The album begins with "I Was Made For Lovin' You". A huge hit for the band, they nonetheless attracted a lot of negative reactions for this song, often being labelled as "disco". While it certainly does contain elements of disco, I would not necessarily call it a disco song. I like the song, Paul Stanley's falsetto is great, so is his funky bass (yes, Gene did not play bass on the track), and so is Anton Fig's drumming (Peter Criss has no contribution to the album except "Dirty Livin"). While I don't usually like covers on albums, Ace Frehley's cover of the Rolling Stones' "2000 Man" is quite good. I love Frehley's vocal, not even trying to hit any recognizable notes, very nonchalant. The guitars are pretty hot too, very bright and crunchy, a nice take on the classic original.
Paul Stanley continues his contribution to the album with "Sure Know Something". Sounding like a reject from his 1978 solo album (most of the songs were solo album rejects), it also has hints of disco, showing the direction the band would take on 1980's "Unmasked". I love Gene's bass on this track, one of his best lines, proving that he is a very underrated player. A great KISS song, poppy as it may be. Stanley's lead guitar is also more than adequate, not Ace, but pretty good. "Dirty Livin" is kind of a throwaway song. A refugee from Criss' terrible solo album, I don't really care for this song, not horrible, but average at best. Gene's bass is quite tasty, and the guitars kick, but Criss seems out of sorts, lacking the passion and fire he had earlier in the band.
"Charisma" is the first Gene song on the album. A reflection of fame, it's nice to see Gene thinking about why he is so famous and why so many women would want to have sex with quote "an ugly bastard like me". I like the song, despite having pretty lame backing vocals from Stanley and company, very cheesy and covered in effects. Not a Gene classic, but not a stinker (I'm looking at you "Burn Bitch, Burn). "Magic Touch" is the best song on the album, based on a great riff from Stanley. Sadly, the song is largely ignored by KISS and rarely played. I love Stanley's bass, passionate and longing vocals, and the very nice backing vocals, a great song, but very poppy for KISS. Ace then kicks in with "Hard Times". One of my favorite Ace songs, it's about life before fame, and how fame and fortune can change an individual. Basically an autobiography of his rise to fame and lost youth, it is very honest and sincere, and shows Ace growing as a songwriter, very confident after his smash 1978 solo album. A great song.
Gene contributes a second song(he was too busy to make more) with "X-Ray Eyes". Kind of a shitty song, it shows Gene continuing the poppy sound that he explored on his solo album. Not awful, but a very weak Gene song, lacking the edge and aggression of a lot of his earlier songs, his "fat Elvis" period was for sure coming into effect. A snoozer. Ace closes the album with his third song (more than Gene!). "Save Your Love" is a fast-paced rocker, and would not sound out of place on his 1978 solo album. Great guitar-work, and great backing vocals, it's a very good song. KISS' last truly great song for a good while.
"Dynasty" is a good album. It is certainly not KISS' best, but it closes their first decade with some strong songwriting, despite feeling very fragmented as a result of the band's solo sojourns.
Rating-8/10
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