“That harmony”: the standout Kiss song Ace Frehley wishes they could have replicated
All great rock bands have one specific song that can be used as their sonic calling card.
A song that encapsulates the energy, ferocity and identity of the band and ensues chaos amongst whatever sea of unsuspecting listeners it falls upon. There is absolutely no doubting that Kiss track ‘Detroit Rock City’ is one of those songs.
It’s the perfect opener to their seminal 1976 record Destroyer, and subsequently makes up the perfect opener to their live shows and gives uninitiated Kiss fans a reason to wholeheartedly love the band.
Perhaps the most valuable player of the song is Gene Simmons’ dynamic bassline, which not only drives the song forward through its arrangements with power but also pulls in a myriad of genre references that extend the song beyond just a simple rock sugar rush.
While Simmons takes the credit for it both in the studio and on stage, it was actually the producer Bob Ezrin who we have to thank. Ezrin invented the bass line during the recording session by humming its melody and requesting Simmons’ copy along.
But it wasn’t just Simmons who was borderline infantilised by the great producer; it was the whole band. Ezrin sprinkled his vocal methodology over the whole arrangement of the song, requesting guitarists Ace Frehley and Paul Stanley to do the same. Understanding that in Ezrin, they had a mighty fine producer who could take their rock brand to another, more polished level, they willingly followed him into the creative breaches and in return, they were given a string of career-defining hits.
Frehley has never been shy to commend the influence of Ezrin since then, claiming the producer “was a big help in getting me and Paul to play together. For instance, the guitar solo on ‘Detroit Rock City’ – that harmony Paul and I did together – always stands out in my mind as a dual lead that we played together. When I look back on our history, I wish we would have done more of that.”
‘Detroit Rock City’ is a perfectly good example of just how influential Ezrin was on Kiss during Destroyer. But ultimately, it’s the sort of song that the band were willing to be drawn out of, as they built on the heavy rock foundations that they had garnered success for.
The true influence of Ezrin on the band can be heard in the unlikely ballad that features on the B-side: ‘Beth’. It’s a more tender composition that called for drummer Peter Criss to reluctantly pare back on his power, which was the cause of scepticism for the band, who firmly believed that they existed exclusively in the rock realms.
“Paul and Gene wanted to take ‘Beth’ off the album,” the band’s manager, Bill Aucoin, recalled. But Ezrin held firm and saw the promise of the song and its ability to extend the band into further, more musically respected realms.
He knew that they were more than just one-dimensional rock players and could instead perform a song that exhibited some sense of craft. Against their own judgment, the band trusted Ezrin, only for him to be proven right and ultimately deliver the band one of their most beloved songs.
