Rock critics and music snobs are wrong about KISS
By Erik Ritland / www.musicinminnesota.com
Photo by Tommy Allen Williams
If you allow yourself to, it’s easy to love KISS.
Their first seven albums contain some of the best, purest rock n’ roll of the ‘70s. The original lineup of Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley, and Peter Criss were each solid musicians (and, in the case of the first three, effective songwriters).
Paul and Gene soldiered on with the band after Criss and Frehley’s erratic behavior became too much for them to handle. Though at times they became something of a caricature, it’s clear that Stanley and Simmons genuinely love playing music and the entire Kiss (psycho) circus.
I’ve never understood the derision that Kiss receives from rock critics (and fans).
They’re just a simple, fun rock band. Their big songs and singalong choruses get directly to the spirit of rock n’ roll.
The problem for snobby critics and fans is Kiss’ image. Everything is extravagant, from their clothes to their stage presentation to their music. All that is off-putting to people who take themselves too seriously.
Most importantly, and pertinently, Kiss completely lacks pretension.
Who they are is completely transparent. They are the most unapologetic band in rock history. Again, critics and music snobs who take themselves too seriously can’t handle it, but that’s their problem.
Ironically, the problem with snobby critics is that they have an image that they are forced to keep up, an image that doesn’t even allow them to consider liking Kiss, whether they would or not. Their free will has been taken away from them in a very real way.
Because they want to be seen as “serious” they prop up okay bands that are artsy (like the Talking Heads) and even some whose music is mostly objectively bad (the Velvet Underground) to keep that image. In that context, they have to hate Kiss.
