Spoilers

Week twenty-six of the Sunday Morning Sidewalk takes a bit of a turn as we start our first documentary series, a two-part show originally on A & E (which I watched on Disney +) featuring the EYG Hall of Fame rock band known as KISS.

The first episode of the series was about an hour and a half and outlined the early days of the band and their struggle to rise to the top of the record business, all the while struggling with their personal turmoil and behavior.

The doc heavily featured new interviews from Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons, but only had archival footage or interviews with band members Peter Criss and Ace Frehley. There was a disclaimer that appeared in the documentary stating that Ace and Peter refused to participate in KISStory and did not agree with the presentation. That really triggered my curiosity. I knew that there had been issues between the band for years, especially with Ace and Peter, and I wanted to know why they refused to participate. Online, what I could find was that Ace and Peter refused because the amount of money offered was insultingly low and that they wanted final editing rights. I don’t know where that came from. Apparently, Peter Criss also refused to allow the song “Beth” to be used in the doc so that was in my head the entire time they were discussing the success of that song and how it helped propel the group upwards.

Peter and Ace were shown to have their own problems, specifically with alcohol and drugs, but I do not think it was done to the exclusion of the others. Gene spoke of his own issues, trying to put his ego aside while Paul spoke about plenty of his own troubles, including his anxiety over a birth defect he had with his ear. It did not feel like the doc piled on Ace and Peter. They definitely included how important they were to the band. Heck, even Gene and Paul admitted that the band’s sound did not come into focus until Ace came in to audition.

The feelings of the band were being made clear as they became more successful and started doing things like “KISS Meets the Phantom” or going more disco with “I Was Made for Loving You.” They addressed how some fans felt as if the group sold out as the success came fast. You could tell from the way Paul and Gene spoke about it that they felt much the same way, but they could not refuse it.

The clips from the Tom Snyder interview where Ace was clearly drunk were amazing. The looks on the faces of Gene and Paul were unmistakable and were painful to watch. The anger in their eyes was so obvious that anyone should have been able to see it.

The first episode ended with Ace’s announcement that he wanted to do solo work, and the band was definitely falling apart.

I truly would wish to have had more than just Paul and Gene’s voices in the doc, reflecting back on the history of this band. Peter and Ace’s absence 100% put a cloud over the documentary, even if it felt as if the doc did a good job of being balanced despite of their absence.

Next week will be part two of KISStory for the Sunday Morning Sidewalk and we’ll see where the band went from there.