Reviews

REVIEW: KISS – Sonic Boom (2009 Walmart 3 disc edition)

We’re not done yet! Part 48 of my series of Kiss reviews, leading up to the release of Monster! See below for my original 2009 review, unaltered.

KISS – Sonic Boom (Walmart exclusive versions — my original review from 2009)

This album was hyped as the the return of classic KISS. Is this the best album since the 1970’s? Personally, not for me. I think both Revenge and Creatures are stronger — heavier, more aggressive, more challenging. However, Sonic Boom is really strong. Paul Stanley’s concept of having all 4 band members write and record without outside help is exactly what KISS fans had been asking for since the semi-disasterous Psycho Circus. It may not be the original members, but this is real KISS and this is real rock.

The production isn’t rough like I was expecting — I was hoping for something more akin to Jack White, since Paul chose to record analog. There are glossy harmonies and background vocals (check out “Stand” and “All For The Glory”) that are very unlike 70’s KISS and more like what happened later on with Revenge.

What grounds this album in the 70’s is Tommy Thayer, who is the star of the show here. Not only does he get a lead vocal (all four members do) but he demonstrates why (whether you like it or not) he was chosen to replace Ace Frehley. Basically, he cops Ace’s style, including several signiture Ace licks. How you feel about this is up to you. KISS have obviously wanted him to sound as much like Ace as he can, and that’s exactly what he does here on Sonic Boom. The result is a series of guitar solos that sound familiar, but are still catchy as hell.

The songwriting here is solidly above average. Paul and Gene write together — something that happens very rarely these days. Along with Thayer they have crafted a series of rock songs (no ballads!) that pay homage to KISS’ past catalogue. Moments of Rock N’ Roll Over are shaded with things that sound like Creatures, Revenge, Psycho Circus and even melodies that could have come from Crazy Nights. So while the press have misled us into thinking this was some 70’s retro-fest, it’s not that at all. Have you heard Angel of Retribution by Judas Priest? This is the same deal. Sonic Boom pays tribute to past KISS sounds, it re-grounds the band. In retrospect that is probably exactly what KISS needed to do. Maybe if they make another album (we can hope!), they will take another step forward like Priest did and come up with something more unique.

Interestingly, at least one song here does actually date back to the 70’s. “Hot and Cold” was written by Gene for Rock and Roll Over in 1976, except back then it was called “Rotten to the Core”. He re-demoed it several times for consideration on various Kiss albums until finally the chorus was re-written as “Hod and Cold”, and included here. So if you think it has some of that “Love ‘Em and Leave ‘Em” vibe, that’s why. Both songs were written at the same time!

I was disappointed about some blantant ripoffs here, riff-wise. “Never Enough” is “Nothing But A Good Time” by Poison rewritten. This is nothing new, unfortunately. Somtimes it worked, sometimed it didn’t. Going back further, if you’re a KISS fan you already know that “Deuce” was ripped off from the Stones, and “I Just Wanna” is “Summertime Blues”. Alice Cooper sued them for using the riff to “I’m Eighteen” on a Paul song called “Dreamin'” This has been happening since day one. Come on, guys.

I won’t comment too much about the bonus CD, Kiss Klasssics, since I have already reviewed the Japanese import version that came out in 2008. What this is, is greatest hits re-recorded. It’s fine — songs were re-recorded so KISS could use them on movie soundtracks and whatnot without having to pay off Universal. No big deal. The sound is OK. “Hotter Than Hell” sounds better than the original, but the rest sound too even and sterile. It’s hard to re-record a group of songs that span two decades, because the originals all have different sounds and vibes. However, again Thayer shines here, because he can nail the Ace solos as well as Kulick’s fantastic “Forever” solo — something even Ace wouldn’t be able to do.

Highlights:
“Modern Day Delilah” — simply catchy as hell, and featuring a really great Paul vocal.
“Yes I Know (Nobody’s Perfect)” — the best Gene song on the album, and one of the most 70’s-sounding. Simply infectious!
“All For The Glory” — Eric Singer shreds on his first official vocal (aside from Black Diamond on the re-recorded disc) and his voice is a nice raspy replacement for Peter Criss’.
“Say Yeah!” — my current fave. It just has this epic vibe to it, a great melody, and a chorus ripped off from “She Loves You” by the Beatles. (If you’re gonna keep stealing, steal a diamond, not a lump of coal.)

Still, pretty much every song is good. I like some better than others but there’s nothing dreadful on here. No “I Pledge Allegiance To The State of Rock and Roll” (which I hated), nothing that bad, no filler in particular.

The bonus DVD is pretty cool. 6 songs, played heavy and mean. KISS have proven that they still deliver the goods live. The live versions always seem superior to the studio versions. “100,000 Years” in particular just rocks. And hey, it’s free!

On a side note, I also picked up one of the “instant live” albums from the Montreal October 1 show. And yes, “Modern Day Delilah” kicks butt live. Pick one of these discs up as a companion piece to Sonic Boom. (Mini review: Paul’s voice is getting hoarse, really bad. He’s gotta take it easy on the vocal cords! The raps between songs are great and I love when Paul speaks French (better than I do) and gets them to “booooooooooo!” the mere mention of Vancouver!

Good effort, KISS. Hit one out of the park next time!

4/5 stars

Here’s some new pics too, just for the fun of it.

REVIEW: KISS – The Best Of Kiss (Green Series), Playlist Your Way, Legends of Rock, Superstar Series (2008-2009)

Part 47 of my series of Kiss reviews, leading up to the release of Monster!

KISS – The Best Of Kiss (Green Series) (2008), Playlist Your Way (2008), Legends of Rock (2009), Superstar Series (2009) (All on Universal)

These are all garbage. All of these discs are part of a “series” spanning multiple artists. None are particularly notable. The ones that do have liner notes (Legends of Rock and Green Series) are just generic, with info readily available on wikipedia.

Playlist Your Way is amusing at least for pairing “Beth” followed by “Uh! All Night”. It’s also funny to see “Uh! All Night” on a compilation like this at all. I’m not sure why that song was chosen to represent the 80’s, along with the much more notable “Lick It Up” and “I Love It Loud”. Of the four, this is the only one that has “Love Gun”, interestingly.

Playlist Your Way also has a big ol’ hole in the front cover, holding some kind of download card. I think it’s for ringtones. But it’s only good in the US, so it doesn’t matter to me.

The Best Of Kiss (from the “Green Series”) has “Shock Me” on it, which is an interesting choice. Yet, it doesn’t have “Love Gun”. Odd.

Superstar Series is definitely to be avoided, since it only has 7 tracks, and all 7 are repeated on Legends of Rock. Bizarre. Yet you see them at comparable prices.

Legends of Rock has a pic of a Fender strat on the back cover, a guitar that nobody in Kiss played onstage. Again, it’s just lack of care, interest, and knowledge. It has 15 tracks, at least, unlike Superstar‘s meager seven.

Tracklists are below. Avoid at all costs.

1/5 stars

REVIEW: KISS – Ikons (2008)

Part 46 of my series of Kiss reviews, leading up to the release of Monster!

KISS – Ikons (2008, Universal)

Ikons, (a four disc set not be confused with the later Icon and Icon 2!), was released October 2008, just in time for Christmas, by Universal. The concept: Each disc showcases a member of the band, and key tracks that they sang. It’s a neat concept in that the music’s never been presented this way before. As such, as a fan, this is a set that I listen to a lot.

Because Ace and Peter didn’t have nearly as many lead vocals as Paul and Gene, there are songs included here that can’t be found on any other compilation. It’s actually quite fun to listen to the whole thing and hear the differing styles from the four guys.

The only flaw with the disc, of course, is that the people who sang the song didn’t always write the song. “God Of Thunder”, on Gene’s disc for example, was written by Paul Stanley. Gene did make it his own, but who does that song really represent, the singer or the writer? Regardless, there’s cool stuff here. Check out Peter’s disc, which includes songs such as “Mainline” and “Black Diamond”, both incidentally written by Paul!

To the casual fans, they won’t care who wrote what. They just want to hear the familiar voices sing their best known songs. Are these the best known songs? Well, when it comes down to Ace and Peter who didn’t have as many lead vocals, I think they’re some of the best tunes if not best known. Even the songs selected from their solo albums are my favourites. When you look at Gene and Paul’s discs, it’s less certain, since they had so many greats. Maybe Paul’s disc should have included “Got To Choose” for example. Maybe Gene’s disc should have included more stuff from his solo album such as the Beatles-y “See You Tonite”.

Also worth noting, nothing here from non-makeup albums, although Ace and Peter both get a track from the ill-fated Psycho Circus.

4/5 stars. I have to credit the originality of the concept. Very enjoyable listen.

Disc 1 (Red): The Demon

“God of Thunder” from Destroyer
“Almost Human” from Love Gun
“Calling Dr. Love” from Rock and Roll Over
“Ladies Room” from Rock and Roll Over
“Christine Sixteen” from Love Gun
“Deuce” from Kiss
“Rock and Roll All Nite” from Dressed to Kill
“Cold Gin” from Kiss
“Parasite” from Hotter Than Hell
“Larger Than Life” from Alive II
“Love ’em and Leave ’em” from Rock and Roll Over
“Plaster Caster” from Love Gun
“Radioactive” from Gene Simmons
“Charisma” from Dynasty

Disc 3 (Blue): The Space Ace

“New York Groove” from Ace Frehley
“Shock Me” from Love Gun
“2,000 Man” from Dynasty
“Rocket Ride” from Alive II
“Snow Blind” from Ace Frehley
“Speedin’ Back to My Baby” from Ace Frehley
“Talk to Me” from Unmasked
“What’s on Your Mind” from Ace Frehley
“Rip It Out” from Ace Frehley
“Save Your Love” from Dynasty
“Hard Times” from Dynasty
“Two Sides of the Coin” from Unmasked
“Dark Light” from Music from “The Elder”
“Into the Void” from Psycho Circus

Disc 4 (Green): The Cat Man

“Hard Luck Woman” from Rock and Roll Over
“Baby Driver” from Rock and Roll Over
“Hooligan” from Love Gun
“Beth” from Destroyer
“I Can’t Stop the Rain” from Peter Criss
“Black Diamond” from Kiss
“Mainline” from Hotter Than Hell
“Don’t You Let Me Down” from Peter Criss
“Dirty Livin'” from Dynasty
“Getaway” from Dressed To Kill
“Strange Ways” from Hotter Than Hell
“That’s The Kind of Sugar Papa Likes” from Peter Criss
“Easy Thing” from Peter Criss
“I Finally Found My Way” from Psycho Circus

REVIEW: KISS – Jigoku-Retsuden (2008)

Getting closer to the end…Part 45 of my series of Kiss reviews, leading up to the release of Monster!

KISS – Jigoku-Retsuden (2008) (Translated from Japanese: Intense Transmission from Hell)

After touring for several years with a lineup consisting of Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Eric Singer & Tommy Thayer, Kiss finally layed down a studio album, their first with this lineup.

Except it wasn’t a studio album of new original material. It was re-recordings of past hits, and only available in Japan. It was recorded so Kiss could use these new versions any time they wanted to commit a song to a film or TV commercial without Universal taking a slice of their pie. From a business point of view, it made sense. And later on, the band ended up giving this CD away for free, as a bonus disc called Kiss Klassics within the Sonic Boom album.

I firmly believe that the original versions sound superior (except for, arguably, “Hotter Than Hell”) because they are more raw and have individual character. The original recordings all had different sounds or flavours to them. This is partly because they were all recorded in different studios for different albums, years apart, and sometimes because the band members varied from track to track. Here, they all have roughly the same sound which I would describe as “sterile”. Not bad, certainly, just lacking in something special.

Most crucially, there are bits and pieces you miss from the original recordings. Eric Carr’s signiture “1-2-3-4” drum thunder in the second verse of “Forever” was a highlight of that song for me in its original guise, and nobody else plays it like he did. Gene and Paul’s voices, while still strong, are noticably different. The vocal parts vary enough that you will miss certain nuances that you have emotional attachment to. On the positive side of the vocal front, Eric Singer sings his very first lead vocal on a Kiss studio album, (“Black Diamond” to be specific) which is cool. Tommy Thayer also nails pretty much all his solos, regardless of the originator.

Some versions included a DVD with concert footage previously released on Kissology 2, from Budokan Hall 1977. This (of course) is the original Kiss lineup. The tracklisting for it is in the gallery below; this DVD is region 2 encoded.

3/5 stars

REVIEW: KISS – Alive! 1975–2000 (Box Set plus bonus tracks, 2006)

Part 44 of my series of Kiss reviews, leading up to the release of Monster!

KISS – Alive! 1975–2000 (2006, 4 discs, Best Buy bonus CD, iTunes bonus track)

This is it folks. This here is the only way to get your Kiss Alive on.

All tracks are digitally remastered of course, and all albums are complete, not truncated. They managed to squeeze both Alive! and Alive II onto single discs without editing out any music or banter. Alive III (1993) makes up the third disc. The fourth CD is the previously unreleased album, Alive IV – The Millenium Concert.

This concert, from December 31, 1999 at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, was to be released in 2000 but shelved. It was released for the first time in this box set, and remains exclusive to this box set. I’m not too keen on it myself.

I think the Millenium Concert sounds dull and uninspired, and maybe that’s part of the reason that it wasn’t released in 2000. The band are playing by-the-numbers versions of the songs with few surprises. Perhaps this was an indication of the deeper problems setting in within the original Kiss lineup again. The production also sounds over polished, and the crowd noise distracting.

One song from this concert, “Rock And Roll All Nite”, was included in the Kiss Box Set as a sneak preview.

There were bonus tracks included on the discs to render obselete your original versions (and entice you to buy them again). The second CD includes the radio edit version of “Rock and Roll All Nite (Live)”. The Alive III CD finally includes the Japanese and vinyl exclusive track, “Take It Off”.

When I first pre-ordered Alive IV back in 2000 before it was shelved, I pre-ordered the Japanese version which was advertized to have three bonus tracks: “God of Thunder”, “2000 Man”, and “Detroit Rock City”. These three songs remain bonus tracks, exclusive to different versions of this box set.

There was a Best Buy limited edition that contained “2000 Man” and “God of Thunder”. But somebody screwed up and put the wrong CD inside the first few thousand copies. Those unfortunate buyers received the regular disc of Alive IV, no bonus tracks. This was rectified by sending those customers a fifth CD, the corrected version of Alive IV. I paid $100 for my copy with fifth CD included. It is pretty rare.

iTunes have their own bonus track, which is “Detroit Rock City”. When I bought the song, it was available on its own for $1.29 or whatever. Prior to this, you had to shell out $40 to buy the whole set again, just to get that one song!

5/5 stars

KMA REVIEW: Kathryn Ladano – Open

This review is a re-press from keepsmealive; please drop by their site too!

Kathryn Ladano – Open

www.kathrynladano.com

Miles Davis was once quoted as saying “…I’ll just walk into the ocean and die, if I lose my tone.” All musicians, whether they admit it so freely or not, are seeking that elusive tone that defines them. Granted, Kathryn Ladano has a slight advantage in that the bass clarinet has not been an instrument of choice for most musicians. But therein, also, lies the challenge, and she handily tames the beast. Her tone is clearly the product of long practice, natural creativity and, most importantly, soul.

Part soundtrack to, perhaps, a playfully dystopian horror film, part sound/texture experiment, but all done with intention and purpose, Open reveals mastery behind apparently random strings of notes. For those conditioned by mainstream jazz and pop to expect chordal resolutions, most tracks on this record will not satisfy. And fair enough. From the outset it’s musically made clear that Open is not here to hold your hand. But play it through, especially on quality headphones, until your understanding of the pieces (if you’ll pardon the play on the title) opens. Once it does, there are treasures around every corner, in the low growls, the trills and flutters, the engaging uncertainty of what might happen next.

Scattered throughout, other instruments including xylophone, guitar, piano and a double bass, competently attempt to add to the melee. But it’s Ladano’s clarinet that soars. We’re tugged to and fro at varying paces and volumes, always with the understanding that what you find here, through your willing investment of time and thought, is your own discovery. Real jolts come as well, as after the first five truly hypnotic improvisation tracks comes the startling drum crash intro of Art Show (Improvisation), probably the most mainstream jazz-like song of the tracks here. Later, there’s the wonderful silliness of Evil Kirk, complete with spoken word quotations of Star Trek’s Captain Kirk (provided with obvious glee by Ladano’s brother, Mike).

Open will surely not be for everyone, but for those willing to strap in and hold on, it will reveal itself to be the conceptually strong, musically thoughtful record that it is.

REVIEW: KISS – Gold (2005)

Part 43 of my series of Kiss reviews, leading up to the release of Monster! Chronologically, this album was released in between 20th Century Masters Vol. 2, and Vol. 3, in 2005.

KISS – Gold (2005, Universal)

At this point, you can’t blame Gene anymore. Kiss’ old record label was free to issue whatever compilations they wanted, and they did. Of these compilations, none contained previously unreleased material. So, these are aimed strictly at the newbies, and the collectors. And the collectors loathe shelling out for this kind of thing.

There is some light shining through the clouds.

First off, unlike every hits album released before it, this one actually has liner notes! Not bad liner notes either! Some common errors have been corrected in them (for example, Anton Fig is listed on drums for the “disco” albums). Not all the errors have been corrected, unfortunately, and I believe all lineup information has been taken directly from the liner notes of Kiss’ The Box Set.

Second, the track listing really is superb, even if offering few surprises. The ground covered is the “makeup years” 1974-1982…yet for unknown reasons the entire (excellent) Creatures Of The Night album is absent. Instead Universal ends this compilation with two tracks from the import only Killers, a pleasant if baffling inclusion. The liner notes end here as well, glossing over the entire last two decades of the band.

Lastly, there are a total of 40 tracks on two CDs, a very generous slice of rock n’ roll indeed. This allowed Universal to include no less than five tracks from the first album! Five tracks are included from Destroyer, four from Alive!, and each solo record is given one track as well! Even the box set didn’t have anything from Gene’s solo record (although it included an unreleased demo). The disco albums are given a total of four tracks combined, and Music From The Elder is not ignored either.

I suppose in this day and age, a band of Kiss’ age does need a number of hits albums. You need a good, full-length single disc for the people who want that (The Very Best Of). You need a double-disc version for the people who want a little more (Gold). And now in this era, you also need a budget-priced 10 or 12 track hits compilation like 20th Century Masters. When you think about it, it all makes sense.

While I think Universal really should have put something on here for the diehards who already have all this material several times over, one version of this album comes with a DVD of Kiss Exposed. I guess that’s cool if you don’t have it already. It’s an odd pick, since Exposed mostly focuses on the music after the makeup came off, none of which are relevant to Gold.

For newbies: 4/5 stars. It’s good value for a good selection of arguably the best years. But be aware there are plenty more hits that you’re missing.

For fans: 2/5 stars. Good compilation of material, that Universal are hoping to get you to buy again for the umpteenth time.

Full tracklist can be seen in the gallery below.

REVIEW: Stryper – Murder By Pride (2009)

Sunday. Time for some Stryper!

STRYPER – Murder By Pride (2009, Big 3 Records)

I was a Stryper fan back in the 80’s, but I was never overwhelmed by the band. I respected what they were saying, and I never felt like they were “in it for the money”, like some of the other kids at school. I just didn’t think their 80’s albums were that amazing, hanging on to a sort of Dokken-level of quality as far as I was concerned. A few good hits, a few good album tracks, but nothing blowing me away like a Van Halen album does.

Since their reunion, though, holy smokes! (Pardon the pun!) They’ve been awesome, and putting out quality albums. They have improved with age. They are better musicians, better singers, better writers, and don’t have hair 12″ tall anymore. Michael Sweet certainly proved himself on tour with the “other band” he was singing and playing with, Boston!

Murder By Pride is really the first reunion era Stryper that was designed to appeal to the old fans. While I loved the previous album, Reborn, I fully acknowledge that it’s not an immediate thriller. Its post-grunge sounds threw a lot of people for a loop, although it contained some great tunes such as “Passion”. Murder By Pride was the answer to the fans who asked for more melody, more harmony vocals, twin solos and riffs. That is largerly what they got. There’s even the odd scream!

Murder By Pride is their best studio album. It’s got everything — great hard rock songs, great piano ballads, great performances and crisp production that brings out the toughness of the guitars and drums. The drums (by guest Kenny Aranoff) are absolutely flawless. If you didn’t know better you’d swear it was Robert Sweet, as he nails that Stryper sound. I don’t know why Robert didn’t play on the album, as he plays on their current album, the also-smoking The Covering.

If the idea of Christian lyrics throw you for a loop, I won’t lie to you, they haven’t backed down over the years. If anything they’ve gotten more bold. (The Covering contained a song just called “God”!)

Key tracks: Some of the heavy rockers like “Eclipse of the Son”, and “The Plan”. The Boston cover “Peace of Mind” featuring Tom Scholz on guitar. The acoustic ballad power “I Believe”. The stunning title track, with a classic Stryper riff that must be second-cousins with “Free”. If you’re not knocked out by this song, you’re not a Stryper fan!

Great album. Welcome back Stryper — may you continue to stick to your guns, deliver your message, and rock hard!

4/5 stars

REVIEW: KISS – Kiss Symphony: Alive IV (2003)

Part 42 of my series of Kiss reviews, leading up to the release of Monster!

KISS – Kiss Symphony: Alive IV (2-disc edition, 2003)

When Kiss announced their “farewell tour”, Ace Frehley assumed when they said “farewell”, they meant it. He didn’t want to continue and so Tommy Thayer was drafted in. Thayer came to to the attention of Kiss fans while in his band Black N’ Blue, which Gene produced. He wrote songs for Hot In The Shade, and every studio album since then. He even ghosted on Psycho Circus, and played Ace in a Kiss tribute band. If ever there was a guy destined to replace somebody in a band, it was Tommy Thayer.

Kiss Alive IV: Kiss Symphony is a fantastic album, and is certainly better than Alive IV – The Millenium Concert. Say what? There’s another Alive IV?

Ya’see, back in 2001, Alive IV was announced and then cancelled. I even had a pre-order for it back then, and its picture is included in the Kiss box set as “forthcoming” in the discography section. It was shelved, and my pre-order cancelled. But, it was eventually released as the Millenium Concert in the Alive Box.

This is better. Way way better.

Some will accuse Kiss of copying Metallica with the whole symphony thing. Well, then Metallica copied Deep Purple. Even Red Rider, whom have a Kiss connection, did their own concert album with orchestra in the 80’s (The Symphony Sessions). This is nothing new. Nothing in rock is new anymore.

Tommy Thayer performs admirably and very Ace-like, in his place. Peter Criss is here, keeping time remarkably well with an orchestra behind him. I don’t know if he played to a click track or just to conductor David Campbell. I am sure this was a challenge to him and kudos to him for doing so well.

(Incidentally, Peter Criss had briefly left the band prior to Ace, and was replaced by Eric Singer during this time. This Simmons/Stanley/Frehley/Singer lineup was never captured on album unfortunately.)

Kiss split the show into three sections: Full-on live 4-piece Kiss, then a section of slow songs with a small string section, and then the full-blown Kiss symphony with orchestra. Great move there, it really builds, and it allows for more variety of songs on the album.

Highlights for me included “Sure Know Something”, which might be better than the original version. “Forever” and “Shandi” sound good. but I maintain that Eric Carr is the only drummer who can play “Forever” properly. It’s also great to hear “Detroit Rock City” go straight into “King Of The Night Time World” again, and everything on the symphony disc kicks butt. Biggest surprise was “Great Expectations” — had it ever been played live before?

Note note:
There is a single “highlights” disc available. It is, unfortunately, the source of some frustration for me. Read on.

You see, Kiss did an amazing Ramones cover of “Do You Believe In Rock And Roll Radio?” The lineup was a rare three-piece: Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Eric Singer. This song was included on the Ramones’ tribute album, We’re A Happy Family. It has some killer sax, and is among the best cover versions Kiss have ever done.

When the single disc “highlights” version of Alive IV came out, they stuck “Rock And Roll Radio” on it as a bonus track. So, this version of the album is the only Kiss album where the song is to be found. I wish it was on the double too.

5/5 stars…with the caveat that “Do You Believe In Rock And Roll Radio?” should have been on here, and I’m mad it’s not.

REVIEW: KISS – 20th Century Masters – The Millennium Collection: The Best of Kiss Vol. 1, 2 and 3

Part 41 of my series of Kiss reviews, leading up to the release of Monster! We’re deep into the second compilation years of Kiss. This time I’m doing three at once!

KISS – 20th Century Masters – The Millennium Collection: The Best of Kiss Vol. 1, 2 and 3 (2003, 2004, 2006)

This series is one I find quite enjoyable (The Millenium Collection in general, which spanned many artists). For a budget price you get 10 to 12 hits in a brief running time. Perfect for people who aren’t fans but want some hits. If you know where to go you can get these for around $5. Imagine that — three discs of awesome Kiss for $15. Not a bad value.

Let’s start with Volume 1, shall we?

I am a fan. I don’t play this series often, but I do enjoy it. The problem here is, of course, you can’t sum up the early years of Kiss in 12 songs. Here’s the album breakdown:

2 songs from Kiss
1 song from Hotter Than Hell
1 song from Dressed To Kill
1 song from Alive!
2 songs from Destroyer
2 songs from Rock And Roll Over
2 songs from Love Gun
1 song from Dynasty

Considering what this album is, the only thing I don’t like is the inclusion of “I Was Made For Loving You”. I would have put on something like “Shout It Out Loud”. Dynasty doesn’t really fit in with the other albums included here, but it came out in 1979 and therefore couldn’t go on Volume II (the 80’s).

1. Strutter

2. Deuce

3. Hotter Than Hell

4. C’mon And Love Me

5. Rock And Roll All Nite

6. Detroit Rock City

7. Beth

8. Hard Luck Woman

9. Calling Dr. Love

10. Love Gun

11. Christeen Sixteen

12. I Was Made For Lovin’ You

Volume 2 continues the concept. It contains tunes from the following records:

2 songs from Creatures Of The Night
2 songs from Lick It Up
2 songs from Animalize
2 songs from Asylum
2 songs from Crazy Nights
2 songs from Hot In The Shade

Although between Volume I and Volume II, a couple albums slip through the cracks (Unmasked, The Elder, Killers) this CD is a pretty good summary of key singles from 1982-1989. Only a few singles are missing (“Who Wants To Be Lonely”, “Turn On The Night”, “Let’s Put The X In Sex”, “(You Make Me) Rock Hard”, “Rise To It”). I don’t think I would have subsituted any of those, for any of these:

1. Creatures Of The Night

2. I Love It Loud

3. Lick It Up

4. All Hell’s Breakin’ Loose

5. Heaven’s On Fire

6. Thrills In The Night

7. Tears Are Falling

8. Uh! All Night

9. Crazy Crazy Nights

10. Reason To Live

11. Hide Your Heart

12. Forever

Volume 3 is the shakiest of the three. It leans a bit too much on live versions of popular hits for my tastes. I would have preferred more studio songs, but KISS didn’t release that many studio albums in the 90’s so there’s not much you can really change. Here’s the album breakdown.

2 songs from Revenge
1 song from Alive III
3 songs from Carnival Of Souls: The Final Sessions
2 songs from MTV Unplugged
3 songs from Psycho-Circus
1 song from the Detroit Rock City soundtrack

I think 3 is too many Carnival Of Souls songs on a hits CD aimed at the casual fan, and I think “Nothing Can Keep Me From You” is a terrible song with no redeeming value. Sorry Paul. In reality, it should almost be considered a Paul solo track: No other members of Kiss played on or were anywhere near that song. It’s also never been performed live by the band.

This disc is notable for being an easy, cheap place to get two rare tracks. “Nothing Can Keep Me From You” is one, and the unplugged version of “Got To Choose” is another.

1. God Gave Rock & Roll To You II

2. Unholy

3. Domino

4. Hate

5. Childhood’s End

6. I Will Be There

7. Coming Home (Unplugged)

8. Got To Choose (Unplugged)

9. Psycho Circus

10. Into The Void

11. I Pledge Allegiance to the State of Rock & Roll

12. Nothing Can Keep Me From You

For the whole set:

3/5 stars

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REVIEW: KISS – Sonic Boom (2009 Walmart 3 disc edition)

REVIEW: KISS – The Best Of Kiss (Green Series), Playlist Your Way, Legends of Rock, Superstar Series (2008-2009)