The co-producer behind the first two KISS records insists guitarist Ace Frehley and drummer Peter Criss were never anything more than hired hands.
Richie Wise, who fronted New York metal outfit Dust between 1969 and 1972, assisted behind the desk when Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley and co recorded their 1974 debut record and its follow-up, Hotter Than Hell, the same year.
He tells KissFAQ, “Ace and Peter had no focus. They were hired hands as far as I was concerned. I knew they auditioned for the band-and the band was Gene and Paul, period.
Ace, I understood exactly what he was doing. He listened to Page and Clapton and all those guitarists that I listened to, so I understood him well.
Peter was, at best, a poppy adequate drummer. But he was solid; he really didn’t get in the way and laid down the proper fundamental beat.”
And Wise believes the musical abilities of Simmons and Stanley have been overlooked throughout the band’s career.
“Gene wasn’t a traditional bass player, playing with his fingers,” says the producer. “He was more of a guitar player bass player. But he played with a lot of melodic sense, like McCartney in a way. Paul was excellent behind the mic. They had, right out of the box, good technique. They worked well together. I worked well with them.
The first album was six days, and then some mixing, I think a total of 13 days. It went very well. And I think it was very organic and real.”
Criss recently suggested there was less musical integrity to the current KISS lineup, featuring guitarist Tommy Thayer and drummer Eric Singer. He told our own Eddie Trunk, “Although Gene and Paul are the major members in the band, Eric and Tommy, to them, it’s a job.
He’s playing Ace Frehley licks to a tee; Eric’s playing my drum licks to a tee. They’re still playing the same songs that we made famous.
There’s a whole new generation of kids that are clueless about what KISS is all about. They go to see them now, and they think, ‘That’s KISS.’”
additional source: classicrockmagazine.com
29 Responses
I’m sorry, but Peter Criss is and always has been a crap drummer. Dude plays like a girl–or worse, like Don Henley.
And yes, I’m old enough to have been around for his original turn in the 70’s…
First of all peter criss is a good drummer, peter brought the best sound
You have no idea what your talking about, go back and listen to alive. His drumming only suffered when they made it big and the drugs took over.
KISS today is a joke, let’s get that out of the way. Now, for the guy who produced some of the worst sounding albums of all time to be talking smack is UNBELIEVABLE.
This Band should be called Betrayal. We grew up being told all four played on every album. Only to find out later Ace and Peter were Credited for playing on albums they did not. I bet Gene and Paul didn’t play on all either. So done with this band and it’s betrayl of it’s fans. Wish Eddie and all others would stop supporting them…
Just wanted to comment on a few things. My original post was mainly about the article, About how Wise trashes Peter/ Ace for no contribution when we know that’s untrue. As far as Gene and Paul and them dragging the band on and on and sounding worse and worse I feel that heir time is passed. I do think Tommy and Eric are very talented as well as Ace/Peter but I also agree that they really can’t do much these days.
It’s interesting Richie Wise of all people would bring up Ace and Peter lacking focus on those recordings when (as others have mentioned on here), he recorded two of the worst sounding albums from a production stand point in rock. The songs are so great on those albums, yet it sounds like Richie has them playing through 10 watt solid-state amps and did nothing to inspire or motivate the guys to sound their best either. I always wished Kiss would’ve re-recorded those albums with someone like Bob Ezrin. Clearly all Richie is doing is speaking out to recapture his fifteen minutes of fame from 40 years ago, but is really going about it the wrong way by having the nerve to question Ace and Peter’s ability. It’s true they’re no Jimmy Page and John Bonham, but I think Ace and Peter are underrated for their musicianship. There’s no question these guys have lacked something in the work ethic department and in staying clean and sober at times in their careers. If they could get things worked out between each other and on their A game, I would much rather see an Ace/Peter version of Kiss in makeup with a fake Gene and Paul. The bottom line is at least you would hear twice the number of songs played rather than the same predictable dozen songs Kiss plays today. Not to mention, not having to see the Pillsbury Doughboy squeezed into a costume playing bass with a painted face looking like a jack-o-lantern. There’s only so much even Paul Stanley can do to compensate for Gene turning that whole thing they’ve got today into the shadow of itself and joke that it is.