KISS Meets The Phantoms Of The Studio
By: Chris Karam

Long before Gene, Paul, Ace and Peter were battling Abner Devereaux's bizarre cybernetic creations in the cult classic 1978 TV-movie, they were battling an even greater adversary: The Enemy Within. Once success kicked in after the "Alive" album, so did excess and its effects on KISS would have far-reaching ramifications.

During the recording of"Destroyer," Ace Frehley missed some of the sessions. The result? The guitar solo on "Sweet Pain" was played by Ezrin's studio musician Dick Wagner (Alice Cooper). Gene has confirmed this in interviews. Jump forward a year or so to "Alive II." Side four of the double album featured five studio cuts. Of the four, Ace played and sang only on "Rocket Ride." The other songs featured the guitar work of longtime KISS friend Bob Kulick and Rick Derringer. This was confirmed by all of the members in various interviews.

In 1979, KISS went back into the studio to record "Dynasty." While they may have used the producer for Peter's solo album (Vini Poncia), they barely used Peter. Peter played and sang on the self-penned song, "Dirty Livin'." The rest of the album featured the drumming of Anton Fig, who'd played on Ace's solo album from the previous year.

One year later, KISS released "Unmasked." While Peter may have been pictured on the album cover, it was strictly an illusion as far as his drumming on the album was concerned. Peter had left the band prior to the recording of the album and was again replaced by Anton Fig.

History repeated itself in 1982 on "Creatures Of The Night." While he's pictured prominently on the album's cover, Ace Frehley is nowhere to be heard on the album. Instead, the lead guitar duties are split between Paul Stanley and sessionmen Vincent Cusano (Vinnie Vincent), Bob Kulick and Steve Farris (Mr. Mister). This can be confirmed by reading the liner notes on the remastered version of the CD.

In 1984, Gene Simmons left the sessions for "Animalize" midway to make his motion picture debut as an actor in the thriller "Runaway." As a result, Paul Stanley was left to complete the album's production duties and it has been said that former Plasmatics bassist Jean Beavoir filled in for Gene uncredited on some tracks. And while Mark St. John is credited with lead guitar duties, it was recently revealed that Bruce Kulick played on "Lonely As The Hunter" as well as another unspecified song. I heard this fact from Mark St. John himself at the New England KISS Expo when he talked about the recording sessions for the album.

Flash-forward to 1998. KISS releases the first album in over 20 years to feature the original line-up, "Psycho Circus." Is it really? Prior to its release, rumors were running rampant that studio musicians were once again in KISS' employ. In interviews with Goldmine magazine after the album's release, KISS danced not-too-gracefully around the subject. Gene stated that while he and Paul were recording the album, Ace and Peter were in New York with their lawyers, but they were "absolutely" on the album. A drummer by the name of Kevin Valentine is said to have worked on the album as well. Peter wouldn't confirm the allegation, but he didn't deny it, either. And while Bruce Kulick is rumored to have played some licks, he officially denied it at the time of the album's release. However, when recently asked how much he played on the album, he said the following: "A lot less than people think."

What does this all mean? That things aren't always what they seem to be. Obviously, KISS had their reasons, whether right or wrong, for using studio sessionmen over the years. But they misled the public, perhaps not wanting to dilute the group image they'd worked so hard to maintain. While the image may have been illusory, it mattered a lot to the fans, so in one respect, Gene and Paul knew what they were doing.

Ultimately, what matters most is how good the music is, not whether so-and-so played what instrument on it. Gene has said in numerous interviews that the group members frequently switch off on instruments and that it's not important that a bass lick played by Bruce or a guitar lick played by Gene be noted in the liners. Still, it would give a greater insight into the whole process. Like say, for example, crediting studio musicians who'd played on the KISS albums.

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