Connor McGrath
Welcome back to Connor’s KISS Korner. We resume at, honestly, my least favorite period of KISStory. Certainly most, if not all, of the lineups of the band beyond the original had been treated with apathy by the general public and a solid portion of the group’s hardcore fans but the current lineup is the only one that’s been treated with outright hostility by the KISS Army. For a lot of fans, Tommy Thayer donning Ace’s make-up was sacrilege. The reaction to Eric Singer donning Peter Criss’ Catman makeup was somewhat more muted for whatever reason. Criss even admits that he was dumb enough to practically give away the rights to his makeup and likeness so you can’t fault Eric Singer too much for putting on the Catman makeup. And in all honesty, with all due respect to Peter Criss, he doesn’t hold as near and dear a place in the average KISS fan’s heart as Ace does. Peter produced some of the biggest hits in the band’s history but nobody, except Peter Criss, would say he produced the best songs of the original four.
Plus Eric Singer was a very well respected drummer (who was much better technically than Criss) and had played with everyone from Lita Ford to Black Sabbath to Alice Cooper, in addition to his previous stint with KISS from 1992 to 1996. People might not have liked him putting on Criss’ makeup but the idea of him being in the band didn’t seem like a betrayal of the band’s ideals and even his critics would admit he’s a talented drummer.
However, Thayer was a different story. He was the lead guitarist for Black N Blue, a third tier ’80s hair metal band that Gene Simmons produced. After the band lost their record deal in the late ’80s, he continued to work with Simmons, writing several songs on the 1989 KISS album Hot in the Shade and later in the mid ’90s, becoming The Demon’s personal assistant. During the reunion tours, Thayer worked closely with Ace Frehley and Peter Criss to help them relearn their guitar and drum parts as well as doing various errands for the band. Nobody can doubt Thayer’s love for the band. Thayer was a part of an early KISS tribute band called Cold Gin, playing Ace Frehley. During the late ’90s and early ’00s, the band even had a Spaceman costume on standby for Thayer in case the ever eccentric Ace was unable to make the gig. Thayer finally got to put on the costume again in 2002.
Tommy’s biggest asset; being the ultimate KISS fan would turn into his detractors’ biggest criticism of him. They accused him of being a sycophant to Gene & Paul, whom all too eagerly took on Ace’s persona. Him putting on the Spaceman outfit, to many, was the hard rock version of Single White Female. Tommy not only put on Ace’s make up but he sang Ace’s songs and played Ace’s solos. He did absolutely nothing to interject his own personality into the band. He just presented a sanitized, professional version of Ace’s persona. Gene & Paul could have Ace’s sound without any of Ace’s foibles.
Perhaps because of the skepticism towards the lineup, KISS slowly became more open to the idea of releasing new material. In the early-mid ’00s, Gene Simmons & Paul Stanley almost guaranteed that KISS would never release another studio album. Fewer and fewer people were buying albums each year and if they needed a creative outlet, they would record another low risk, medium reward solo album.
Gene and Paul insisted that this was the best lineup of the band. But how could they put their money where their mouths were if the lineup was just playing the greatest hits of yesteryear? Slowly but surely, Paul & Gene got the itch to record again. They wanted to try and attempt the next “Detroit Rock City” and “Love Gun.” Even Paul openly admitted that was virtually impossible but hey, at least they could try and attempt the next “Heaven’s On Fire” or “I Love It Loud!”
With the biggest push since the reunion tour, KISS released their first album in eleven years, Sonic Boom in October 2009. Borrowing a model that had worked wonders for AC/DC and Eagles, KISS released their album exclusively in Wal-Mart stores in North America. Wal-Marts across the land, set up KISS sections in their store, displaying the band’s merchandise and greatest albums. The KISS-Wal-Mart partnership also produced this ad…
Surprisingly, as it did for AC/DC, the Wal-Mart partnership was a success, at least initially. Sonic Boom debuted at #2 on the Billboard Charts, the highest KISS has ever appeared on the charts. Though it only sold around 250,000 copies, it fared about as well as a classic rock album in the year 2009 could. KISS also underwent their biggest tour since the ’96 Reunion, playing stadiums and arenas across North America & Europe. KISS would even make its first appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman to promote the album. Venues that had once snickered at the band were recognizing that KISS had taken its place amongst the most influential hard rock acts of all time.
As for the album itself, well… it’s not that bad for a KISS album released in 2009. KISS hyped up the album as their most focused work in decades and to be fair, it was their best album since ’92’s Revenge (which isn’t saying that much but still…) The second single, “Say Yeah,” was one of the band’s best songs since the ’80s. And even though KISS claims each new album is a “throwback to the days of Destroyer and Love Gun,” the new albums are more like the ’80s albums. Two or three inspired Paul songs, some halfassed cock rock tunes from Gene, and a lot of filler. Only difference is they had two more guys singing that filler than they did in the ’80s with Eric Singer & Tommy Thayer both taking turns on lead vocals.
KISS followed up with more of the same in 2012 with another self produced, exclusively released at Wal-Mart album, Monster. Outside of the album’s lead single, “Hell or Hallelujah,” which combines a lot of the stuff I like about classic ’70s KISS and a lot of the stuff I enjoy about ’80s hair metal KISS, the album fell flat for myself and a lot of fans. It definitely would join Hot in the Shade and Psycho Circus amongst my Bottom 5 KISS albums. It was a lesser version of Sonic Boom, which isn’t really that great of a KISS album anyway.
Like every KISS album released in the past twenty five years, Monster was initially a success (debuting at #3 on the Billboard Album charts) before quickly being forgotten about. Even KISS’ live act was starting to lose some of its luster. Like so many of their contemporaries, KISS is only able to headline these days as part of packaged tours. Now, it was fun and kind of exciting when KISS toured with Aerosmith in ’03 but somewhat less so when they toured with Poison in ’04, then toured with Motley Crue in ’12 and now Def Leppard in ’14. These package tours seem to be a necessary evil. Instead of KISS and Def Leppard headlining their own tours, playing two hour sets, they play together on one show and play seventy five minutes apiece. For casual fans, it’s great but for die hards, it can’t help but feel like a letdown. These tours seem like a desperate ploy to stay on top of the highest grossing concerts lists. Not to mention the fact that these tours are being a ploy to pack in casual fans, which means the same songs get performed every night. Joe from Burger King didn’t buy a Groupon for two tickets for $30 for KISS/Def Leppard’s “Heroes” at Jiffy Lube Live, wanting to hear “Love Her All I Can” and “Billy’s Got A Gun.” He wants to hear “Rock & Roll All Nite” and “Pour Some Sugar on Me.”
At this stage, a lot of these classic rock acts are starting to resemble the well polished oldies acts you see on PBS during pledge drives. Watching these recent clips of KISS, you can really start to see that the trolley is rounding the corner for the Hottest Band on Earth. Paul Stanley has suffered with a lot of vocal issues in the past decade and a voice that had been strong even up until the early to mid ’00s has lost a couple steps. I’d be hard pressed to find anybody that’s frightened by Gene Simmons’ Demon persona anymore after the shameless pandering for merchandising, reality TV shows, and *shudder* sex tape.
Despite Paul & Gene’s insistence that the band is bigger and stronger than ever (they own an Arena Football team now! The L.A. KISS), you can’t help but think they aren’t in that much better of a place than they were before they decided to reunite with Ace & Peter in the lean ’90s years. The crowds might be slightly bigger, the songs might be slightly better (sometimes), but the band lacks the excitement of the original lineup and even the later lineups with Eric Carr and Vinnie Vincent. Tommy Thayer & Eric Singer are great players but they don’t have KISS sized personalities. KISS has just become another classic rock band like Poison or Styx, albeit a classic rock band with a great gimmick.
As the trolley pulls around the corner, one has to wonder how KISS will be remembered. Will they be considered one of the greatest (and most influential) spectacles in rock history? Or will they be remembered, as some of their vocal critics might say, as a great rock n’ roll swindle? How KISS ends its career will help to determine their legacy and we’ll discuss the latest (and final… for now) chapter of KISStory next week on Connor’s KISS Korner.
Next Week on the final Connor’s KISS Korner: We discuss the band’s long awaited, recent induction into the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame plus KISS tells all as we review the four original members’ autobiographies.
