Reviews

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

Kathryn Ladano - Open. Now available.

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

BEST OF INNER

REVIEW: Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson – TAAB2 Thick As A Brick 2

Jethro Tull’s IAN ANDERSON – TAAB2 Thick As A Brick 2 (EMI 2012)

Holy crap!  This is a great album!  I have no hesitation in ranking this among my favourite Jethro Tull albums.  And yes, I consider this a Jethro Tull album.  All that is missing is Martin Barre.  The story goes that Martin does not enjoy the studio process, and the album is billed as “Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson”.  Something like that Black Sabbath featuring Tony Iommi disc.  Or, Blackie Lawless & W.A.S.P.  David Coverdale & Whitesnake.  The list goes on!

This is what I would consider quintessential Tull:  Lots of fluttery flute, nice acoustic moments, and very traditional sounding bits. All this with stunning electic riffs, and complexity of arrangement like a roller coaster.  And my God, what an album!  I have confidence in saying that Thick As A Brick 2 is a fine sequel.  Not The Empire Strikes Back, nor The Wrath of Khan…it’s more Aliens.  Catch my drift?  Don’t expect the same thing.  What you loved about the original might be here in different form.  This is a sleeker Brick, 40 years older, dealing with the modern age and the passage of time.

The concept is this:  Where would Gerald Bostock from Brick 1 be, 40 years after that newspaper?  Ian Anderson images five”might-have-beens”.  Perhaps Gerald would become a big money banker.  Or an opposite of that; homeless.  What forks might Gerald take in the road?  And where do they end?  This story inspired Anderson to write some excellent music.  And yes, the album is divided into songs.

There are numerous musical themes that recur, tying the album together.  There are also musical clues from Tull albums past.  The biggest hook on the album is the main riff in “Banker Bets, Banker Wins”, a stunning triumph.  “Swing It Far” is like harder Tull, and it’s splendid.  There are numerous excellent flute, organ, guitar, and piano solos, but also plenty of hooks and catchy riffs.  Just listen to “Old School Song” as an example.

Ian has assembled an excellent band:  David Goodier is the current bassist in Jethro Tull.  Also from Tull is keyboardist John O’Hara.  On guitars is the very talented Florian Opahle.  On drums is Scott Hammond, who has filled in with Jethro Tull.  You can see why it is easy to consider this a Tull album.

Of all the new albums released so far in 2012, Thick As A Brick 2 is one that I have played most frequently, it has simply captured me.  In spite of this, I still have not even watched the included DVD!  A 5.1 mix of this great album is included, as well as making-ofs and interviews.  I’ll have to get around to watching this (when the wife isn’t watching her damned sports).

5/5stars

REVIEW: KISS – The Very Best Of (2002)

Part 40 of my series of Kiss reviews, leading up to the release of Monster! 

KISS – The Very Best Of (Universal, 2002)

My 1 star review is not based on the music. Clearly, these are all classic songs, each of which needs to be included on a Kiss hits CD. Rather my 1 star is based on what this CD represents.

The Very Best Of was the first release by Universal after Kiss’ contract was over. They could then release as many hits albums as they wanted, with no new material required, and they have. Many more times albums like this came out, some better than others, and most better than this.

No liner notes, no input from the band, and a tracklist that is largely repeated on CDs such as Greatest Hits and Greatest KISS. At least this CD was in chronological order and not scattershot like the previous two that I mentioned. It was also nice to finally see “Forever” on a hits CD as that was a huge hit for the non-makeup version of the band. Weird thing though, the then-current Kiss never played that one live.  It was nice that “New York Groove” (an Ace solo track) is on here, as well as “Lick It Up” which were being played live by the band at that time.

Otherwise, this CD was unnessesary then, and is very unnessesary now. As mentioned, at the time there were plenty of similar Kiss hits discs out, and now there are literally at least a dozen. This one stands out in no way anymore.

1/5 star. For diehards who have to own everything, or newbies only.

1. Strutter
2. Deuce
3. Got To Choose
4. Hotter Than Hell
5. C’Mon And Love Me
6. Rock And Roll All Nite (live)
7. Detroit Rock City
8. Shout It Out Loud
9. Beth
10. I Want You
11. Calling Dr. Love
12. Hard Luck Woman
13. I Stole Your Love
14. Christine Sixteen
15. Love Gun
16. New York Groove
17. I Was Made For Loving You
18. I Love It Loud
19. Lick It Up
20. Forever
21. God Gave Rock ‘N’ Roll To You II

REVIEW: KISS – The Box Set (Deluxe mini guitar case edition!)

Part 39 of my series of Kiss reviews, leading up to the release of Monster! 

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KISS – The Box Set (Deluxe mini guitar case edition, 2001)

These days it’s pretty common to see deluxe versions of box sets, for the mega-fan who just has to have everything.  In 2001, it was less so.  Am I giving Gene Simmons credit for creating the concept?  Kind of, yeah.  This, the very first KISS box set, was available in three editions.  First I’m going to discuss the one that I chose — the mini guitar case edition — and we’ll go from there!  Gene is pretty much a business genius, and he knows if he makes something available, people will buy it.  “If you build it, they will come.”  I don’t blame him in the least and I’m the last person who’d call him “Greed Simmons”.  He’s not taking our money — we’re giving it to him.

So, leave it to KISS to package one version of their first box set in a miniature replica guitar case.  Granted there have been much cooler box looking sets before and since (see: ZZ Top, Pink Floyd) but everybody needs a KISS box set in a case like this, don’t they?

Well, I did.  It’s a handsome sturdy black case, with handle and silver KISS logo emblazoned on the front.  If memory serves it cost me about $250.  I got it from the American Amazon site, I had it on pre-order and I was so stoked to get it.

Included are 5 CDs (around 6 hours of music), an awesome hardcover book with loads of liner notes and rare photos, and 31 rare or unreleased tracks.  Some have been released on singles or compilations before, which I will discuss in greater detail, but most are previously unheard.
The box doesn’t hold the CD jewel cases all that well when you open it, so be careful.  Under one of the CDs is a secret compartment, with a thing of silica gel (“DO NOT EAT” helpfully written upon it) and keys for the case!

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Before I go through the discs, I’ll mention a few things that KISS fans often moan about when it comes to this box set:

  • “Gene promised the entire Wicked Lester album, and it’s not here.”
  • “There was supposed to be entire early KISS show would be in the box.”
  • “Gene said there’d be a video or a DVD.”
  • “The Elder demos are not on here, and Gene said they would be .”
  • “Where’s ‘Rip And Destroy’ and the acoustic version of ‘Beth’?”
  • “I have bootlegs of this stuff already, and it sounds better on the bootlegs.”

Since the release of this set, KISS have released ample DVDs (the KISStory series will be hitting 4 volumes this year) so I think that point is moot.  When questioned on other points, Gene always responds, “Be patient.  It’s coming.”  A buddy of mine, Mike Lukas of the band Legendary Klopeks, actually asked Gene some of these exact questions in person, and Gene said, “I know.  It’s coming.  Be patient.”  I’m sure that will bear out to be true.  As for the sound quality issues, I have bootlegs of some of this stuff on CD already, and none of them sound better than this box set, so I don’t know where people got that better sounding stuff.  And plenty of this stuff has not been bootlegged before.

Onto the music!

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DISC 1:

This CD starts off with a whopping 12 rare tracks before you even delve into the first KISS album.  The first two, Eddie Kramer demos of “Strutter” and “Deuce”, have been released before on singles and compilations, but many casual fans did not have them until now.  These tracks just smoke, with “Strutter” being quite a bit longer.  They are raw and have great playing from Ace.  Three tracks from the Wicked Lester album are included.  Wicked Lester was Gene and Paul’s original band, which transformed into KISS when they fired the other three guys.  Many Wicked Lester tracks were later recorded by KISS.  Yes, it would have been nice to have the whole album.  Maybe it will be released officially one day, maybe we will have to live with the crap-sounding bootlegs.  If it is never released, I won’t blame Gene.  It’s pretty terrible.

More demos abound including an early Gene song and an early Paul song.  Both hint at some directions they would explore within KISS and their solo albums.  A live take of the unreleased song “Acrobat” follows (essentially: “Love Theme From Kiss” melded with an unreleased song called “You’re Much Too Young”, which contains an early version of the “Detroit Rock City” riff — whew).  From here, there are nine tracks from the first three albums, ending with “Rock And Roll All Nite”.  Not a terribly generous slice of music from those first albums, but it does prevent too much duplication with the songs already included as demos.

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DISC 2:

Live tracks from Alive! kick off this disc, which is mostly made up of songs from the 4th through 6th KISS studio albums.  One really cool track is “Doncha Hesitate” which was completely unknown to me  previously.  It is especially cool because unlike later KISS demos, it includes all four members.  Plus, it is actually a really great song!  It just didn’t fit in with the direction of Destroyer; it is clearly in the mould of early KISS, which is why it never made the album.

Paul’s “God Of Thunder” demo is here (Paul’s lead vocal and alternate lyrics about Aphrodite), as well as an early version of “Dr. Love” called “Bad Bad Lovin'”.  The disc ends with another previously unheard song, a Gene demo called “Love Is Blind” which reveals his crooning Beatles roots.

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DISC 3:

This disc chronicles KISS’ decline in popularity in the early 80’s.  It starts out with a bang, “Detroit Rock City”, which is out of chronology.  Some tracks from Alive II and the solo albums (with another Gene demo) take us into the disco years.  The demo and live versions of the disco tracks reveal the harder edge intended when those songs were written.  Not many rarities on this disc, although “Nowhere To Run” is included, one of my all time favourite songs from KISS Killers, an import-only hits compilation with bonus material.

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DISC 4:

There are even fewer rare tracks on this disc, which is strange because there are tons of demos from the 80’s floating in collector’s circles.  I guess they’re probably just not that good.  This CD covers Lick It Up (1983) through to Hot In The Shade (1989):  The non-makeup part of the 80’s.  “Ain’t That Peculiar” is one of the best rarities here, an Eric Carr demo of what would become “Little Caesar”.  There is also a demo of Paul’s “Time Traveller”, a keyboard-based pop rock song which has not aged well.  Unfortunately, due to squeezing so many albums onto this CD, Lick It Up is criminally underrepresented.  It had many more great songs than just the two singles presented here.  “Let’s Put The X In Sex” should have been dropped in favour of “Exciter”, “And On The 8th Day”, or “A Million To One”.

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DISC 5:

Eric Carr’s final recording (and Eric Singer’s first with KISS) was “God Gave Rock ‘N’ Roll To You II”, which kicks off this disc.  Eric Carr was sick with heart cancer, and was unable to play drums on the track.  He did sing the background vocal, which is a highlight of the song.  Eric Singer, who had played with Paul Stanley on his 1989 solo tour, was called to replace Carr for the sessions.  Sadly, that replacement would have to become permanent when Carr died in November of 1991.  I would have preferred the original mix of this song, from the Bill & Ted soundtrack, personally.

As far as rarities go, there is not much on this disc.  A Gene demo of “Domino” is neat, but underwhelming.  “Got To Choose” from the Japanese version of MTV Unplugged is very welcome, but where is the live take of “New York Groove” from the Japanese version of You Wanted The Best?  I would really like to have that in a digital format — I only have it on vinyl.

“It’s My Life”, from the Psycho-Circus sessions, was an old KISS song written back in the 80’s and first released by Wendy O. Williams on an album written and produced by Gene Simmons.  KISS finally released their own version of it many years later on this box, and it purports to include the entire original band playing on it.  I am skeptical of this, but it does definitely have a verse sung by Ace Frehley, while Gene sings the main part.  “Nothing Can Keep Me From You” is on here, a terrible song from the Detroit Rock City movie, and actually more of a Paul solo song since no other members appear on it.  The unreleased full-length version of “Childhood’s End” from Carnival of Souls (featuring a coda called “Outromental”) round out the non-album stuff.

A bad song choice or two from Revenge, some of the wrong tracks from Carnival of Souls, and a few too many from Psycho-Circus are the main flaws with this disc.  A track from Alive III would have been nice.

The box set ends with the “live” (not really though, actually dubbed) version of “Shout It Out Loud” from the Greatest KISS album, and a “preview track” from what was intended to be the forthcoming Alive IV:  “Rock And Roll All Nite” (the only song to be repeated).  This version of Alive VI ended up getting shelved in favour of a symphonic live album, which was then dubbed Alive VI: Kiss Symphony.  The original version of Alive VI has since been issued in another KISS box set.

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As I said earlier in the review, I am sure that KISS will release more rare stuff in the future.  It has already started to happen with the afforementioned KISS Alive Box, and KISSology DVD sets.  As Gene said, be patient, it’s coming.  On the whole, quibbles aside I very much enjoy listening to the KISS box set.  It is quite interesting to hear the band evolve, and you gain an appreciation for their charisma and songwriting.  Regardless of what the critics say, Kiss are quite talented songwriters.  Often simple, but we’re still listening to them almost 40 years later.  And they said it would never last six months.

The liner notes are quite insightful if not entirely accurate (Peter Criss did not play on any tracks from Psycho-Circus except one, no matter what the notes say).

I mentioned there were other versions available.  There is a basic version, with a softcover version of the book, in a simple black box.  It retails for around $100.  That’s the version most people should grab.  The only difference is the box it comes in, and the softcover book vs. hardcover.  Oh, and the guitar box also came with a print of a  note in what appears to be Paul Stanley’s handwriting, talking about the long awaited set.  Not a huge deal.

Then, for the ultimate fan, there is the box set that actually came in a full sized guitar case. The Premium Gold Edition. It appears to still be available.

It comes with an RIAA gold record of Kiss Alive!  and apparently “hand written” liner notes in gold ink on parchment paper.  Retail price to us Canucks:  $850 smackaroos!

For the music itself, I rate this one:

5/5 stars