Going Blind wrote: ↑Wed Mar 25, 2020 2:44 pm
Well that's a long crack Ace, considering you didn't leave till The Elder. Ace's anger is so lazy it takes him 5 albums later to get upset about the situation.
Forty Deuce wrote: ↑Wed Mar 25, 2020 8:14 pm
Again, I think Gene and Paul contributed to that. Blame is deserved all around.
Gene and Paul contributed to what? Ace being the person he is?
Yes.
There are Ace apologists and then there is this!
Ok I’ll bite. How did Gene & Paul contribute to Ace’s decline during the Reunion era?
I am not an Ace apologist at all and again, I never said he doesn't deserve blame as well.
Think about it, before you automatically dismiss it. I will be back tomorrow to see how you did and hopefully you are able to concede that they are all to blame for the problems in the band.
Re: Ace confirms Bob Ezrin broke up the band
Posted: Wed Mar 25, 2020 11:21 pm
by aceeg
They didn’t have to replace Ace, only to put back his original solo on Destroyer Resurrected.
Re: Ace confirms Bob Ezrin broke up the band
Posted: Wed Mar 25, 2020 11:25 pm
by In the Suds
Forty Deuce wrote: ↑Wed Mar 25, 2020 11:16 pm
I will be back tomorrow to see how you did
Forty Deuce wrote: ↑Wed Mar 25, 2020 8:14 pm
Again, I think Gene and Paul contributed to that. Blame is deserved all around.
Gene and Paul contributed to what? Ace being the person he is?
Yes.
There are Ace apologists and then there is this!
Ok I’ll bite. How did Gene & Paul contribute to Ace’s decline during the Reunion era?
I am not an Ace apologist at all and again, I never said he doesn't deserve blame as well.
Think about it, before you automatically dismiss it. I will be back tomorrow to see how you did and hopefully you are able to concede that they are all to blame for the problems in the band.
Sorry, I’m not playing your game. You never said they were all to blame, you said they contributed to Ace’s downfall. Those two things are very different.
There’s only one person responsible for Ace’s situation.
Forty Deuce wrote: ↑Wed Mar 25, 2020 8:14 pm
Again, I think Gene and Paul contributed to that. Blame is deserved all around.
Gene and Paul contributed to what? Ace being the person he is?
Yes.
There are Ace apologists and then there is this!
Ok I’ll bite. How did Gene & Paul contribute to Ace’s decline during the Reunion era?
They clearly forced him to drink heavily, take drugs and induce lethargy. FORCED him I tell you. It was a conspiracy./puts on tinfoilhat
The scary thing is, some fans actually believe this stuff. I’ve got no doubt Gene & Paul’s heavy work regime would put pressure on most, but to suggest they contributed to Ace falling off the wagon is complete nonsense.
Eric Carr 11 years, Bruce 12, Tommy 17, Eric Singer off and on for 24, all those guys have handled being in a band with a Gene & Paul for long periods without ending up falling by the wayside. It can’t be that bad.
Forty Deuce wrote: ↑Wed Mar 25, 2020 8:14 pm
Again, I think Gene and Paul contributed to that. Blame is deserved all around.
Gene and Paul contributed to what? Ace being the person he is?
Yes.
There are Ace apologists and then there is this!
Ok I’ll bite. How did Gene & Paul contribute to Ace’s decline during the Reunion era?
They clearly forced him to drink heavily, take drugs and induce lethargy. FORCED him I tell you. It was a conspiracy./puts on tinfoilhat
They also forced him to go to that card game...
And to crash the Delorean
And hook up with Rachel Gordon
And get fat
And write bad solo songs
Re: Ace confirms Bob Ezrin broke up the band
Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2020 6:02 am
by elleneff
Bob Ezrin also made Ace wear that appalling wig and dyed goatee.
What have I learned from Ace from the decades? Nothing is ever Aces fault
Re: Ace confirms Bob Ezrin broke up the band
Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2020 6:17 am
by AnthonyTyler
Um. No.
Bob Ezrin was working with a group of young men who were simply not accustomed to Bob Ezrin's way or working and producing music. They needed the swift kick in the head at that very moment in time. There are Producers who produce and there are those who go in and record a band as they are; allowing the band to control the outcome. Bob Ezrin had a vision and a mission to achieve that vision that was shared by everyone involved going into the Destroyer project. I think Bob Ezrin was fairly transparent before anything started with Kiss. He was a known factor and his producing "style" was not a surprise.
Regarding Kiss, I will always believe that whomever was running the show, made a huge mistake or two in not cementing a stronger relationship with Bob Ezrin. He should have produced much more of Kiss' music during the seventies than just one album (possibly the one album more people talk about than any other).
Re: Ace confirms Bob Ezrin broke up the band
Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2020 6:24 am
by Sssnakester
elleneff wrote: ↑Thu Mar 26, 2020 6:02 am
Bob Ezrin also made Ace wear that appalling wig and dyed goatee.
What have I learned from Ace from the decades? Nothing is ever Aces fault
I KNEW IT!! That damn goatee just reeked of Ezrin.
Re: Ace confirms Bob Ezrin broke up the band
Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2020 7:22 am
by doombies
soo, ace says bob broke up the band because they wouldn’t let ace play on destroyer? shit ace! of course they wouldn’t let you play if you’re just gonna sit on your ass all day playing a card game ! shit ace .
Forty Deuce wrote: ↑Wed Mar 25, 2020 8:14 pm
Again, I think Gene and Paul contributed to that. Blame is deserved all around.
Gene and Paul contributed to what? Ace being the person he is?
Yes.
There are Ace apologists and then there is this!
Ok I’ll bite. How did Gene & Paul contribute to Ace’s decline during the Reunion era?
I am not an Ace apologist at all and again, I never said he doesn't deserve blame as well.
Think about it, before you automatically dismiss it. I will be back tomorrow to see how you did and hopefully you are able to concede that they are all to blame for the problems in the band.
Sorry, I’m not playing your game. You never said they were all to blame, you said they contributed to Ace’s downfall. Those two things are very different.
There’s only one person responsible for Ace’s situation.
I see you didn't do much thinking and you have done poorly.
I clearly said to Steve:
Truth be told, Paul and Gene deserve some BLAME as well with how things went with the reunion and the problems that returned. It isn't just Ace and Peter.
Really though you are just talking semantics here. Contributed to or deserve partial blame is ultimately the same thing - however neither negates that Ace absolutely deserves blame as well and I never said otherwise.
At around 9 min he says he was replaced on Destroyer
And wasn’t told till after it was released!
Providing the cracks in the band!
If it wasn't for this crack I'm pretty positive another crack would soon come along
Re: Ace confirms Bob Ezrin broke up the band
Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2020 8:30 am
by aceeg
Ace gave Bob credit for solo on DRC, all I’m sayin is it was 1 Ace solo that he missed and they replaced him with out his knowledge, they could’ve told Ace the next day to play his solo. 1 day he missed not a week ?
Re: Ace confirms Bob Ezrin broke up the band
Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2020 8:41 am
by Wiped Out 78
If you read "Behind The Mask", it's clear that this wasn't an issue over a card came. At that point in time, Ace and Ezrin were just a bad fit.
Still, G&P tried to course correct by bringing in Eddie Kramer for the next couple of albums.
Ace may still be butthurt about the Destroyer sessions, but it didn't break up the band.
Forty Deuce wrote: ↑Wed Mar 25, 2020 8:14 pm
Again, I think Gene and Paul contributed to that. Blame is deserved all around.
Gene and Paul contributed to what? Ace being the person he is?
Yes.
There are Ace apologists and then there is this!
Ok I’ll bite. How did Gene & Paul contribute to Ace’s decline during the Reunion era?
I am not an Ace apologist at all and again, I never said he doesn't deserve blame as well.
Think about it, before you automatically dismiss it. I will be back tomorrow to see how you did and hopefully you are able to concede that they are all to blame for the problems in the band.
Sorry, I’m not playing your game. You never said they were all to blame, you said they contributed to Ace’s downfall. Those two things are very different.
There’s only one person responsible for Ace’s situation.
I see you didn't do much thinking and you have done poorly.
I clearly said to Steve:
Truth be told, Paul and Gene deserve some BLAME as well with how things went with the reunion and the problems that returned. It isn't just Ace and Peter.
Really though you are just talking semantics here. Contributed to or deserve partial blame is ultimately the same thing - however neither negates that Ace absolutely deserves blame as well and I never said otherwise.
Gene and Paul contributed to what? Ace being the person he is?
Yes.
There are Ace apologists and then there is this!
Ok I’ll bite. How did Gene & Paul contribute to Ace’s decline during the Reunion era?
I am not an Ace apologist at all and again, I never said he doesn't deserve blame as well.
Think about it, before you automatically dismiss it. I will be back tomorrow to see how you did and hopefully you are able to concede that they are all to blame for the problems in the band.
Sorry, I’m not playing your game. You never said they were all to blame, you said they contributed to Ace’s downfall. Those two things are very different.
There’s only one person responsible for Ace’s situation.
I see you didn't do much thinking and you have done poorly.
I clearly said to Steve:
Truth be told, Paul and Gene deserve some BLAME as well with how things went with the reunion and the problems that returned. It isn't just Ace and Peter.
Really though you are just talking semantics here. Contributed to or deserve partial blame is ultimately the same thing - however neither negates that Ace absolutely deserves blame as well and I never said otherwise.
There are Ace apologists and then there is this!
Ok I’ll bite. How did Gene & Paul contribute to Ace’s decline during the Reunion era?
I am not an Ace apologist at all and again, I never said he doesn't deserve blame as well.
Think about it, before you automatically dismiss it. I will be back tomorrow to see how you did and hopefully you are able to concede that they are all to blame for the problems in the band.
Sorry, I’m not playing your game. You never said they were all to blame, you said they contributed to Ace’s downfall. Those two things are very different.
There’s only one person responsible for Ace’s situation.
I see you didn't do much thinking and you have done poorly.
I clearly said to Steve:
Truth be told, Paul and Gene deserve some BLAME as well with how things went with the reunion and the problems that returned. It isn't just Ace and Peter.
Really though you are just talking semantics here. Contributed to or deserve partial blame is ultimately the same thing - however neither negates that Ace absolutely deserves blame as well and I never said otherwise.
So you misspoke. That’s all you needed to say.
LOL. No.
You said Gene and Paul contributed to Ace’s problems. You also said they contributed to Ace being the person he is. That’s very different than saying Gene & Paul contributed to the downfall of the reunion. I think we can all accept that. But again, there’s only one person that made Ace slide back into his old habits, and that’s Ace himself.
There are Ace apologists and then there is this!
Ok I’ll bite. How did Gene & Paul contribute to Ace’s decline during the Reunion era?
I am not an Ace apologist at all and again, I never said he doesn't deserve blame as well.
Think about it, before you automatically dismiss it. I will be back tomorrow to see how you did and hopefully you are able to concede that they are all to blame for the problems in the band.
Sorry, I’m not playing your game. You never said they were all to blame, you said they contributed to Ace’s downfall. Those two things are very different.
There’s only one person responsible for Ace’s situation.
I see you didn't do much thinking and you have done poorly.
I clearly said to Steve:
Truth be told, Paul and Gene deserve some BLAME as well with how things went with the reunion and the problems that returned. It isn't just Ace and Peter.
Really though you are just talking semantics here. Contributed to or deserve partial blame is ultimately the same thing - however neither negates that Ace absolutely deserves blame as well and I never said otherwise.
So you misspoke. That’s all you needed to say.
LOL. No.
You said Gene and Paul contributed to Ace’s problems. You also said they contributed to Ace being the person he is. That’s very different than saying Gene & Paul contributed to the downfall of the reunion. I think we can all accept that. But again, there’s only one person that made Ace slide back into his old habits, and that’s Ace himself.
Paul and Gene contributed to Ace's problems and the downfall of the reunion. Again, that doesn't absolve Ace.
Re: Ace confirms Bob Ezrin broke up the band
Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2020 1:31 pm
by metaldad
As much as I dislike Ezrin and think he is overrated in the Kiss fan circles
Ace thought it was more important to go to a card game instead of doing his job
And some think Peter was the unprofessional one
Re: Ace confirms Bob Ezrin broke up the band
Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2020 7:33 pm
by aceeg
metaldad wrote: ↑Thu Mar 26, 2020 1:31 pm
As much as I dislike Ezrin and think he is overrated in the Kiss fan circles
Ace thought it was more important to go to a card game instead of doing his job
And some think Peter was the unprofessional one
It was one day he missed not a week or month ? So if he was sick they would’ve replaced him instead of waiting the next day till he was better ?
metaldad wrote: ↑Thu Mar 26, 2020 1:31 pm
As much as I dislike Ezrin and think he is overrated in the Kiss fan circles
Ace thought it was more important to go to a card game instead of doing his job
And some think Peter was the unprofessional one
It was one day he missed not a week or month ? So if he was sick they would’ve replaced him instead of waiting the next day till he was better ?
In reality we don’t know how long it was, or if it was just a one off. Maybe it was a power play, a battle of wills. According to most people in the know Ezrin is something of a control freak. Perhaps he had asked Ace multiple times and Ace had refused. Nobody aside from a select few really know what happened. But the point is Ace can’t blame Ezrin for choices that Ace made.
Re: Ace confirms Bob Ezrin broke up the band
Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2020 9:50 pm
by aceeg
metaldad wrote: ↑Thu Mar 26, 2020 1:31 pm
As much as I dislike Ezrin and think he is overrated in the Kiss fan circles
Ace thought it was more important to go to a card game instead of doing his job
And some think Peter was the unprofessional one
He is over rated!
Mitch Lafon agrees Ezrin was the beginning of the end.
Ezrin does the same with Alice Cooper. Instead of using his touring band to record albums he gets session guys, why?
I don’t get it.
Re: Ace confirms Bob Ezrin broke up the band
Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2020 10:14 pm
by Forty Deuce
I wish they stayed with Ezrin. Their output would be far better. I couldn't care less about the odd studio musician here and there. KISS was still doing that even after Ezrin, so what's the difference?
Re: Ace confirms Bob Ezrin broke up the band
Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2020 10:59 pm
by jkiss
Forty Deuce wrote: ↑Thu Mar 26, 2020 10:14 pm
I wish they stayed with Ezrin. Their output would be far better. I couldn't care less about the odd studio musician here and there. KISS was still doing that even after Ezrin, so what's the difference?
I think the difference was Bill & Bob took any real control away from them, during the process; including Paul & Gene. They all felt the sting of it ...I'm guessing it bothered Gene the least; however, Ace, Peter & Paul weren't very pleased on how it all went down (in the studio). And then Bill went ahead & designed + erected the entire "Destroyer" stage show without their input. Between that + Ezrin (also "Beth" - aside from Peter) ...they were all really unhappy with Bill. Although, little they could actually do about it; other than complain & make it crystal clear as possible.
Re: Ace confirms Bob Ezrin broke up the band
Posted: Fri Mar 27, 2020 1:21 am
by VanRockCity
Mr Slow wrote: ↑Wed Mar 25, 2020 4:16 pm
“Childish stuff like that”? How about showing up for your session and you wouldn’t need to be replaced! Time is money, you think they wanted to stay in the studio any longer than they had to while he was off playing cards? The schedules were extremely tight back then. They most likely needed to get it done so they could move on.
Good ol’ Ace. Always blaming someone else.
Ace missed a single session, Gene missed the entire 80's. Not to mention the Ace songs where Gene and Paul are missing.
People need to get over Ace missing a session. For all the talk that he's lazy, they'd been working their asses off to that point, non-stop touring, recording and doing press for over three years, and Ace had an upcoming wedding in the spring of '76. You think he's the only musician who missed a session? Hardly. It was absolutely a stupid decision by Ezrin to bring in a scab for really no reason (certainly the Sweet Pain solo is pretty generic), and it DID contribute to breaking up the band. Do you honestly think if Gene or Paul missed a session, they'd replace him with a scab? It was dumb, and they were never really the same after this. I don't blame Ace Frehley one bit.
Re: Ace confirms Bob Ezrin broke up the band
Posted: Fri Mar 27, 2020 2:19 am
by elleneff
metaldad wrote: ↑Thu Mar 26, 2020 1:31 pm
As much as I dislike Ezrin and think he is overrated in the Kiss fan circles
Ace thought it was more important to go to a card game instead of doing his job
And some think Peter was the unprofessional one
Another way of looking at it is via passive managerial tactics:
Lets presuppose Ezrin (who wrote the DRC solo, on a Spanish acoustic), Knew Wagner had a great solo that would fit Sweet Pain perfectly and dammit he wants that.
Ace cant nail it. (We heard his take on Resurrected, it wasn't as good or tight a fit)
Ezrin waits till Ace was finished for the day and then brings in Dick that night to record the solo he wants.
Ace was asked to hang around but technically was off that evening. He did his days parts.
He gets Gene and Paul to agree to the cover story that Ace refused to do his part when Bob needed him ONLY if asked.
Same way in the 80s Paul decided to overdub and replaced Carrs parts on certain records and tracks with Allen Schwartzberg. Singer, drum machines or Valentine, when Carr was finished his contractual drum parts and not available or on leave.
metaldad wrote: ↑Thu Mar 26, 2020 1:31 pm
As much as I dislike Ezrin and think he is overrated in the Kiss fan circles
Ace thought it was more important to go to a card game instead of doing his job
And some think Peter was the unprofessional one
He is over rated!
Mitch Lafon agrees Ezrin was the beginning of the end.
Ezrin does the same with Alice Cooper. Instead of using his touring band to record albums he gets session guys, why?
I don’t get it.
Exactly
He does it with Deep Purple as well
Alice has a Fantastic band but Bob needs to have his way
metaldad wrote: ↑Thu Mar 26, 2020 1:31 pm
As much as I dislike Ezrin and think he is overrated in the Kiss fan circles
Ace thought it was more important to go to a card game instead of doing his job
And some think Peter was the unprofessional one
It was one day he missed not a week or month ? So if he was sick they would’ve replaced him instead of waiting the next day till he was better ?
Ya know I have no clue
But Ace has talked about card games in the past and I have read many times it was during destroyer
metaldad wrote: ↑Thu Mar 26, 2020 1:31 pm
As much as I dislike Ezrin and think he is overrated in the Kiss fan circles
Ace thought it was more important to go to a card game instead of doing his job
And some think Peter was the unprofessional one
Another way of looking at it is via passive managerial tactics:
Lets presuppose Ezrin (who wrote the DRC solo, on a Spanish acoustic), Knew Wagner had a great solo that would fit Sweet Pain perfectly and dammit he wants that.
Ace cant nail it. (We heard his take on Resurrected, it wasn't as good or tight a fit)
Ezrin waits till Ace was finished for the day and then brings in Dick that night to record the solo he wants.
Ace was asked to hang around but technically was off that evening. He did his days parts.
He gets Gene and Paul to agree to the cover story that Ace refused to do his part when Bob needed him ONLY if asked.
Same way in the 80s Paul decided to overdub and replaced Carrs parts on certain records and tracks with Allen Schwartzberg. Singer, drum machines or Valentine, when Carr was finished his contractual drum parts and not available or on leave.
Valid points
Sad that with Kiss it is really hard to believe Anything
Their track record speaks for itself
metaldad wrote: ↑Thu Mar 26, 2020 1:31 pm
As much as I dislike Ezrin and think he is overrated in the Kiss fan circles
Ace thought it was more important to go to a card game instead of doing his job
And some think Peter was the unprofessional one
He is over rated!
Mitch Lafon agrees Ezrin was the beginning of the end.
Ezrin does the same with Alice Cooper. Instead of using his touring band to record albums he gets session guys, why?
I don’t get it.
I'm guessing Ezrin might have had his own interests ahead of the band's interest. As a producer, every hit he produces gives him that much more control, power, and money for the next production. It sounds like Ezrin was deathly afraid of a flop. Most likely dealing with Kiss on Destroyer, he figured this bunch of misfits (yet to have a studio hit) needed military style treatment and they weren't about to ruin his track record, probably the same with the Alice Cooper band. With that type of mentality, it was easier to get what he wanted by simply replacing band members when needed. His ego was probably out of control on The Elder, and he lost perspective, enough perspective to tell Gene this is not going to work. He probably figured if he can produce The Wall with great success he could make The Elder work also.
To be fair, bands went to him for a reason, so they must have known what they were getting into, not expecting a walk in the park with Bob.
metaldad wrote: ↑Thu Mar 26, 2020 1:31 pm
As much as I dislike Ezrin and think he is overrated in the Kiss fan circles
Ace thought it was more important to go to a card game instead of doing his job
And some think Peter was the unprofessional one
Another way of looking at it is via passive managerial tactics:
Lets presuppose Ezrin (who wrote the DRC solo, on a Spanish acoustic), Knew Wagner had a great solo that would fit Sweet Pain perfectly and dammit he wants that.
Ace cant nail it. (We heard his take on Resurrected, it wasn't as good or tight a fit)
Ezrin waits till Ace was finished for the day and then brings in Dick that night to record the solo he wants.
Ace was asked to hang around but technically was off that evening. He did his days parts.
He gets Gene and Paul to agree to the cover story that Ace refused to do his part when Bob needed him ONLY if asked.
Same way in the 80s Paul decided to overdub and replaced Carrs parts on certain records and tracks with Allen Schwartzberg. Singer, drum machines or Valentine, when Carr was finished his contractual drum parts and not available or on leave.
Valid points
Sad that with Kiss it is really hard to believe Anything
Their track record speaks for itself
Not stating as fact of course.
BUT we know how Ezrin works and who he prefers to have as his session people no matter what project/ band. artist hes on.
Ezrin readily replaced great players in Coopers band like Buxton, Smith, Dunaway and Bruce etc
I would say that they were all better players than Kiss were at that time.
Ezrin also replayed Roger Waters bass playing on record as he thought his delivery and ability wasn't up to scratch.
Bob is great when working with an artist, not so much a band (Floyd aside) imo
I am now as then fairly confident that Ezrin replaced far more than whats admitted to on Destroyer. and Iv little doubt either Bob or Prakash played bass parts and Schartzberg accidentally admitted he overdubbed Drums on Destroyer.
Add in the bought in songs from Fowley and Anthony for King and Penridge for Beth.
We know Gene and Paul stick to the script to maintain the illusion, unless confronted with the facts and even then they dance around it.
For example in Greg PRATOS Take it off book, Gene admitted to Anthrax`Charlie Benante that it was Carmine Appice and Anton Figg on Drums on alive 2 side 4 and that it was fairly obvious what was and wasn't Peter.
My take on this was it was Bobs modus in working, his practice in buying in songs, in replacing parts, in maintaining publishing, in session people and that the concept delivered was that of a band that ruined the band method in working. Gene and Paul saw logic, efficiency, and control, in the way Bob worked, in delivering yearly to get a record advance that veered them away from being a working 4 man band.
Personally - Iv always maintained that Destroyer was a concept album. The concept WAS Kiss in so far as redefining Kiss as broadway cartoon characters. and in that the record was a huge success.....eventually.
We know it wasn't initially till Beth broke out. Up to that point they dismissed the record as a misguided disaster and already planned to go back to 3 min songs with Kramer for RARO
and of course in the 80s we started hearing interviews, dancing around certain facts like, you know it doesn't really matter who played what, If Gene played bass or Paul did rythem on a track. If it says Kiss on the cover and sounds like Kiss to you, then its Kiss. Doesn't matter how they got there.
Creatures was a prime example. It was Gene collecting his parts, Paul doing his and a plethora of session guests. The fact in this instance the result worked and sounded great was probably more down to MJJ than either Gene or Paul.
metaldad wrote: ↑Thu Mar 26, 2020 1:31 pm
As much as I dislike Ezrin and think he is overrated in the Kiss fan circles
Ace thought it was more important to go to a card game instead of doing his job
And some think Peter was the unprofessional one
Another way of looking at it is via passive managerial tactics:
Lets presuppose Ezrin (who wrote the DRC solo, on a Spanish acoustic), Knew Wagner had a great solo that would fit Sweet Pain perfectly and dammit he wants that.
Ace cant nail it. (We heard his take on Resurrected, it wasn't as good or tight a fit)
Ezrin waits till Ace was finished for the day and then brings in Dick that night to record the solo he wants.
Ace was asked to hang around but technically was off that evening. He did his days parts.
He gets Gene and Paul to agree to the cover story that Ace refused to do his part when Bob needed him ONLY if asked.
Same way in the 80s Paul decided to overdub and replaced Carrs parts on certain records and tracks with Allen Schwartzberg. Singer, drum machines or Valentine, when Carr was finished his contractual drum parts and not available or on leave. Doesn't even seem it was intentional on the band's part but BoB tracked that way so the audience could maybe figure it out on thier own if they cared to.
Valid points
Sad that with Kiss it is really hard to believe Anything
Their track record speaks for itself
Not stating as fact of course.
BUT we know how Ezrin works and who he prefers to have as his session people no matter what project/ band. artist hes on.
Ezrin readily replaced great players in Coopers band like Buxton, Smith, Dunaway and Bruce etc
I would say that they were all better players than Kiss were at that time.
Ezrin also replayed Roger Waters bass playing on record as he thought his delivery and ability wasn't up to scratch.
Bob is great when working with an artist, not so much a band (Floyd aside) imo
I am now as then fairly confident that Ezrin replaced far more than whats admitted to on Destroyer. and Iv little doubt either Bob or Prakash played bass parts and Schartzberg accidentally admitted he overdubbed Drums on Destroyer.
Add in the bought in songs from Fowley and Anthony for King and Penridge for Beth.
We know Gene and Paul stick to the script to maintain the illusion, unless confronted with the facts and even then they dance around it.
For example in Greg PRATOS Take it off book, Gene admitted to Anthrax`Charlie Benante that it was Carmine Appice and Anton Figg on Drums on alive 2 side 4 and that it was fairly obvious what was and wasn't Peter.
My take on this was it was Bobs modus in working, his practice in buying in songs, in replacing parts, in maintaining publishing, in session people and that the concept delivered was that of a band that ruined the band method in working. Gene and Paul saw logic, efficiency, and control, in the way Bob worked, in delivering yearly to get a record advance that veered them away from being a working 4 man band.
Personally - Iv always maintained that Destroyer was a concept album. The concept WAS Kiss in so far as redefining Kiss as broadway cartoon characters. and in that the record was a huge success.....eventually.
We know it wasn't initially till Beth broke out. Up to that point they dismissed the record as a misguided disaster and already planned to go back to 3 min songs with Kramer for RARO
and of course in the 80s we started hearing interviews, dancing around certain facts like, you know it doesn't really matter who played what, If Gee played bass or Paul did rythem on a track. t it says Kiss on the cover and sounds like Kiss to you, then its Kiss. Doesn't matter how they got there.
Creatures was a prime example. It was Gene collecting his parts, Paul doing his and a plethora of session guests. The fact in this instance the result worked and sounded great was probably more down to MJJ that either Gene or Paul.
The only way I can figure that Destroyer is a concept album is in this way. Detroit Rock City as the first song gives us our beginng and ending. The rest of the album is the Kiss concert (probably never attended by the driver). Rock and Roll party, (which was not even on every copy of Destroyer, at least at the time) is the driver of the car wrecks soul, passing by the concert on the way to whatever afterlife he was destined for. Other than that it's really diffucult to piece together a story. The concept sounds rather unintentional on the bands part, it sounds like Bob had it tracked that way and tagged Rock and Roll party on to give fans something to think about.
Forty Deuce wrote: ↑Thu Mar 26, 2020 10:14 pm
I wish they stayed with Ezrin. Their output would be far better. I couldn't care less about the odd studio musician here and there. KISS was still doing that even after Ezrin, so what's the difference?
I think the difference was Bill & Bob took any real control away from them, during the process; including Paul & Gene. They all felt the sting of it ...I'm guessing it bothered Gene the least; however, Ace, Peter & Paul weren't very pleased on how it all went down (in the studio). And then Bill went ahead & designed + erected the entire "Destroyer" stage show without their input. Between that + Ezrin (also "Beth" - aside from Peter) ...they were all really unhappy with Bill. Although, little they could actually do about it; other than complain & make it crystal clear as possible.
I say good when it comes to Bob anyway. There are plenty of examples of KISS garbage when Paul and Gene were in control. I have no doubt in my mind that if Ezrin produced all their albums from Destroyer on, their musical output and legacy would be FAR better.
Re: Ace confirms Bob Ezrin broke up the band
Posted: Fri Mar 27, 2020 9:50 am
by StraightThruTheHeart
Bob Ezrin has been instrumental in the breakup of many bands... Alice Cooper, Pink Floyd and KISS.
Re: Ace confirms Bob Ezrin broke up the band
Posted: Fri Mar 27, 2020 10:37 am
by andreww1962
You never know how a situation went unless you were actually there. I do know that Ezrin was doing a ton of coke at the time, so there's that. But questions I'd ask are; What time was the session? Was Ace even scheduled to be there? Did they actually make an effort to contact him? And, was it essential that Ace do that solo right there and then? The reason I say this is because Gene and Paul never really seemed to have a problem with using more talented session players. Look at Psycho Circus, was Ace playing poker that whole time? Of course not. I think in their minds they believe that if they surround themselves with better players, the music will be better, which clearly isn't the case.
Re: Ace confirms Bob Ezrin broke up the band
Posted: Fri Mar 27, 2020 10:52 am
by Going Blind
StraightThruTheHeart wrote: ↑Fri Mar 27, 2020 9:50 am
Bob Ezrin has been instrumental in the breakup of many bands... Alice Cooper, Pink Floyd and KISS.
It does seem like a coincidence that bands work with Ezrin and then run into problems thereafter. I think for Floyd though it was Waters asserting himself as Emperor of Floyd. Peter Criss says Bob was brutal to him but Pete actually is grateful for the experience and it made him a better drummer (or something to that effect). Not the first thing you would expect Pete to say about the situation but there you go.
Re: Ace confirms Bob Ezrin broke up the band
Posted: Fri Mar 27, 2020 11:11 am
by Forty Deuce
StraightThruTheHeart wrote: ↑Fri Mar 27, 2020 9:50 am
Bob Ezrin has been instrumental in the breakup of many bands... Alice Cooper, Pink Floyd and KISS.
Give me a break. Alice Cooper is still working with Ezrin, so is it at all possible that not all bands are meant to be together permanently. You are delusional if you think there weren't other issues within the bands that caused problems, but fans want to look at Ezrin as some sort of band killing bogeyman. Ace would not still be in KISS if Destroyer and The Elder never happened.
metaldad wrote: ↑Thu Mar 26, 2020 1:31 pm
As much as I dislike Ezrin and think he is overrated in the Kiss fan circles
Ace thought it was more important to go to a card game instead of doing his job
And some think Peter was the unprofessional one
Another way of looking at it is via passive managerial tactics:
Lets presuppose Ezrin (who wrote the DRC solo, on a Spanish acoustic), Knew Wagner had a great solo that would fit Sweet Pain perfectly and dammit he wants that.
Ace cant nail it. (We heard his take on Resurrected, it wasn't as good or tight a fit)
Ezrin waits till Ace was finished for the day and then brings in Dick that night to record the solo he wants.
Ace was asked to hang around but technically was off that evening. He did his days parts.
He gets Gene and Paul to agree to the cover story that Ace refused to do his part when Bob needed him ONLY if asked.
Same way in the 80s Paul decided to overdub and replaced Carrs parts on certain records and tracks with Allen Schwartzberg. Singer, drum machines or Valentine, when Carr was finished his contractual drum parts and not available or on leave. Doesn't even seem it was intentional on the band's part but BoB tracked that way so the audience could maybe figure it out on thier own if they cared to.
Valid points
Sad that with Kiss it is really hard to believe Anything
Their track record speaks for itself
Not stating as fact of course.
BUT we know how Ezrin works and who he prefers to have as his session people no matter what project/ band. artist hes on.
Ezrin readily replaced great players in Coopers band like Buxton, Smith, Dunaway and Bruce etc
I would say that they were all better players than Kiss were at that time.
Ezrin also replayed Roger Waters bass playing on record as he thought his delivery and ability wasn't up to scratch.
Bob is great when working with an artist, not so much a band (Floyd aside) imo
I am now as then fairly confident that Ezrin replaced far more than whats admitted to on Destroyer. and Iv little doubt either Bob or Prakash played bass parts and Schartzberg accidentally admitted he overdubbed Drums on Destroyer.
Add in the bought in songs from Fowley and Anthony for King and Penridge for Beth.
We know Gene and Paul stick to the script to maintain the illusion, unless confronted with the facts and even then they dance around it.
For example in Greg PRATOS Take it off book, Gene admitted to Anthrax`Charlie Benante that it was Carmine Appice and Anton Figg on Drums on alive 2 side 4 and that it was fairly obvious what was and wasn't Peter.
My take on this was it was Bobs modus in working, his practice in buying in songs, in replacing parts, in maintaining publishing, in session people and that the concept delivered was that of a band that ruined the band method in working. Gene and Paul saw logic, efficiency, and control, in the way Bob worked, in delivering yearly to get a record advance that veered them away from being a working 4 man band.
Personally - Iv always maintained that Destroyer was a concept album. The concept WAS Kiss in so far as redefining Kiss as broadway cartoon characters. and in that the record was a huge success.....eventually.
We know it wasn't initially till Beth broke out. Up to that point they dismissed the record as a misguided disaster and already planned to go back to 3 min songs with Kramer for RARO
and of course in the 80s we started hearing interviews, dancing around certain facts like, you know it doesn't really matter who played what, If Gee played bass or Paul did rythem on a track. t it says Kiss on the cover and sounds like Kiss to you, then its Kiss. Doesn't matter how they got there.
Creatures was a prime example. It was Gene collecting his parts, Paul doing his and a plethora of session guests. The fact in this instance the result worked and sounded great was probably more down to MJJ that either Gene or Paul.
The only way I can figure that Destroyer is a concept album is in this way. Detroit Rock City as the first song gives us our beginng and ending. The rest of the album is the Kiss concert (probably never attended by the driver). Rock and Roll party, (which was not even on every copy of Destroyer, at least at the time) is the driver of the car wrecks soul, passing by the concert on the way to whatever afterlife he was destined for. Other than that it's really diffucult to piece together a story. The concept sounds rather unintentional on the bands part, it sounds like Bob had it tracked that way and tagged Rock and Roll party on to give fans something to think about.
I used to think this also, Trying to figure out what the concept story was from a` if its a concept record, whats the concept story POV?".
The concept (and Bob inferred as much in many interviews over the years,) initially it started as a concept record and there was a story outline of sorts. But as the making when on It because clear that the concept was defining what the band was in terms of characters, so the concept wasnt like say, Alices From the inside or Bat out of Hell where theres a clear story and outline but more like Billion Dollar Babies where it refined what the band could be in terms of optics and presentation.
Thats my take.
Honestly IMO the concept if there was one fizzled out by the time King ended.
On the other hand, your take is equally as pertinent. And I say this as Kiss is whatever the fans project upon it and wish them to be. and they seem fine with that.
Re: Ace confirms Bob Ezrin broke up the band
Posted: Fri Mar 27, 2020 12:01 pm
by StraightThruTheHeart
Forty Deuce wrote: ↑Fri Mar 27, 2020 11:11 am
Give me a break. Alice Cooper is still working with Ezrin, so is it at all possible that not all bands are meant to be together permanently. You are delusional if you think there weren't other issues within the bands that caused problems, but fans want to look at Ezrin as some sort of band killing bogeyman. Ace would not still be in KISS if Destroyer and The Elder never happened.
Bob working with these bands certainly didn't help. He puts no value on using the actual band members which has has clearly played a part in fractures within many of these bands.
metaldad wrote: ↑Thu Mar 26, 2020 1:31 pm
As much as I dislike Ezrin and think he is overrated in the Kiss fan circles
Ace thought it was more important to go to a card game instead of doing his job
And some think Peter was the unprofessional one
Another way of looking at it is via passive managerial tactics:
Lets presuppose Ezrin (who wrote the DRC solo, on a Spanish acoustic), Knew Wagner had a great solo that would fit Sweet Pain perfectly and dammit he wants that.
Ace cant nail it. (We heard his take on Resurrected, it wasn't as good or tight a fit)
Ezrin waits till Ace was finished for the day and then brings in Dick that night to record the solo he wants.
Ace was asked to hang around but technically was off that evening. He did his days parts.
He gets Gene and Paul to agree to the cover story that Ace refused to do his part when Bob needed him ONLY if asked.
Same way in the 80s Paul decided to overdub and replaced Carrs parts on certain records and tracks with Allen Schwartzberg. Singer, drum machines or Valentine, when Carr was finished his contractual drum parts and not available or on leave. Doesn't even seem it was intentional on the band's part but BoB tracked that way so the audience could maybe figure it out on thier own if they cared to.
Valid points
Sad that with Kiss it is really hard to believe Anything
Their track record speaks for itself
Not stating as fact of course.
BUT we know how Ezrin works and who he prefers to have as his session people no matter what project/ band. artist hes on.
Ezrin readily replaced great players in Coopers band like Buxton, Smith, Dunaway and Bruce etc
I would say that they were all better players than Kiss were at that time.
Ezrin also replayed Roger Waters bass playing on record as he thought his delivery and ability wasn't up to scratch.
Bob is great when working with an artist, not so much a band (Floyd aside) imo
I am now as then fairly confident that Ezrin replaced far more than whats admitted to on Destroyer. and Iv little doubt either Bob or Prakash played bass parts and Schartzberg accidentally admitted he overdubbed Drums on Destroyer.
Add in the bought in songs from Fowley and Anthony for King and Penridge for Beth.
We know Gene and Paul stick to the script to maintain the illusion, unless confronted with the facts and even then they dance around it.
For example in Greg PRATOS Take it off book, Gene admitted to Anthrax`Charlie Benante that it was Carmine Appice and Anton Figg on Drums on alive 2 side 4 and that it was fairly obvious what was and wasn't Peter.
My take on this was it was Bobs modus in working, his practice in buying in songs, in replacing parts, in maintaining publishing, in session people and that the concept delivered was that of a band that ruined the band method in working. Gene and Paul saw logic, efficiency, and control, in the way Bob worked, in delivering yearly to get a record advance that veered them away from being a working 4 man band.
Personally - Iv always maintained that Destroyer was a concept album. The concept WAS Kiss in so far as redefining Kiss as broadway cartoon characters. and in that the record was a huge success.....eventually.
We know it wasn't initially till Beth broke out. Up to that point they dismissed the record as a misguided disaster and already planned to go back to 3 min songs with Kramer for RARO
and of course in the 80s we started hearing interviews, dancing around certain facts like, you know it doesn't really matter who played what, If Gee played bass or Paul did rythem on a track. t it says Kiss on the cover and sounds like Kiss to you, then its Kiss. Doesn't matter how they got there.
Creatures was a prime example. It was Gene collecting his parts, Paul doing his and a plethora of session guests. The fact in this instance the result worked and sounded great was probably more down to MJJ that either Gene or Paul.
The only way I can figure that Destroyer is a concept album is in this way. Detroit Rock City as the first song gives us our beginng and ending. The rest of the album is the Kiss concert (probably never attended by the driver). Rock and Roll party, (which was not even on every copy of Destroyer, at least at the time) is the driver of the car wrecks soul, passing by the concert on the way to whatever afterlife he was destined for. Other than that it's really diffucult to piece together a story. The concept sounds rather unintentional on the bands part, it sounds like Bob had it tracked that way and tagged Rock and Roll party on to give fans something to think about.
I used to think this also, Trying to figure out what the concept story was from a` if its a concept record, whats the concept story POV?".
The concept (and Bob inferred as much in many interviews over the years,) initially it started as a concept record and there was a story outline of sorts. But as the making when on It because clear that the concept was defining what the band was in terms of characters, so the concept wasnt like say, Alices From the inside or Bat out of Hell where theres a clear story and outline but more like Billion Dollar Babies where it refined what the band could be in terms of optics and presentation.
Thats my take.
Honestly IMO the concept if there was one fizzled out by the time King ended.
On the other hand, your take is equally as pertinent. And I say this as Kiss is whatever the fans project upon it and wish them to be. and they seem fine with that.
Actually, my take is a pathetic attempt at trying to figure out the concept, the best I could. lol. Defining the band in terms of characters makes more sense, actually makes use of the songs in a thematic way instead of just a filler concept in the middle. God of Thunder, Great Expectations, King of the Nighttime world, Do you love me. Yes, I can see what you're getting at. Who knows? Maybe Beth could be seen as the downside to being these types of larger than life characters? Not always glamorous and human underneath it all.
Forty Deuce wrote: ↑Fri Mar 27, 2020 11:11 am
Give me a break. Alice Cooper is still working with Ezrin, so is it at all possible that not all bands are meant to be together permanently. You are delusional if you think there weren't other issues within the bands that caused problems, but fans want to look at Ezrin as some sort of band killing bogeyman. Ace would not still be in KISS if Destroyer and The Elder never happened.
Bob working with these bands certainly didn't help. He puts no value on using the actual band members which has has clearly played a part in fractures within many of these bands.
So, you can't dismiss it out of hand...
TONS of producers do this. At the end of the day, it is nothing more than wanting to make the best album possible. Dick Wagner's solo on Sweet Pain blows away the Ace version.
metaldad wrote: ↑Thu Mar 26, 2020 1:31 pm
As much as I dislike Ezrin and think he is overrated in the Kiss fan circles
Ace thought it was more important to go to a card game instead of doing his job
And some think Peter was the unprofessional one
Another way of looking at it is via passive managerial tactics:
Lets presuppose Ezrin (who wrote the DRC solo, on a Spanish acoustic), Knew Wagner had a great solo that would fit Sweet Pain perfectly and dammit he wants that.
Ace cant nail it. (We heard his take on Resurrected, it wasn't as good or tight a fit)
Ezrin waits till Ace was finished for the day and then brings in Dick that night to record the solo he wants.
Ace was asked to hang around but technically was off that evening. He did his days parts.
He gets Gene and Paul to agree to the cover story that Ace refused to do his part when Bob needed him ONLY if asked.
Same way in the 80s Paul decided to overdub and replaced Carrs parts on certain records and tracks with Allen Schwartzberg. Singer, drum machines or Valentine, when Carr was finished his contractual drum parts and not available or on leave. Doesn't even seem it was intentional on the band's part but BoB tracked that way so the audience could maybe figure it out on thier own if they cared to.
Valid points
Sad that with Kiss it is really hard to believe Anything
Their track record speaks for itself
Not stating as fact of course.
BUT we know how Ezrin works and who he prefers to have as his session people no matter what project/ band. artist hes on.
Ezrin readily replaced great players in Coopers band like Buxton, Smith, Dunaway and Bruce etc
I would say that they were all better players than Kiss were at that time.
Ezrin also replayed Roger Waters bass playing on record as he thought his delivery and ability wasn't up to scratch.
Bob is great when working with an artist, not so much a band (Floyd aside) imo
I am now as then fairly confident that Ezrin replaced far more than whats admitted to on Destroyer. and Iv little doubt either Bob or Prakash played bass parts and Schartzberg accidentally admitted he overdubbed Drums on Destroyer.
Add in the bought in songs from Fowley and Anthony for King and Penridge for Beth.
We know Gene and Paul stick to the script to maintain the illusion, unless confronted with the facts and even then they dance around it.
For example in Greg PRATOS Take it off book, Gene admitted to Anthrax`Charlie Benante that it was Carmine Appice and Anton Figg on Drums on alive 2 side 4 and that it was fairly obvious what was and wasn't Peter.
My take on this was it was Bobs modus in working, his practice in buying in songs, in replacing parts, in maintaining publishing, in session people and that the concept delivered was that of a band that ruined the band method in working. Gene and Paul saw logic, efficiency, and control, in the way Bob worked, in delivering yearly to get a record advance that veered them away from being a working 4 man band.
Personally - Iv always maintained that Destroyer was a concept album. The concept WAS Kiss in so far as redefining Kiss as broadway cartoon characters. and in that the record was a huge success.....eventually.
We know it wasn't initially till Beth broke out. Up to that point they dismissed the record as a misguided disaster and already planned to go back to 3 min songs with Kramer for RARO
and of course in the 80s we started hearing interviews, dancing around certain facts like, you know it doesn't really matter who played what, If Gee played bass or Paul did rythem on a track. t it says Kiss on the cover and sounds like Kiss to you, then its Kiss. Doesn't matter how they got there.
Creatures was a prime example. It was Gene collecting his parts, Paul doing his and a plethora of session guests. The fact in this instance the result worked and sounded great was probably more down to MJJ that either Gene or Paul.
The only way I can figure that Destroyer is a concept album is in this way. Detroit Rock City as the first song gives us our beginng and ending. The rest of the album is the Kiss concert (probably never attended by the driver). Rock and Roll party, (which was not even on every copy of Destroyer, at least at the time) is the driver of the car wrecks soul, passing by the concert on the way to whatever afterlife he was destined for. Other than that it's really diffucult to piece together a story. The concept sounds rather unintentional on the bands part, it sounds like Bob had it tracked that way and tagged Rock and Roll party on to give fans something to think about.
I used to think this also, Trying to figure out what the concept story was from a` if its a concept record, whats the concept story POV?".
The concept (and Bob inferred as much in many interviews over the years,) initially it started as a concept record and there was a story outline of sorts. But as the making when on It because clear that the concept was defining what the band was in terms of characters, so the concept wasnt like say, Alices From the inside or Bat out of Hell where theres a clear story and outline but more like Billion Dollar Babies where it refined what the band could be in terms of optics and presentation.
Thats my take.
Honestly IMO the concept if there was one fizzled out by the time King ended.
On the other hand, your take is equally as pertinent. And I say this as Kiss is whatever the fans project upon it and wish them to be. and they seem fine with that.
Actually, my take is a pathetic attempt at trying to figure out the concept, the best I could. lol. Defining the band in terms of characters makes more sense, actually makes use of the songs in a thematic way instead of just a filler concept in the middle. God of Thunder, Great Expectations, King of the Nighttime world, Do you love me. Yes, I can see what you're getting at. Who knows? Maybe Beth could be seen as the downside to being these types of larger than life characters? Not always glamorous and human underneath it all.
Reading everything I could as we all have here over the years and decades, what Destroyer tried to do was elevate Kiss from the scrappy, niche theatrical garage band in leather and basic costumes to a more grandiouse Broadway version. Lycra replaced leather. Diamante sparkles and dragon boots replaced the basic concept (from the Destroyer outfits to the Dynasty was a pretty logical step of Kiss going BIGGER, /BETTER Aand more outrageous in terms of those uniform icon colours. As far away from what they were 5 years prior in 74. Dangerous, intense Rock show to broadway glam performance.
and again Destroyer was a total flop and bomb. commercially and critically. They already started planning RARO and getting Kramer and had started telling people Destroyer was a misstep and Ezrin pushed them too far HIS way. The Destroyer tour and set was stripped back pretty quickly
Then......Beth hit. and suddenly, they loved Bob again.
With Kiss, history is something that apparently be rewritten as it was ALL part of their plan
Forty Deuce wrote: ↑Fri Mar 27, 2020 11:11 am
Give me a break. Alice Cooper is still working with Ezrin, so is it at all possible that not all bands are meant to be together permanently. You are delusional if you think there weren't other issues within the bands that caused problems, but fans want to look at Ezrin as some sort of band killing bogeyman. Ace would not still be in KISS if Destroyer and The Elder never happened.
Bob working with these bands certainly didn't help. He puts no value on using the actual band members which has has clearly played a part in fractures within many of these bands.
So, you can't dismiss it out of hand...
TONS of producers do this. At the end of the day, it is nothing more than wanting to make the best album possible. Dick Wagner's solo on Sweet Pain blows away the Ace version.
Oh totally. Yes they do and yes Wagners solo and playing was superb and Ezrins composed solo on DRC is legendary as was the solo break in King. Destroyer was calculated to the smallest detail.
But do you think Bob pulls that crap with Deep PURPLE? nope. he knows they can deliver and listen to his ideas ( well now with Norse, maybe not so much if Blackmore was still there)
Iv often thought Cheap Trick , had they done an Ezrin album, would Bob shuffle players? or know , Bun, Tom, Robin and Rick can deliver exactly whats needed for the songs and album? ?
Another way of looking at it is via passive managerial tactics:
Lets presuppose Ezrin (who wrote the DRC solo, on a Spanish acoustic), Knew Wagner had a great solo that would fit Sweet Pain perfectly and dammit he wants that.
Ace cant nail it. (We heard his take on Resurrected, it wasn't as good or tight a fit)
Ezrin waits till Ace was finished for the day and then brings in Dick that night to record the solo he wants.
Ace was asked to hang around but technically was off that evening. He did his days parts.
He gets Gene and Paul to agree to the cover story that Ace refused to do his part when Bob needed him ONLY if asked.
Same way in the 80s Paul decided to overdub and replaced Carrs parts on certain records and tracks with Allen Schwartzberg. Singer, drum machines or Valentine, when Carr was finished his contractual drum parts and not available or on leave. Doesn't even seem it was intentional on the band's part but BoB tracked that way so the audience could maybe figure it out on thier own if they cared to.
Valid points
Sad that with Kiss it is really hard to believe Anything
Their track record speaks for itself
Not stating as fact of course.
BUT we know how Ezrin works and who he prefers to have as his session people no matter what project/ band. artist hes on.
Ezrin readily replaced great players in Coopers band like Buxton, Smith, Dunaway and Bruce etc
I would say that they were all better players than Kiss were at that time.
Ezrin also replayed Roger Waters bass playing on record as he thought his delivery and ability wasn't up to scratch.
Bob is great when working with an artist, not so much a band (Floyd aside) imo
I am now as then fairly confident that Ezrin replaced far more than whats admitted to on Destroyer. and Iv little doubt either Bob or Prakash played bass parts and Schartzberg accidentally admitted he overdubbed Drums on Destroyer.
Add in the bought in songs from Fowley and Anthony for King and Penridge for Beth.
We know Gene and Paul stick to the script to maintain the illusion, unless confronted with the facts and even then they dance around it.
For example in Greg PRATOS Take it off book, Gene admitted to Anthrax`Charlie Benante that it was Carmine Appice and Anton Figg on Drums on alive 2 side 4 and that it was fairly obvious what was and wasn't Peter.
My take on this was it was Bobs modus in working, his practice in buying in songs, in replacing parts, in maintaining publishing, in session people and that the concept delivered was that of a band that ruined the band method in working. Gene and Paul saw logic, efficiency, and control, in the way Bob worked, in delivering yearly to get a record advance that veered them away from being a working 4 man band.
Personally - Iv always maintained that Destroyer was a concept album. The concept WAS Kiss in so far as redefining Kiss as broadway cartoon characters. and in that the record was a huge success.....eventually.
We know it wasn't initially till Beth broke out. Up to that point they dismissed the record as a misguided disaster and already planned to go back to 3 min songs with Kramer for RARO
and of course in the 80s we started hearing interviews, dancing around certain facts like, you know it doesn't really matter who played what, If Gee played bass or Paul did rythem on a track. t it says Kiss on the cover and sounds like Kiss to you, then its Kiss. Doesn't matter how they got there.
Creatures was a prime example. It was Gene collecting his parts, Paul doing his and a plethora of session guests. The fact in this instance the result worked and sounded great was probably more down to MJJ that either Gene or Paul.
The only way I can figure that Destroyer is a concept album is in this way. Detroit Rock City as the first song gives us our beginng and ending. The rest of the album is the Kiss concert (probably never attended by the driver). Rock and Roll party, (which was not even on every copy of Destroyer, at least at the time) is the driver of the car wrecks soul, passing by the concert on the way to whatever afterlife he was destined for. Other than that it's really diffucult to piece together a story. The concept sounds rather unintentional on the bands part, it sounds like Bob had it tracked that way and tagged Rock and Roll party on to give fans something to think about.
I used to think this also, Trying to figure out what the concept story was from a` if its a concept record, whats the concept story POV?".
The concept (and Bob inferred as much in many interviews over the years,) initially it started as a concept record and there was a story outline of sorts. But as the making when on It because clear that the concept was defining what the band was in terms of characters, so the concept wasnt like say, Alices From the inside or Bat out of Hell where theres a clear story and outline but more like Billion Dollar Babies where it refined what the band could be in terms of optics and presentation.
Thats my take.
Honestly IMO the concept if there was one fizzled out by the time King ended.
On the other hand, your take is equally as pertinent. And I say this as Kiss is whatever the fans project upon it and wish them to be. and they seem fine with that.
Actually, my take is a pathetic attempt at trying to figure out the concept, the best I could. lol. Defining the band in terms of characters makes more sense, actually makes use of the songs in a thematic way instead of just a filler concept in the middle. God of Thunder, Great Expectations, King of the Nighttime world, Do you love me. Yes, I can see what you're getting at. Who knows? Maybe Beth could be seen as the downside to being these types of larger than life characters? Not always glamorous and human underneath it all.
Reading everything I could as we all have here over the years and decades, what Destroyer tried to do was elevate Kiss from the scrappy, niche theatrical garage band in leather and basic costumes to a more grandiouse Broadway version. Lycra replaced leather. Diamante sparkles and dragon boots replaced the basic concept (from the Destroyer outfits to the Dynasty was a pretty logical step of Kiss going BIGGER, /BETTER Aand more outrageous in terms of those uniform icon colours. As far away from what they were 5 years prior in 74. Dangerous, intense Rock show to broadway glam performance.
and again Destroyer was a total flop and bomb. commercially and critically. They already started planning RARO and getting Kramer and had started telling people Destroyer was a misstep and Ezrin pushed them too far HIS way. The Destroyer tour and set was stripped back pretty quickly
Then......Beth hit. and suddenly, they loved Bob again.
With Kiss, history is something that apparently be rewritten as it was ALL part of their plan
Yet ironically Destroyer is the only studio album that is anything close to be deemed a classic and is considered their best album outside of Alive! Not to mention the fact that Detroit, Shout, Beth and GOT are staple songs more so than anything on RARO or LG (outside of the title track on that album, because Paul thinks it's awesome).
As well as the phase that Gene and Paul went through with every new album ala it's a cross between such and such and Destroyer. It seems mentioning Destroyer was the sweet spot for the KISS Army into thinking that their new album was going to be great.
Re: Ace confirms Bob Ezrin broke up the band
Posted: Fri Mar 27, 2020 2:56 pm
by elleneff
I hear you. and yes it is.
I think, and this isnt fact , just me musing, had it been a complete commercial flop, would they still consider its merit creatively as a high point? Or dismiss it because it didnt sell as crap?
I ask this question because Kiss equate its value mostly on whether it was a success or not.
I recall ( edit to add, It was a MJJ podcat interview) re Gene being asked why the sound of LIU , songs, drums, sound etc didnt sound the same or as good as Creatures? and he replied, it was because all that time and effort into its sound didnt yield a hit record or tour so why put in that effort and cost/time again?
edit to add. so that pretty much says it all. its about what was successful or not, quality aside.
Iv often thought:
If Carnival of souls had somehow become this sleeper monster hit in 96/97 when it was quietly released and undermined the reunion in so far as the validity of what they were then selling when Bruce was put out to "promote " it, and Eric, (rightly ) was pissed off as he knew that volatile unreliability would combust quickly so he cut loose.
How would that effect Paul....and more so, the creative reflection on that record success.
Re: Ace confirms Bob Ezrin broke up the band
Posted: Fri Mar 27, 2020 3:23 pm
by Going Blind
elleneff wrote: ↑Fri Mar 27, 2020 2:56 pm
I hear you. and yes it is.
I think, and this isnt fact , just me musing, had it been a complete commercial flop, would they still consider its merit creatively as a high point? Or dismiss it because it didnt sell as crap?
I ask this question because Kiss equate its value mostly on whether it was a success or not.
I recall Gene being asked why the sound of LIU , songs, drums, sound etc didnt sound as good as Creatures? and he replied, it was because all that time and effort into its sound didnt yield a hit record or tour so why put in that effort and cost/time again?
That is such a piss poor response from Gene. Let's punish fans by not doing are best, you didn't buy the last record so screw, here is a half assed effort. Creatures didn't sell well because you just came back from experimenting with disco, pop, and prog lol.