Had a chance to read Paul Stanley’s book on my many flights lately. I was looking forward to seeing how much Paul would open up in a book like this. In my limited dealings with him over the decades I have found him to be fairly private and very sensitive to anything not in line with the current plan, so his approach to an auto biography would no doubt be interesting. Contrary to what many think, and despite whatever feelings he has about me, Paul was actually always my favorite member of the band. For a long time he was one of my favorite singers and his songs were always what I liked best in Kiss. I agree with his own feelings throughout the book that he has always been the prime driving force in the band. In much of the press he has done leading up to this book he has painted doing this for some greater more legitimate reason than most other rock books. I don’t see any great difference with this than any of the other MANY rock books out there. It is very well written, entertaining, inspiring, and told from his perspective and how he saw it, like ALL of these books are. But I don’t see a great distinction over many other good ones that are out there as Paul has said is the case with his. The one down side is that his is the last of the Kiss members books. The good; that he answers some of the others books, the bad is that many of these stories we have heard already. Especially if you consider we just had the very in depth Nothin’ To Lose as far as Kiss books for history which he was a writer on. But still for any Kiss fan this is a more than worthwhile read. But like ANY book it is his spin and take on the story as he wants to tell it. That is the case with all the books, it’s up to the reader to find the balance from four peoples perspectives when it comes to Kiss. Not surprisingly Paul’s book paints him as the guiding force in the band throughout and rarely does he ever take responsibility for anything that was bad for Kiss. For example he describes the demise of Kiss in the late 70’s to be more about the costumes and stage show than writing a disco song. I can tell you even though it was a hit, I Was Made For Loving You was DEATH to the Kiss fan base at the time and some still haven’t recovered from it. The shots at Ace and even more so Peter are expected, but more surprising are the shots at Gene and how bad their relationship was at some stages. Almost every bad decision was because of someone else it seems at times. Some other interesting things:
*No acknowledgment of what a big song “Shock Me” was for Ace and the Love Gun LP, or the success of Ace’s solo album over the others with “NY Groove”.
*Not much made of the impact “Beth” had crossing the band to an entire new audience. A huge moment in the bands history to get on the radio.
*Glosses over some of the later 80’s albums. Almost no mention of Crazy Nights and recording with noted producer Ron Nevison. Would have loved more back story on the making of the 80’s and 90’s albums.
*Talks about the many bad songs Gene mailed in during the 80’s but outside of the two on Smashes Thrashes (which were bad and he does say so!) never mentions his role in some duds as well. Bang Bang You? Read My Body? Although his material was mostly better he had some clunkers for sure along the way.
*Good to see how he admits not handling the passing of Eric Carr within the band the right way. How the band didn’t stop while Eric attempted to recover is hard to believe. It did bother Eric Carr greatly that while he was fighting cancer his band was already recording with Eric Singer, who he predicted would replace him. Def Leppard stood by their drummer when he lost an arm, Kiss could have waited to see how Carr would do. He does take this on and take responsibility and it was good to see finally.
*Didn’t acknowledge that fans at the MTV unplugged in ’95 actually booed when current band was re introduced and chanted for a reunion at the end of the taping. I was in the audience. It was an avalanche that resulted in the reunion in ’96.
*Psycho Circus very glossed over. Who plays on it? Why were they not able to make a deal with Peter and Ace? Also no mention of performing with the symphony in Australia. Not my favorite thing in KISStory by any stretch but should have had a mention.
All that said I truly enjoyed the book and would suggest it to any Kiss fan. But like ALL Kiss books it is HIS version of how he saw things. I’m not about to go tit for tat with all four books and who’s told the story best and most accurate. They ALL are coming from that persons point of view and get that persons story out as they saw it. And something tells me there will be no shortage of more Kiss related books to come…
144 Responses
If the KISS boys, including Ace my favorite, could just tell it like it is without holding grudges and giving their opinion without coming off as a jerk, KISS would be employing Bill Gates as a roadie. My gosh, if anyone could hold a grudge and carry that sort of torch day in day out it is Eddie with his ration and TV shows, but he plays it Like A NORMAL HUMAN BEING. Too bad the evangelists, politicians, and silver spoons and anyone else can’t learn from Eddie. All FOUR org members screwed up in some way, some more than others. THEY ARE HUMAN!!!! Ok, Gene takes it to a new level, but look where he came from. I have lawyer friends who have no problem letting me buy the round every time. Ed, that’s why I follow you and respect you.
Hopefully everyone knows I meant radio, not ration
As much as I am a fan of the early and original KISS leading up to the Dynasty album, I also returned as a fan when Creatures of the Night was released.
After that, I’ve been back and fourth on whatever followed.
With that said, I have a Nicaraguan wife who has lived all of her life in Nicaragua and Costa Rica and I can tell you that KISS has a huge following in all of Central and South America due to IWMFLY.
So as much as we rockers may dislike what happened back then, I will not criticize KISS for this and actually am thankful that my wife accepts and enjoys KISS.
With the passion I have for KISS as an everyday part of my childhood back in the 70’s, I can simply say today that were it not for IWMFLY, I would not be with my partner.
We differ tremendously in our musical tastes as I am all metal and she is all Latin music.
So sad, but true and thank you KISS.
As with Eddie, my favorite member of KISS is and always will be Paul, and having had the chance to have met the man on many occasions, even having dinner once, his book was very enjoyable. What everyone needs to remember is that the books these 4 guys have written are coming from their points of view, and none of us can really pass judgment on any of the 4 because none of us lived in their inner circle throughout all their years together. I don’t think there is any way for any of them to actually cover every possible thing that happened throughout their careers/lives or else we’d be reading their memoirs like encyclopedias in different volumes. Everyone is going to read a book and take from it what they want and maintain their own points of view. I found all 4 of them to be entertaining and very interesting. But Paul’s, for me, was a bit more inspiring because of how he spoke of his childhood and how that ultimately affected him when he became a father himself. To read about his dedication to his family and where his priorities are in life, I found that to be the most uplifting part of his book. Every comment or review boils down to a matter of opinion, and everyone is entitled to their own. I just wish everyone could stop arguing about things relating to who’s bashing who and just let the books say what they said and move on with your own lives cuz Lord knows none of us are perfect either, and having never walked in their boots, we’ll never know what it’s like to be them. Eddie, thanks for allowing the fans to have a place to post how we feel. I respect everyone’s opinions.
Good post Chris.
I just got the book Friday night April 25 in San Francisco at the Jewish Community Center where Paul Stanley was doing a signing/interview/read of his new book. Paul told a lot of great stories, some in the book and some not. I haven’t finished the book yet and am waiting to get to the KISS era of Paul’s life. Paul didn’t have great things to say about Eddie Trunk. What’s the bad blood their?