The Checklist For A Perfect KISS Album
By: Erik Bingham

Lately KISS have been talking about their plans for a new record. Gene says it's going to be a concept album produced by Bob Ezrin. That would be a bad mistake. After Psycho Circus, the band needs to make a record that will redeem them in the fans' eyes. The purpose of the Reunion Tour was to pick up where the band left off in 1977. But when they decided to record again, they repeated all the old mistakes. Each member worked separately, and Ace and Peter were kept in the background. Psycho Circus was not a band project. As disjointed as Psycho Circus was, it should have been called Best of the Solo Albums Vol. 2. KISS has some major ground to recover with this next record. But they're in danger of losing even more credibility. They need to come back with the best album of their career. Can they do it? I don't know, but here is a list of suggestions that could help.

1. Trust Each Other And Work As A Team.
It's time to forget about Ace and Peter's past mistakes. Yes, Ace used to drink like a fish and Peter would snort anything he could fit through a straw. But those days are over. Keeping them on a leash now so they don't slip up again is not the way to deal with it. When Gene says he'll just get another guitar player if Ace quits, he's only fooling himself. Ace and Peter are KISS' life blood. If either one were to leave again, the band would be finished. Gene and Paul need to open up and give the other guys room to breathe. Forget what the contracts say and let Ace and Peter have an active role in the band. Give them control over their parts of the songs. Give them some reason besides money to want to stay in KISS.

Before the band enters the studio, they should go to family counseling. A band is a family, and they need to learn to work as one unit. As it stands right now, not much has changed since Peter and Ace left the band. Gene and Paul are still the dictators and Ace and Peter are still resentful. Family counseling would be a good way to teach these guys how to trust each other. Each member needs a certain amount of respect and creative space. It can't be just two guys in control, it has to be all four as equal partners. Without some kind of therapy, both sides will continue to hold grudges. They'll never be able to do their job and make a good record.

2. Forget About Past Success And Focus On The Present.
Destroyer was a good album. Get over it. In interviews, KISS compares everything they do to Destroyer. It's pretty obvious that Psycho Circus was an attempt to make Destroyer II. Almost every song on PC corresponds to a song on Destroyer (think about it and you'll see which ones). To drive home the point, they even brought back the old outfits. The band, probably at Bruce Fairbairn's urging, settled on a formula and they were afraid to go beyond it. That made Psycho Circus very stale and stiff. The band needs to concentrate on making this new record the best it can be, not concentrate on how it will compare to work they did 25 years ago. They just need to write good songs and not worry if they fit Destroyer's mold.

As far as record sales go, Alive! has sold over 5 million copies. But it is 25 years old. The band can't be disappointed when the new album sells slowly. Rock albums just don't sell like they used to. These days you're lucky if your album goes gold within a year. The only important thing is that the band please themselves first, their core audience second, and hopefully gain some new fans in the process. If the band only sells 40,000 copies of good, creative record that they enjoy, then they are a success. If they sell three million copies of a record that is derivitive of the past, then they are failures. The point is not to make a hit record, that shouldn't even be on their minds. The point is to make a GOOD record, one that the die-hards will appreciate and new fans will also dig. Nobody can "create" a classic record. That happens on its own.

3. Don't Record Anything That Can't Be Reproduced Live.
KISS will always be a live band; it's where their strength is. It's very important that this new record have the live vibe. This isn't to say that they can't use keyboards or orchestration. But excessive overdubs shouldn't be used. Why does a chorus need 40 voices? Why should a guitar part call for twelve different layers? KISS' best records are the ones that sound like four guys, not like a wall of sound. The production on Psycho Circus was out of control. It was more '80s than the band's '80s records; the instruments were not separated at all. When I finally heard the song "Psycho Circus" live, I was surprised at how it sounded. Without all the production (and with Peter, Ace, and Gene really playing it), it really did sound like "classic" KISS.

4. Leave Bob Ezrin Out Of It.
He's sorely overrated. Stay away from Bob at all costs. He doesn't let bands be themselves, he pushes them to make the record HE wants. Destroyer and The Elder are Ezrin's creations, not KISS'. And those two sound very different than your typical KISS record. If Ezrin produces the new album, it'll be some pretentious "concept" album and in two years they'll all try to distance themselves from it, just like they did with The Elder. That is NOT what the band needs right now. What they do need (or at least what the fans need) is a real, raw, rock and roll record that sounds live.

5. Eddie Kramer Should Produce The Record.
If KISS is to go for a "live" sound, nobody would be better to produce than Eddie Kramer. He's engineered all three Alive records. He's familiar with the band's dynamic and knows how to get a good sound out of them. In my mind, a good producer is one who gets a good performance out of the band and makes it sound good on tape. Eddie Kramer fits that description. Eddie seems like a fair and objective producer.

A producer shouldn't have absolute power over a band, though. For this record, I think it would be beneficial if Ace and Paul co-produced. It's important that Ace be involved with this record. Ace co-produced all of his solo work; he knows what he's doing in the studio. Paul knows what sounds good, but he would be there mainly to make sure things kept progressing. Paul Stanley is the man. He's the glue that's kept KISS together for 25 years. Paul could bring in the kind of discipline that Ace may be lacking. Plus, Paul produced most of the band's '80s work while Gene was in La-La land, so he knows what's up. By these three co-producing, it will give things a different spin. The band members will have more of a say about how the album turns out.

Since I'm the one writing this essay, this is how I would have them record the album: Paul, Ace, Gene, and Peter would all go in and play the song. Peter's drums and Gene's bass would be recorded at the same time. When those tracks were right, Ace and Paul would come back in and record the rhythm guitars together. Then Paul would go behind the mixing board with Eddie and Ace would record the guitar solos. Paul could offer any direction he wanted, but ultimately Ace would have control over the solos. Then if Paul was going to try any lead work, he could after Ace finished. After all the music tracks are recorded the way they want them, all four guys come back to sing. Lead and background vocals would be recorded at the same time. Any needed overdubs would be done after that.

6. Everyone Must Contribute To The Record.
The number one problem with Psycho Circus was Ace and Peter's limited involvement. Ace got one song, Peter got zero songs, and we all know they didn't play much besides. What was the problem? Were they really that bad? Prior to recording Psycho Circus, they'd been up on stage almost every night for two years. Sure, they had some off nights, every band does. But I saw them twice in '96 and let me tell you, Ace and Peter were perfect. Way better than I would've imagined. And it's much harder to play live than in the studio. Going into that record, their skills must have been sharp. There's just no way that Peter and Ace weren't up to the "standards" of Psycho Circus.

Again, it goes back to trust. Maybe Paul thought he could nail the solos better than Ace. Maybe Bruce Fairbairn thought Peter's drum work was not in time. Who knows and who cares? It shouldn't be about ego, about who's better. Every member has a role to play, and they should do their job as well as they can. You have to sink or swim by who's in your band. If Gene didn't think the other guys were good enough to record, they shouldn't have made a record. It's demeaning for Ace and Peter. Here they are, professional musicians not allowed to play on their own band's "comeback" record. It's a slap in the face, not only to them, but to the fans.

Everyone, including Peter, must write songs that appear on the new album. The album should not come out if Peter's songs don't make it on. Hey, Peter's always written great songs. He wrote the band's biggest hit! That deserves some consideration. I don't know why he was shut out of Psycho Circus. But let's suppose, just for a moment, that the songs he brings for the next record are not up to par. Maybe some of them are almost there, maybe some of them really stink. Why can't Paul or Gene or Ace help flesh out the songs? Show Peter why the song doesn't quite work, don't just reject it. I'll talk more about this later, but writing together makes songs better. Besides, fans want KISS to write more songs together.

7. Each Member Needs To Play His Own Instrument.
KISS is: Paul Stanley on rhythm guitar; Ace Frehley on lead guitar; Gene Simmons on bass guitar; and Peter Criss on the drums. That is the way it is on stage and that is the way it should be in the studio. It may seem anal of me, but there is a chemistry that exists between these four men. You don't get the same dynamics when even one guy is missing. A song where Paul plays all the guitars and bass and Kevin "Who am I?" Valentine plays drums just isn't as good. Like I said before, it's all about trust. If one member isn't getting his part right, work with him, don't just pick up his instrument and do his tracks yourself.

The band members have always been selfish when working on their own songs. Ace usually records all the guitars and bass for his songs. Paul does too. Gene seems willing to let the others do his bass tracks. Peter would like to play drums, but they won't let him. Each guy has got to stick to his own instrument. This will be part of Eddie Kramer's job to make sure they do. But if there is "swapping," be honest about it. It really bugged me to know that Paul played the guitar solo in "Psycho Circus" but Ace "played" it in the video. If Paul played it on the record, he should play it in the video and on tour. Were they trying to trick us to think that Ace played the solos? What I liked about the Guns n' Roses Use Your Illusion albums was that every song had credits. It showed you exactly who played what. Not every band member played on every song. But they were up front about it and the fans didn't worry about it. KISS should use a similar thing on the next record. That way the band is open about instrument swapping. But nothing beats the four guys playing together.

Outside players will not be an option.

8. Write Songs Together And Jam In The Studio.
Here is dialogue from a typical day recording Psycho Circus.
Paul: "Hey Gene, I'm going to do the bass for 'I Pledge Alliegance..'"
Gene: "Cool. I'm going to go sign some more contracts for merchandise."

Here is dialogue as it should be from recording the new album.
Paul: "Hey Gene, I'm going to do the bass for 'Rip & Destroy'."
Gene: "Well, why don't you just show me the riff and I'll give it a shot."
Paul: "This is highly unusual, but okay. It's like this."
Gene: "That's good, what if I do this instead?"
Paul: "Yeah! I like that! Get Ace in here and see what he thinks."
Peter: "Hey, what do you think of this drum beat to go with that bass?"
Paul: "All right! Hey, Eddie, hit the tape."

I'm exaggerrating things, but you get the idea. Why can't the band bang out songs together? Why can't they write with each other? If Paul needs help with a song, does he turn to Ace? No, he goes to Holly Knight or Desmond Child. If Peter has a song that needs a little work, does Gene help out? No, the song gets scrapped and then Gene signs some more contracts for merchandise. Like I said before, this band has a certain chemistry. They are definitely more than the sum of their parts. The band needs to throw ideas around to each other, rather than treat each song as a solo project. Think about how much better the songs could be if all four would jam on them. Not that every song should be co-written between the band, but every song should be presented to the rest of the band to see if they can make it stronger.

These next few things aren't essential, but would certainly not hurt the record.

9. Record One Of Eric Carr's Songs.
Eric Carr was a vital part of the band during the '80s. If he wasn't such a cool guy, the fans wouldn't have bought him as Peter's replacement and the band would have tanked. It's because of him that KISS was able, for better or worse, to carry on without the original members.

Eric wrote a lot of songs during his time in the band. I'm sure that KISS still owns quite a few of his demos. The ten-year anniversary of Eric's passing is 2001, the year this record will probably be released. As a tribute, why not pick a song of his to record? Keep Eric's vocals and re-record the music and background vocals with the four original members. I'm sure Ace would be up for it and I don't think Peter would have a problem. Gene and Paul would get so much respect from the fans, they wouldn't know what to do! =) Bruce Kulick could even come in and record some guitar as well. I'll break my outside players rule for Bruce to record this song. Bruce is cool and he and Eric were good friends. It would be awesome to have all six guys on one song. And it would just be one song, so any fans who aren't into it wouldn't have much to complain about.

10. Record A Cover Song.
Cover songs are fun. KISS needs to show us that they can still have fun. It could be any song, really. Something by Led Zeppelin, maybe the Beatles or Jimi Hendrix. But I say they should record "Jailhouse Rock." They had it ready to go for Alive II, it would be cool to do it now. As for who sings it, I would have to go with Peter.

11. Share Background Vocals.
This is one minor detail that's probably just a personal thing. I think it adds more to a song if the background vocals are different than the lead vocals. Like when Paul says "DO IT!" in "Deuce." In the old days, they always did it this way. If Paul was singing lead, Gene, Ace and Peter would sing backup. If Gene was lead, Paul, Peter and Ace would back him up. But these days, everybody sings backup on their own songs. It seems so artificial. The other guys have to sing backup in concert anyway, they might as well do it on the record. I know some fans get a kick out of it.

12. Who Gets The Most Songs?
Here is my breakdown:
Paul: 3 - 4 songs
Gene: 3 songs
Ace: 2 - 3 songs
Peter: 3 songs (including the cover song)
Eric: 1 song

To keep things balanced, each guy should sing about three songs. But if everybody gets exactly three, it seems fake. It looks like they were going to get three songs regardless of quality. But if one member gets too few, it doesn't feel right. Like with Gene on Dynasty. He's only there for two songs, and it's like he's missing or something.

Paul is the frontman on stage, so he should get the most songs. Gene should get around three songs. Whether the songs are heavy or light, I don't care. But if he does sing a ballad, then Peter will sing it with him (so there). Peter should get three songs also: two originals and "Jailhouse Rock." I would rather hear rock songs from Peter, but if he writes ballads, then that's what he'll sing. If Ace only sings two songs, I don't see that as a problem. His true voice is his Les Paul. As long as he does all the solos, people will feel his presence. The Eric Carr song would bring the total to around 13, which is a good size album. Any extra songs could be used for soundtracks or B-sides.

Well, there you have my list. I don't know if the band will ever see it. But if they did see it, I know they wouldn't care what I have to say. Gene and Paul (and Bob Ezrin) are going to make the record they want. I just hope for Ace and Peter (and you and me) that it's a good one. I'm looking forward to it either way!

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