Look no further than this book. One of the Top 3 best books ever about Kiss which chronicles their touring history up to the initial Farewell Tour. Kiss Alive Forever: The Complete Touring History: Gooch, Curt, Suhs, Jess: 9780823083220: Amazon.com: Books
As did I... I got Destroyer in October 76 the day after the Paul Lynde special... Then for Christmas I got The Originals and my best friend Ronnie got Alive!
You'd think KISS of all bands would have jumped on RSD, Ace Frehley did. Why not release the Wicked Lester album on vinyl?
3/4 of the Revenge/COS lineup reunites for lunch. Yesterday’s lunch photo with Gene and Eric at the wonderful Bagel Cafe in Las Vegas. It was certainly a fun time! @genesimmons 12:54 PM · Jun 16, 2021·Twitter for
One thing that Kiss could've (should've) done is give the make-up show a rest every now and then. Take a band like Iron Maiden, for example. They put out a new album and tour it, then the next tour is a thematic oldies show, then they release new music and tour a new show, and they go on alternating it like that. Considering the fantastic and ample repertoire that's basically ignored and has been ignored for so many years, Kiss could've taken a page from the Maiden book and done alternate tours. Take the no-makeup Kulick band for a round, dust off many of those 80s/early 90s tracks, and after a year or two do a Klassic Kiss tour. Lather rinse repeat. Over time it would've kept things fresher and more interesting for the fans, and I'd bet for the band too.
It's far too late for that now, it would've been a great idea in 1994-95 or so when everyone was still capable of performing at a reasonably high level.
Gene and that hat…. . He needs to trademark something less dorky. Great to see them out together though!
I don't have a copy of The Originals on vinyl any longer, but I kind of remembering the albums being similar to RCA Dynaflex vinyl--they were very thin/wobbly. Is anyone else's copy like that (or do you remember it being like that if you no longer have it)?
And yet millions of people love their music..... I find the usual "KISS hater" to be the type of person who defines themselves by their pop-culture allegiances. They CAN'T STAND the idea of someone spoofing pop-culture it's self. The fact that they say "Don't take your self too seriously, it's ALL just entertainment"....even those "Artists" who have spent their careers trying to convince you otherwise. KISS....well, they HURT that kind of person. But KISS is also GOOD for that kind of person. KISS is a wake up call. Pop-Culture is a pacifier (Especially pop music.) fired out there to both dumb-down the masses, while all the while convincing them their obsession with that "Lollypop" is actually of vital importance to the world they live in. KISS has always blown the roof off of that myth. And left the people who bought the the B.S.....hook line and sinker....... feeling more than a little dumb...That tends to make them MAD. Not saying that's you.......but I'm not saying it isn't.
Absolutely. This book is so much fun to go through. I almost ended up getting the updated version that continues on from 2001 but it fell off my radar and now goes for big bucks as well.
I found it amazing that when I was a kid during the Asylum/Crazy Nights era I just assumed they were still on top of the world because of all the video play they were getting, along with magazine coverage. After reading the book you learn that was far from the case as far as concert attendance. They only averaged 4-6000 people per show during the mid to late 80s. The Revenge tour was even worse!!! Fascinating stuff
Tangentially related to KISS - former paramour of Gene Simmons, Diana Ross, has new music! Still sounding great at 77 with a heartfelt message about love and appreciation. In lesser hands, the lyrics could have sounded trite but she sells it like the pro she is, and the song manages to sound classic and fresh at the same time… New Diana Ross album, “Thank You”, (September 10, 2021)*
Its cos Maiden still cares about making new music. Say what you will about the output since Bruce and Adrian came back but they have been fairly consistent with releasing new product. As soon as Stanley and Simmons did the reunion is was 100% nostalgia milking from that point on. In a perfect world after the farewell tour they should have taken the makeup off and gone back to what they were doing prior to the reunion and bring back Kulick and Singer and just carried on but I think they knew that without the makeup and the allure of "The Original 4" they weren't going to be an arena act and probably didn't to go back to slumming it in small venues and continuing to release music that wouldn't sell.
Its easily the best of the Offical books by far. Its a shame that wasn't an ongoing series covering their entire career but I guess that would have been too huge a project. I really like the Julian Gill books, The Album Focus series is a great insight into their recording history as are his books on The Elder and Crazy Nights periods.
You're absolutely right. My post was a mere fantasy what-if about the recent past. In a perfect world (of my own device) Gene and Paul wouldn't mind not going huge all the time and would be happy touring smaller venues with the Kulick line-up and repertoire every once in a while in between big make-up 70s-show type tours. Then again, I don't really know how they truly feel about their music from the no-makeup years. Maybe it's a repertoire they're not so proud of looking back and are perfectly happy ignoring most of it. Me, however, I think it's a shame they stopped playing songs on their regular tours like Silver Spoon, I Just Wanna, All Hell's Breaking Loose, Rise To It, Under The Gun, Domino, Exciter...
The problem is they have always wanted that high they had in the mid-70s and they spent a long time trying to chase it during the latter makeup and non-makeup years so when they magically got that back they were obviously going to milk it for all it was worth and the prospect of going back to not having the makeup and playing empty venues again probably wasn't appealing to them even if it made the hardcore fanbase happy. As for songs they actually like from that period I think the ones that survive in the last 20 years of setlists should give you an idea to what tracks Paul thinks highly of from that era and given how little its represented tells you he doesn't really think highly of it despite the fact he was the driving force and kept KISS alive during that period.
