KISS inducted into the Hall

Rob Babcock · « **on:** 19 Dec 2013, 06:10 am »

Well, it took 'em forty years but KISS is being inducted into the Hall of Fame!

Love them or hate 'em KISS was a pretty big thing and really innovative in their time. They have like 100 albums (exaggerating a bit) and a lot of it is pure crap (basically everything they've done in the last 20 years is unmitigated horsesh!t) but they also had a lot of terrific music! I really loved most of the stuff from their first iteration (in makeup) and the middle stuff with Vinnie & Mark (basically from Lick It Up & Creatures of the Night up til right around Asylum). My brother is a huge fan, has everything they've ever done on LP, cassette, 8-track and CD!

So I know all their stuff pretty well.

They had some odd stuff over the years! Their '78 solo albums were interesting. For those of you that aren't big KISS fans in 1978 each band member released a solo album. All were black with the face (in their KISS makeup) of the artist. Peter's was kind of 50's rock inspired, Ace's was like a baddass throwback KISS album, Paul's was kind of AOR/pop-ballad oriented and Gene's...well, it defies easy description!

Dynasty was also strange; it was very disco inspired but had a cover of the Rolling Stones song, 2000 Man.

KISS practically fell off the map after Unmasked, a gimmick that tried to boost them back to relevancy. Basically Vinnie Vincent brought them back from the dead, writing most of their album Lick It Up. With a new more aggressive sound and the electrifying guitar playing of Vincent KISS came roaring back and were one of the biggest metal bands of the 80's.

Today I read a very interesting interview with Gene about their induction and the other members of the band. Well worth a read if you have any interest in the group at all.

While KISS isn't my favorite band they did have a lot of great songs and helped define a couple of eras of music. I think they richly deserve their place in the Hall!

wushuliu · « **Reply #1 on:** 19 Dec 2013, 07:16 am »

Not really a KISS fan but I'm surprised it took so long for them to be inducted. RnRHOF has some very strange politics going on.

Rob Babcock · « **Reply #2 on:** 19 Dec 2013, 08:56 am »

Quote from: wushuliu on 19 Dec 2013, 07:16 am

Not really a KISS fan but I'm surprised it took so long for them to be inducted. RnRHOF has some very strange politics going on.

Simmons talks about the politics of the Hall, and I agree with you. To me (and Simmons) it's criminal that Deep Purple isn't in the Hall, either.

NIGHTFALL1970 · « **Reply #3 on:** 19 Dec 2013, 11:00 am »

Kiss are one of my favorite bands of all time and I am glad that they are still around. They have survived years of musical change, lineup changes and are still producing some great music. Not many bands can say that. How many bands get awards and gushing praise when all they were was a "one hit wonder"? Kiss have stood the test of time.

P.S. I met them twice in the 90s and they were all really cool! Met Vinnie in the 90s as well.

Rob Babcock · « **Reply #4 on:** 19 Dec 2013, 11:20 am »

I really liked Mark St. John, too. He was a great guitarist although his time with KISS was short. White Tiger (his band after KISS) had some good stuff. Some of Vinnie Vincent's Invasion was great as well. The first couple of post-KISS albums from Ace Frehley were also excellent.

MaxCast · « **Reply #5 on:** 19 Dec 2013, 11:46 am »

that interview was a pretty good read. Good list of opening bands for the - HOTTEST BAND IN THE WORLD...KISS !!
I think the Alive II album has a shot of the crowd before the show from the stage. I'd like to see that in higher deff.

rockadanny · « **Reply #6 on:** 19 Dec 2013, 02:35 pm »

Rob,

Quote

KISS was ... really innovative

How so?

I could not disagree more. But then again, since I disliked their music terribly and thought their makeup befit their talent (a bunch of clowns), perhaps I overlooked their "innovations".

Rob Babcock · « **Reply #7 on:** 19 Dec 2013, 08:38 pm »

I think they were very innovative in the stage show for one. The makeup, the pyrotechnics. Their music was experimental in ways that mainstream rock bands would never dare try nowadays. If you were to listen to a smattering of their different albums you'd be blown away by the enormous range of styles they worked with; some didn't work but it's amazing how far they pushed the envelope. Stuff like "Dark Light" and "Just a boy" from the wildly experimental and downright-bizarre album Music From the Elder aren't something you would expect to hear from a huge arena band. Likewise it's hard to believe from listening that Dynasty, Love Gun and Animalize are all by the same band. It's surprising too that a mainstream rock/metal band would put out songs like "Tossin' and Turnin'" "I Can't Stop the Rain". BTW, "A World Without Heroes" was cowritten with Lou Reed!

For better or worse I think KISS were also innovative in the way they commercialized the band. There were lunchboxes and that kind of stuff but also KISS comic books and even a KISS movie! It was terrible, but they tried!

rockadanny · « **Reply #8 on:** 19 Dec 2013, 09:05 pm »

Thanks for the explanation Rob. My first concert was Alice Cooper ('70/'71 ? - Love it to Death/Killer) and shortly thereafter the Stooges (Raw Power), so by the time KISS showed up, I did not think makeup, heavy metal, and stage theatrics were all that innovative. I guess they did carry them out much further than what I'd previously experienced. I'll check out the releases you mentioned to further my KISS education.

maxboy00 · « **Reply #9 on:** 19 Dec 2013, 11:28 pm »

I'm also glad to see KISS make it finally into the Rock Hall. At one time, in the early 80's, I was deeply into Kiss music, , but grew out of them after I discover Maiden, I saw many of Kiss concerts and it seemed like to me the show was larger that the music. I also saw there their reunion and farewell tours and since then they have fallen off my radar. But none the less Kiss is long over due and rightly deserves to be inducted.

NIGHTFALL1970 · « **Reply #10 on:** 19 Dec 2013, 11:42 pm »

Rockadanny,
My favorite is "creatures of the night" 1982. The heaviest they ever did. I also love "music from the elder".

Diamond Dog · « **Reply #11 on:** 20 Dec 2013, 12:36 am »

Back when I was a Diamond Pup, we were split into two camps: you were either a Kiss fan or an Aerosmith fan. I was a Kiss fan. Not Kiss Army, but a Kiss fan none the less. Wore out Kiss Alive on vinyl. Got bored after Destroyer and was listening to punk by the time they "sold out" with I Was Made For Loving You. Kiss selling out...now there's a notion.

I think that as far as Ace and Peter Criss are concerned, if I were subjected to being in close quarters with Gene Simmons on an on-going basis, I'd be of a mind to alter my mind, too. A few years back, the celebrity-suck-up mayor of our fair burg bestowed upon Mr. Simmons the keys to our city. You have NO idea what a job it's been to change all those locks...

D.D.

charmerci · « **Reply #12 on:** 20 Dec 2013, 01:53 am »

Quote from: wushuliu on 19 Dec 2013, 07:16 am

Not really a KISS fan but I'm surprised it took so long for them to be inducted. RnRHOF has some very strange politics going on.

For me, it's one of those things where - if they inducted everybody who is R&R relevant in a few short years - then who would be left?

I remember a few years back (during their unmasked phase) they came on Letterman (late 90's?) and they all performed sitting down on stools. Very strange.

Rob Babcock · « **Reply #13 on:** 20 Dec 2013, 05:05 am »

Quote from: maxboy00 on 19 Dec 2013, 11:28 pm

I'm also glad to see KISS make it finally into the Rock Hall. At one time, in the early 80's, I was deeply into Kiss music, , but grew out of them after I discover Maiden, I saw many of Kiss concerts and it seemed like to me the show was larger that the music. I also saw there their reunion and farewell tours and since then they have fallen off my radar. But none the less Kiss is long over due and rightly deserves to be inducted.

Yeah, I wasn't a huge KISS fan back then, only had a couple of their albums. Now Maiden- I was pretty into them! Everything after Paul DiAnno (although his stuff was okay) and even some of their newer stuff (although I haven't heard the last couple).

JerryM · « **Reply #14 on:** 20 Dec 2013, 05:17 am »

Yeah, KISS had a mighty fine run of breaking some molds. They rock.

Hall and Oates were nominated, too.

Deep Purple and Yes apparently still suck compared to Darryl Hall and John Oates.

The Hall is a joke.

Rob Babcock · « **Reply #15 on:** 20 Dec 2013, 06:56 am »

I have hundreds of metal CDs but I also like Hall and Oates. I agree 'Purple deserves to be in and there's no accounting for who gets picked.

Ericus Rex · « **Reply #16 on:** 20 Dec 2013, 11:59 am »

Hall and Oates had far more hits than KISS. What should the criteria be for inductance into the HoF?

Rob Babcock · « **Reply #17 on:** 20 Dec 2013, 12:23 pm »

Personally I think it should have more to do with influence and how much effect their music has on the world and on other musicians. The respect among their peers and whether the music has "legs" should also be factored. Rhianna has had a slew of hits but nothing memorable (IMO) and probably nothing that will be much remembered months/years from now. The classic example might be the Beatles. Aside from being popular in their day their stuff is nearly as well loved today as it was then. In 100 years people will still be playing and maybe recording "Yesterday." Not sure the same can be said for a Black Eyed Peas song.

mcgsxr · « **Reply #18 on:** 20 Dec 2013, 04:28 pm »

THE reason KISS should be recognized is for an overwhelming commitment to marketing. Period.

I remember when we used a KISS album as 2nd bass during a pickup baseball game around 1979...

There are a couple of songs of theirs that I enjoy, but I don't feel that musically they made an impact, it was more like the way they were the WWF of rock n roll, and would sell ANYTHING with their stuff on it.

I also happen to have enjoyed Gene Simmons in a few movies - most memorable for me would be the Rutger Hauer 80's vehicle "Wanted Dead or Alive".

Ericus Rex · « **Reply #19 on:** 20 Dec 2013, 05:40 pm »

Quote from: mcgsxr on 20 Dec 2013, 04:28 pm

THE reason KISS should be recognized is for an overwhelming commitment to marketing. Period.

There are a couple of songs of theirs that I enjoy, but I don't feel that musically they made an impact, it was more like the way they were the WWF of rock n roll, and would sell ANYTHING with their stuff on it.

I have to agree with this statement. They have a couple of songs that get occasional airplay on the 'oldies' stations but I wouldn't consider that grounds for inductance. Did they influence music after them, like the Beatles did? I don't think so. I have to doubt that they would have ever gotten a recording contract in the first place had it not been for the makeup.

Don't get me wrong though. I used to run around the house playing air guitar to New York Groove and I wore out my cassette of Lick It Up but I feel this inductance to be questionable.

Who were some other recent inductees to compare them with?