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A review by sarina_johnston
Face the Music: A Life Exposed by Paul Stanley
4.0
First off, I feel it is important to just put it out there that I am not a KISS freak. I am not a member of the KISS Army or anything like that. I am a diehard Bon Jovi fan (and now Def Leppard, although Bon Jovi will always be number one in my book), and my type of music is hair bands, not KISS.
Don't get my wrong - I do like KISS music. I did see them on their tour with Def Leppard in August 2014 (although I went for Def Leppard, but knew I couldn't leave during KISS because, come on, they're legends).
So why, might you ask, did I read this book when I'm not even a big KISS fan? I don't even know the answer to that question. After I saw them with Def Leppard, I was like, "Hey, I kind of want to read Paul Stanley's book." So I got it on hold at the library and I read it.
Now, on to the actual review. I was extremely surprised when reading this book. The writing style was so much better than I ever could have expected, and when he was talking about something I cared about or was at least interested in, I found it quite easy to read. It was very nice.
I was also extremely shocked to discover Paul had only one ear throughout most of his life. What kind of musician has only one ear?! It was strange to read about how life was for him as a child. Speaking of which, his childhood reminds me somewhat of my grandfather's, excepted Paul was much more blessed. He didn't get a lot of affection from either parent during childhood, and I felt bad for him about that.
A HUGE problem I had with Face the Music was Paul's constant bashing of Peter Criss and Ace and even Gene. I mean, come on! Maybe they're not the best people and made a lot of mistakes in their life, but who hasn't? He was constantly saying Ace and Peter couldn't play and had no talent (ironic considering Ace's latest album hit #9 on the charts). It's also ironic that he continued to mention their talentlessness considering he sounded terrible when I saw him live - and no, it wasn't the venue, because Joe Elliott sounded amazing. In any case, Paul's constant whining about his band mates got really old really fast.
I was also bothered by how much he talked about the sex he had with groupies (not in a lot of detail, but his "women" were mentioned often), although I was expecting it coming into the book. I was just tired of him mentioning it all the time.
I liked reading about KISS's history. I thought that aspect of the book was really cool. Going into it, I didn't know a lot about KISS, but now I feel like an expert. It was cool to be in with the action going on behind the scenes and to know how KISS got to where it is.
In conclusion, I was very surprised at how much I really did enjoy this book. I didn't think I would. I've never read nonfiction before, and definitely not an autobiography, but it was a good first experience.
4 stars!
Don't get my wrong - I do like KISS music. I did see them on their tour with Def Leppard in August 2014 (although I went for Def Leppard, but knew I couldn't leave during KISS because, come on, they're legends).
So why, might you ask, did I read this book when I'm not even a big KISS fan? I don't even know the answer to that question. After I saw them with Def Leppard, I was like, "Hey, I kind of want to read Paul Stanley's book." So I got it on hold at the library and I read it.
Now, on to the actual review. I was extremely surprised when reading this book. The writing style was so much better than I ever could have expected, and when he was talking about something I cared about or was at least interested in, I found it quite easy to read. It was very nice.
I was also extremely shocked to discover Paul had only one ear throughout most of his life. What kind of musician has only one ear?! It was strange to read about how life was for him as a child. Speaking of which, his childhood reminds me somewhat of my grandfather's, excepted Paul was much more blessed. He didn't get a lot of affection from either parent during childhood, and I felt bad for him about that.
A HUGE problem I had with Face the Music was Paul's constant bashing of Peter Criss and Ace and even Gene. I mean, come on! Maybe they're not the best people and made a lot of mistakes in their life, but who hasn't? He was constantly saying Ace and Peter couldn't play and had no talent (ironic considering Ace's latest album hit #9 on the charts). It's also ironic that he continued to mention their talentlessness considering he sounded terrible when I saw him live - and no, it wasn't the venue, because Joe Elliott sounded amazing. In any case, Paul's constant whining about his band mates got really old really fast.
I was also bothered by how much he talked about the sex he had with groupies (not in a lot of detail, but his "women" were mentioned often), although I was expecting it coming into the book. I was just tired of him mentioning it all the time.
I liked reading about KISS's history. I thought that aspect of the book was really cool. Going into it, I didn't know a lot about KISS, but now I feel like an expert. It was cool to be in with the action going on behind the scenes and to know how KISS got to where it is.
In conclusion, I was very surprised at how much I really did enjoy this book. I didn't think I would. I've never read nonfiction before, and definitely not an autobiography, but it was a good first experience.
4 stars!