Kiss - novelty act or great hard rock band?

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   They must have been a novelty act because they were not a great rock band, imo.

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SteveG Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member Joined: April 11 2014 Location: Kyiv In Spirit Status: Offline Points: 20617	Post Options Post Reply Quote SteveG Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: October 18 2020 at 15:34
	They must have been a novelty act because they were not a great rock band, imo.
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Catcher10 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member VIP Member Joined: December 23 2009 Location: Emerald City Status: Offline Points: 17990	Post Options Post Reply Quote Catcher10 Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: October 18 2020 at 12:13
	If you wanna discuss Kiss, go to Hoffman Forums, there are probably 10 pages of topics/discussions on Kiss.....I doubt here on PA many responses will come since they are not progressive rock band. You could also go over to MMA, sister metal site to PA, sorry MMA = Metal Music Archives. http://www.metalmusicarchives.com Edited by Catcher10 - October 18 2020 at 12:15


Catcher10 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member VIP Member Joined: December 23 2009 Location: Emerald City Status: Offline Points: 17990	Post Options Post Reply Quote Catcher10 Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: October 18 2020 at 11:39
	I grew up during the Kiss taking over the hard rock world with Kiss Alive! then when Alive II hit it was massive, they were everywhere! The albums leading up to Alive II were huge, and almost all the kids that I grew up with that listened to hard rock were into Kiss. For sure the makeup played a huge part, think of Ziggy Stardust, all that flamboyant stuff was popular back in the mid 70's. And yea their live shows were a main reason they were so big and the studio albums sold so well. I still run into these late 50 yr olds that hold Kiss to high places in their opinions and I think there is a lot of validity to it. As these bands from the 70s start to die off, younger people will want to know about them and they will buy their music and listen. It's very dated sounding music because its just hard rock from the 70s, nothing ground breaking like you say. But Kiss are a cultural icon of rock n roll, all over the world. I never go into them as a teen, I own Destroyer, bought when it came out, and Hot In the Shade a Christmas present from one of my aunts LOL. Honestly the makeup turned me off back in the 70s....I never got that part.


Green Shield Stamp Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member Joined: February 17 2009 Location: Telford, UK Status: Offline Points: 933	Post Options Post Reply Quote Green Shield Stamp Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: October 18 2020 at 09:41
	I always thought of Kiss being a bit of a light-weight novelty act - the rock band that appeals to younger teenagers. Several rock fans and critics have said that Kiss was their gateway band into the world of rock music (e.g. Pete Pardo on Sea of Tranquillity). I used to own a vinyl copy of Alive II which I bought when I was about 17 and thought it was a great album but as I have got older I have never given Kiss a second thought. About a month ago I was talking to 50-something man and the conversation drifted towards music. I was surprised when he declared with unaffected pride that Kiss was his favourite band and that he had spent thousands of pounds over the years going to see them live whenever he could. To me it was like admitting your favourite alcoholic drink was Blue Nun (very sweet German white wine, popular in the UK when drinking wine was not common). The man's fervour played on my mind and I decided to investigate the band further. I bought the first 6 studio albums and the first two live albums on CD and listened to each album closely 6 or 7 times each. This is what I now feel: Kiss are not great innovators - they are not trying to reinvent the rock and roll wheel, but they are a very effective hard rock band, with great hooks, melodies and riffs. The songs are usually pretty concise, and make good use of typical riff, verse, chorus, middle eight etc structures. The vocal blend between the members of the band is good, often making the choruses really stand out. The universal critical panning the band has received throughout their career is undeserved. Yes, they play within the confines of a genre (as bands such as AC/DC, Status Quo etc do) but they do it very well. It's not just the make-up and pyrotechnic live shows that makes them so popular but the solid, consistently good music. So, to wrap up....I think that Kiss should not be dismissed as a novelty act but celebrated as a great hard rock band with distinctive visual appeal. Music critics hate the band but most music critics are pretentious, arrogant and self-serving. What do you think?
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