KISSed Off - Down Under
By: Dene Williams

Upon the release of Psycho Circus last year, an on-line friend of mine posted a topic on the KissAsylum Bulletin Board that read, " STICK A FORK IN THEM, THEY'RE DONE". At the time I jumped to KISS' defence, just like I had done ever since the release of The Elder. Sadly, it turns out he was right and for gods sake, will somebody turn off the oven!?

Like so many people did, I stuck with KISS the whole way through the turbulent 80's. Ace left, Vinnie sucked, Creatures rocked, makeup off, you know the story already. It's not this I want to share my thoughts on. I would like to pick up KISSTORY at the recording of Psycho Circus.

In February/March 1998, rumours were flying around the Internet. Bruce Kulick and Kevin Valentine were heavily involved at the studio, all of Peter and Ace's songs were being thrown out, disharmony between the 4 original members, etc, etc. Gene came out and told us all that things were fine and that all 4 members were palying a FULL part in the recording of the album. We all know now that Gene lied. The network of information that was availible to fans in 1998 was a far cry from 79/80 when KISS first pulled the wool over our eyes with the recording of Dynasty and Unmasked. Gene has made his dislike of online fans a common knowledge. I sometimes get the feeling this annimosity extends from him not being able to have full control of what we know and what we dont know. Everyone knew (well those who wanted to know anyway) when they heard Psycho Circus that involvement from Ace and especially Peter was very limited. So why do it?? Diehard KISS fans had been waiting for this album for 20 odd years and they give us this disjointed effort that could have been so much more.

"THE FANS WANTED US TO PLAY, WE HEAR AND WE OBEY!!" Yeah, whatever.

It's well known that Peter never "laid a good drum bed" in the studio. Simple fact was he just didn't hit the drums hard enough for most producers, and I guess Fairburn was no exception. If you really want to hear Peter playing a song from Psycho Circus, I think the "Collectors Edition" of Raise Your Glasses is a good place to start. Peters plays on YWTBYGTB and Into The Void as well?? Maybe, but I'm still not convinced.

It's the exclusion of Ace Frehley that really perplexes me. Surely if KISS wanted a 'classic' sounding album, then having Ace playing all the lead was an absolute staple. It seems Gene and Paul were hellbent on having this album sounding slick and technically sound. Ace is probably one of the most non-technical guitarists around, so there is an instant demerit point. Rumours of his sobriety also ran rampant, so this possibly had an effect on his input too.

Whatever the reasons for the lack of input from Ace and Peter, I'm damn sure it wasn't the album I wanted to hear. Maybe you don't care who played what, cause its KISS. Well, for me, that wasn't good enough. KISS owed us more than what we got with Psycho Circus, a damn sight more. Maybe you think KISS owe us nothing and you are probably right. But they sure owe us the truth and they didn't deliver. It took a slip of Peter Criss' tounge for the truth to come out once and for all. Peter was certainly very careful about what he said, but he made it quite clear that Kulick and Valentine were both involved and that he and Ace were unhappy about it.

The machine rolled on regardless and parked up at Dodger Stadium for Halloween. I was lucky enough to be at Dodger's for the opening show of the Psycho Circus Tour, courtesy of Radio Hauraki here in Auckland, New Zealand. It was a fantastic feeling to be in amongst the FULL KISS show because New Zealand got a VERY stripped down version on the Reuinon Tour. Upon leaving the show, the adrenilin was pumping for sure, but I just had this uneasy, nagging thought. It seemed that Ace and Gene were just going through the motions. GOD FORBID!! But it sure seemed like it. Then of course, the cloning of the Reunion set-list was also very disappointing. KISS have usually only incorporated 3 or 4 tracks from new albums into their set-list so that wasnt a big surprise. Cold Gin, Let Me Go RnR, Deuce, etc are fantastic KISS anthems, no doubt about that. But when you have a catalouge of some 13 albums from the original 4, it seems that a bit of variety is in order.

Anyway, my thoughts at the time continued along the lines that, KISS were still around so I might as well enjoy it while I can. The tour rolled on, through until the end of the year with no major surprises and playing to reasonbly full arenas. But the wheels were becoming loose.

The merchandising was insane. Of course it's up to you what you buy, but this was becoming overkill. A friend of mine likened Gene Simmons to a mutation between Muhhumad Ali and Bill Gates. KISS by the start of 1999, had become a Gene Simmons ATM money machine. He seemed convinced that after all the controversy of 1998, that we would all still snap up everything with a KISS logo on it. Sadly he was wrong. Upon my first veiwing of "The Second Coming", it was obvious that Gene had very much been in control of proceedings since the "Unplugged" reunion. The world was ready for KISS in 1996 and Gene knew it. This was something the fans wanted badly and KISS delivered in a style that only they could. Technology had come a long way in 17 years and KISS made full use of what they had availible.

But by the beginning of 1999, some die hard fans were starting to feel that KISS had left them high and dry in pursuit of a new fan base. It seemed they were trying to sell a 1999 version of what got us all so hooked in the 70's, but it just didn't work. The non-diehard fans who bought tickets and a t-shirt for the Reunion Tour were there for nostalgia reasons. Some of them may have been too young to see a concert in the 70's or had heard CD's or watched videos of this legendary band and just had to see what all fuss was about. Don't get me wrong here, probably 90% of those people had a breathtaking time with the Gods Of Thunder. It just didn't cast them into the diehard mould. I went to the Auckland reunion with 2 friends from work (both only knew IWMFLY), who said it was AWESOME. When I asked if they would buy a KISS album now, one said, " I would but hasn't Marilyn Manson got a album coming out soon?". This for me sums it up in 11 words.

I liken it to when I went to see the Sex Pistols a few years ago. It was cool to see Johnny Rotten singing his balls off and hear all those classic Pistol songs. I left the show really glad that I had shelled out the $75 to see them. But it wasn't going to make me run out, buy up the back catalouge and then hold my breath for the next album. The Pistols were a cool band in their time and it seemed like a bonus to get to see them on stage, even without Sid Vicious.

Just when I was starting to lose faith in KISS, they hit me with the Superbowl 99 performance that just about blew the stadium to pieces. I was awestruck. This was the KISS that I knew and loved. Totally kicking butt. Unfortunately this would be the last time in 99 that I would have this thought. The European and South American tours went ahead with more problems, especially in South America. Ace disppearing off stage mid-show and Peter's escapades are all well documented.

Then all of a sudden KISS were doing 4 songs here and 3 songs there, in between Paul doing Phantom Of The Opera and Gene producing movies. The fact that Paul Stanley was now involved in outside projects, to me, spelt the beggining of the end. Paul never lost the vision of KISS right throughout the 80's. He kept the fires burning while Gene was off feeding his ego. The fact that KISS albums were somewhat weak in the 80's is all down to Gene only half doing the job that was required of him.

Now Paul Stanley is doing his own thing and fitting in KISS when he can. This tells me that Paul has also had enough. Why would someone who has put virtually all of his adult life & soul into something, all of a sudden pack up and do something else ?? I think Paul knows that the horse has run its race and its time to go out to pasture. If Paul considers KISS a serious option in his life, why would he sign up for the Jekyl and Hyde production?

As for the wrestling debacle, I'm not even going to start on that. We all know what a joke that was.

I often think that KISS should have called it quits after the Reunion Tour and gone out as legends. But then I wouldn't have been in LA for Psycho Circus and my memories would have been of a stripped down show in a tent. Talk about CATCH 22.

In the last year it's been deceit, ashtrays, outside studio musicians, shot glasses, 2 videos that should have been 1, toilet paper, Phantom Of The Opera, demon wrestlers, mini concerts and 'coming of age' movies...

"STICK A FORK IN THEM, THEY'RE DONE."

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