Kiss and Tell

Rating:
Summary: Not so much Kiss as bite...
Review: As far as trashiness goes, the dirt that's been dug up on Kiss isn't as extensive as it probably should be, given their legendary status on the road. And the problem with this book isn't the stories within; it's the stories it fails to tell.

People should be warned that 90% of it deals with Ace Frehley specifically, and therefore should not be mistaken as a Kiss 'primer'. I bought it on the assumption that it was about degredation amongst all four band members, not just Ace. While I realize that most of the craziest stories WOULD be about him and Peter, I was disappointed that it didn't have a more even-handed delivery of the entire band.

Much of it is amusing, and there's plenty of repulsiveness within. And closeness or not, regardless of the authors' current disdain for Ace, they too are making money off the Kiss name, and shouldn't be taken as seriously as others might warrant.

"Kiss and Sell", by C.K. Lendt, is a much better book about the band for those who really care. This one is for completists only.

Rating:
Summary: Wow! I need a shower after reading this book!
Review: I've heard about this book for a long time and a lot of fellow Kiss fans told me to avoid this book like the plague. I decided to take the plunge and, boy, I need a shower after reading this one.
First of all, I could not put the book down. I found myself trying to find a place where I would not get interrupted after reading the first chapter. I read it in ONE sitting! If you knew my reading habits that is a HUGE compliment to this book.
One story after another I found myself embroiled in emotion whether it was laughter or disdain for Ace and his co-horts.
Number two, the photos. Every photo was new to me and PRICELESS. Ace as a teenager, Ace with a mustache, Bill Aucoin wearing a neck brace, Anton Fig, Ace jamming with a barefaced KISS during his wedding in the 70's, Ace's wedding pictures, Michael Richards (Kramer from Seinfeld), the authors with Ace clowning around with girls. The photos were worth the price of the book alone.
I can go on and on but this book ROCKS! So much inside information. I could see how some big fans of Ace would be upset but he's only human and we get to see a side of Ace we would've never known. Kudos to Bob McAdams and Gordon Gebert.
I give this book two thumbs way up, a must-read for any fan of KISS, or any fan of insane rock stories. It is too crazy to be true but no one could make this stuff up.
I already put my order in for Gordon's new book ROCK & ROLL WAR STORIES. If it's anything like KISS & Tell I know I'm going to enjoy it.

Rating:
Summary: So who's the bigger loser???
Review: At one point Ace Frehley could have ruled the world. With his 1977 solo debut, he could have been a legend outside of KISS. Instead he succumbed to two things; laziness and alcohol. Ace used to be a hero of mine. As a guitar player he's still a big influence on me, but as a human being, even if half of these stories are true, he's been knocked off his pedastal a notch or two.

The stories in here are amazing. Like how he walked through Gene Simmon's hotel room, goose-stepping in a Nazi uniform. According to the book, Ace is a racist who doesn't like 'the two Jews' (Gene and Paul). Supposedly he made the famous KISS logo as a slap in the face to them. Unless you've lived under a rock your whole life, you'll know that the KISS logo features the double lightning bolt SS that the Nazis used.

The funniest story in the book is when Ace sat in a hotel room all night autographing plain white hats. Then he ironed patches onto plain white T-shirts. This was all supposed to be merchandise for an upcoming gig. Well after all his work, no one bought them because they couldn't believe Ace signed them.

The keyboard player and hairdresser who wrote this book come off as a couple of losers themselves though. They hung out with Ace, got the short end of the stick, and are now mad. The hairdresser even claimed he almost killed Ace with a baseball bat when they were kids. Ace escaped injury because he was fast on his feet.

Mr. G.G.G.G. comes off as a whiny wannabe who's keyboard skills did not take him as far as he had hoped. Hey if you lose your job and get your wife all mad at you because you decided to hangout with Ace in Atlantic City all weekend, who's fault is it?

It's a good read, but beware Ace fans. Ace is not the happy-go-lucky, drunken, fun loving buffoon he's portrayed to be. He's a lazy musician with a weird open marriage, and seems to have little respect for fans. How else would you explain a millionaire bitching about not getting a free computer from a young fan?

If I was Ace and owned a mansion with a state of the art studio in the basement, I'd have put out a lot more than four solo albums in 30 years.

Rating:
Summary: "Kiss and Tell" is Decidedly Cool!
Review: Kiss and Tell is a refreshingly humorous account of two rockers and their affiliation with "Ace" from the band "Kiss." As a professional writer, classical musician and classic rock afficionado who has never seen the workings of the inner circles of the rock world, I really enjoyed the dual account told as only true rockers can. Once I started reading the book, I couldn't put it down -- or stop laughing! Where else would one find such a candid look at the inner structure of a world most of us only can wonder about?

Shortly after I read the book I had the pleasure of meeting both of the authors -- cool standup dudes if you will, not to mention musicians who wrote what they know about. In MY book, that's the coolest. But don't take my word for it, definitely check it out yourself.

Rating:
Summary: The truth behind the scenes
Review: At least the authors of this book admit their sins through out the various stories narrated. They fully aknowledge the fact that were two of Ace Frehley's Party buddies. The stories told here are somewhat funny (If almost shooting one's toe and being high all day could be considered funny) but especially instructing. Except for the co author's constat statement that Ace always had a way of making him do things he didn't want to (like he had no mind of his own) the book is a lesson on what excessive fame and money can do to a person. Is a must read for fans and non fans of Kiss, and goes to show you that the Kiss reunion HAD to be for the money, for there's no other way some one like Paul And Gene can tolerate guys like Ace or Peter; and if this is what comes with fame and fortune, thank God i've neve made it with my band.

Rating:
Summary: I have NO plans to read this book-- NO STARS
Review: Gordie Gebert spammed me about this book and his next few several dozen times on KISSOnline. I have since warned him about unsolicited spam and harrassment.

That being said, I don't want to read about how he and Ace Frehley got drunk together and messed up each other's lives. I'm an Ace fan; he's treated me well on the one time I met him in 1987. Yes, I've heard some rather ungood stories about Ace from various sources, and I believe some of them, but I refuse to let Ace be slandered by anyone, no matter how long that person claims "friendship" with Ace.

The truth is, Ace is a faulted man, but that's not why I like him. I respect his talent, his style, and his wacky sense of humor. And NO greasebag with a chip on his shoulder will change that for me.

Rating:
Summary: With that type of Friends no need Enemis!
Review: If we had to beleived everything in this book, well Mr.Frehley is the worst human been alive, well then if he is that lazy how can he could had make it has a rock star, yeah part of is luck and being there at the right time but come on he got to be talented and he his. This book is about revenge from 2 of his "Best Friends", well ex-best friends. When you got them has friends no need ennemis but again if it's true what Ace Frehley did to them it's kinda understandable that they get back at him but it really low to write a book and dish so much Ace Frehley, come on Bob McAdams lost his job, divorce his wife coz of Ace, Bob and Gordon the two authors of this book blame Ace for everything bad that happen to them, wow Ace Frehley got lots of power over them or Mr.McAdams and Mr.Gordon are two very weak and dumbs guys.I read another biography of Kiss and someone said that Ace Frehley got lots of friends who used him, well it sound like Bob and Gordon are that type of friends, they were there when the money was in but when it's out they bash their best friend. We just got one side to this story and it's from Bob McAdams and Gordon G.G. Gebert who bash big time Ace Frehley.Some stories in this book are funny and interesting but it kinda all the same, we drink, we party, play music, hook up with some hot girls, it seem their life with Ace was a big party, it kinda get boring after a while and some other stories in it are totally gross. To me it sound that Bob McAdams and Gordon G.G. Gebert are two jealous men of the success of Ace Frehley and are two big follower, they sound kinda idiot. Anyways it was an interesting book but we not sure if all is true of course!

Rating:
Summary: Cheese and Rubbish
Review: This is a very sad book. Do not make the mistake I did by buying it. Borrow it from someone or check it out of the library. If, after that, you feel it is something you want in your collection, you can go out and buy it. Yes, there are some pics that are nice to have, but you can probably find them on the net and download them just as easily. The quality of the printing and editing is almost as annoying as the absurdity of the unsubstantiated claims with which the two writers fill page after page. And I am not merely talking about typos. The editors apparently do not know the difference between "there", "their" and "they're" or "its" and "it's", "bear" and "bare". Very sad, indeed. In some places, the typeset is so atrocious that it makes reading the book a chore. Plus, we are treated to little cheesy cut-out pictures of the writers' heads at the beginning of their respective paragraphs (and these two men accuse Ace of being unattractive; clearly a case of the butt-ugly pots calling the kettle black). So, why did I buy the book in the first place? Well, I find Ace Frehley to be a very interesting person, and I guess I just find myself pulling for him to beat everyone's expectations and keep his life on track. Having only just recently gotten into Kiss/Ace, I was hungry to read just about anything. Sadly, Kiss and Tell was one long tale of misery and absurdity. The two writers clearly have no sense of propriety and even less of integrity. As the saying goes, "With friends like these, who needs enemies?" Still, their credibility is so marred by their insistence on lambasting Ace at every turn that after a while, the reader begins to grow bored. The language is also atrocious. It's as if the insertion of profanity is supposed to somehow lend credence to the writers' sense of outrage over how Ace supposedly mistreated them. In fact, I felt that these two got their fair come-uppance; justice was served when Ace severed ties with both men and warned his fans about Mr Gebert's underhanded dealings. No wonder they are both filled with bitterness; years of bandwagoning, and what did it get them? Their just desserts. At the end of this book, an even-keeled reader will come away actually feeling sympathy for Mr Frehly for having been so short-sighted as to have ever associated with the likes of these two nut cases (men who did nothing but perpetuate the very lifestyle for which they condemn Frehley). Once again, borrow or check the book out of the library before buying it. These two men do not deserve to make money off such a piece of rubbish. It's too late for me . . . I already put the money in their pockets. But you have the chance to spend your money on something more worthwhile . . .

Rating:
Summary: ... - but it's admittedly fun to read.
Review: Ace Frehley, if this book is to be believed, is quite a bad seed. Fan of KISS or not, the book is a good read. Why? Because we love to read .... Tabloid articles and gossip rags make big money. So, if you want a lot of unsubstantiated dirt on Ace, pick this book up.

Personally, I think the authors forget how bad they make themselves look by writing the book. They come off as whiny and childish. What do I care if Ace treated you like dirt? You hung around with him for years so you must have liked him a little. Anyway, it's a mindless, fun read.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting but Unbalanced
Review: This book is an interesting look into the life of Ace Frehley and his KISS bandmates. The book is written by Frehley's self-proclaimed best friends over a period spanning thirty years, 1965-1995. The stories of excess are great; however, the book is written with an outright purpose to slander Ace, and the offered opinions are often biased. Ace is portrayed as a terrible person by these so-called friends. No one is perfect; and a person who has made such beautiful music can be forgiven for any shortcomings.