Who didn't see this coming? Kiss RRHOF conflict

[godofthunder]

   The original body of work up to Destroyer are the only records that matter in their career and the reason for their induction Imho (of course). The original line up is KISS, after Ace and Peter left what followed was just a long line of fill ins. Gene and Paul may say they get to decide who/what KISS is but I doubt most fans would agree. If Ace and Peter are not at the induction what a shame and slap in the face that would be both to them and the fans. So glad I got to see them in their prime in '75.

[gweimer]

In terms of ANY artist....The only RRHOF (or any one-off award show) performances that I get really interested in seeing are the ones where they do something completely different.  By that I mean guest performers, unplugged, re-worked song versions, medleys, whatever.  I guess if I want to see a groups standard stage show/lineup I'll just get tickets the next time they come through town and see their show in it's entirety.

In terms of Kiss...I really wouldn't be interested in seeing the original or the current lineup. I guess both are just sort of played-out for me.  It would have been cool to see them bring back everyone though.  I'd love to see Kulick, Vincent and Frehley trade solo's anyway 

I remember the days when concerts, in general, were like that.  The BBC Sessions from Led Zeppelin is a whole different world from the records.  New arrangements, extended versions, etc.  When I saw Jethro Tull, they were road testing the songs from Aqualung months ahead of the release of the album.

[drbassman]

Man, I really know nothing about KISS, am vaguely familiar with a coupe of their songs and my brain tunes out when I hear them.  That being said,  IMHO all of the wussies should show up, work together and be adult gentlemen.  Yeah, I know, in the age of narcissism, that's a big laugh!

[Dave W]

Man, I really know nothing about KISS, am vaguely familiar with a coupe of their songs and my brain tunes out when I hear them.  That being said,  IMHO all of the wussies should show up, work together and be adult gentlemen.  Yeah, I know, in the age of narcissism, that's a big laugh!

Or they should all show up and do a wrestling grudge match. With Ted Nugent as referee.

[drbassman]

Or they should all show up and do a wrestling grudge match. With Ted Nugent as referee.

Well, that sounds better than most of their songs!

[uwe]

There is an interesting interview of Paul Stanley in Mojo - hardly a magazine that generally takes Kiss serious or even notice of the band - and it's pretty in-depth and introvert. In it he says that the RRHoF nomination means something to him because it means something to Kiss fans, but that he is in two minds about the whole thing as RRHoF refused Bruce Kulick and the new line up guys for the ceremony "while other bands could bring along anybody who had ever played with them, if there is a rule it should be for everyone". So it seems that the RRHoF's requirements are the root of the issue, not Kiss' internal politics. I understand that Gene and Paul would want to bring along the new guys (and Bruce Kulick too, who served them well in the Frehley-less years), I would too if it was my band (of course together with Ace and Peter), it seems to be the decent thing to do. And while Ace and Peter have together with Paul and Gene created Kiss, Tommy and Eric have kept the b(r)and alive as a concert draw for more than a decade. I can't see why you can't appreciate both the old line-up's and the new line-up's respective contribution to Kiss still being something that is talked about though - at any given time - their music hardly shook the world.

[ack1961]

How about making a marionette for each character (if they don't have them already in production), and they can drop all 17 of 'em down from the rafters, play that God-awful Rock 'n Roll All Night crap-anthem and then yank 'em all back to the rafters. Put 'em in a display case somewhere and charge admission.

If Team America: World Police taught us anything is that you can get an action figure to tear up and puke violently, which should appeal to the hair-helmeted Simmons.  I'm sure that there's enough rat fur lying around somewhere to cover the Paul doll's chest.

[uwe]

Your idea reminded me of this:

[godofthunder]

Your idea reminded me of this:

  One of my favorite albums ever! The expanded CD set is brilliant!

[godofthunder]

George I am also a card carrying member of the Kiss Army I still have the cool package they sent out in a black folder with Iron on transfer promo pics and of course the wallet pics! Let me see if I can find it!

As a card carrying KISS nerd from circa 1975, I can't say I'm surprised either. I'd have loved to see the original lineup but I'd also have been happy with something similar to their Unplugged performance, where everyone was playing at one point. If it were my show to plan, I'd have had them play sans make-up, literally focusing on the rock band side, and had them switch it up between all living current and former members.

[ack1961]

Your idea reminded me of this:

Well played.  Seeing that jacket again made me smile.
I grew up on many 60's & '70's rock bands, including MTH, and was devastated when (among hundreds lost) both Mott & The Hoople vinyl albums fell victim to the 100 year flood in 1988 (central Australia).  When those albums were finally pressed and available on CD a few years later, I was so juiced.  Their music and creativity is incredible, but I always felt that it never translated well to digital.  I found the vinyl pressings of those 2 when I got back to the states.

[uwe]

I know this is a Mott the Hoople diehards snakepit, but may I venture forth that while Mott the Hoople had songs, attitude and a certain look, I never rated them as the type of band that took their music to new heights on the stage? They weren't the type of frenzied collective jammers with individual improvisational solo highlights that made other seventies live album staples such as Deep Purple's Made in Japan, the Allman Brothers' Fillmore East, Rare Earth's In Concert or Humble Pie's Rockin' the Fillmore iconic. If you listen to Rare Earth's studio and live version of Get Ready for instance, you hear them taking the track somewhere else altogether when playing it live. I never heard Mott the Hoople do that live, neither Mick Ralphs nor Ariel Bender (Ariel just wanted to look the part) were really guitar heroes nor were Verden Allen or Morgan Fisher in the Jon Lord, Ken Hensley, Edgar Winter "play the Hammond like a geetar" field. That is not to knock them, but they were just not an improvisational or virtuoso band (nor did they want to be), but a vehicle for transporting Ian Hunter's songwriting craft (as long as he needed them) plus added glam visuals and a certain outlaw image. And in an era (now long gone) where the capability for either skillful individual improvisation or collective groove jamming often defined whether you were mega-successful or not, it's perhaps no wonder that Mott the Hoople never got rid of the "great singles band tag" and floundered commercially before calling it a day. 

[gweimer]

I know this is a Mott the Hoople diehards snakepit, but may I venture forth that while Mott the Hoople had songs, attitude and a certain look, I never rated them as the type of band that took their music to new heights on the stage? They weren't the type of frenzied collective jammers with individual improvisational solo highlights that made other seventies live album staples such as Deep Purple's Made in Japan, the Allman Brothers' Fillmore East, Rare Earth's In Concert or Humble Pie's Rockin' the Fillmore iconic. If you listen to Rare Earth's studio and live version of Get Ready for instance, you hear them taking the track somewhere else altogether when playing it live. I never heard Mott the Hoople do that live, neither Mick Ralphs nor Ariel Bender (Ariel just wanted to look the part) were really guitar heroes nor were Verden Allen or Morgan Fisher in the Jon Lord, Ken Hensley, Edgar Winter "play the Hammond like a geetar" field. That is not to knock them, but they were just not an improvisational or virtuoso band (nor did they want to be), but a vehicle for transporting Ian Hunter's songwriting craft (as long as he needed them) plus added glam visuals and a certain outlaw image. And in an era (now long gone) where the capability for either skillful individual improvisation or collective groove jamming often defined whether you were mega-successful or not, it's perhaps no wonder that Mott the Hoople never got rid of the "great singles band tag" and floundered commercially before calling it a day.

Mott were the poster children for capable musicians collectively turning into an outstanding band.

[godofthunder]

  Mott for sure is a sum of it's parts band. While not great virtuosos I loved thier raw live sound,they could rock with abandon. They didn't caresse a song they beat it into submission.

[ack1961]

With a few exceptions, I've never been a huge live album guy, and MTH are a great example.  I love their studio albums and their live work didn't exactly blow me away.  By contrast, I really liked a couple of Ian Hunter's live albums...go figure.

I love Heep Live, Made in Japan, On Stage, Pulse, X at The Whiskey, and a few other live albums, but I've always seen studio albums as the measuring stick for bands I like.  I like it when bands get creative in the studio: Pink Floyd, The Who, Mott The Hoople, Foghat...(OK, I kid, I kid), whether or not they could fully replicate it on stage or not.  To me, DP tried the hardest to replicate their amazing sound on stage and had Jon Lord's wall of sound plowing the way.

I remember seeing Kansas at MSG back in the mid-70's, and I was amazed at what was taped and playing through the live mix. Turns out that it really doesn't matter - it was a good sounding show, and I was never a huge fan.  Good show or not, I really go to shows to hear good music amp'd up, but don't care much for theatrics.  Hence, I've never given Kiss, Poison, Crue, etc. more than a passing glance - too gimmicky for my liking and their music was a weak manifestation of a persona they were trying to sell.