You Wanted The Rest, You Got The Rest. The Hottest Parody Of The Group, KISS!

"With 'Rock and Roll Over,' I felt the band had to return to its roots. Not that I wanted to. It's just that... it's like at that time the limbs were dying, the fruit was rotten, and all you had worth salvaging on the Kiss tree were... the roots!"-- Eddie Kramer, from French fanzine "Kiss? Oui!" Spring 1996

The cover of Rock and Roll Over tells the story: four individuals, their heads spinning out of control, caught up in the swirl of an album that was going nowhere. In fact, this four-way partnership seemed destined to crumble almost as quickly as it had formed just 2 years prior. At the behest of Bill Aucoin, the band returned to the studio quickly, although not excitedly, after the "Destroyer" tour. Aucoin had witnessed the band's incredible and quick ascent in 1975-76 and obviously intended, quite bluntly, to churn out more product. Even though the world was now awakening to the band's music and stage presence, and despite the surprise top 10 success of "Beth," band morale was at a low by this point (The first seven singles from "Destroyer" met with tepid reaction: "Detroit Rock City/Shout It Out Loud," "Shout It Out Loud/Flaming Youth," "King of the Nighttime World/Sweet Pain," "Flaming Youth/God of Thunder," "Do You Love Me/Sweet Pain," "Shout It Out Loud/Sweet Pain," "Flaming Youth/God of Thunder" [the accidental second release of this, thanks to Casablanca's inept marketing department], and finally "Detroit Rock City/Beth.").

Not only was the debacle of the "Destroyer" sessions on everyone's minds, but the band literally had no complete songs going into the studio. Paul had a few song titles ("Take Me," "Take Me Away," "Take It Off Now,"). Gene repeatedly told anyone who would listen that he wasn't committing anything to paper until he saw "what that prick's (Paul) gonna write about me this time." Peter was being encouraged by Sean Delaney and other outside writers to consider a solo EP following his success with "Beth." And Ace was reportedly beginning work on what he considered "the perfect song" to follow his co-writing success on "Flaming Youth."

(Note: Based on old studio notes, Paul's "Get All You Can Take," from 1984's Animalize, had its roots back in 1976. Apparently just the chorus was written by this point, with one obvious change: "What fuckin' difference does it make" was originally "What doggone difference does it make," possibly written to not offend the younger audience the group was slowly attracting. Not a major discovery, understandably, but an interesting one nonetheless.)

Although Peter and Paul were tighter than ever by the end of the "Destroyer" tour, the band as a whole typically didn't spend much time together while in the studio and, in fact, worked on many of their songs in individual studios (as the Beatles did on the "White Album."). Producer Eddie Kramer found the sessions somewhat disheartening, as I found out in a personal telephone conversation from 1998. "You have to understand something. They (Kiss) were getting huge and attracting fans, but behind closed doors... I don't know, it was like being at an uncomfortable family gathering, you know? Gene would sit in the corner with his arms crossed, twisting his rings and glaring at Paul. Uh, Ace would lay under the control board and giggle a lot --- I remember kicking him in the head a lot. Paul would walk around shaking his hair, asking 'how ya doin', people?' and humming lines to himself while making eyes at Pete, who just kept flipping through pages of lyrics his goddamn hippie friends wrote for him. Fucking tense. Really fucking tense. I really think that's when Gene started to, kind of, you know, hit the, uh, hit the hard stuff."

When I pressed Kramer for more information on this admission -- the first I'd ever heard of a drinking problem on Gene's part -- he begged off the subject. "Hey, if he [Gene] even knew I was talking to you, he'd kill me. (Huge pause) I'll tell you this though, it didn't last long. Just while we were recording. (Even longer pause) Okay, look, just keep this off the record, okay? Okay? Are you taping this? Shut it off right now, you got it? Rick would, Rick Derringer, he'd come by... he had a couple of minor hits... he'd come by the studio and go off with Gene for a few hours most afternoons. We all knew what was happening. Gene'd come back later, acting all, acting all cocksure, putting on the shit, you know? This swaggering, get-in-line-to-suck-me attitude. I mean, you have to remember, his songs weren't that overly sexual or anything at that point. A little bit, yeah, but I mean, now he was strutting in acting like he was getting laid all the time, singing about these supposed 'groupies,' this and that. Hey, I can promise you, by those ("Rock And Roll Over") sessions, he had maybe 8, 9 women, tops. Ugly fucker couldn't get laid with or without the makeup, y'know? (muffled speech) I, uh, I gotta go, I've got a call coming in from Gordon [Gebert, I assume]. Look, you tell anyone this and I swear...."

Songs:
1. Gene's alcoholism is the subject that apparently is taboo with everyone I contacted after my conversation with Kramer. Gene denies to this day that he has a problem (in fact, denying he's even gotten drunk once), and this of course is a sign of a true alcoholic. My own investigation, however, led me to a different conclusion. The former club owner of Hooze Bounds, located close to the Record Plant at the time, did say that Gene, along with Derringer I believe ("Useta come in with some ugly-ass dude, look like my sister-in-law!") and usually the same two whores ("Yeah, he come in with these two honeys, but they was dogs, man! Shit, I'd-a made 'em pay ME to stick 'em!"), would frequent the club during early afternoons. A few contacts and a dozen phone calls later, I discovered that one of the hookers is dead and the other claims to have given Gene song ideas. I can't verify her story (Gene refuses to grant an interview), but the pieces definitely add up. While definitely drunk, she did provide some previously unheard "kisstory." I transcribed her rant as best I could:

"That Genie, he useta tell me he losted it, that he couldn't write no more songs no more. Say that his brain froze up, that he always gettin' attacked by his friends cuz they jealous. I make him feel better, ya know?" (Here, I interjected, "Wait, you said he lost something?") "Yeah, y'know, like his, his, his, his brains, so he can't write songs no more, like he sad. I say, 'Naw, baby, you my love doctor, you my doctor of love,' you know I'm sayin'? 'You've got the cure I'm thinkin' of.' (giggles) One time after he meet me in the bathroom to, uh, do stuff, do some stuff, I start feelin' cheap, you know I'm sayin'? I start feelin' like I only a toolbox for him to throw his hammer in one a day. I says that he like all the other johns, gonna love me and leave me and I only gonna see him when I'm dreamin' of him at night. Tell you what, that son-, that son-of-a-bitch was a sweet drunk. He'd start writin' down things I'd say, he say I inspired him (laughs). Ain't that somethin'? Ain't that somethin'? (starts to cry) Once I tol' him I got a headache... an' I got a heartache (belches)... an' I got a pain I just can't take no more. That's the last time I talk to him. (giggles) Him and that goddamn owl tongue! (cackles)."

Essentially, Gene wrote all of his Rock and Roll Over songs, as well as "Got Love For Sale," for and about a single whore (Incidentally, even years later, there is no doubt that this is the "Girl with the Blue and Green Hair" thanked on the back of Gene's solo album. You can now add "with Gray Roots Showing" to that description.).

2. With Gene's preoccupations with writing "cocksman" songs, Paul was freed to write without a sense of rivalry. Although every song on the album deals with conquests and sex, Paul felt his were "a bit more real," as he told an interviewer from the Dec. 1976 Spanish magazine Juego, Ayi! "These songs deal with something our fans understand: sex. I write about sex and love. Gene likes to write about sex and... more sex! I feel I'm a bit more...refined." (Asked who he has in mind when he writes his songs, Paul reportedly became uncomfortable and dodged the question.)

3. Paul was thrilled to have the chance at writing another song for Peter ("just like the old days," he was overheard saying in the studio, referring to the period just two years ago). Paul wasn't sure what direction the song would take, but he knew he wanted to make a "promotional film" for the song. Potential director Jim Fortel revealed what happened during two separate meetings with Paul and Peter. "Well, (Paul) invited me over to his apartment in Manhatten, which I remember as gorgeously decorated with a lot of shag, a lot of scented candles. He said he wanted to make a small vignette if you will of a song he had written, "Hard Luck Lover." He sat at this fantastic piano, this marble-inlaid piano with these incredible mirrored stars running down the legs, and sang a few bars, things like, oh, "Kittie, you're my only lover, the backbeat to my strumming, as cute as any queen." And I thought, wow, this is some rock star, acting all macho on stage while, you know, writing kind of sweet things like that. And Peter was there, just aglow and rapturous, taking in the song. Anyway, Paul said he needed to change the song around a little so that Peter could sing it, but he wanted a video where Paul was laying in satin sheets on a four-post bed, Peter would come in strumming a guitar and singing this song to him. I asked well, what about the other guys, Gene and Ace? He scrunched up his face and said they can be angels or something in the background. I said, look, I'll be honest, the concept's really trite ---even in 1976 --- and I felt quite uncomfortable with it. Look, I don't care if you're straight, gay, bi, or whatever --- people just don't lay around in satin sheets listening to their lover sing songs to them, you know? (chuckles) I said hey, why not portray an honest relationship, where you guys work, you come home, you share your stories with each other, you watch TV... you know, just normal stuff? Paul kind of ended the meeting brusquely at that point, saying they were 'rock stars from Kiss' and not 'normal people like you.' Well, I was mortified, but I left. A few days later we met again and Paul seemed quite distraught, saying he didn't think the video would work, that Casablanca wanted to go with a standard concert clip. He paid me a decent sum of money to keep quiet. And I have. I guess, until now."

4. Ace felt that his song "Shock Me" would blow the rest of the band away. He knew the song would deal with electricity and power, which explains terrible early lyrics such as "shock me, put on a clingy sweater" (supposedly for static electricity?) and "stick your fingers in a socket, then grab onto my rocket" (obviously stolen and reworded by Paul for "Take Me"). With Gene out of the picture and unable to team up with Ace to fight the Peter/Paul team, Paul pushed Ace to "stick to it" until the song was right. Ace worked so hard that he didn't even realize Rock and Roll Over had been released, much less without the song he would sing lead on for the first time. "We just started touring again," Ace recalled in 1985 in the Ace fanzine Strange Times. "I asked Paulie about the song being on the record, but he started talking about how it had to be perfect, if I wanted to be 'queen for a day' by making my vocal debut, the song had better be great, really great. I dunno, I got confused I guess and let it go. What can I say?"

5. Critical reviews of the album were tepid at best except for one standout track: "Baby Driver." "Original...exciting" raved the Baltimore Sun; "Kiss' finest 'driving' song since 'Rock and Roll All Night,'" claimed the Seattle Chronicle. This was indeed the first song picked for album use, pushed by Paul as being a "smash, a real hit." The song's subject matter was revamped from the original unreleased Chelsea version of "Laid-y Driver" ("Oh laid-y driver, you're such a foxy babe/oh laid-y driver, looks like you need to get laid"). An interesting note: a former studio intern claims to have heard Peter "rehearsing" the "go baby go go go" lines in the same soundroom in which Paul was "rehearsing" the "baby go go go" line from "Makin' Love." This would normally be inconsequential... but why would the two of them be singing the same line at the same time for two different songs? Fans can speculate as to this inspiration.

6. The "Rock and Roll Over" sessions introduced the recording of unique Christmas songs, which many artists did in the 1960s as bonuses for fan club members. The Kiss Army Fan Club was just beginning to grow at this point, and Aucoin naturally seized upon the opportunity to squeeze as much from the band as possible. This particular recording session proved fruitless and would not succeed until the following year, but the outtakes of the session serve as a unique look at the state of the band at the time.

[Take 1] (The intro to "Kissin' Time" --- with overdubbed jingle bells --- starts softly and crescendos within a few seconds on each take)
Paul: Hey everybody, this is Paul Stanley!
Peter: Peter Criss!
Ace: Paul Fr...Ace Frehley (giggles).
Gene: Shit.

[Take 2] (intro)
Paul: Whoa hey, this is Paul Stanley!
Peter: Peter Criss!
Ace: Ace Frehley!
Gene: And Gene Simmons.
Paul: And Kiss wishes you...
All: A Merry Christmas!
Ace: And MANY MOOOORE!!! (full laughter)
Paul: Aww...
Gene: Goddamnit. Goddamn you. Let's... let's just do it...
Peter: We'll get it, we'll get it this time there, Gene.
Gene: Oh shit, sorry Pete, sorry I forgot you were here, thanks for your goddamned opinion. It's not like you....
Paul: If you've got (muffled tape)... it to me.
Gene: Oh-hoooo! I'd be happy to slap that star onto your other eye if you'd like, you fuckin'... Kramer: Guys, guys, guys, guys, c'mon, we've got, c'mon, let's go again, let's do this for the fans, let's just do this for the fans.
(Muffled tape)

[Take 3] (intro)
Gene: Hiiiiiiiii, thith ith Paul Thtanley and...(muffled noise)

[Take 4](intro)
Paul: Merry Christmas, everybody! This is Paul Stanley!
Peter: Peter Criss!
Gene: Gene Simmons!
Ace: Ace Frehley! Wishing you many happy holidays...from a Catholic (giggles), two Jews, and...
Gene: You drunk asshole, I swear to god I'll turn your balls into ornaments, you...
Ace: Whoa, look who's calling...
Paul: You...
Ace: You used to have to swallow shit to breathe fire, now we just have to light your breath, you f... (mics falling over)
Peter: Hey, Merry Christmas everybody!

7. Note the second instance in recorded kisstory when Paul loses his train of thought: "You make me feel... ah, ah, ah, ah yeah!"

Packaging:
1. The main art naturally establishes each member's character in a bold and colorful way. As with every Kiss cover, however, clues about the band are scattered throughout. Even though Gene was on a binge at the time, he apparently was aware enough to notice the strong bond reforming between Paul and Peter. His tongue on the cover lashes out to strike or sting Peter, but interestingly pulls back at the last minute. Was there something about Peter the Demon feared? Could Gene have somehow known the changes about to occur within the band that would end their divisiveness? See the "Love Gun" article for more details...

2. The word DORET that appears between Gene and Ace on the curve would obviously point to the cover artist Michael Doret...but is that the whole story? A local numerologist I consulted broke down the name by substituting the letters for their respective numbers in the alphabet. It was only then that I realized that the clues about the reunion in 1996 were already somehow apparent:

D = 4 (the four members)
O = 15
R = 18

(I was told to "look 15 behind and 18 ahead" without being told what to look for. However, counting 15 songs back from Rock and Roll Over brings you to "100,000 Years" from Alive! Notice the lines: "Sorry to have taken so long, it must have been a bitch while I was gone... reacquaint yourself with my style." Counting 18 songs ahead of Rock and Roll Over brings you to "Shock Me" from Alive II. Notice the line "We can come together." These lines indeed may have unconsciously been written regarding the reunion!

E = 5 (the reunion is intended to last 5 years, from 1996 to 2001)
T = 20 (the reunion occurred 20 years after the release of Rock and Roll Over)

I don't intend to frighten my readers with this, but there is no way these numbers can be a coincidence.

Awards (semi-serious ones, just for fun):

Worst attempt at rhyming: goin'/stories

Biggest "Huh?" moment: "You're such a jewel in the rough, you wanna show me your stuff." Wait, what? She's a jewel in the rough... but she wants to show off her goodies to a rock star? Yeah, she's a real keeper!

Song you could picture Muppets singing: Mr. Speed

The "I could've written that" line: You'll let me through, there's nothin' you can do/You need my lovin', don't you know it's true.

Most poetic line: Every day that you hesitate, you're never changin' the hands of fate

Best, worst, or funniest sexual reference: Put your hand in my pocket, grab onto my rocket

Classic Kiss moment: Instrumental break in Makin' Love

Best riff: Mr. Speed

Coolest/best lead guitar part: Calling Dr. Love

Coolest/best bass part: Hard Luck Woman

Coolest/best drum part: Baby Driver

Coolest/best Paul moment: "I just hate when the girl says WAIT!"

Eyebrow-raising vocal: The background vocals to "Calling Dr. Love"

Lyrics I misunderstood when I was younger: You can leave in a dream and your life achoo achoo by.... The radio was playin', a thing or two displayin'.... You've got to try to remember, I've got a stiff composition, yeah!.... Cuz ya ain't no lady to keep your mouth to satisfy, yeah!.... I just had what the girl said what! (???)

And here are some more that were submitted to me by Sarah Eisfeldt (a.k.a. Sarah Simmons, Sure Know Sarah, Sarah Speed) and Bob Preinfalk (a.k.a. Bob of Thunder, Bob of the Nighttime World, Bob of the Wasteland, Bobbo Love, or Bob Stanley). Thanks for the input, you two!

You're such a Jew in the road... You're such a Julie Monroe, you wanna show me your skirt... you say you like to pay, well I hope some day for you to get away, you gotta go pee pee when I say... Raised, a sailor's only daughter... Well come on baby don't leave me sad, cuz you're good lookin' but that's not bad... Feels so good to see you Lucille [Note: Okay, I know these are the lyrics actually listed in the Lyrics Server, but it is "feels so good to see you receive," isn't it? Someone please tell me it's not really "Lucille"!]

You Wanted The Rest, You Got The Rest. The Hottest Parody Of The Group, KISS!

© 2000 Rich Hund/KISS ASYLUM.
We kindly ask that you please not reproduce this article without prior consent.

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