My 400 word Glam Rock/Kiss article

[irishaxl]

Glam Rock / Kiss


There was a time when the principal practitioners of rock n’ roll music dressed in make up, spandex pants and high heels, not afraid to show their glamorous or feminine side and sang about everything under the sun that they could back up with a catchy guitar lick.

This was known as “glam” or “glitter rock” which bands and artists such as The Sweet and David Bowie introduced in the early 1970s. This sub-genre of rock n’ roll quickly became known as a “rebellion against the rebellion” in rock music at the time. It was these perhaps, lesser celebrated acts who paved the way for many “glam” bands formed in the seventies such as Queen, Alice Cooper and Iggy Pop. But none of these bands matched the flamboyancy, showmanship or excitement which a little foursome wearing face paint from the streets of New York created.

This band is of course the one and only, Kiss. Kiss first rose to fame in the mid seventies with their big hair, cat suits and seven inch leather heels, oh and the music of course. This was somewhat of a problem for Stanley and co. as their first three records failed to make a big impact as their studio music was to some extent overshadowed by their elaborate live performances, where bassist Gene Simmons spit blood and breathed fire. To overcome this problem, Kiss released their first live album, “Kiss Alive” which achieved platinum success and also spawned the band’s first Top 40 single, “Rock N’ Roll All Nite”.

The main distinctive feature however, which showed originality in the band was their face paint. Each member became a certain fictional cartoon character. Paul Stanley became the “Star Child”, Ace Frehley the “Space Ace”, Peter Criss, “Cat Man” and Gene Simmons, “The Demon”. Other bands wore excessive amounts of make up, but they could not hold a candle to Kiss, whose faces were entirely covered with black and white paint.

After the “Alive” album had reached quadruple platinum sales Kiss released one of their most ambitious and inspiring albums to date, the monstrous “Destroyer” which contained the hit tracks, “Do You Love Me?”, “Detroit Rock City” and the emotional ballad “Beth” as sung by the “Cat Man” Peter Criss.

Although the pinnacle of Kiss’ career was around a period of thirty years ago and the original lineup have long since disbanded, their legacy lives on, inspiring new young artists to keep the “glam rock” scene alive. Bands such as The Darkness and Vains of Jenna have proven to be the most successful, but even with their own on stage antics, nothing matches to the spectacle that was, Kiss.


Please let me know what you think and please tell me what I could change to make it better, thanks

[Rock Diva]

Good introduction, very good write-up and linking of your points, it shows that you're writing about something you're passionate for. There were problems with repeating yourself, and very minor punctuation errors, so I've edited and made suggestions in bold, you obviously don't have to accept them but they're just ideas on what could improve.

You've done very well though.


Glam Rock / Kiss

There was a time when the principal practitioners of rock n’ roll music wore spandex pants, high heels and make-up, unafraid to show a glamorous, feminine side, and sang about everything possible they could support with a catchy guitar lick. This was known as “Glam Rock”, and it was introduced by bands such as The Sweet and David Bowie in the early 1970s. This sub-genre of rock n’ roll quickly became known as a “rebellion against the rebellion” in rock music at the time. It was these, perhaps lesser celebrated acts, who paved the way for more popular “glam” bands formed in the seventies such as Queen, Alice Cooper and Iggy Pop. However, none of the mentioned bands matched the flamboyancy, showmanship or excitement which a certain foursome from the streets of New York created, armed with face paint.

This band is of course the one and only Kiss. Kiss first rose to fame in the mid-seventies with their big hair, catsuits and seven inch leather heels. And there was the music of course. The band was made up of Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley etc. The novelty of their outfits ? proved a problem for the band as their first three records failed to make an impact, because their studio music was to a certain extent overshadowed by their elaborate live performances, during which bassist Gene Simmons spat blood and breathed fire. To combat this problem, Kiss released their first live album “Kiss Alive”, which achieved platinum success - (which is ?) and spawned the band’s first Top 40 single “Rock N’ Roll All Nite”.

The most distinctive and original gimmick the band exploited ? was their love for face paint. Each member became a fictional cartoon character; Paul Stanley became the “Star Child”, Ace Frehley the “Space Ace”, Peter Criss, “Cat Man” and Gene Simmons, “The Demon”. Other bands wore excessive amounts of make up, but they could not hold a candle to Kiss, whose faces were entirely covered with black and white paint.

After the “Alive” album had reached quadruple platinum sales Kiss released one of their most ambitious and inspiring albums to date, the monstrous “Destroyer” which contained the hit tracks, “Do You Love Me?”, “Detroit Rock City” and the emotional ballad “Beth” as sung by the “Cat Man” Peter Criss. (proof that this album was ambitious etc ? did it have huge sales, for example ?)

Although the pinnacle of Kiss’ career was reached some thirty years ago and the original line-up have long since disbanded, their legacy lives on to inspire younger artists to keep the “Glam Rock” scene alive. Contemporary bands such as The Darkness and Vains of Jenna have proven to be the most successful of this new age of glam rockers, but even with their own on-stage antics, nothing lives up to the incredible spectacle that was Kiss.

[irishaxl]

Thanks Diva, that was really helpful.

Heres draft no.2 :

Glam Rock / Kiss


There was a time when the leading artists of rock n’ roll music dressed in make up, spandex pants and high heels, not afraid to show their glamorous or feminine side and sang about everything under the sun that they could back up with a catchy guitar lick.

This was known as “glam” or “glitter rock” which bands and artists such as The Sweet and David Bowie introduced in the early 1970s. This sub-genre of rock n’ roll quickly became known as a “rebellion against the rebellion” in rock music at the time. It was these perhaps, lesser celebrated acts who paved the way for more popular “glam” bands formed in the seventies such as Queen, Alice Cooper and Iggy Pop. However, none of the mentioned bands matched the flamboyancy, showmanship or excitement which a certain foursome from the streets of New York had created, armed only with face paint.

This band is of course the one and only, Kiss. Kiss first rose to fame in the mid seventies with their big hair, cat suits and seven inch leather heels, and of course the music. The band was made up of Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss. However the novelty of Stanley and co’s live performances proved to be an unexpected problem as their first three records failed to make an impact. Their studio music was to some extent overshadowed by their elaborate live performances, during which bassist Gene Simmons spit blood and breathed fire. To combat this problem, Kiss released their first live album, “Kiss Alive” which achieved platinum success and also spawned the band’s first Top 40 single, “Rock N’ Roll All Nite”.

The most distinctive and original gimmick the band exploited was their face paint. Each member became a certain fictional cartoon character. Paul Stanley became the “Star Child”, Ace Frehley the “Space Ace”, Peter Criss, “Cat Man” and Gene Simmons, “The Demon”. Other bands wore excessive amounts of make up, but they could not hold a candle to Kiss, whose faces were entirely covered with black and white paint.

After the “Alive” album had reached quadruple platinum sales Kiss released one of their most ambitious and inspiring albums to date, the monstrous “Destroyer” which contained the hit tracks, “Do You Love Me?”, “Detroit Rock City” and the emotional ballad “Beth” as sung by the “Cat Man” Peter Criss. This album proved to be a success as it stayed in the charts a massive, seventy eight weeks.

Although the pinnacle of Kiss’ career was reached some thirty years ago and the original lineup have long since disbanded, their legacy lives on, to inspire younger artists to keep the “glam rock” scene alive. Contemporary Bands such as The Darkness and Vains of Jenna have proven to be the most successful of this new age of glam rockers, but even with their own on stage antics, nothing lives up to the incredible spectacle that was Kiss.

[Rock Diva]

Looks nice, yeah.

[irishaxl]

Here's what me, and the 3 other guys our english teacher picked are doing it for:

http://www.hotpress.com/2898293.html

[misterbrownstone]

nice use of There Was a Time :\  :p.

very nice paper, brother.

[irishaxl]

nice use of There Was a Time :\  :p.

very nice paper, brother.

Haha yeah, I immediatley thought of Guns when I wrote that.

Meh, it's alright.. I hate the way it has to be so short though

[misterbrownstone]

oh!

isn't it usually KISS and not Kiss?