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A review by nahret
Face the Music: A Life Exposed by
5.0
I currently have a new obsession, and that's "audiobooks of memoirs, narrated by the author". Paul was an auto-include on the list, as I have been a fan of KISS since I was twelve years old (which, as he recollects, was a very bad indicator of where their music had gone at the time).
Memoirs will almost by necessity show the author in a better light than the people they come in contact with, but here I got the impression that Paul does not cut himself any more slack than he does his current and former band mates. He calls himself out on the patterns of dysfunction he learnt in his childhood, and the resulting hang-ups as an adult.
This memoir is really astonishing in the vulnerability that the author shows. The difficulties in his childhood were incredibly severe and tragic, and he carried a lot of them into his adult life. What distinguishes him from most of his peers is his self-reflection and -awareness: he decided at an incredibly young age that he needed therapy, so he went and got it. He is probably correct in saying this saved his life.
Let's get to the dirt: I never realized how very New York Paul Stanley is. He has no chill with those who wronged him, and he dishes it out. Obviously, Ace and Peter are portrayed in a less than flattering way, and Paul's relationship with Gene should probably be described as "ambiguous". But all of it reads genuine, and he often sounds more disappointed than straight-up angry.
I obviously loved the narration; this is Paul Stanley, after all. All in all, I think he allows us a very honest look at his life. I enjoyed it immensely.
Memoirs will almost by necessity show the author in a better light than the people they come in contact with, but here I got the impression that Paul does not cut himself any more slack than he does his current and former band mates. He calls himself out on the patterns of dysfunction he learnt in his childhood, and the resulting hang-ups as an adult.
This memoir is really astonishing in the vulnerability that the author shows. The difficulties in his childhood were incredibly severe and tragic, and he carried a lot of them into his adult life. What distinguishes him from most of his peers is his self-reflection and -awareness: he decided at an incredibly young age that he needed therapy, so he went and got it. He is probably correct in saying this saved his life.
Let's get to the dirt: I never realized how very New York Paul Stanley is. He has no chill with those who wronged him, and he dishes it out. Obviously, Ace and Peter are portrayed in a less than flattering way, and Paul's relationship with Gene should probably be described as "ambiguous". But all of it reads genuine, and he often sounds more disappointed than straight-up angry.
I obviously loved the narration; this is Paul Stanley, after all. All in all, I think he allows us a very honest look at his life. I enjoyed it immensely.