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| KISS: Behind the Mask - Official Authorized Biogrphy | 
 enlarge | Authors: David Leaf, Ken Sharp
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Category: Book
List Price: $15.95
Buy New: $8.77
You Save: $7.18 (45%)
New (5) Used (9) Collectible (1) from $7.25
Avg. Customer Rating:  48 reviews
Sales Rank: 755508
Format: Bargain Price
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 448
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.3
Dimensions (in): 8.5 x 5.5 x 1.2
Dewey Decimal Number: 920
ASIN: B000X1H7DE
Publication Date: June 2, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
After three decades of undying adoration, KISS fans will get their first fully authorized and total access look at the band who loves to 'rock 'n' roll all nite and party every day!' Twenty years ago, KISS officially revealed the faces behind the stage makeup, and fans all over the world got their first look at the band. Now, in KISS:BEHINDTHEMASK, the band's legion of fans and music enthusiasts alike will get to know the men behind the stage personas. After 30 years as a band, KISS are more than just a rock 'n' roll institution-they are legends. For decades, they have consistently remained among the most successful acts in the history of popular music. KISS' legendary stagemanship and extreme theatrics are well known by two generations of rock fans, and they are already pulling in the next one. Now, through their own words and exclusive material contributed by some of the biggest rock stars in the industry, KISS:BEHINDTHEMASK will tell the band's full story.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 43 more reviews...
 Great book...packed with information on songwriting, tours, etc. October 14, 2008
A lot of other rock writers could--and should--take "Behind the Mask" as their model. The first section, written during the "Dynasty" tour in 1979, is readable but has a fawning, cutesy-poo quality that wears thin pretty quickly; it's very similar to Robert Duncan's unauthorized KISS bio from the year before. "KISS is awesome and they'll go on being awesome forever. There will be more movies and solo albums! Peter will assemble and conduct a 300-piece jazz band! Gene will play a cross between Dracula, the Phantom of the Opera, and Mr. Spock in a major motion picture!" Whatever. The other two sections of the book are rock-solid, though, documenting the band's rise, fall, and comeback(s) in great detail. I love the various accounts of how KISS's songs were written, especially the early ones. Gene and Paul are characteristically catty: Wow, Ace recorded a good solo album! We honestly didn't think he had it in him. (Paul McCartney said something very similar to this when discussing George Harrison's contributions to "Abbey Road".)
If you appreciate the KISS phenomenon as a whole, you'll love this book. If you're only interested in groupie-banging stories, look elsewhere.
 Great September 28, 2008
I love the parts with the song and album reviews by the band members and producers, etc. Ace Frehley is absolutely hilarious!
One KISS book that stands out among so many! May 15, 2008
There are a lot of KISS books, but most are retrospective while this one gives the reader a look into the minds of the group in the 70's.
What's great about this "Lost Treasure" is that it contains the perspective the members of KISS during the height of their popularity without the haze of retrospect. It's their words at that point in time.
The other great feature of the book is the great quotes from the people involved in the recording of every KISS album. It's great to hear KISS give their ratings of each song on the albums, too.
This is a very unique book in it's two part structure.
A must for KISS fans. Now go out and buy it, like Gene has us trained to do.
Great Insight May 11, 2008
This is really a terrific book if you want to know more about the career of the band Kiss. The first half of the book was written in 1979 when Kiss achieved their peak of fame and fortune. It is an interesting biography of the band up to that point. The manuscript was never published, but years later it surfaced again and a second part was added covering every album from Wicked Lester to Psycho Circus. The second half is interesting because it contains a song by song breakdown of each album with comments by members of the band, the studio team, and anyone who happened to work on that particular album. It really shines because of people's honesty and new insights I gained about each song and album. The thing about the book that I found most fascinating was the huge difference in personalities between members of the band. It is easy to see why they have trouble staying together. As I said the book ends with the Psycho Circus album. Kiss has since done a farewell tour, a tour with Aerosmith and now the Alive 35 world tour. Peter and Ace are out of the band and Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer now wear the Spaceman's and Cat's makeup. I think there can be another very interesting book when this ride is over.
 Kinda boring. April 21, 2008
After reading the autobiographies of Aerosmith and Motley Crue, this was pretty boring. They take the whole 'artist' aspect out of being a rockstar. Rather than four guys doing what they love and getting lucky, it's Gene & Paul starting a business called "Kiss" and hiring two other guys who passed their interview. These two men would be resources to help the company reach it's goal of making it's members rich. When they became too much to 'manage', they were let go and replaced.
The only interesting rockstar-like thing they do is bang a bunch of women, but they barely mention that in this book. Cool, if you're a fan or if you've run out of Ambien.
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