I'm not saying it is because of their songs & musicianship alone. But rock & roll also isn't about songs & musicianship alone, and KISS delivered the entire package as the ultimate rock & roll band.
They deliberately planned everything they did to have the effect it did, and it worked. The saw exactly what the rock scene needed and filled that gap and became the ultimate fantasy band in every way. They don't claim to have been so successful because of their musical talent. But that's not what music is about anyway, it's about giving your listeners a certain feeling when they hear your music and see the band. KISS excited their audience and delivered alot of memorable songs that have become special to people and that's more what music is about than guitar skills or insightful lyrics if you ask me.
I'm not gonna criticise them for becoming huge through other means, or for wanting to take over the world, or planning out every aspect of their image, performance, merchandising, etc to become more than a band and more of a legacy & institution, because I wanna do the same! And I'm sure most other people out there would also love to have a band with a legacy & history as rich as KISS', and a fan base as lotal as KISS', and as much success as KISS, and still packing out arenas around the world 30 years later playing to 15,000 fans amidst thundering pyrotechnics all around you on stage and millions of women wanting to fuck you even though you're 50 years old and ugly!
My opinion is, you can only criticise somebody if they don't achieve what they have claimed to achieve. KISS never claimed to be the best musicians or most insightful songwriters. They do however claim to be the biggest rock & roll circus in the world, and they are. They achieved what they set out to achieve, you have to respect & admire that, whether you like the band or not.
They deliberately planned everything they did to have the effect it did, and it worked. The saw exactly what the rock scene needed and filled that gap and became the ultimate fantasy band in every way. They don't claim to have been so successful because of their musical talent. But that's not what music is about anyway, it's about giving your listeners a certain feeling when they hear your music and see the band. KISS excited their audience and delivered alot of memorable songs that have become special to people and that's more what music is about than guitar skills or insightful lyrics if you ask me.
I'm not gonna criticise them for becoming huge through other means, or for wanting to take over the world, or planning out every aspect of their image, performance, merchandising, etc to become more than a band and more of a legacy & institution, because I wanna do the same! And I'm sure most other people out there would also love to have a band with a legacy & history as rich as KISS', and a fan base as lotal as KISS', and as much success as KISS, and still packing out arenas around the world 30 years later playing to 15,000 fans amidst thundering pyrotechnics all around you on stage and millions of women wanting to fuck you even though you're 50 years old and ugly!
My opinion is, you can only criticise somebody if they don't achieve what they have claimed to achieve. KISS never claimed to be the best musicians or most insightful songwriters. They do however claim to be the biggest rock & roll circus in the world, and they are. They achieved what they set out to achieve, you have to respect & admire that, whether you like the band or not.
