Ace Frehley, Gene Simmons and the Rock & Roll hall of fame

Gene Simmons (Chaim Witz) has never been shy about his contributions to Rock and Roll, and he has never missed an opportunity to let people within hearing distance know his opinion on anything from Israel, to his family, to the quickest way to make a buck.  Not that there is anything wrong with his opinions; Israel was his birthplace, he loves his family, and Kiss' renown for making money through marketing is well documented.  And when  you listen to Mr.Simmons long enough you'll find that he dislikes half of the founding members of the lengendary group Kiss, Peter Criss and Ace Frehley (Paul Frehley).  Of course, as of this writing you may find that he dislikes Peter more than Ace, but that may change.  His friendship with fellow bandmate, Paul Stanley (Stanley Eisen), does seem to be a longstanding true friendship.  

Kiss' rise to fame is well documented and can be summed up in the typical bio-pic format, they're up, they're down, they're up again.  However trite a description that may be, it is hard to deny them the impact the band has made on the rock scene with their bombastic tour set in the 70's, 22 gold or platinum albums, 24 charting singles, and devoted fan base.  Not to mention that with their longevity they have been around long enough to reinvent themselves at least 3 times.  

The Rock and Roll hall of fame's ability to nominate artists with such comparatively limited appeal and influence as Blondie, The Lovin Spoonful, Dusty Springfield, Sly and the Family Stone, and Bobbie Darin is unmatched by any historical society aside from the Smithsonian, which will take just about anything.  Lookup the accomplishments of Kiss against Blondie in almost any category and Kiss comes out on top.  So why would RRHOF be so stingy in a nomination for Kiss?  That elusive quality of originality?  Authenticity?  Quality of music?  How about cronyism at RRHOF?

Mr. Simmons' contribution to rock and roll is substantial, but one also must recognize that as a musician he really is average.  He's a respectable bass player, he can carry a tune, although his voice is most suitable for the heavy metal genre.  But musicianship is hardly the only qualifying admission to the club.  The hunger for success, the stage persona, the consistent, albeit not without flaws, contribution to music all paint a much more complete picture of a prominent Rock and Roll Star that belongs in the RRHOF.  This doesn't even cover the extensive work Mr. Simmons does outside the world of music.  Work important when attempting to quantify John Lennon's importance.  Sound ridiculous?  Mr. Simmons recently won $800,000 for a charity on Who's Smarter than a 5th Grader?  But even that sounds inauthentic and almost demeaning.  Unless you happen to be the charity.  

Which brings us to Ace.  There was an interview in the early 90's when Gene was discussing previous lead guitarists and he mentioned that Ace just never developed, despite the hope they had in the band that he would keep improving.  Ace's alcohol abuse and drug issues did have a major impact on his creativity and ability to play.  It is ironic that Ace's contribution to the band was increasing during the last couple years he played with Kiss, even as his offstage abuse increased.  It's also important to note that Gene is not the most prolific, or even most talented member of the group; that would be Paul Stanley.  

When VH1 listed the most influential hard rock bands of all time Kiss made the top 10, but not the top 6.  The top 6 had the mention that they were a truly well rounded band without any noticable weakness and the members on this list that are eligible are all in the RRHOF.  And therein lies the problem between Ace and Gene.  The pressures and temptations of living as superstars the way Kiss did at one time must be tremendous.  But still, Ace did have a negative impact on the band with his substance abuse, and this could have been avoided.   VH1 may have implied that Gene was average, but there are average members of every band on the list.  

It must be hard to know that your band, and your name could be in that top  6 list but it is not.  If you listen to the entire MTV acoustic set of Kiss with both the old and new members on the latest Kissology DVD set you can see footage of two very different bands.  The band at the time of the MTV set consisted of Gene, Paul, Bruce Kulick, and Eric Singer.  They played a very tight and well rehearsed set and the crowd loved the set.  Later in the set the original lineup including Ace and Peter played together and this is the event that kicked off the reunion album and tour along with the album MTV Kiss Unplugged.  

Ace's licks had to be retaught to him by Bruce Kulick, one of the many replacements since 1982.  On the DVD set you will learn that a couple songs were omitted from the album and it is clearly because they were the weaker performances, the weakest by far were by the current lineup.  Despite all the years, despite the key ingredient being talent for the revolving membership in the band aside for Gene and Paul, it is shocking how good and natural the original band sounds.  And this is why as a fan I am also frustrated that Ace left the band due to his substance abuse.  I also think it must be in Gene's mind that with that original lineup that the idea that Kiss is a well rounded band would be pretty well founded, that it should be Kiss in the top 6, and that it should be Kiss in the RRHOF.  I guess Kiss should have done what Van Halen did and refused to admit there was a substance abuse problem for years, get into the RRHOF, then fall apart.  

Now that Ace has his act together, I am looking forward to his new solo album.  

Bob Dylan and Dave Matthews

A comparison between Bob Dylan and Dave Matthews would not be exceptionally original, most notably because of the obvious level of musical talent of both men, their movement from acoustic to electric, and the ability to blend several social influences into a cohesive song. Dylan went from the folk and acoustic sound overnight, while the Dave Matthews Band took their time while never actually abandoning the sound. The most interesting comparison is not their similarities, but the striking difference between Bob Dylan's musical genius and Dave Matthews' lyrical gifts.

Bob Dylan's genius is unmatched and unchallenged in the rock world. Although some would argue that he reached his apex with Highway 61 Revisited and Blond on Blond, he can still produce albums of exceptional culture value such as 2007's Modern Times. While reviewing 2007's “Bob Dylan: The Essential Interviews” by Jonathan Cott, Louis Menand made an important distinction between Dylan's talent for the music and Dylan's ability to communicate. Menand goes on to describe interviewers that expect Dylan to be an expert on subjects he sings about, only to walk away from the interview disappointed. Dylan never leaves an interviewer disappointed when the discussion is about the music, the sound of the lyrics meshing with the music, and the overall tone of a piece.

As a complete virtuoso of the ability to match the sound of the words with the musical content of a song, Dylan has been very creative, some would say too creative, with how to get specific words into the rhythm he is looking to fill. Dylan wrote All Along The Watchtower to be read backwards line by line, he wrote Tangled Up In Blue, dedicated or inspired by Jack Kerouac, as a “Cubist” experiment with music. To read Tangled Up In Blue is to quickly understand that the song is a story, but it cannot possibly be a linear story within any historical context. You cannot possibly drive an automobile and live within the time frame of legal slave trading in New Orleans. Clearly the wording itself is secondary to the music, but this is really slicing a thin hair when you consider the confidence and creativeness necessary to invent the musical style of “Cubism” in music just to write a song with the lyrics you need. Much has been made of Dylan's own commentary of the wording in his songs, and they were not kind words, but it is obvious to most critics that the wording and music did fit. The fans of his songs, or the Jimi Hendrix song by Dylan, not only forgive using words the way he does which make simple interpretation just about impossible, they adore him for just this reason.

It is easy to contrast Dylan's style with the style and gifts of Dave Matthews, who has played his entire career surrounded by a versatile, creative and incomparably talented core of musicians in the Dave Matthews Band, and also Tim Reynolds as a frequent side project. However, the one bit of control Dave Matthews has made clear in interviews that he is greedy about are the lyrics he writes. He, David J. Matthews, writes them. Matthews has written songs with layered meanings beautifully worded to express disillusionment and beauty, often with religious overtones. Matthews obviously takes delight in writing songs infused with religious arguments between Catholics and Protestant Fundamentalists, such as Grace is Gone and Bartender. In the medium of rock and roll, which is often ashamed of or hostile to religion, there is a consistent expression of spirituality and an understanding of religious concepts unmatched in current mainstream music. Religious devotion and nationalistic pride dominate the song Joyride, although not in a good way, which appeared on the “extra” CD available with Stand Up.

And herein lies the difference between Dylan and Matthews. Matthews never invented a new medium such as Cubism to contain his lyrics because he never had to. His talent was the lyrics, much more so than the music even though he is still one of the most gifted musicians in the business. It is no mistake that Matthews has kept The Dave Matthews Band intact over the past 15 plus years because he does rely on their talents to compliment his own. Dylan does not have this type of loyalty to a band throughout his career.

The Late Bloomers article in the New Yorker and the book Outliers, both by Malcolm Gladwell, were insightful and challenging observations about talent and the work to attain lifelong achievements. Although Mr. Dylan has shown himself to be extremely adept at producing insightful glimpses into the human condition even late into his career, we do not yet know if Dave Matthews has that same longevity. Hopefully, longevity will be a trait Matthews shares with Dylan.