Customer Reviews

Hard to Believe: Kiss Covers

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Hard To Believe is a compliation of Kiss covers by various obscure "underground indy punk" bands. I have the version with the four rockers in familiar makeup on the cover that also contains more tracks (15 total) than some other pressings. The big claim to fame for this CD is a band called Nirvana doing "Do You Love Me" from Kiss' 1976 Destroyer album. This was the main reason I wanted to get this CD. I'm a major Kiss fan, and have been since the early 70s, and I also like Nirvana a lot. The Nirvana song on here is not recognizable as the legendary group that recorded Bleach, Nevermind, and In Utero. After several repeated listens I still don't believe that's Kurt Cobain on vocals, it sounds like it could be Krist Novoselic... the bottom line is it's terrible. I did a little research and Kurt is quoted as saying he did sing it, but that voice is not even similar to the one familiar to Nirvana's official releases. The vocals on this cover of "Do You Love Me" are way off key, screetching and joking, very drunk and slurred, and just plain ugly to hear. They also don't play the song right at all and just play any chords it seems at random, which adds to the overall unlistenable quality of not only this track, but the entire CD. So if you're looking at this CD to get that one rare Nirvana track, forget it. Don't waste your time. The only other band on this compliation that I liked before buying it was The Melvins. Their cover of God of Thunder is decent (but weak compared to their cover of Kiss' Goin' Blind on the Hodini album). I like how they did the Kiss Alive II drum solo on here, a nice touch. At least The Melvins song on here is professional-sounding, which can not be said for most of the tracks on here. Ace Frehley's "Snowblind" is butchered beyond belief by some idiot screaming half-hearted vocals and again the music is just a mess. The version of Deuce on here, I couldn't even tell what song it was until they got to the chorus it was THAT bad. Overall this entire CD sounds like it was recorded on a boom box in a basement by a group of junior high school kids. The quality isn't the worst part of this CD though, the performances are. Unless you REALLY LOVE one of the bands featured on this CD, stay away, it just plain stinks. The "fast heavy guitar" version of Beth by Coffin Break is at least an interesting attempt (but again, can't anyone at least learn the right chords to the song?!) and Instigators do an acceptable job of "War Machine" but even this track begins with a disasterous pass at "Beth" with an out-of-tune piano playing the wrong notes anyway. Bullet LaVolta at least tried to put their own spin on "Detriot Rock City" with an intro that I found amusing. The worst track award I would give to The Hard-Ons for a mess of chords and incorrect lyrics they thought was a cover of "Lick It Up." C'mon guys, the lyrics to Lick It Up are VERY simple and it's almost all just one A chord, if you can't get that right you shouldn't even be making tapes on a boom box in your basement. If you're looking to purchase Hard to Believe to hear some good bands paying tribute to their rock heroes, you won't find it here. If you enjoy the sounds of a rabid mouse caught in a garage door, you might like this CD.

I first heard this album on vinyl, shortly after it came out. A good friend of mine is a HUGE Kiss fan, so it was a must-have for him. I doubt that Gene Simmons and company were involved in the production of this album. The completed project seems rather low-budget, which is fine...but the sound quality really suffered. At that time, most of the artists appearing on this record were considered "underground". The collaboration of these performers is awesome...and a few are classic acts in their own right (i.e.: Melvins, Nirvana). Over the years, I've learned to appreciate Kiss more and more. They always seemed to be well-focused, while churning out quality rock. The theatrics were a bonus.

I would rate this CD higher if the sound quality were better. Still, this eclectic item is truly worth having, for Kiss and Nirvana fans alike.

Do any of you realize the rarity of this album. It was pulled from the shelves after only 2 weeks due to the fact that none of the artists had KISS's permission to record this album. Any of you that already have the album should hold on to it as long as you can. If you dont have it, get it. I fortunately had a friend at the time that held me a copy of it when it first came out. It is now one of the most treasured pieces of my kiss collection.