Peter Criss: Makeup to Breakup KISS

 Peter Criss: Makeup to Breakup 

With Larry “RATSO” Sloman




I was so sick of that Peter Criss story. You know the one where he swallowed the barrel of a gun. I was so tired of that story that by the time I read the book “Makeup to Breakup My Life in and out of KISS” it had affected my enjoyment of the book.


Criss leads off with that very story. It’s the one he was using to sell the book after all. I really wish he had used another story, any other story to start the book.


I wonder who actually thought up the great name for this book. Was it Kiss drummer Peter Criss who dreamt up this great title for his book or was that Mr.Sloman?  Regardless, Makeup to Breakup tells the Peter Criss story. 


I remember hearing the story of how Mr. Criscuola sucked down a .357 magnum and came close to pulling the trigger. Criss was doing a raft of interviews and I listened to this story over and over again. It’s as though it was the single most crucial moment in his life. It might well have been but I got tired of hearing it.


It was a great story and interviewers always praised his brave willingness to tell his story. I hated it. I hated the story. I hated hearing the story and it began to change my whole attitude towards Mr. Criss.


What should happen when I begin reading this book? Right out of the gate, the very beginning of the book is that gun story. As I read it I heard Peter Criss’ voice telling his well-rehearsed story. Ugh.


That shaped my whole perception of the book. This book sucked. It was so bad. I kept hearing his whiny, thin voice reading me the story. It was awful.


There are some cool pre-Kiss and early Kiss era pictures. There are other pics and family pics that no one except his family will care about. 


I don’t know that there are any stories that anyone would really care about. Thinking back, I thought his description of the early years of Kiss was fine. But there was nothing that seemed new. 


I am certain there were Kiss stories that he could have used to sell the book but he chose not to. He chose to lead with the gun story.


There was nothing new or revelatory in Peter Criss: Makeup to Breakup. The entire selling point is the gun-down-the-throat story. That’s too bad because I would have thought Peter Criss of Kiss would have more important stories about his band and his life within it.


The book is his story and Peter Criss is entitled to it but I didn’t like the book from the jump. I can only recommend you read this if you are a truly dedicated Kiss fan. 


Maybe you’ve been a fan since 1974 and have bought everything that has the Kiss name on it. Then sure. Buy it to complete your collection. But there is really no reason to read this.


The best thing about Makeup to Breakup is the fact that you can read this in a few hours. It’s not very deep nor is it very well written. Grab it cheap just to complete your collection. 


I admit that I had a bias against Peter Criss when I began “Makeup to Breakup”. Mr. Criss failed to turn me into a fan of his book. 


 To be clear, I have always been a fan of the first Kiss era more than any other. I was looking forward to reading that book. Then Peter began the book with that story. 


If you truly feel you must read this then sure, but it’s nothing more than a perfectly passable passel of papers.

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