Pop’stache has learned exclusively from anonymous sources that fresh on the heels of the band’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the band’s appearance on the cover of the new issue of Rolling Stone, KISS plan on releasing its first ever tribute album.
While numerous people have recorded KISS covers and tributes (and have a Shonen Knife that love them), KISS have never before recorded versions of other artists’ songs, begging the question, “Why now?”
Bassist, blood spitter and tongue wagger Gene Simmons was quoted as saying that when they discovered last year was that “the greatest band that no one has ever heard of,” power-pop band Sloan, was releasing a double LP with one side dedicated to each singer-songwriter in the group, they were reminded of their own creative nadir, the four solo records that each KISS member released in 1978.
Although the Sloan double album has yet to be released (most recent reports indicate that it’s about half-finished), Simmons said that one of the band’s fans had sent him a mix CD of Sloan’s most KISS-inspired recordings, and they were intrigued by the band’s “under the radar” merging of ’70’s hard rock power chords and pop leanings.
Lead singer and guitarist Paul Stanley was quoted as saying, “We’ve been the greatest band in rock and roll for what seems like forever now, and if you just look at our make-up, it’s like we’re the same four people, just like Sloan. Once Gene turned me on to Sloan, we started listening to the their records, and it was clear that they and their producers draw a lot of inspiration from us, and it felt right to return the favor at this juncture of our historic career. And while, we’ve been around a lot longer than they have, their twenty plus year career as a foursome is still pretty impressive.”
“We know this will throw a lot of our fans for a curve,” Simmons was quoted as saying, “but we honestly think this is our best idea since the KISS coffin.”
As of press time, representatives of Sloan were unavailable for comment, but the band members are rumored to be highly honored, if not a little bemused.
