Kiss 40

REVIEW: Gene Simmons – The Vault – Bonus Disk (Disk 11) (2018)

Previous Reading: 

Record Store Tales #600:  The Vault
Disk 1 Review
Disk 2 Review
Disk 3 Review
Disk 4 Review
Disk 5 Review
Disk 6 Review
Disk 7 Review
Disk 8 Review
Disk 9 Review
Disk 10 Review

 

 

 

 

 

 

For those keeping score at home, this bonus CD contains tracks 151-165 in the Vault box set, 15 more than originally promised!

GENE SIMMONS – The Vault – Bonus Disk (Disk 11) (2018 Rhino)

As Gene notes in the book, there are many different versions of “Feel Like Heaven”…the most notorious of which is not on this box set.  The “Vulgar Version” as we’ll call it is still just a bootleg.  If you don’t know what it is, don’t ask.  This demo of “Feel Like Heaven” is the most primitive, with Gene singing and playing bass over the sound of a vintage drum machine.  This song is getting a bit repetitive, but this version definitely belongs only on a bonus disc.  1.5/5

“Obnoxious” is a surprise.  It has a punky quality, but it also shares a chorus with “Reputation” which is an unreleased Kiss song from the 70s.  “Obnoxious” is pretty good, daresay I prefer it to “Reputation”.  The low-fi arrangement of bass and harmony vocals, with minimal guitar and no drums is really cool.   Clearly it wasn’t intended to be released as-is, but I wouldn’t really change much.  It sounds like Kiss.  Sometimes things are best left primitive.  Who knows?  4/5

Remember when the Kiss 40 compilations came out?  They featured a brand new Kiss song called “Samurai Son”, featuring a Japanese girl group called Momoiro Clover Z.  Although Kiss praised them at the time of the compilation album, in the liner notes here, Gene called them “basically dancers”.  Ouch!  Gene’s song submitted for the Kiss 40 compilation was “Mina-San, Mina-San”.  Though ultimately, “Samurai Son” works better, “Mina-San, Mina-San” has a vintage Kiss vibe that the other song lacks.  Really, the only thing wrong with this version is that Gene had to do all the vocals himself including the female backing vocals.  So, it’s not perfect, it’s a little cringe when the backing vocals come in.  Again, this is a demo – for demonstration!  The song was not chosen and therefore never properly finished.  3/5

“Just Begun to Fight” is a title long mentioned in collector’s circles.  Unbelievably, it’s really good.  Gene notes it uses the same chords as “Dr. Love”, which is something that comes up frequently in this box set.  The chorus shares commonality with “Burning Up With Fever”.  Strangely, this might be the best use of them!  “Just Begun to Fight” is vintage Kiss.  Slow, powerful groove and a killer upbeat chorus.  You can hear where Ace Frehley would lay down his solo.  Gene recorded this song in 1978 with forgotten studio musicians.  I would have liked to hear this song finished.  Solid!  4.5/5

“It’s Funny, But It Ain’t No Joke” sounds like a low quality early 80s Kiss song.  It’s fast and is fully written with lyrics and backing vocals, but it ain’t no good.  Pun intended.  There’s a pretty dreadful bridge to enjoy, and a caveman guitar solo to burn your ears out.  1/5

The song “Love By Invitation” was entirely written around one jazz chord that Gene liked.  That chord repeats a lot.  Gene doesn’t think this song was ever presented to Kiss.  It doesn’t matter.  Same results.  Sounds like Unmasked era.  Cool sax solo at least.  1.5/5

“Dorothy Lamour” also goes back to the Unmasked era, with Anton Fig on drums and Holly Knight on keyboards.  This has an oldies rock and roll feel, but heavier.  It has that 1950s sound with the bopping piano.  Anton provides a solid backbeat.  You can instantly hear a huge rise in quality over the previous drum parts on this disc.  This doesn’t sound at all like a demo.  This sounds like a finished album track with a great chorus accentuated by backing vocals.  A song like this could have worked with Kiss, had they wanted to go back to that sound.  Reminds me a bit of a toned-down “Bloody Luxury” by Whitesnake.  4/5

“Queen of Hearts” is not the Hot in the Shade song.  This is a keyboard demo written with Pepy Castro around the time of Unmasked.  It is truly dreadful, sounding like a lullaby for your nightmares.  If it were a song by Jan Terri, it would be her best track, but it could be Gene’s worst.  0.5/5

Written in 1966, but recorded in 1980, “My Lorraine” is…something.  Gene strums some pretty chords on acoustic and then breaks into a bad falsetto.  For the second verse, he goes back to his normal voice.  It’s a fine little folky song, but easily and justifiably forgotten.  2/5

“Leeta” is marginally better.  This bad Beatles-y ballad was previously released on the Kiss Box Set.  This old recording by Gene’s band Bullfrog Bheer reveals that Simmons had diverse tastes, but really hadn’t decided what he wanted to do.  He was, and still is, willing to throw anything at the wall and see what sticks.  However, if “Leeta” was a Beatles song, they would have given it to Ringo.  1.5/5

“Put on Your Slippers” originates in 1969, and Gene talks of the “folly of youth” in the liner notes.  He wanted to be like Paul McCartney, and write and play all the instruments himself.  He describes “Put on Your Slippers” as inspired by the Beatles’ “She Came In Through the Bathroom Window”.  See above note about Ringo.  1.5/5

 

Back to 1978, drum machines and keyboards!  “Gypsy Nights” is so corny it’s hilarious!  It sounds like an AM radio song from the era.  It is fine, up until the bridge, which is just from another song altogether.  The smooth guitar solo is nice, but…wow.  Just wow.  2/5

Back in 1987 on the Kiss eXposed video, Paul Stanley teased Gene about writing songs such as “I Love Eskimos”.  Gene responded by saying, “That’s not too far off.”  And here we have “Eskimo Sun”…also known as “Only You!”  The melody is familiar, but the song is otherwise very different, and not very good.  It’s interesting to finally hear the “Eskimo” song that Paul was joking about, and it’s fascinating that it’s actually “Only You”, but wow, this is really not enjoyable listening.  2/5

Mercifully coming closer to the end, “Nancy” is another Bullfrog Bheer song.  You can imagine Gene writing this stuff, taking it so seriously, thinking he is the McCartney of the next generation.  Meanwhile, the song he wrote is utter crap.  1/5

And finally, written for Gene’s late uncle George comes one of the most surprising songs of all.  “My Uncle Is A Raft” goes back to the 10th grade, performed with friends.  It’s a delightful little folky jig that sounds like something from the 1930s.  It’s hard to say it’s a great song, because part of its appeal is its low-fi authenticity which lends of a comedic vintage quality.  It ain’t bad though.  The “yee-haw!” in the middle of the song says it all.  This is an upbeat little number that sounds like it’s from another era entirely.  Fascinating and delightful.  4/5

What a weird disc this was!

Average score by song:   2.16/5 stars, the lowest of the set.

Next time, we will sum up the box set and look at the extras.  The Vault isn’t finished yet.

Bonus Disk 11 Track length and songwriters (from Wikipedia)

1. Feel Like Heaven (3:07) Simmons
2. Obnoxious (2:37) Simmons
3. Mina’San, Mina’San (2:13) Simmons
4. Just Begun to Fight (3:27) Simmons
5. It’s Funny, But It Ain’t No Joke (2:32) Simmons
6. Love by Invitation (3:21) Simmons
7. Dorothy Lamour (2:31) Simmons
8. Queen of Hearts (3:14) Simmons / Castro
9. My Lorraine (1:58) Simmons
10. Leeta (2:25) Simmons
11. Put on Your Slippers (2:24) Simmons
12. Gypsy Nights (2:55) Simmons
13. Eskimo Sun (3:08) Simmons
14. Nancy (1:27) Simmons
15. My Uncle Is a Raft (1:16) Simmons

REVIEW: KISS – 40 (2015 single CD Japan Commemorative edition)

 

NEW RELEASE

KISS 40 2015_0001KISS – 40 (2015 Universal Japan single CD Commemorative edition)

Wait a minute, I’m confused — did I just buy Kiss 40, again?

Wait a minute, it’s 2015 now — shouldn’t this be Kiss 41, or something??

Wait a minute, what the hell is “Kiss vs. Momoiro Clover Z”???

Eager to buy anything new from Gene and Co., I got this new single CD version of Kiss 40 without really knowing what it was about.

Now that the CD has arrived at the door, I discovered that Momoiro Clover Z is a Japanese all-girl pop group with similar intentions as Kiss themselves.  They dreamed big dreams for themselves and aimed to entertain and bring a spectacle to the people.  They have colour coordinated members and characters, so perhaps a Kiss collaboration seemed like the next step for them.  I don’t know how the collaboration came to be, but the result was a brand new Kiss song written by Paul Stanley and producer Greg Collins.

This edition of Kiss 40 commences with a Kiss-heavy mix of the new collaboration, “Samurai Son”. There are other versions available on two singles and on iTunes, but reviews for those will wait until they arrive at LeBrain HQ.  The good news is that the “U.S.” mix of “Samurai Son” has no problem hanging out on a Kiss greatest hits CD.  Musically, it’s not too much of a departure of the direction from Kiss’ last album, Monster.  It’s just more produced, polished and embellished.  The girls from Momoiro Clover Z come in during the chorus, but it’s not the first time Kiss have had female backing vocals on their albums.  It’s the first time since 1989, but remember old classic tunes like “Tomorrow and Tonight” from Love Gun, and “Sweet Pain” from Destroyer?  Female backing vocals.  The new twists this time are the lines in Japanese, and the very slight J-pop slant.  It’s not too far of a departure.

Collector's card included inside Kiss 40

Collector’s card included inside Kiss 40

It may not be to your taste, but I love “Samurai Son”.  The lyrics address Kiss’ experience of hitting Japan for the first time back in 1976:

“I took a flight into Tokyo,
Into the Land of the Rising Son,
I heard my song on the radio,
Blowin’ my mind like a shot from a gun.”

Paul then proceeds to tear it up all over town, “Livin’ life with no regrets.”  The words suit one of those fast paced Kiss rockers that they’ve been doing of late — think “Hell or Hallelujah”.  There are some cool Thayer licks and you can tell that Gene Simmons showed up for the sessions, because you can hear him singing on the choruses.  The overall impression is that “Samurai Son” is one of those solid Kiss catalogue rockers.  It’s like the new material on side four of Kiss Alive II: pretty good but living in the shadow of the Kiss greats.

KISS 40 2015_0006From this point on, Kiss 40 (the 2015 abridged version) continues with the “best” hits from the full length 2 CD version…but not quite.  There have been some major tweaks to the tracklist, perhaps to maximize the listening pleasure of consumers who just need one CD of Kiss in their lives.  The classic live version of “Rock and Roll all Nite” has been replaced with the studio version from Dressed to Kill.  Same for “Shout it Out Loud” and “Detroit Rock City”, here in their original full Destroyer guises instead of live. I like the way the car crash ending of “Detroit” merges into “Calling Dr. Love”.  “Dr. Love” and “Love Gun” were thrown into the pile here, even though they weren’t on the original Kiss 40 in any form.  A little further down, a different song was plucked from Kiss Killers:  The superior “I’m a Legend Tonight” replaces “Down on Your Knees”.

Moving on from the makeup years to the non-makeup 1980’s, the original version of “Crazy Crazy Nights” replaces that unreleased live version from the double Kiss 40.  That sums up the song substitutions; the album still continues chronologically to the current era.  I’m pleased that even though early songs from the first two Kiss albums were axed, songs from the last two Kiss albums were not.  I think Sonic Boom and Monster are Kiss albums the band should be proud of, so you get “Modern Day Delilah” and “Hell or Hallelujah”, as it should be.  Other albums excluded from this compilation are The Elder, (surprisingly) Creatures of the Night, Hot in the Shade, the live records and the solo albums.

With all these tweaks and alterations, the overall listening experience is enhanced albeit at the cost of some deeper tracks. It’s a give and take, so the overall score for the new Kiss 40 remains:

4/5 stars

REVIEW: KISS – 40 (Japanese import with bonus track)

NEW RELEASE

KISS – 40 (2014 Universal Japan)

Alright people. I got a question for everybody here (and I didn’t forget about you people upstairs neither, woah yeah!).  How many of you people believe in rock and roll?

If you believe in rock and roll, like you say you believe in rock-and-ro-oh-oll, then you know that 2014 is the 40th anniversary of the very first Kiss album.  Gene Simmons believes in rock and roll.  So does Universal music.  They believe in rock and roll’s ability to fill their pockets again and again.   As fans, we have learned to accept this.  You don’t have to buy every re-package and reissue that comes out; we all choose which releases to buy based on our wants and budgets.

Unreleased music is a top priority for me, so seeing Kiss 40 coming out with a number of unreleased tracks, I was excited about this release.  I bought the Japanese edition from the folks over at CD Japan, for the Japanese exclusive bonus track.  I’ll talk about that track in a bit, for now I want to express how happy I am with Kiss 40, as a compilation aimed at fans both new and old.

Sets like this are tricky.  You have to include familiar versions of familiar hits for the people buying their first Kiss CD.  You have to include value to the cantankerous old fan, and present the old songs in novel ways.  What Kiss and Universal chose to do was include one song from every Kiss album, including every live album.  Sprinkled into that are the unreleased songs.

High points:

I love that they used the Paul Stanley version of “God of Thunder”, the fast one.  Marko Fox has been using that as his theme song on his show for a while, and I’ve really grown to love this version.  All four solo albums have a song included.  (I would have preferred a harder song from Paul’s album, but “Hold Me, Touch Me” was the single after all.)  Killers is represented, via “Down on Your Knees”.  Not a bad song.  I’m glad to have the radio edit of “Jungle”, finally.  I never had that before, and “Jungle” probably wouldn’t be on the album if it wasn’t edited down from its full seven minutes.  (Although not stated, “Psycho-Circus” is also edited to remove the “circus” intro.)

Low points:

The goal of including Kiss songs from every album also means that you have to hear “Let’s Put the X in Sex”.  Although this would have been a great place to use a rarer remixed version, it’s just the same one from Smashes, Thrashes & Hits.  Another total miss that is here is the dreadful “Nothing Can Keep Me From You”, from the Detroit Rock City soundtrack.  Whyyyyy.

Nitty gritty details:

The first rarity is a 1977 Gene Simmons demo called “Reputation”.  You can hear that aspects of this song later made it into other Gene Simmons compositions such as “Radioactive”.  This is one of those song titles I’d read about for years, but have never heard until now.  Cool.  While the song is definitely a demo, and not quite as good as most finished Kiss songs, it does boast a cool dual guitar solo and rocking piano a-la “Christine Sixteen”.

KISS 40On the second CD are the rare live tracks.  In addition to live songs sampled from You Wanted the Best, You Got the Best!!, Alive IV: Kiss Symphony and The Millenium Concert, there are rare ones here from Instant Live CDs.  Instant Live CDs are live albums you buy at the concert, immediately after the concert — a souvenir of the show you just saw.  Extras are then sold online.  I have a handful myself, but nobody has all of them (at least, nobody I know of!).  “Deuce”, “Cold Gin”, and “Crazy Crazy Nights” are all from these Instant Live albums.  “Crazy Crazy Nights” is the one I was most interested in.  Live performances of that song are scarce in my collection.  It is from the Sonic Boom tour, and it’s pretty solid.  The song is played in a lower key to accommodate Paul, who does pretty good anyway.  Eric and Tommy help him out on the chorus.  Thayer simplifies the original Kulick solo, adapting it to his style and keeping the key hooks intact.  The result is a tasty guitar solo which is a cross of both players.

Finally, those lucky lucky fans in Japan got a brand new live song:  “Hell or Hallelujah” recorded at Budokan.  Although the song itself smokes, Paul’s voice is really sore on this one.  (Both the intro and outro, which could have been neatly edited out, are really harsh.) The song includes the line, “No lies, no fakin’,” and that is totally appropriate, because this sounds 100% live and untouched.  Gotta give ’em credit for not trying to fix Paul’s voice in the mix.

Notable omissions:

“Love Gun”, “Creatures of the Night”, “Hotter than Hell”, “I Stole Your Love”, “Rocket Ride”, “Sure Know Something”, “Hide Your Heart”, “Domino”.

The verdict:

Buy this CD.  The concept of “one track per album” creates some interesting listening results.  The ratio of rarities to hits keeps it fresh all the way through.  And if you’re a Kiss fan absolutely get the Japanese version.  Just go to CD Japan and order it.

4/5 stars

Disc One

  1. ‘Nothin To Lose’
  2. ‘Let Me Go, Rock ‘N’ Roll’
  3. ‘C’mon and Love Me’
  4. ‘Rock And Roll All Nite’ (Live)
  5. ‘God Of Thunder’ (Demo)
  6. ‘Beth’
  7. ‘Hard Luck Woman’
  8. ‘Reputation’ (Demo) – Previously Unreleased
  9. ‘Christine Sixteen’
  10. ‘Shout It Out Loud’ (Live)
  11. ‘Strutter ‘78′
  12. ‘You Matter To Me’ (Peter Criss)
  13. ‘Radioactive’ (Gene Simmons)
  14. ‘New York Groove’ (Ace Frehley)
  15. ‘Hold Me, Touch Me’ (Paul Stanley)
  16. ‘I Was Made For Lovin’ You’ (Single Edit)
  17. ‘Shandi’
  18. ‘A World Without Heroes’
  19. ‘I Love It Loud’
  20. ‘Down On Your Knees’
  21. ‘Lick It Up’
  22. ‘Heaven’s On Fire’

 

Disc Two

  1. ‘Tears Are Falling’
  2. ‘Reason To Live’
  3. ‘Let’s Put The X In Sex’
  4. ‘Forever’ (Remix)
  5. ‘God Gave Rock ‘N’ Roll To You II’
  6. ‘Unholy’ (Live)
  7. ‘Do You Love Me?’ (MTV Unplugged)
  8. ‘Room Service’ (Live)
  9. ‘Jungle’ (Radio Edit)
  10. ‘Psycho Circus’
  11. ‘Nothing Can Keep Me From You’ (Detroit Rock City soundtrack)
  12. ‘Detroit Rock City’ (Live)
  13. ‘Deuce’ (Live 2004) – Unreleased commercially
  14. ‘Firehouse’ (Live – 1999/2000)
  15. ‘Modern Day Delilah’
  16. ‘Cold Gin’ (Live 2009) – Unreleased commercially
  17. ‘Crazy Crazy Nights’ (Live 2010) – Unreleased commercially
  18. ‘Hell or Hallelujah’
  19. ‘Hell or Hallelujah’ (Live in Japan 2013) – Japanese bonus track

NEW ARRIVALS! KISS 40 & Extreme’s Saudades de Rock Japanese imports!

Bonus tracks:

  • KISS 40 – “Hell Or Hallelujah” – Live in Japan 2013 (Previously unreleased)
  • Saudades de Rock – “Mr. Bates” – 1986 Demo (Previously unreleased)

IMG_20140607_100448

Pre-Ordered: KISS 40 (Japanese with bonus track)

CLICK HERE FOR FULL REVIEW AND DETAILS.
KISS40

You had to know Kiss were going to come out with another Greatest Hits set to celebrate their 40th anniversary. This is in addition to the massive, beautiful Kissteria vinyl box set. I’m looking forward to KISS 40, since it will include some live recordings previously only available on Kiss’ Instant Live discs. It will also include “Reputation”, an early Kiss demo previously unreleased.

In addition, the Japanese will get their own exclusive bonus track, so I have pre-ordered that version from the fine folks over at CDJapan. I have been a satisfied customer there since 2008.

Complete KISS 40 tracklist is below:

    1. ‘Nothin To Lose’
    2. ‘Let Me Go, Rock ‘N’ Roll’
    3. ‘C’mon and Love Me’
    4. ‘Rock And Roll All Nite’ (Live)
    5. ‘God Of Thunder’ (Demo)
    6. ‘Beth’
    7. ‘Hard Luck Woman’
    8. ‘Reputation’ (Demo) – Previously Unreleased
    9. ‘Christine Sixteen’
    10. ‘Shout It Out Loud’ (Live)
    11. ‘Strutter ‘78′
    12. ‘You Matter To Me’ (Peter Criss)
    13. ‘Radioactive’ (Gene Simmons)
    14. ‘New York Groove’ (Ace Frehley)
    15. ‘Hold Me, Touch Me’ (Paul Stanley)
    16. ‘I Was Made For Lovin’ You’ (Single Edit)
    17. ‘Shandi’
    18. ‘A World Without Heroes’
    19. ‘I Love It Loud’
    20. ‘Down On Your Knees’
    21. ‘Lick It Up’
    22. ‘Heaven’s On Fire’
    23. ‘Tears Are Falling’
    24. ‘Reason To Live’
    25. ‘Let’s Put The X In Sex’
    26. ‘Forever’ (Remix)
    27. ‘God Gave Rock ‘N’ Roll To You II’
    28. ‘Unholy’ (Live)
    29. ‘Do You Love Me?’ (MTV Unplugged)
    30. ‘Room Service’ (Live)
    31. ‘Jungle’ (Radio Edit)
    32. ‘Psycho Circus’
    33. ‘Nothing Can Keep Me From You’ (Detroit Rock City soundtrack)
    34. ‘Detroit Rock City’ (Live)
    35. ‘Deuce’ (Live 2004) – Unreleased commercially
    36. ‘Firehouse’ (Live – 1999/2000)
    37. ‘Modern Day Delilah’
    38. ‘Cold Gin’ (Live 2009) – Unreleased commercially
    39. ‘Crazy Crazy Nights’ (Live 2010) – Unreleased commercially
    40. ‘Hell or Hallelujah’
    41. ‘Hell or Hallelujah’ (Live in Japan 2013) – Japanese bonus track

Good enough for me. KISS 40 comes out May 27 2014.