The energy spectrum of electrons produced in the multiphoton ionisation of rare gases in the 1012-1015 W cm-2 range displays interesting features. It generally consists of a series of peaks evenly spaced by an amount equal to the photon energy. The number of peaks depends strongly on the laser wavelength. For example, with Xe only one additional peak is observed at short wavelengths, while about ten and even tens of peaks are observed at longer wavelengths such as 1064 nm. These absorption processes can be described in terms of continuum-continuum transitions or, better still, in terms of the absorption of photons by the electron in the field of the ion to which it was originally bound. Furthermore, as soon as the electron-ion pair is formed, the electron acquires a quiver energy Delta in the presence of the EM field. The absorption of additional photons, corresponding to an energy less than Delta , is made energetically impossible. This leads to the suppression of the first peaks of the electron energy distribution. The disappearance of a certain number of peaks depends strongly on the laser wavelength and intensity. The disappearance of nearly 30 peaks has been observed for He at 1064 nm and 1015 W cm-2. Finally, additional effects, such as electron angular distributions and space charge effects, can change the relative amplitude of the first electron peaks. These effects must be taken into account before any comparisons can be made between theory and experiment.