Gene Simmons: KISS Debut Was ‘Probably The Most Honest Record We’ve Ever Done’

KISS icon Gene Simmons recently took a look back at the band’s groundbreaking self-titled debut album in a new interview with Terrie Carr of WDHA-FM 105.5 FM, which hit the airwaves in February 1974 via Casablanca Records. The bassist and vocalist shared his thoughts on the record, largely co-written with fellow KISS frontman Paul Stanley, where the two also shared lead vocal responsibilities.

For Simmons, the album represents a unique point in their storied career. “I think probably it’s the most honest record we’ve ever done,” he stated (as transcribed by Blabbermouth). “It doesn’t have to be the best, but painters and artists talk about the honesty of innocence before you learn to do things. Like kids — the most honest art is when a small child dips into mud or poop in the bathtub and starts creating imagery and stuff. That’s the most honest expression of art before you know form and function and any of that stuff.”

He elaborated on their nascent stage as musicians at the time: “So we didn’t know anything about the recording process. We barely knew how to tune the instruments, and we sort of could write songs and based on our love of… We were Anglophiles. We loved the English version of what the Americans invented, which was rock and roll and blues, and it became rap and all that. It all started here [in the U.S.], but come on, the English gave us The Beatles and [Led] Zeppelin and stuff, and we gave them The Grateful Dead. It’s just leagues apart. Nothing American ever rose to that level with people that play guitar. Nothing — not even close. And when you list the top — I don’t know — 10 bands of all time, they were all English or Irish. The Beatles and The [Rolling] Stones and the English invasion and stuff — on and on and on. Amazing songs. And so we started writing songs like that, and not copying or anything, but within that vein. And it came easy. Paul and I were long students of songwriting and the English bands and everything. The Kinks — oh my goodness, those early years. ‘Waterloo Sunset‘ was so, so simple, stripped of even production.”

Simmons also shed light on the artistic vision behind the songs on their first album. “The thought behind those songs [on KISS‘s first album] was we wanted to put together the band we never saw on stage,” he explained. “So on one hand we had sort of this love of Anglophile music and those English bands, but then there was the sameness of, if you didn’t know much, you couldn’t tell the difference between The Kinks or The Stones or The Beatles and everything. They all had basically the same hairstyle type, same age — except The Beatles, everybody sang, everybody was a star. That was a major, major difference. And so we looked at The Beatles as a template. Wouldn’t it be great if everybody sang lead? That was like, ‘Wait a minute.’ In The Stones, it was [Mick] Jagger. In The Kinks, it was Ray Davies — like on and on and on. Aerosmith, it’s Steven [Tyler] — nobody else sings. But in KISS, everybody sings songs. And that was a thing that was appealing to us.”

He continued, discussing the formation of the original lineup and its evolution: “Now, putting that together, you have to go through auditions, and eventually we found the right mix, those original guys. Having said that, sadly, not everybody is designed in their DNA to run marathons. Some people are just shooting stars — they just go for a little while. And Ace [Frehley, original KISS guitarist] and Peter [Criss, original KISS drummer] were so perfect for the original lineup, but they just weren’t designed to last 50 years. So they were in and out of the band three different times.”

“KISS Army Storms Vegas” 50th-anniversary celebration will be KISS’s makeup-free show at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas. Scheduled for November 14–16, the three-day event will include an unmasked electric performance by Simmons and Paul Stanley, Q&A sessions, a set by Bruce Kulick, tribute band acts, and surprise guest appearances. It remains unclear whether Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer will take part.