The Last Bass Outpost
Main Forums => The Outpost Cafe => Topic started by: Lightyear on February 23, 2014, 04:49:22 PM
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http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2014/02/23/dispute-over-lineup-scuttles-plans-for-kiss-to-perform-at-rock-roll-hall-fame/?intcmp=features
Can't say that I'm surpised
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Not surprised at all.
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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.
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it would be tough getting eric carr to play again. ;)
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Or Mark St. John...
Not surprised. Actually not much involving Gene Simmons could surprise me. I too thought an unplugged kind of scenario would be cool. An "everybody" jam, and then the original 4 in full costume/stage show. But... Whatever! I'm sure not gonna lose any sleep over it. :P
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I think you're going to see this kind of stuff more and more as the bands that have been passed over get older and grumpier. It would be nice to see a band tell the RRHOF to go s**t in their collective hats, though. Whenever somebody is inducted, they always seem to knuckle under and say what an honor it is. T
Moving along, I agree with George - there is no reason to put on the make up an' blow up stuff this time around. If you didn't "get" them in the 70s because you were too cool for the room, seeing Paul's (old) man-boobs jiggle across the stage at sixty-something ain't gonna change your mind. OTOH, if you thought their music had no merit, a few well-played songs sans the bombast might make you re-evaluate them to some degree. They did write some great rock n roll.
The lineup? It's all about the original 4 - nobody really gives a crap about the other guys, especially the doppelgangers.
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There's probably Paul's and Gene's truth, Ace's and Peter's truth and the real truth. I wouldn't be surprised if Peter asked for a king's ransom to move his butt to the RRHOF.
Nobody should go, except Vinnie. He could play some, uhum, licks.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYbd1CtoDos
Seriously, they should have gone with the new line up, which is their working line up, and invited everyone who played with them as special guests (including Vinnie, his songwriting prowess resurrected their butts in the early eighties, without his kick-start they wouldn't have survived the make up-less years), kind of like The Eagles did when they took Leadon and Meisner on board for their RRHOF performance, I have no recollection of Meisner demanding Schmit off the stage, who had at that point only one Eagles album under his belt compared to Meisner's five, or that Leadon wanted to oust Walsh from the ceremony, who had only played on two Eagles albums as opposed to Leadon's four. Peter and Ace probably demanded that it be only them.
That said, I don't think that to the average Kiss concert goer Ace's and Peter's non-presence matters more than Ringo's and George's would if John Lennon and Paul McCartney did a tour together. Kiss is about projected image not individuality, though no one can play as lovely out of time as Ace. :)
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Gene and Paul own the band, right? Then they ought to have decided one way or another, and the rest should have shut up and gone along with it
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Gene and Paul own the band, right? Then they ought to have decided one way or another, and the rest should have shut up and gone along with it
Technically, yes - but Ace and Peter were always the most popular members among the fans. Keep in mind also that the song that made the band superstars was "Beth" - written by Peter, and "New York Groove", while not an Ace composition, was the only hit off the four solo albums. No matter how you look at it, this thing (as shallow as the RRHOF is) transcends who owns the band, who was in the band longest, or whatever. It is ultimately about "Will the real Kiss please stand up". General consensus among fans seems to be that the original Kiss is the real Kiss. If they recorded or played a note after Ace and Peter left, they would still be revered (or reviled) for what they did in the 1970s.
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Technically, yes - but Ace and Peter were always the most popular members among the fans. Keep in mind also that the song that made the band superstars was "Beth" - written by Peter, and "New York Groove", while not an Ace composition, was the only hit off the four solo albums. No matter how you look at it, this thing (as shallow as the RRHOF is) transcends who owns the band, who was in the band longest, or whatever. It is ultimately about "Will the real Kiss please stand up". General consensus among fans seems to be that the original Kiss is the real Kiss. If they recorded or played a note after Ace and Peter left, they would still be revered (or reviled) for what they did in the 1970s.
From what little I know of the band's history, I agree with you that the original lineup is the real Kiss. But when you no longer have a say in the band (or maybe never did), then you say your piece and be done with it. If you're going to cause enough hard feelings that the band won't perform at all, then IMHO you've gone too far.
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Nostalgia aside they're probably doing everyone a favor by not playing. I recently watched part of Kiss concert on Palladia from maybe last year - it was just plain painful to watch. Paul's man boobs and shot to hell voice. Gene can still sing but he's really just a plus sized parody of himself. Know when to say when guys..... :sad:
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I think Peter is the most delusional of all the members. I've read all the books, and yah you have to take them with a grain of salt, but his was annoying to read. I think he was the least important member of the band, contrary to his thoughts on it all.
Take a listen on youtube for Peter Criss' "One for All" songs...an album he completely funded on his own...all I can say is "Yikes". He was shocked it didn't sell in 2007 era of music...and this is the stuff he was trying to get KISS to play. No surprise he didn't get much in the writing category.
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Paul's man boobs and shot to hell voice. Gene can still sing but he's really just a plus sized parody of himself. Know when to say when guys..... :sad:
I have to agree with you. I said "so long!" in 2001. I WOULD go see them one more time with my kid, just so she could say she saw a full-on KISS show (imposters or not).
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I took my daughter to see the first reunion tour with the original band/makeup back in 97 or 98. It was a lot of fun and she loved it (she was 5 at the time). My daughter was not the youngest child in the area where we sat. There were kids that looked about 2-3 in the crowd as well. I don't feel the need to see them again.
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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 ;D
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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.
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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 ;D
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.
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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!
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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.
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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!
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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.
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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.
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Your idea reminded me of this:
(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UtbmW_5xUm8/S8e4NgV3zCI/AAAAAAAABWo/qVt2Rc1ZDC4/s1600/mott%2Blive.jpg)
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Your idea reminded me of this:
(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UtbmW_5xUm8/S8e4NgV3zCI/AAAAAAAABWo/qVt2Rc1ZDC4/s1600/mott%2Blive.jpg)
One of my favorite albums ever! The expanded CD set is brilliant!
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George I am also a card carrying member of the Kiss Army ;D 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.
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Your idea reminded me of this:
(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UtbmW_5xUm8/S8e4NgV3zCI/AAAAAAAABWo/qVt2Rc1ZDC4/s1600/mott%2Blive.jpg)
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Mott the Hoople ... 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.
And somehow this is a bad thing? I wanna hear songs, not some asswads noodling for 20 minutes. Practice at home, not in front of thousands of people.
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Sacrilege...!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_hlMK7tCks
:mrgreen:
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They would have to invite the studio players (Dick Wagner) who played on Destroyer in place of Ace. Probably on other records too.
I saw them on the Farewell tour. It started out great, Ace did 2000 Man. By the encore I was out of the Erwin Center headed for my car to beat the traffic. They were just going through the motions by then.
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And somehow this is a bad thing? I wanna hear songs, not some asswads noodling for 20 minutes. Practice at home, not in front of thousands of people.
Hear, hear! That's why I never listen to "individual improvisational solo highlights" bands.
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Paul Stanley caught my attention for the positive when he said the RRHOF had inducted Robert Trujillo with Metallica, and he hadn't played on ANY of the band's classic albums and had only been in the band a short time; the "Kissposters" have been slogging it out for decades and people seem to forget that Kiss put out good music AFTER the classic lineup was long dead. I would have loved to see a both/sharing/passing of the torch type performance deal, but of course, that would require class, and this is the RRHOF we're talking about. I'm not seeing this as landing on Paul and Gene. Paul was pretty blunt about it.
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Agreed!
And somehow this is a bad thing? I wanna hear songs, not some asswads noodling for 20 minutes. Practice at home, not in front of thousands of people.
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...I would have loved to see a both/sharing/passing of the torch type performance deal, but of course, that would require class, and this is the RRHOF we're talking about. I'm not seeing this as landing on Paul and Gene. Paul was pretty blunt about it.
I'm glad to hear that's the genesis of all this back and forth. I'd have liked to see them all.
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Just to circle back on this, the original point Ace was trying to make is that it would be silly to have more than one person onstage made up as each character. It would start to look like ComiCon or something. Without makeup, I think everyone could peacefully co-exist, and jam on something from "The Elder" :mrgreen:. And if they are going to count Thayer and Singer, they have to include Eric Carr, Vinnie Vincent, Mark Norton and Bruce Kulick as well - at least symbolically.
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Paul Stanley caught my attention for the positive when he said the RRHOF had inducted Robert Trujillo with Metallica, and he hadn't played on ANY of the band's classic albums and had only been in the band a short time; the "Kissposters" have been slogging it out for decades and people seem to forget that Kiss put out good music AFTER the classic lineup was long dead. I would have loved to see a both/sharing/passing of the torch type performance deal, but of course, that would require class, and this is the RRHOF we're talking about. I'm not seeing this as landing on Paul and Gene. Paul was pretty blunt about it.
Metallic is still trying to make up for how bad they treated Jason Newstead, They have been kissing Trujillos butt since he joined.
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And somehow this is a bad thing? I wanna hear songs, not some asswads noodling for 20 minutes. Practice at home, not in front of thousands of people.
I like to get lost in hearing a solo sometimes, that improvisational aspect is something that sets rock apart (and of couse jazz even more so) from, say, classical music. And if you ever speak to a classical musician, it is the one aspect they marvel about the most with rock musicians just like we marvel at their sight reading skills. Not every band has to do it and just delivering the songs is fine, but I'm glad that Jimi Hendrix is not just known for 20 second solos he would repeat note perfect at every gig.
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Something for all you Kiss nerds?
http://backstageauctions.blogspot.nl/2014/03/peter-criss-original-73-74-kiss-tour.html?m=1
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...and in a couple of semi-related stories :mrgreen:
http://ultimateclassicrock.com/kiss-makeup-high-school-sent-home/
http://www.northjersey.com/towns/kiss-mask-vandals-cause-more-than-40-000-worth-of-damage-to-cars-1.739075
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This might be of some interest to some aficionados out there.
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/kiss-finally-get-the-cover-of-rolling-stone-20140325
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As a part of pop culture it was about time they made it on that cover.
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Paul Stanley's recent inteview on the topic is pretty good (video in the link). I love how he ends it with "I'm Paul Stanley and the RnR Hall of Fame can blow me" ;D
http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/6049065/paul-stanley-kiss-rock-roll-hall-fame-video-interview
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That's a good interview and Stanley's observations on the RRHoF are lucid. He looks like he could get a post-Kiss job with a re-run of The Sopranos anytime. I don't mind the wig, but what all that cosmetic surgery did to his eyebrows is horrible. It looks like he has them continuously raised and when he actually does raise them they are just short of disappearing over his forehead!
Still, I like his speaking voice (the singing one is a little samey to me) and mellow NY accent. With Kiss - for whatever reason - he never "speaks" with the audience, but makes all his announcements in his singing voice (not that he is a great chatter on stage in any case). I always found that a little contrived. I can't think of any other frontman who does that. Like if he says hi to his kids at dinner he yells at them in that high rasp "HHHHHHHHHHHHHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!". :mrgreen:
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Like if he says hi to his kids at dinner he yells at them in that high rasp "HHHHHHHHHHHHHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!". :mrgreen:
"I KNOW THERE'S A LOTTA YOU PEOPLE OUT THERE WHO LIKE TO EAT... PEAS AND CARROTS!"
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Paul Stanley's recent inteview on the topic is pretty good (video in the link). I love how he ends it with "I'm Paul Stanley and the RnR Hall of Fame can blow me" ;D
http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/6049065/paul-stanley-kiss-rock-roll-hall-fame-video-interview
I passed on a possible interview with KISS when I was working at The Illinois Entertainer. It was pretty much the same thing. He had been on a talk show just prior to the assignment, and said something to the effect that his last shopping trip was to buy and island, and then asked the host what the last thing was he had bought. At that point, I told my editor that there wasn't a single thing I could ask that would make for a good interview.
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"I KNOW THERE'S A LOTTA YOU PEOPLE OUT THERE WHO LIKE TO EAT... PEAS AND CARROTS!"
PERFECT!!! :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBFPcK_Jx60
To keep the thread current.
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Thanks for posting, George, all four speeches were fine, Gene taking the lead shows what a pro he is and - dare I say - elder statesmen of rock he can be. Didn't know about Peter's breast cancer, happy he is still here. And Paul showed real kudos in his final unrepentant criticism of the RRHoF - so that is why he let the more diplomatic, less emotional Herr Simmons take the intro.
Also liked that they did not come in war paint.
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Also liked that they did not come in war paint.
Simmons did wear his helmet though. Or is that his hair??
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All things considered, I thought each speech was nice and appropriately showcased each guy's personality.
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Yeah, Simmons as the diplomat, Criss as the emotional one, Frehley as the prankster and Stanley as the angry young (old) man.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2N1zgA8xklE
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OK, that was painful to watch. "I took a water pill", and then can't remember much about the night? Hmmmm....
It seemed like Ace wasn't yet kickstarted for the first 3 minutes. I was going batty as he kept playing with his face, and the ear cleaning bit was nice. After 3 minutes, the interviewer finally hit the vein, and Ace was off on a tear....
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My thought was when I watched the vid that I can sort of understand why Gene and Paul think he is a live show liability these days (and has been for a while). And I'm not talking about slimming pills (he seems to take rather casually, never mind the side effects) or a few extra pounds and all that (his skin was always bad with those acne scars), but just simply: "Would this man be focused enough to entertain a smaller arena of say, a couple of thousands of people, for two hours in a physically demanding stage show on a lengthy tour with four to five shows a week?"
I know, dear Kiss Army grunts, sacrilege ...
I saw Ace relatively recently in a small club and it was a good show, but of course it had nothing of the type of demands the Kiss live spectacle would put on him. There is a reason why Paul Stanley had to get a new hip.
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Yeah, I definitely saw a guy that was having trouble staying focused for even a few minutes, and all but admitted to short term memory loss. I can see that translating to a guy who wouldn't play, or remember, a set list consistently from night to night.
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The man can barely speak. No way he can perform two hours straight
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Prior to the famous/infamous "Tomorrow" show appearance back in '79, Tom Snyder was told that Ace probably wouldn't say much. Fortunately for history's sake, Ace was running on "Cold Gin" (or whatever) that night, and a legend was born. Clean and sober, it's probably harder for him to channel his inner Henny Youngman.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jzve-Tmd70
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"No, I'm not the lead guitarist, I'm the trout player ..." is priceless (after the moderator's "bass" gaffe)! Even under alcohol he was quick on the draw (back then at least), some people have liquor lucidity.
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The REAL reason KISS would not perform - Paul's voice is SHOT! I've been reading this online for some time now, and any fairly recent YouTube clips back it up. He's just toast. I wish they would quit. It's just painful. Dude was a unique sounding powerhouse for a long time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MANNbOqB0P8
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The REAL reason KISS would not perform - Paul's voice is SHOT! I've been reading this online for some time now, and any fairly recent YouTube clips back it up. He's just toast. I wish they would quit. It's just painful. Dude was a unique sounding powerhouse for a long time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MANNbOqB0P8
Ouch
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Well... it obviously didn't stop them from performing at Idols. :popcorn:
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Whatever Paul doesn't have to prove anything at this point. Big ups to little Meatloaf there.
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As if Kiss' succeSS ever had something to do with Paul singing well or not (and their vocal harmonies were generally abysmal live, which was unusal for a Yank band when you are all sort of Beach Boys by origin!). I always found his operatic rasp labored, it wasn't a natural rasp like, say, Noddy Holder's (unlike him, Paul doesn't have a raspy speaking voice), and it had none of the warmth of, say, Bob Seger. In his best of times, Paul was vocally a one trick pony and his voice transported very little emotion other than Kiss' larger-than-life HOLLER AS LOUD AS YOU CAN!!! stadium rock (for once the term is justified!) escapism (Peter Criss put more emotion in singing Beth than Paul did on all Kiss output combined, he was and is too vain to even sing a love song credibly). And that one trick pony has lost some elasticity in his vocal chords, yes, tracks like Lick it Up give him a hard time today, downtuning or not (Kiss tuned a half-step down in even their halcyon days, these days that is no longer sufficient for some tracks).
But looking at the audience and the American Idol jurors eagerly lapping up what Kiss do in that vid, Kiss will not have to worry about vocal performances in a long time. They are an American institution more than a rock band by now and it is probably the way they always wanted it. Their singers were always inflexible, their drummer knew less chops than most drum roadies, their lead guitarist couldn't play his solos in time and the bassist concentrated more on breathing fire, spitting blood and sticking his tongue out than on grooving. So what, they're Kiss.
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Big ups to little Meatloaf there.
Yeah, that kid Caleb is great, but I dread what they're going to do to him. His career is owned by Fox from here on out. Good for him, he'll make some money, if not some real rock and roll. He did an awesome cover of Maybe I'm Amazed that really made it clear that he can do more than vocal histrionics.
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Seems like this is a fitting spot for this latest Kiss-related morsel:
http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2014/05/31/modern-family-actor-disses-paul-stanley-and-gene-simmons/?intcmp=features#
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I thought Gene quipping "I just bought the plane" and asking the actor's mum for her autograph showed some humor and grudging respect for her not budging to move seats. Nothing to get excited about, all kinds of people show bad manners on planes all the time. It's the stress of having to be physically closer to strangers than we would regularly care to be.