Gene Simmons (1978) Always Near You/Nowhere to Hide - LOST 70s GEMS

Probably my least favourite of the solo albums, Gene Simmons prioritised sound effects, like the cinematic opening and more sonics over the songs, with only a few catchy melodies in between a lot of filler hard rock and pop songs and a whole ton of celebrity cameos. This track is technically two tracks featuring a repeating finger picked scale, whirring pedal steel guitar whining off into the distance, Simmons singing disengaged from it all as strings shore up the rest. The incredible guitar harmonics are clearcut and pierce through your headphones, while the beat picks up on the piano to the second half of the song Nowhere to Hide.

The choirs kick in as does the Philharmonic orchestra as Simmons wails in falsetto about 'don't try to hide' it's menacing message draped in a chorus of 'ahs'. It's like a power ballad as the drumming intensifies, hand claps enter and Simmons' screams in joyful, ecstatic yelps in an ironic salvation; clearly his song is about sex whilst in the middle of an evangelical chorus is the last place you could sing the virtues of that!

It's the biggest moment on any of the solo albums with it's grand, church like aura and atmospheric rhythms created by the drummer and singers, all building up to Simmons' greatest vocals; his wails are so powerful and unique, I've never been so moved by such shrieking before, boy does it work. And finally a credit to the producer, Sean Delaney who by far does the best job out of the four producers used on the four solo albums, he creates a mighty large soundscape that can zero in on a instrument so easy; he was practically one of the stars of the solo albums himself as he co wrote some of the best ballads on Peter Criss' album too in one of the few overlaps between solo albums.