By this time, KISS-hysteria was in high gear. Sold-out shows, past albums constantly being re-released and selling like hotcakes, merchandising and fan club memorabilia going through the roof - all in all, while across the water, England was ostensibly burning under the banner of the punk rock, these guys were living the rock 'n' roll lifestyle for all it was worth. Well, at least Ace and Peter were, as Gene and Paul abstained from drugs and alcohol, only part taking in the hedonistic pursuits of the fairer sex. But hey, five studio albums, one live album, tons of live shows, of basically the same shtick over and over and over…and by now two things were happening. Folks in the band were really getting full of themselves, buying into their own hype and ego, and conversely, just getting lazy, too. Here is where a guy like Bob Ezrin could have stepped in as producer and in the very least, righted the ship for a period of time, enabling the band to release a small series of significant efforts in album format. But instead, Love Gun is the last real gasp, and even then, that's debatable. There are some damn fine tracks here, but in evidence as well, harbingers of the heaping bowls of BS that was to come en masse, and quite soon at that.