The KISS RE-REVIEW SERIES Part 47: The Conclusion
Two years ago, I bought this CD to use as the final review for the KISS Re-Review Series. I hadn’t played it. I hadn’t even opened it. I wanted to save it for our conclusion…so here it is. A lot happened since we started, most notably the current End of the Road farewell tour. Let’s wrap this series up in a bow. And to do that properly you’ll find links to every single part and supplement to the KISS Re-Review Series below!
– KISSworld – The Best of Kiss (2017 Mercury)
You know what KISSworld makes me miss? The good old days when bands would bribe you into buying their new hits compilation by including something you didn’t have already. In 1978, Kiss re-recorded “Strutter” for Double Platinum. In ’82, Kiss recorded “I’m A Legend Tonight”, “Partners In Crime”, “Nowhere To Run” and “I’m A Legend Tonight” for inclusion on the UK compilation Killers. And in ’88, Paul Stanley produced two new songs (“Let’s Put the X in Sex” and “(You Make Me) Rock Hard”) for Smashes, Thrashes & Hits. Not great songs, but new ones at least, so you felt less foolish for handing Kiss more of your money. By the time of 1996’s Greatest KISS album, they tacked on a new “live” version of “Shout It Out Loud”, and from that point on they pretty much gave up giving you any added value. True, they did record “Samurai Son” for 2005’s KISS 40, but that was a mere blip in the overall pattern.
So in terms of reviews, all you can really talk about is song choice and running order. It looks like KISSworld is just a revamping of various versions of KISS 40. The running order is no longer chronological, but the songs are the same. Opener “Crazy Crazy Nights” was on the single CD KISS 40. “Unholy” was on the double CD version of KISS 40, albeit live. “I’m A Legend Tonight” was on both, and so on. It would have been nice to hear something you don’t get very often, like “All Hell’s Breaking Loose” or “Got to Choose”, but nobody expects bravery from a Kiss tracklist or setlist these days.
Kiss Dynasty poster
Fans who were buying Kiss albums during the peak years probably miss the excellent packaging Kiss would throw in for free. Look at the mirror finish of the original Double Platinum LP, or the posters and masks and booklets that came with other albums. Buy a Kiss CD today, get nothin’! KISSworld has one vintage 1974 black and white photo inside, song credits and nothing else. Granted, we know that Kiss doesn’t come up with these releases, it’s the record label. And we keep buying them and buying them, “for the collection”, even though we know we’re going to be disappointed. The label isn’t thinking of us when they issue this stuff. They think of it as a part of their latest marketing push, aimed at people buying their first Kiss (or first Kiss in decades). But they know — they know — that we fans are buying these things too. They can’t throw us a bone? What is there here for us?
Nothing, except another CD to file in the appropriate slot, making our collections “complete” again. Will you listen to it? Maybe, if you’re tossing coins and can’t decide which greatest hits to play on this particular road trip. It is, however, the most complete of the in-print, easily-acquired hits CDs. For a first timer, it would appear to make sense to grab this over Double Platinum or one of the other choices at the CD shop. You’d be getting a good variety of tunes from over their entire career. But you’re not getting something assembled with any logic or care, nor are you buying a fair representation of their best stuff. In fact, this CD only has one song from their first three albums (“Rock and Roll All Nite”) You could make a greatest hits just from their first three albums! KISSworld‘s ill-considered tracklist is its downfall.
1/5 stars
THE COMPLETE KISS RE-REVIEW SERIES
GETTING MORE TALE #551: “You’re Wrong on Unmasked“ (Introduction to the Kiss Re-Review series)
Part 1: Wicked Lester (1972) & the Eddie Kramer demos (1973)
Part 2: KISS (1974 Casablanca)
Part 3: Hotter Than Hell (1974 Casablanca)
GETTING MORE TALE #353: Hotter Than Hell
Supplemental: DUST – Hard Attack (1972) / Dust (1971) (2013 Sony Legacy)
Part 4: Agora Ballroom 1974 (2015 Go Faster)
Part 5: Dressed To Kill (1975 Casablanca)
Part 6: Alive! (1975 Casablanca)
GETTING MORE TALE #552: Alive!
Part 7: Destroyer (1976 Casablanca)
Part 8: Rock and Roll Over (1976 Casablanca)
Part 9: Love Gun (1977 Casablanca, 2014 deluxe)
Part 10: Alive II (1977 Casablanca)
Part 11: KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park (1978 Hanna-Barbera TV movie)
Part 12: Double Platinum (1978 Casablanca)
Part 13: Peter Criss (1978 Casablanca)
Part 14: Ace Frehley (1978 Casablanca)
Part 15: Gene Simmons (1978 Casablanca)
Part 16: Paul Stanley (1978 Casablanca)
Part 17: Dynasty (1979 Casablanca)
Part 18: Unmasked (1980 Casablanca
Supplemental: PETER CRISS – Out of Control (1980 Casablanca
Part 19: Best of Solo Albums (1979 Phonogram)
Part 20: Music From the Elder (1981 Casablanca, 1997 Mercury remaster)
Part 21: Killers (1982 Germany and Japan versions)
Supplemental: PETER CRISS – Let Me Rock You (1982 Casablanca)
Part 22: Creatures of the Night (1982 Casablanca, 1985 Polygram reissue)
Part 23: Lick It Up (1983 Polygram)
Part 24: Demos 1981-1983 (Bootleg)
Part 25: Animalize (1984 Polygram)
Part 26: Animalize Live Uncensored – audio portion (2015 American Icons)
Part 27: Runaway (1984 Tristar feature film)
GETTING MORE TALE #579: Entering the Asylum
Part 28: Asylum (1985 Polygram)
Part 29: Crazy Nights (1987 Polygram)
Part 30: VINNIE VINCENT INVASION – Vinnie Vincent Invasion (1986 Chysalis)
Part 31: eXposed (1987 Polygram VHS)
Part 32: Monsters of Rock (Bootleg from 1988 tour)
Part 33: In the Land of the Rising Sun (Bootleg from 1988 tour)
Part 34: The Ritz, NYC, 12th August 1988 (2015 American Icons)
Part 35: VINNIE VINCENT INVASION – All Systems Go (1988 Chysalis)
Part 36: Smashes, Thrashes & Hits (1988 Mercury)
Part 37: KISS – Still On Fire (Dave Thomas & Anders Holm (1988 book)
GETTING MORE TALE #608: Hot in the Shade
Part 38: Hot in the Shade (1989 Polygram)
Part 39: “Forever” (1990 Polygram EP
GETTING MORE TALE #690: Unholy Kisses
Part 40: “God Gave Rock & Roll to You II” (1991 Interscope single)
Part 41: ERIC CARR – Rockology (2000 EMI)
Part 42: ERIC CARR – Unfinished Business (2011 Auto Rock Records)
Part 43: Revenge (1992 Polygram)
Part 44: Alive III (1993 Polygram)
Part 45: KISS My Ass – Classic Kiss Regrooved (1994 Polygram)
GETTING MORE TALE #697: Kiss My Ass
Part 46: Toronto – Scotiabank Arena, March 20 2019
Supplemental: KISS Playing Cards
Supplemental: KISS Crocs
Part 47: KISSWorld – The Best of Kiss (2017 Mercury)
AND THERE’S STILL MORE!
72 MORE KISS REVIEWS available by clicking this link!
mikeladano.com 
Double Platinum is one of the only greatest hits sets I actually listen to. I have all the studio albums themselves, but Double Platinum is just so perfectly assembled that it’s a joy to listen to anyway. While there are some great tracks from those first six records that I think could have made it onto Double Platinum, I’m not left yearning for more by the time it’s over. It’s super satisfying.
The four new songs on Killers were weak, it was a mediocre set. They really didn’t even need another greatest hits set after Double Platinum. Only the die hard fans probably care about anything they did after their heyday except maybe for “Lick It Up” and “Heaven’s On Fire”. The rest (as good as some of it is) pretty much flew right under the radar. They definitely didn’t need another after Smashes, Thrashes, & Hits. I’m still waiting for a 12″ dance remix of “A World Without Heroes”.
Too bad you find this one weak, and that the series couldn’t have ended on a high note. But I suppose that’s appropriate given that Paul Stanley certainly isn’t hitting any right now.
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I’m not too big on hits collections either. I prefer live albums. They’re like hits collections, but are better because they are live. That being said, i’ll always have a soft spot for Best of the Beast, and Rainbow’s Universal Masters Collections gets a lot of play at my place. One of the few hits collections to do so.
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Best of the Beast is one we disagree on. I find that one so sluggish, though I love the rarities.
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We are going to have to disagree on Killers! While I think it would have been cooler if they just put out a 4 song EP of new songs, I love that album and actually play it way more frequently than Double Platinum!
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I passed on this… and if there’s not anything substantial that I don’t have I generally pass on comps. I got KISS 40 cause at least it had demos, live versions and stuff like that. But this? Not aimed at me.
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Not aimed at us, my friend! Maybe we’ll get some of Gene’s Vault demos on the next one.
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Yeah hopefully!
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Congrats on completing the series! What a task. I have this. So far listened to it maybe twice.
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I abandoned it more than I finished it. Originally I wanted get up to Psycho-Circus but I don’t think I have anything more to say! So I cut out early :)
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Agreed! This is only for the completist and those who don’t really know Kiss. The fact that there was nothing new swayed me in to getting the Limited Edition Red Vinyl so at least I had something cool out of it.
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Yeah the vinyl is superior because it just plain old looks better. Shame on them for selling us the same old same old though.
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I am tired of buying the same ole shit but for some reason I keep doing.
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You know what? I think your wrong on Unmasked :)
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Do you like Kiss, Harrison? What’s your opinion on Unmasked? I think it’s a bit too poppy, but it’s a decent album. Maybe 3/5. Not as good as Dynasty, or The Elder.
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I can’t tell if you’re lying about The Elder.
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I genuinely like The Elder, it’s pompous, ridiculous fun.
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Watch at 53 seconds
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That’s wicked. Seth Green must be a die hard Kiss fan, or someone on the writing staff. Only the hardcore fans like us would get that one. Got fond memories of blaring Maiden’s Killers and The Elder back to back my freshman year of college on the turntable. “Mr. Blackwell” is nasty and rules. Some good songs and some ridiculousness. Tell Meat he’s wrong on The Elder.
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Nope, not big on Kiss. I like Detroit Rock City, Rock and Roll All Nite and I Was Made For Lovin’ You, but that’s about it. Hate Shout It Out Loud.
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Oh, and “I”. “I” is good too
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I still am wrong. I joked with Meat that maybe I’ll get it right next time.
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You bought it 2 years ago? does that mean there has only been two newer Greatest Hits CD’s from them since you bought it?
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Believe it or not, this is the most recent. I bought the import in 2017 and then in 2018 it was released here, exactly the same.
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Doesn’t that just hurt? like when they released a limited numbered edition of the Blade Runner 2049 soundtrack (which I pre-ordered at great expense) and also issued exactly the same version without a number on it simultaneously. Grande bastardos!
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Sigh. Yeah that drives me nuts. But I’m pretty psyched that you bought that soundtrack. Who’s the composer?
RIP Rutger.
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Rip indeed.
Mostly Hans Zimmer, it’s not great apart from a couple of pieces and the LP is a poor effort – no dialogue, the Sinatra and Elvis tracks just chucked in the middle with no thought for the flow of it. Bag of shite!
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Anyway, if it ain’t got ‘Let’s Put The X In Sex’ on it, I’m not interested!
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Totally agreed.
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Nice selection of tracks that would have made a decent mixed Maxwell cassette tape back in the day!
Cover kinda sucks. Should have used your Dynasty poster as the cover way better picture.
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