Kiss, ‘Music from ‘The Elder” – Albums That Almost Killed a Band’s Career

After watching their reign atop the late-'70s arena rock scene disappear in a puff of disco smoke, Kiss knew they had to do something big and bold to get back in the game. Unfortunately, 1981's 'Music from 'The Elder" was an even bigger misstep.

Producer Bob Ezrin, fresh off the success of Pink Floyd's ambitious concept album 'The Wall,' decided that the facepainted marvels, whose lyrical depth typically topped out with tracks like 'Love Gun' and 'Christine Sixteen,' should tackle an album-length suite of songs about a young medieval warrior's epic quest to save the world... or something. The end product, while admirably daring, is one of the most universally panned and mocked records in rock history. To their credit, they righted their creative ship the next year.

Watch Kiss "Perform" 'Just a Boy'