Rock and Roll Over

To get the proper drum sound, Peter Criss recorded his tracks in a bathroom, communicating via video-link with the rest of the band. This is the first Kiss album to not feature a writing credit from Ace Frehley. Many of the songs that appear on the album were developed before or during Destroyer. Three of Gene Simmons' songs are clear re-workings of demos from the 1975 Magna Graphics Studios demo: "Calling Dr. Love" is a re-working of "Bad, Bad Lovin'"; "Ladies Room" is based on "Don't Want Your Romance"; and "Love' Em and Leave' Em" is based on "Rock and Rolls-Royce"; Criss's "Baby Driver" is a rewrite of a Peter Criss/Stan Penridge demo from Criss's pre-Kiss band Lips; and "Hard Luck Woman", a song Paul Stanley originally planned to pitch to Rod Stewart, was held over to provide Criss a ballad to sing following the success of "Beth". == Recording ==

Using the Record Plant recording truck, Kiss began recording in the Star Theatre, a theater-in-the-round, in Nanuet, New York on September 30th, 1976 and completed basic tracks on October 11th, with overdubs being done at the Record Plant from October 12–17. == Release ==

Rock and Roll Over was released by Casablanca Records on November 11, 1976, and peaked at No. 11 on the Billboard 200. The cover artwork is by Michael Doret, who worked with Kiss again on 2009's Sonic Boom. Inside the sleeve was a sticker of the cover art and a glossy photo press release pamphlet. The live album Kings Among Scotland, by Anthrax, pays homage to the artwork. "Hard Luck Woman" did not equal the success of "Beth", but became another top 20 single, as did "Calling Dr. Love". The latter also became a concert staple. == Reception ==

In a contemporary review of the album, Robert Christgau wrote that Kiss "write tough, catchy songs, and if they had a sly, Jagger-style singer they'd be a menace", but are diminished by appearing as a "caricature" of themselves. Modern reviews are generally positive. Greg Prato of AllMusic was largely praising of Rock and Roll Over for the band's "return to the raw hard rock of their first four albums", proclaiming it "one of Kiss' most consistent records". A Pitchfork reviewer compared the album to Destroyer, finding it "sonically punchier, if not just a bit lacking in complete vitality". In his ''Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal, Martin Popoff called Rock and Roll Over "the most childish Kiss album" and "a disappointment after the amusing ambitions, diversions and excursions of Destroyer''", lamenting the "return to the wee dumb hard rock cartoons of the early albums". In a retrospective review from Beverly Paterson of Something Else! Said Of Rock And Roll Over: ==Track listing==

All credits adapted from the original release. ==Personnel==

;Kiss • Paul Stanley – vocals, rhythm guitar, first guitar solo on "I Want You" • Gene Simmons – vocals, bass; rhythm guitar on "Ladies Room" • Peter Criss – drums, vocals • Ace Frehley – lead guitar, backing vocals ;Production • Eddie Kramer – producer, engineer, mixing at the Record Plant, New York City • Corky Stasiak – engineer ==Charts==