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Summary: Kiss and Sell is a great book
Review: Kiss and Sell is a fantastic journey into the Making of the Supergroup Kiss.. This is a detailed look into the members of Kiss as well as the music industry as a whole.. It is a very informative read loaded with great details. Anyone interested in Kiss and the music business should really enjoy this book.. Lendt's recollection of past events is fascinating.. I highly recommend this book.
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Summary: This book is a SNOOZER!
Review: KISS and Sell is such a chore to read. Very laborious.KISS and Sell's counterpart book KISS and Tell by Gebert and McAdams was a much better read. In fact, it was hard to put the KISS and Tell book down as KISS and Sell I found myself forcing myself to read on and putting it down frequently. Get KISS and Tell by Gebert and McAdams, GREAT BOOK, KISS and SELL, pass on it unless you have insomnia and need a drug-free way to get to sleep.
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Summary: Check out both KISS and Sell and KISS & Tell books.
Review: KISS and Sell was a very hard read. The author paid too much attention to tedious details of fashion, cuisine and interior decorating. If all of these unimportant details were edited out of the book the page count would be substantially smaller and would've kept my attention better. Plus, I had a hard time reading all these stories with this kind of detail when it happened twenty years ago. That and the overuse of the thesaurus trying to find the most intricate word that Einstein would have to go to a dictionary to find the meaning. It's a book about KISS not a college term paper. The author also left you hanging with some stories like Sweet Connie (the famous groupie) and the "importance" of Miss Judy, etc... Once you get past all I've mentioned it's still an interesting read. KISS & Tell (The book by Gebert and McAdams) on the other hand, is right on the mark as a Rock and Roll book. Once I started reading it, I couldn't put it down. It's an easy read, very interesting, sad and funny at the same time. There are a lot more photos (over 60) than KISS and Sell (28). KISS and Sell had no documents, letters, etc.. back up supposed facts in the book. KISS & Tell substantiated its' stories a little better with all the photos and documents, etc.. I've met several people in the KISS circle that have told me "off the record" that KISS & Tell is probably mostly true. It's a real shocker even if half the stories are true. I did find similarities in the two books that kind of confirm the validity of some of the stories. 1.] The ridiculing of Paul Stanley by the band 2.] Ace's habits, appearance and life style, gambling, etc.. 3.] Peter's penchant for guns and temperament 4.] Peter's condition before performing and the alternate plans 5.] Details surrounding Ace's house and studio in Connecticut 6.] Ace's leather jacket story (but the locals are different) 7.] Also the mention of the L'Ermitage Hotel (which leads me to believe the Nazi story is somewhat true - which I myself didn't believe when I first read it) 8.] Diana Ross (but I found it incredibly boring in KISS and Sell - the KISS & Tell story about her is hilarious) 9.] Comparisons of financial habits (KISS & Tell had reprints of Ace's bankruptcy documents) 10.] Bill Aucoin characteristics and stories 11.] Lydia Criss' characterization 12.] Ace's wedding etc..., etc.... I recommend both books. KISS and Sell is the larger book (350 pages) but don't let the larger size fool you. It is filled with so much uninteresting detail. You have to kind of labor through KISS and Sell. They could've cut the whole chapter on Diana Ross right out and left out all the interior decorating, food and clothing details. KISS & Tell (228 pages) goes right into the meat of each story. A lot of stories are very amusing and some are very sad. I found I enjoyed reading KISS & Tell more than KISS and Sell but you do get an overall "unauthorized" picture of KISS and Ace when you read both books.
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Summary: A good look into the finances of KISS
Review: Not your typical fan dish, KISS and Sell looks at the finances behind the group. Lent offers readers an intimate look into the financial details that most people never get to see.
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Summary: KISS & Sell is a good, but trying read.
Review: Overall, KISS and Sell is a worthy read. However, Lendt's fixation with using big words leaves one needing a thesaurus to understand what he is often saying. It is almost as if he is trying to accredit himself by speaking above his readers. I hold a degree in English and I often had no idea what Lendt what was saying. The average reader will undoubtedly find the same. Lendt's other main downfall lies in the fact that he tends to waiver from KISS. The seemingly endless pages about Diana Ross and The Isley Brothers, for example, tended to lose me and I skimmed them more than read them. And who really cares about Gene's dalliances with Cher and Diana Ross enough to warrant nearly 30 pages of text?! Because of Lendt's background in business rather than the music industry, one can expect to find the book's emphasis placed accordingly. Lendt does include a great many stories in his book, some of which I at least have never heard. Because Lendt was w! ith the band so much for twelve years, he obviously has many stories to relate that perhaps outsiders would not be able to offer. Unfortunately, the majority of these tales deal with the corruption of a young group who became obsessed--and eventually ruined by--their own fame and fortune. Lendt's main revelation is the gross spending habits of the band members. Who knew that such ignorance to money matters occurred within the band? Lendt's take on the financial situation of the band is a new one and should not be ignored by any true KISS fan. Gene's misogyny, buffonery, and mogulling overshadows what many fans (including myself) believed to be rumour for the most part. Ace's and Peter's reckless lifestyles and eventual displeasure with being in the band have been previously documented but are thoroughly threshed out here by Lendt. Paul's alleged jealousy of Gene's movie "career" is one surprising note that I find difficult to believe. Every other doc! umented source, and even Gene, himself, gives Paul credit f! or never losing site of his goal--to keep KISS together. Paul's efforts in the 1980's, most notably during the Animalize, Asylum, and Crazy Nights years, show a dedicated musician who refused to let the dissolution of his band and its members get the better of him. KISS and Sell effectively relates a view of KISS that has not yet been explored. Instead of the fan-based books that have previously been available, Lendt's telling of his years with KISS gives his readers an interesting take on what the highs and lows of the rock world are like. However, one has to question the credibility of some of Lendt's stories. His memory of minute details, for example, how many cigars Howard Marks held in his cigar case at a 1979 business meeting, is endless--and apparently flawless. Perhaps he added some of these details for dramatic effect but overall it takes away the reader's faith in Lendt's stories. If Lendt had not paid as much attention to this endless minutiae, h! is position could certainly hold greater credibility. Unfortunately, I believe that Lendt's book will suffer at the hands of the simultaneous release of Dale Sherman's Black Diamond which tells the story of KISS from a fan's point of view, rather than that of an M.B.A.. General Rating: B+ KISS Fan rating: C+ Overall, KISS & Sell gets a rating of a B-.
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Summary: Notable and Quotable Comments From Reviewers
Review: Quotes from reviews of KISS AND SELL: THE MAKING OF A SUPERGROUP, by C.K. Lendt (Billboard Books). ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: "Beneath the backstage tales lies Lendt's sobering thesis that Kiss were 'a case of reaching too far too soon' (lead review and rating of B+)." THE SUNDAY STAR-LEDGER (Newark,NJ): "There's a great story here...a story of a band that convinced the world it was bigger than life, then found it almost impossible to accept that the fantasy wasn't real." THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR: "Lendt put together a fascinating look at how Kiss became a supergroup and then imploded...(his) book serves as a parable for the music business, which loves to build skyscraper career that have too little foundation and then express shock when the collapse occurs." PERFORMANCE: "It is rare that the bookshelf receives a tome written by a person so involved on the inside of a group...'Kiss and Sell' makes for a fascinating industry book." THE DENVER POST: A "notable rock book" and "a primer for everything right or wrong about the fabulous music biz." THE TAMPA TRIBUNE-TIMES: "Lendt gets to the core of Kiss's downfall, namely its insistence on its personal lives being as extravagant as its stage shows...'Kiss and Sell' tells more of Kiss's story than the band likely ever will--a sordid tale of ddelusionary thinking and egos run amok." SECONDS: "Whether you're going for your MBA or GED, if you want to know exactly how a Rock group makes their money--and spends it--then read 'Kiss and Sell.'"
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Summary: Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Review: Skip this book unless you want to replace sleeping pills! The reading is belaboring.
The much better Kiss related book is KISS & Tell by Gordon Gebert and Bob McAdams. I found myself literally laughing out loud reading it. Bound to be a classic years to come.
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Summary: Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Review: Skip this book unless you want to replace sleeping pills! The reading is belaboring.
The much better Kiss related book is KISS & Tell by Gordon Gebert and Bob McAdams. I found myself literally laughing out loud reading it. Bound to be a classic years to come.
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Summary: Bogged Down
Review: Sorry, but this one didn't grab me. Lendt seems to be obsessed with what people wear to meetings, which retaurants he enjoyed, and using words that English Teachers will have to look up. He seems to be especially concerned with fashion. Which is fine if discussing the band, but his fashion observations were focused on executives, promoters, lawyers & assorted business types. And he seems to be extremely concerned with everyone's wardrobe. I was impressed with his coverage of the band's financial situation, especially during their lean years, and, I cannot in any way question Lendt's Financial Management expertise. Just please Chris, let some of your personal stuff stay just that.
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Summary: Author's Update
Review: Thanks to the many readers who have made KISS AND SELL: THE MAKING OF A SUPERGROUP one of Amazon.com's most popular titles in the music category. My goal was to write an insider book about the business side of the Kiss story and to share my personal experiences working with the band for 12 years. I wanted KISS AND SELL to be a truthful account of the ups and downs of the band's career from the perspective of a business manager, not a fan. I think that most readers recognize that. And I wanted to reach a wide audience, including those readers especially interested in what goes on behind-the-scenes in the business of rock. KISS AND SELL is unique in that respect. It's really more of a cautionary tale than a typical rock book. Success in the music industry is very often an illusion. Hopefully, readers will get a little insight into the inner workings of a supergroup as well as the "story behind the story" of Kiss's career. E!ONLINE recently named KISS AND SELL as one of the "All-Time Best Music Bios," ranking it #8 on their Top 10. I'm pleased that new readers continue to discover and enjoy it. Best wishes. C.K. LENDT
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