First photo shoot with Eric Carr. This promotional
photo was used for the cover of People magazine. Note the difference
in Eric Carr's make-up, especially in the "mask". This was his make-up
for the band's first show and for these promotional photos only. Afterwards,
for the next three years, he would use the make-up design as seen below.
Eric Carr
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 "Unmasked" was released on May 29, 1980.
Peter Criss did not play drums on one song on "Unmasked". Instead, session
drummer Anton Fig, who had also cut most of the drums on "Dynasty" performed
all the drum tracks.
Gene Simmons didn't play bass on Ace's songs. Ace played guitar, bass
and did the vocals on these tracks.
Paul Stanley played bass on some of his songs.
Ace Frehley's "Talk To Me" became a minor hit in Europe.
On "Talk to Me" Ace used a "special tuning for that song,
either a G or D tuning."
The front cover art was done by Victor Stabin.
Click image to enlarge
"Unmasked" came with a poster of the last frame of the comic
strip cover.
The original painting for the cover art sold at an auction for $14,000.
A demo version of "You're All That I Want, You're All that I Need" eventually
appeared on the Kiss Box set. The demo version kills the version that
made it onto "Unmasked."
According to Paul Stanley:
"Unmasked? I would give that one star. A song like "Tomorrow" is really
a great song, but I think 'Unmasked' is a pretty crappy album. It's wimpy.
A lot of those songs started out much ballsier, and much more rock'n'
rolly. Somehow they lost something on their way to vinyl." p331, Kiss-Behind
the Mask
According to Ace Frehley:
"I though my songs were good." Kiss-Behind the
Mask, p331
"Technically, 'Unmasked' was the last studio album to feature the original lineup...I don't believe Peter really wanted to leave the band, but Paul and Gene were dead set on replacing hi. I wanted to give him another chance, but my hands were tied. I was outvoted and the decision was made to move forward without him, so I accepted that decision reluctantly."
-No Regrets, Ace Frehley, p211
"Finding someone to fill Peter's shoes wasn't an easy task. We auditioned several drummers, but settled on a relatively unknown kid from Brooklyn named Eric Carr. Eric was a solid drummer who had played in a varitey of local bands before joining KISS. He was a very good replacement; he just wasn't Peter."
-No Regrets, Ace Frehley, p211
"Even though 'Unmasked' wasn't as big a commercial success as it predecessor, it still had some memorable tracks. I again aced three songs on the record, "Two Sides of the Coin," "Torpedo Girl," and "Talk to Me". The later became a big hit in Australia, and I performed it live in concert around the globe"
-No Regrets, Ace Frehley, p211
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