Product Description

In the band's first official book, Simmon and Stanley give an unprecedented insiders look into the life of KISS. Waring Abbott provides an amazingly intimate array of photos to illustrate the running commentary of the band's thoughts and actions throughout their early years.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #520651 in Books
• Published on: 2002-11-01
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 208 pages

About the Author
Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley co-founded KISS in 1973. They live in Los Angeles. Waring Abbott is one of the music industry’s premier photographers. He worked closely with KISS for eight years and has photographed many other high profile musicians, including Lou Reed, Bob Dylan and Elvis Presley. He and his wife live in New York.

Customer Reviews

Kiss : The Early Years
Be careful when ordering this book. I was pulled in by the 'by Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley' blurb, only to find that it is really just lots of (admittedly very interesting) photographs of the band from '73 up to The Elder. Paul and Gene wrote the captions that go with the pictures, that all!

I read the whole thing in half an hour. Great book if you want to see photos of the band applying the make up and walking around Central Park etc, but for an absorbing read forget it.

Great pics but no real substance
If you're looking for some cool pics (some I had never seen before which was a very nice surprise) then this is the book for you. The ones from the very earliest parts of KISS' carreer are great, they look like a different band. Especially when they get put in weird circumstances. As for text, there's little here to capture the imagination. Gene and Paul reminisce a bit about the "good old days" and although they remember a lot (or fake it) it's not the commentary that is the value of this book.

KISS has always been a supremely image-oriented band (even when they tried to make us believe they were not in the early 90's) and the photo and video has always been a huge part of their marketing and success. That's why you, as a KISS fan, need this book.

I fell in love with this book
I've just been recently given this book being a Kiss fan, and it really blew my mind. The production quality is really amazing: the pictures look superb and you have a bunch of rare one I haven't seen before, most of which with a comment by Gene and Paul, or by their photographer.
Warring Abbot really managed to capture the moment. I got a hold of the book and read it three times, feeling like I was with the band.
It really isn't a biography, but I think you might learn more about how the Kiss life was from 1973 to 82 just by looking at the picture. A truely intimate time with Kiss.

I loved it!