Picture it, it’s the fall of 1976 and Kiss is going upward fast to peak popularity. Their previous record, “Destroyer” was released on March 15, 1976, and went gold by April and before “Destroyer,” their live record, “Alive!” shattered the rock and music scene and began what was known as Kiss-teria.

With a couple of hugely successful records under their belts, Kiss looked to make it a three-peat with “Rock and Roll Over.” Recorded in the quiet town of Nanuet, New York at the Star Theatre (according to reports, the venue closed its doors in 1978), Kiss ended up cranking out another platinum record which reached the No. 11 spot on the Billboard album charts.

The record features 10 songs and has a run time of 33 minutes of back-to-basics Kiss songs, some songs have gone on to become concert staples and fan favorites.

The first track, “I Want You,” starts with a soft opening until it powers into the classic hard rock song that Kiss built their empire on. The call and response from lead singer and guitarist, Paul Stanley and the rest of the band is timeless and was a fan favorite when it was incorporated into the band’s live setlist.

On this album, you’ll see a few songs that, to the die-hard Kiss army are favorites, but to other casual listeners, are just fill-in songs. This is true about track two, “Take Me.” To me, this is such a great song and is one of my favorites on the entire record. The driving beat from drummer Peter Criss creates a groove on the chorus that shows the band harmonizing on the sing-along part of the chorus. It was great when this gem was thrown into the band’s setlist when they were on their reunion tour during the 1990s but it hasn’t seen the light of day since.

This brings us to track three, “Calling Dr. Love.” This concert staple is a classic Gene Simmons song. When you think of songs that Simmons sings, you immediately think of “God of Thunder,” but then you think of this song right after it. 

While Simmons does not have a Ph.D. in medicine, he does have a Ph.D. in catchy chorus and great tunes. Ace Frehley delivers yet another classic solo on this track that many fans grew up listening to and trying to replicate. Some got close but no one can ever be “The Spaceman” that Frehley was.

The middle portion of the record has some good songs that help move along the record to the back half. “Ladies Room,” is one of those Simmons patented songs about women, “Baby Driver,” is one of two songs on the record to feature Criss on lead vocals while “Love ‘Em and Leave ‘Em,” is yet again, another Simmons-style song about his favorite type of fan (hint: it’s not about the die-hard male rock fans).

The ending of “Love ‘Em and Leave ‘Em,” brings fans to track seven, “Mr. Speed.” This song is a fan favorite within the die-hard Kiss community. From the moment that that first chord is played on the guitar, fans’ ears perk up and they immediately know which song this is.

This song, in my opinion, is one of the best songs that features how clear and strong Stanley’s vocals are. Singing the chorus of “Well, you know, I got the kind of lovin’ that you need. The kind of lovin’ that you need. I’m so fast, that’s why the ladies call me Mr. Speed. They call me Mr. Speed,” fans can’t help themselves but jump in and sing along with Stanley and the rest of the band.

The final three songs are good tunes to round out the record. “See You In Your Dreams,” is sung by Simmons and appears on his solo Kiss album, “Kiss: Gene Simmons,” in 1978 while “Makin’ Love,” shows the more “metal” side of the band as they dig and explore rougher guitar riffs.

In between both of those songs is the ballad “Hard Luck Women,” which is sung by Peter Criss. This song was originally written by Stanley who was inspired by the songs “Maggie May,” and “You Wear It Well,” and was originally supposed to be for the singer of both of those songs, Rod Stewart. Lo and behold, the band kept it for Criss who has a similar singing style to Stewart and it charted to the No. 15 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 weekly singles charts further throwing the band into superstardom.

After their successful record, “Destroyer,” in 1976, that same year, Kiss released their follow-up, “Rock and Roll Over, which reached the No. 11 spot on the Billboard album charts in the United States. After taking a stroll down memory lane, I’ll ask, do you remember?