by By rock and roll standards, there aren’t too many people lacking in confidence the same way Gene Simmons is.
As much as he would readily admit that he was far from the greatest musician in the world, hearing him talk about the Kiss brand as a merchandising machine is rivalled only by the Gallagher brothers in terms of rock and roll self-belief. Although that can be a major turn-off for people that don’t want to be sold a product every time they hear him speak, that’s not to say that Simmons can’t be diplomatic about the true artists of the world.
But you have to realise that Kiss was never going to be a “serious” band by any stretch of the imagination. Most people would have to do a lot of stretching to convince themselves that they were saying something profound on records like Love Gun and Destroyer, and even when they did try to go in a more serious direction, there was always a chance that they were going to be laughed out of the room the minute that they came out with albums like Music from the Elder.
The makeup was already a little much for anyone to take in before they even heard a note of their music, but Simmons still knew that a good song triumphed over everything else. He had studied under what Lennon and McCartney had done before him, and he was going to every trick in the book to make sure people were coming back, even if it was one of the most sinister lyric sheets anyone had ever seen.
That approach made them a boatload of money, but when the 1990s rolled around, kids simply weren’t into that kind of band anymore. Admittedly, Kiss did try to adapt with the times on albums like Carnival of Souls, but no one was going to listen to them when they easily had more interesting bands like Alice in Chains to fall back on. Simmons could certainly appreciate the new school, but by those standards, Radiohead were coming at rock and roll from a much different angle.
Sure, they got their foot in the door sounding like your average rock and roll outfit, but when listening to OK Computer and Kid A, they were far more interested in making art rock whenever they walked into the studio. Not everything was the most accessible record ever made, but as long as Thom Yorke was at the microphone, Simmons felt that it was more than enough for him to throw on the stereo.
Despite not agreeing with the band’s revolutionary way of releasing In Rainbows in the 2000s, Simmons had to admit that Yorke was one of the truly gifted singers in the genre, saying, “Thom Yorke is an amazing songwriter and one of the finest vocal performers around. But you could pay what you want for a Radiohead record? That didn’t last long, did it? And don’t get me wrong – I’m a big fan of Radiohead.”
And it’s not like Simmons doesn’t have good taste when it comes to that voice. Yorke might not be looking to hit those same gravelly tones that he liked from artists like Joe Cocker back in the day, but there’s pure beauty in his voice whenever he plays tunes like ‘Everything In Its Right Place’. It could sound like he’s on the verge of breaking down in some spots, but by rock standards, ‘Fake Plastic Trees’ is the closest thing that the genre will ever come to hearing what an angel sounds like.
But no matter how much Simmons likes Yorke’s voice, it might be for the best for him to keep his distance from that style of music. Everyone’s entitled to like what they want, but a remix of a Radiohead song done by Simmons is bound to be either one of the funniest releases ever made or an absolute trainwreck.
