His co ...

) – 4:04 #"Let Me Rock You" (Ballard) – 3:37 #"First Day in the Rain" (

Steve Stevens Steve Stevens (born Steven Bruce Schneider; May 5, 1959) is an American guitarist. He is best known as Billy Idol's guitarist and songwriting collaborator, and for his lead guitar work on the theme to ''Top Gun'' – "Top Gun Anthem" – for w ...

) – 3:32 #"Feels Like Heaven" (

) – 3:43 #"Bad Boys" (Criss, Jim Roberge) – 3:28

Personnel

– vocals, drums *

Michael Landau Michael Christopher Landau (born June 1, 1958) is an American musician, audio engineer, and record producer. He is a session musician and guitarist who has played on many albums since the early 1980s with Boz Scaggs, Minoru Niihara, Joni Mitch ...

– guitars *

Steve Lukather Steven Lee Lukather (born October 21, 1957) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, arranger and record producer, best known as the sole continuous founding member of the rock band Toto. His reputation as a skilled guitarist led to a stea ...

– guitars *

Caleb Quaye Caleb Quaye (born 9 October 1948), is an English rock guitarist and studio musician best known for his work in the 1960s and 1970s with Elton John, Mick Jagger, Pete Townshend, Paul McCartney, Hall & Oates and Ralph McTell, and also toured with ...

– guitars *

Bobby Messano Bobby Messano (born June 23, 1954) is an American artist, guitarist and musician. He has recorded and toured with STARZ, Lou Gramm, Steve Winwood,Davey Faragher David Allen "Davey" Faragher (born August 18, 1957) is an American bass guitarist from Redlands, California. Faragher's career took off and received critical notice as a founding member of the nineties band Cracker, and his subsequent work wit ...

– bass *Michael Braun – guest drums *Dennis Conway – guest drums *

James Newton Howard James Newton Howard (born June 9, 1951) is an American film composer, music producer and keyboardist. He has scored over 100 films and is the recipient of a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, and nine nominations for Academy Awards. His film scores ...

– keyboards, synthesizer *Jai Winding – keyboards *Jim Roberge – keyboards *Ed Walsh – synthesizer *

– backing vocals *

– backing vocals *Rory Dodd – backing vocals *

Eric Troyer Eric Lee Troyer (born 10 April 1949) is an American keyboardist, singer, songwriter, and occasional guitarist, best known as a member of ELO Part II and its successor The Orchestra. Troyer was a founding member of ELO Part II, having been rec ...

– backing vocals *Mark Kreider – backing vocals *Suzanne Fellini – backing vocals

References

{{Authority control 1982 albums Peter Criss albums Albums produced by Vini Poncia Casablanca Records albums