Shout It Out Loud: The Story of Kiss's Destroyer and the Making of an American Icon

I thought the cover and photos were good; however, I thought this was a very dull read. Too much writing on Alice Cooper (which if I was reading a book on Alice Cooper, I would enjoy), and others and not enough detail of KISS' work on Destroyer. I wound up skipping sections and then midway through gave up.I also thought this book was too chock-full of quotes that I've read in other publications. I would not recommend this one.

A difficult read. Very annoyingly written. I cringed every time KISS was called “The Act” and that seemed like hundreds of times. Way too detailed on non Destroyer subjects. I almost gave up several times but finally made it to some interesting information.. I did ultimately find the last several chapters interesting, but was way too hard getting there.

i have never claimed to be a KISS fan. what i am, however is a fan of music. all music. well nearly all music. country sucks. when one of my favorite authors published a book detailing the behind the scenes experience of the recording of KISS' destroyer album, i decided to finally see what all the fuss was about. the gorgeous 400 page book arrived in the mail and i silently wondered what the hell i got myself into. i was hardly interested in reading 400 pages about gene simmons recording studio antics. but nearly the moment i cracked open the smooth, velvety covered paperback, i was hooked. campion writes his book not only for the intense KISS fanatic, but for the casual fan, for the music lover, for me.band history, production techniques, song origins, and hilarious practical jokes between the crew and band members are detailed and shared throughout. i "get it" now. KISS rocks. this book rocks. in fact, it detroit rock city rocks. this book makes an incredible gift for the KISS lover in your life or a wonderful read for any music fanatic.

Painful to read. This writer spends more pages reprinting song lyrics and quoting from other books than actually providing information. The book is supposed to be about the making of destroyer. At 110 pages in I put the book down for good. I couldn't get through it. This writers self indulgent style totaly out weighs the content the book is titled to be about. I've read lots of books about Kiss. This was a huge disappointment.

"Shout It Out Loud" by James Campion is not only the very best book about Kiss. But, it is so because it is also an excellent example of rigorous scholarly work on a pop culture subject. Despite being a huge Kiss fan, I have always been more or less disappointed by books on Kiss. They often do not provide an interesting critical analysis of Kiss's music and times. They often limit themselves to provide the reader with more or less useful information, with no or little critical filter. James Campion as well presents all information we need to understand the historical and musical context where Destroyer comes out. And yet, his analysis of the record-making process uses this context to stress and make the reader fully realize the exceptional character of Kiss's masterpiece. It seems that Campion has not written his book only for Kiss's fans (as all the other books seem to have been written for) but, for anybody interested in American pop culture in the Seventies, and in particular to convince anybody of Kiss's' greatness. His book reminds me of another great scholar (maybe the greatest) in American music (although of another epoch), Peter Guralnick.

Loved reading about "The Act", even if the author constantly referring to them as "The Act" did get a little annoying after a while. But that aside, it was filled with great insights regarding the whys and hows of conceiving and recording Destroyer. That KISS brushed aside Bob Ezrin in favor of Eddie Kramer for the follow-up is probably one of the most ridiculous decisions they ever made (right up there with "The Hawk" makeup years later), given all the brilliance he provided on Destroyer.Anyway, a fun read, highly recommended.

James Campion writes about music with the combined passion of a writer, a musician, and a Jersey boy who channels Hunter S Thompson. In "Shout It Out Loud" he is able to recreate the ethos of 1976 America, when KISS Alive (along with Frampton Comes Alive) was setting the standard for live albums, but instead of it being a literal KISS-and-tell it's the story of how America's loudest band created an album that made those of us, in our mid-teenage years, go "Huh? What was THAT?" before playing air guitar to "Detroit Rock City" for the next 40 years. While bits and pieces of the stories may have received previous publicity, there they come together in a story that shines a bright light on the early career of Bob Ezrin, explores the dynamics of the band and their musical direction (or lack thereof) and what it's really like to get an album written, played and produced.Campion charts a hit of his own here, not only reliving some of the loudest days of my (flaming) youth but providing carefully researched and thought out answers to "What was that?" starting with the car accident imagery of "Detroit Rock City".

The author really nailed it. It pretty much has everything and anything you want to know about the making of Destroyer, plus he sets the environment both leading up to its release as well as what happened next. I enjoyed this more than many of the other Kiss books that are just quotes strung together.

Torturous read, the author has forgotten the basic principle of writing this book,its to entertain,this is book is painful to read and not enjoyable at all.Having over 20 Kiss books ,its fair to say i enjoy reading about this band but sadly this is easily the worst book i've read about Kiss,every chapter a chore,normally i would devour a book in a couple of days but this was put down after,every,chapter with no enthusiasm to start another.Reading the cover your lulled into the belief that you'll be regaled with interesting anecdotes from the band and others present,rather we get inane information overdose...I dont care wether a song was in 4/4 time,7/4 time ,it middle eights,it was B flat or a G minor chord etc, i dont care what tape was on the shure microphone..i wanted genuine tales from the band and the sessions.The author is too clever for his own good and his constant referral to KISS as the 'ACT' becomes tiresome after the first couple of chapters,by the time i came across the incredible typo?,referring to Ken Kelly raking in the work after doing the sleeve,including the 'Rainbow Rising ' sleeve for Deep Purple !!!!! i'd had enough.If you must have everything then go ahead and purchase otherwise leave well alone.

Über 334 Seiten und in 22 Kapiteln beschreibt der Autor "James Campion" in verständlichem Englisch in sehr ausführlichen Abhandlungen die "KISStory" vor dem bahnbrechneden Album und natürlich alles um das Überalbum "Destroyer". Der Autor war ,wie ich selbst 13 Jahre alt, als er sich das Album 1976 erstmalig kaufte. Der persönliche Bezug wird immer wieder erkennbar, aber dies geht nicht zu Lasten der objektiven Information durch viele Interviews und umfangrieche Quellen, die (fast) alle wichtigen Bücher über "KISS" berücksichtigen. Neben den realtiv neuen Biographien der "Original Members" zitiert er oft aus "Behind the Mask", "KISS and Sell" "Alive ! Forever" "Nothing to loose", "And Party Every Day" sowie aus einschägigen Magazine Artikeln wie "Destroyer: Recording and Marketing of a Rock and Roll classic" aus dem KISS Magazine Spring 2005 und klassichen Artikeln wie "Invasion of the Glitter Goths" aus dem "Circus" Magazine von1975. Alle Details im Zusammenhang mit dem Album werden beleuchtet und alle Beteiligten kommen zu Wort. Die Studiosessions werden hier ausführlich beschrieben und von "Corky Stasiak" und dem Mastermind hinter allem "Bob Ezrin" erklärt. Technische Details sind hier mal wichtiger als welches "Groupie" alle Musikern während der Aufnahmen zur Verfügung stand. so wird auch geklärt wer das Geschirr abspült, das während der ersten Sekunden auf der Platte zu hören ist. Die Abschlußsoundcollage der LP, die auf den ersten Vinylausgaben, gar nicht zu hören war, wird in den Zusammenhang mit experimentellen Komponisten wie "Steve Reich" gestellt. Andere Rockstars wie "Alice Cooper", "Aerosmith" und "Lou Reed(RIP)" und deren Aufnahmesession werden verständlicherweise mit ins Feld geführt, da sie in den Zeitraum fallen und ebenfalls mit den Beteiligten durchgeführt wurden. Der Autor versucht auch im "Nachwort" zu klären, was es mit dem Autounfall eines KISS Fans auf sich hat, der zu Beginn von "Detroit Rock City" im Radio dokumentiert wird.Jedem Song ist ein Kapitel gewidmet, indem neben dem Song-Text, lautmalerisch und beschreibend der Hintegrund und die Absicht/Aussage desselben erklärt wird. So gelesen/interpretiert könnte Destroyer auch als Konzetalbum durchgehen, wie später "Music for the Elder" oder "The Wall" von "Pink Floyd", "Berlin" von "Lou Reed"(RIP) oder "Welcome to my Nightmare" von "Alice Cooper", die alle von "Bob Ezrin" in dieser Machart produziert wurden. Das Cover von "Ken Kelly" und das Layout werden natürlich auch detailiert berücksichtigt und gelten als eine der KISS Ikonischen Abbildungen schlechthin. Im Kombination mit der "Spirit of 76" Tour, den neuen Kostümen und den hymnischen Songs sowie dem Überraschungserfolg von "Beth" konnten "KISS" nach dem Erfolg von "Alive!" hier ihren Supestarstatus begründen und wurden zu"Ikonen der amerkanischen Kultur". Das Buch enthält wie üblich auch einige Seiten mit Fotos ziwschen den Kapiteln, 2mal 8 Seiten mit teilweise ungewöhnlichen Photos von den Beteiligten wie "Dick Wagner" Dennis Woloch" und "Mark Ravitz", der die Bühne für die "Spirit of 76" Tour entwarf. Sehr viele lesenwerte Infos auf 379 Seiten mit den Anhängen, wenn man sich für dieses Album interessiert, ohne das der Autor sich in langweilige Auflistungen oder ausufernde unwichtige Abhandlungen verzettelt.Klare Empfehlung an alle "KISS Nerds". Für mich wohl eins der besten Bücher über "KISS", wenn nicht sogar das Beste, wenn man auf Fotos verzichten kann. (?)

I admittedly have read almost every book written on Kiss, so yes, you can call me a fan. I avoided this book, for it seemed to be second hand news, without much input from the band members. I was pleasantly surprised at the wealth of information it contains. From Bob Ezrin, to Corky Stasiak and Jay Messina, with countless others, there is some wonderful inside information on how the recording of the album Destroyer went down. From the seeds of ideas that became songs, to the iconic cover art, to the inclusion of a classically trained orchestra that coloured specific tracks, it's all here for your consumption. The book starts off slow, with a history lesson on Casablanca Records and the quiet beginnings of one Bob Ezrin, then known for turning an obscure shock rock act named Alice Cooper into a superstar. But these are not put here without purpose. The author is setting up the story nicely of how a relatively new label and a young upstart producer played such an important role in creating a masterpiece of an album that would become pivotal in the band's success, a career that would span decades. You will appreciate the exhaustive research the author has put into his work. Almost as good as the album itself. The book wraps up nicely with an update and words from all the players involved. I couldn't put the book down, and I see myself reading this book several more times.

A good equilibrum of intricate details of vintage technicality and, witch, in the age of digital easiness, make the entire tableau of sonic art even more interesting in it's artisanal artistry and the counterbalance of Kisstories that some are well known by real fans and some new tales and perspective thrown in; definitely a good for first of all Kiss fans, but also for people working in the industry to be witness of how it was done then, and to rock fans in general to have an overhall view on how a classic rock album was made in the 1970s.Thanks for the good work Mr. Campion; definitely a labor of love

Great Book,I took a while to decide to buy it but so glad I did.4 stars only because there was some info that came from other Kiss books.Worth it just to read about Bob Ezrin, fantastic stuff,really amazing.If you don't have this book go buy it thats all I can say.