Let me rock you
| Let me rock you | ||||
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| Studio album by Peter Criss | ||||
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Publication |
October 1982 |
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admission |
Summer 1982 |
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| Label (s) | Casablanca Records | |||
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Format (s) |
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Title (number) |
10 |
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running time |
37:30 |
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Studio (s) |
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Let Me Rock You is the 1982 released second music album by drummer Peter Criss . It was only released in Europe after the failure of Criss' debut album and did not appear in the US until the album was re-released on compact disc in 1997 .
History of origin
Peter Criss, formerly the drummer of the band Kiss , had not had any success with his first album Out of Control , released in 1980 , which was due, among other things, to considerable changes at his record company Casablanca Records . The company's owner, PolyGram, viewed Out of Control and Let Me Rock You as a favor for a formerly successful band rather than a way to make money off the popularity of Kiss and Criss.
In contrast to Out of Control , which almost exclusively contained titles written by Criss, Let Me Rock You came up with songs that were mostly written by other artists. The album contained a cover version of the John Lennon song Jealous Guy , as well as the title Tears , which Vincent Cusano had written with Adam Mitchell. The track Feel Like Heaven , written by Gene Simmons and not used by Kiss, was also part of the record. Other Let Me Rock You writers included Steve Stevens ( First Day in the Rain ), Russ Ballard ( Let Me Rock You , Some Kinda 'Hurricane ) and Vini Poncia , with whom Kiss worked on Dynasty and Unmasked . Criss was only involved in songwriting for two tracks.
Some of the better known musicians who contributed with their playing for this album included Steve Lukather , Michael Landau (both guitar) and James Newton Howard (keyboards) in addition to Steve Stevens .
publication
Phonogram released Tears as a single in Australia , Japan and Europe without success and then decided to release Let Me Rock You exclusively in Europe and Japan to avoid another big loss. After the hoped-for success did not materialize again, the record company decided not to release it on other markets. As after the poor sales of his debut album, Criss later claimed in interviews that Kiss had exerted significant influence on the record company in order to minimize its success.
In 1984 Tears was recorded by John Waite, who had a small hit with it and reached number 37 on the Billboard Hot 100 .
In 1997, Mercury Records released Kiss' back catalog in the US ; here also Peter Criss's solo albums were released again, so that 1997 is the first year in which Let Me Rock You was officially available in the United States.
- Cover
The cover of Let Me Rock You featured a profile photo of the artist captured by Trevor Brown, making the album the first release to feature a member of Kiss without a mask. On the back was another portrait of Criss, this time from the front. To the right of this photo was the title list with the production notes. Criss dedicated the album to his then wife Debra, his daughter Jenilee and "all friends of the cat" .
Track list
- Let It Go - (Tommy Faragher, Davey Faragher , Brie Howard ) - 4:05
- Tears - ( Vinnie Cusano , Adam Mitchell) - 3:36
- Move on Over - ( Peter Criss , Vini Poncia ) - 3:48
- Jealous Guy - ( John Lennon ) - 3:58
- Destiny - (Charlie Midnight, Cash Monet, Jeff Schoen) - 4:11
- Some Kinda 'Hurricane - ( Russ Ballard ) - 4:04
- Let Me Rock You - (Ballard) - 3:37
- First Day in the Rain - ( Steve Stevens ) - 3:32
- Feels Like Heaven - ( Gene Simmons ) - 3:43
- Bad Boys - (Peter Criss, Jim Roberge) - 3:28
Participating musicians
- Peter Criss - vocals , drums
- Vincent Cusano - guitars
- Michael Landau - guitars
- Steve Stevens - guitars
- Steve Lukather - guitars
- Caleb Quaye - guitars
- Bob Messano - guitars, backing vocal
- Phil Grande - guitars
- John "Cooker" Lo Presti - bass
- Davey Faragher - bass
- Michael Braun - drums
- Dennis Conway - drums
- James Newton Howard - keyboards , synthesizers
- Jai Winding - keyboards
- Jim Roberge - keyboards
- Ed Walsh - synthesizer
- Vini Poncia - Backing Vocal
- Gene Simmons - Backing Vocal
- Rory Dodd - backing vocal
- Eric Troyer - backing vocal
- Mark Kreider - Backing Vocal
- Suzanne Fellini - backing vocal
Web links
- Let Me Rock You at Allmusic (English)
- Website of Peter Criss
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Dale Sherman: Black Diamond 2 - The Illustrated Collector's Guide to Kiss. Collectors Guide Publishing Inc., 1997, ISBN 1-896522-36-X
- ↑ Entry at discogs.com , accessed on July 15, 2020
- ^ John Waite chart listings on Billboard