Customer Reviews

KISS: The Early Years

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is a great collection of photos - even better than Barry Levine's "The Kiss Years" book. That book merely showcased outtakes from famous Kiss sessions from the 70's. This book feels a little more like a peek into the band's history, crammed full of photos I'd never seen before.

Most of the photos are from the band's earliest years, before they broke into the mainstream. You get to see a lot of backstage and pre-concert stuff, like the band applying makeup and suiting up for a performance. These days, we see Kiss and it's just "seeing Kiss" again, but looking at the pictures from around 1974 of the band strolling around the streets of New York City, you are reminded of how shocking they were in full regalia back then. And that's what made them great. The early tour footage and the Cadillac High School footage are impressive as well.

The big treat for me were the pages of photos from the "Elder" era. This was, for me, one of the band's most visually interesting periods, though because the band treats the period with such disfavor, not many photos seem to exist. Here, finally, are a number of great photos of the band in their most streamlined look - including rare performance footage, a video shoot for "World Without Heroes," and some of the Studio 54 footage.

I give it four stars instead of five for two reasons. One, through no fault of the photographer - whose work is absolutely excellent - there are no samples of the band's "Dynasty" era, their MOST visually stunning. I'm still anxiously waiting for a full book with this kind of quality, but with some Dynasty photos. The other slight drawback is that the photo selections seem to favor - what a shock - Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley. I would've liked to have seen a little more of Ace Frehley and Peter Criss.

That said, this is the best book of Kiss photos that's ever been published. Get it now.

If you buy this book be prepared to get more of Paul and Gene's bashing Ace and Peter, more self-indulgence and lots of Gene's "we are the greatest band in the world" and Paul's "Women love my hairy chest" and all that stuff. On the good side, the pictures presented here are amazing. From a walk on Central Park in full makeup! circa. 1975, to a session of facials the band got in a beauty parlor, the rare pics are worth the price of the book alone. You will read this book in an hour and certainly will enjoy the dozens of pictures Waring Abbott shot from 1974 to 1981. I would have liked for the leaders of the band and writers of the book to comment more on each individual photo and also invite Ace and Peter to give their two cents on the shots. Anyway, a good book on Kiss at a not so high price. Great for any fan of the band.

I recieved this book yesterday & I must say I am impressed! The book is the a great representation of KISS during their formative & most vibrant years together- It also takes look at the Music From The Elder time period which the band & fans alike respond with mixed feelings. KISS has always been & will remain a visual group. This being said, it is made quite clear through the pages within that the attraction to KISS music is the attitude that the band has sustained for over 3 decades as a band. The commentery from Gene Simmons & Paul Stanley is a nice touch but I do wish they would do a project like this with Peter Criss & Ace Frehley since they were there & lived it with Gene & Paul-

If you love KISS, you'll love this book. Has many pictures that even the hardcores, like myself, have never seen. Alot of stuff from when the band first started out. When they had little money and were struggling to be the topps in NY. Many photos show the true integrity of the band.

This book was really amazing because of its historical and photographic conception. I was really blown away by the quality of this photo book because it makes other bands' books look puny and unimportant. Many times bands put out books that offer either too much boring writing without content or dazzling photos in empty pages. Here Kiss is the focus and the images and content is actually very exciting. It works to their visual appeal and charismatic persona. The quality of the photos is really breathtaking and juicy enough for the viewer to have a glimpse into the backstage lives of America's nuttiest band. Buy this and add it to your collection.

If you were one of the original inductees into the Kiss Army, this book will transport you back to that time when they were the most loved/hated band around. If you're a newer fan, you'll experience the birth and evolution of Kiss. Like most other things that Kiss gives us, this leaves you wanting more. Although packed with a ton of great photos and commentary by Paul and Gene, I would have liked to see at least twice as many pages and read at least as many more comments from Paul and Gene. If only we could have gotten commentary from Ace and Peter. If you're a true fan, you need this book as part of Kisstory and you can't get a better deal than Amazon[.com].

If you like quality photography and KISS, you'll love this book! I've been following the band since the 70s and I have never been surprised by so many unfamiliar pictures. Sure the settings and period are familiar, but this book features complete sets of known and not so known pics. It scores higher than Barry Levine's and Chip Rock's. It also has a lot of pictures (the most I've seen) from the Elder era, featuring Eric.

A fantastic book for any KISS fan. The beauty of KISS is they have always been not only a great band to listen to, but even more so, a great band to look at. This book captures the band on their rise to super stardom and includes pictures from the Elder era when the band were rock Icons on their way down. True KISS fans like myself are always on the hunt for new sights and sounds of the band, and this book delivers many new unpublished photos that everyone will enjoy. From pictures of the band applying makeup, to the infamous Cadillac, Michigan high school event. Fantastic color and black and white photos abound, guaranteed to satisfy all KISS fans. A must have.

The book has a lot great photos, many never before seen; but i feel a bit ripped off. It jumps from the Destroyer/Rock and Roll Over era to The Elder era and ends there. It completely misses the Love Gun, solo records, Dynasty and Unmasked eras. I would've been fine missing Dynasty and Unmasked, but the Kiss Alive II period was when they were their biggest and it would've been very cool to see some behind-the-scenes material! I was definitely disappointed when i noticed this; and frankly, would not have made this purchase had i known about the gap.

This book is photographs from 1974-1982 with some comments provided by Gene and Paul. Not a lot of content, but a cool quick read for the Kiss Army members.