Customer Reviews

Smashes Thrashes & Hits

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Of the three new songs "Let's Put The X" is another hot song by the foursome, with Bruce Kulick's guitars echoing Ace's. The woman in the song is another teaser in the same vein as the vixens in Animalize's "Murder In High Heels" and Asylum's "Secretly Cruel." As another line in the song says, "You're begging for an eyeful but you only get a peak." Tipper Gore would definitely "love" this song. "You Make Me Rock Hard" is okay, but more refined and smooth. Both lack the loud, sometimes overdone production Crazy Nights, but it's harder than anything on Hot In The Shade, their next studio album.

Eric Carr sings solo for the first time and he does not ruin "Beth," listed here as the Carr vocal version. His voice is considerably smoother than Peter Criss's rough but lovely vocals. Fans will have considerable debate on whether Eric Carr ruined a great song or did proper tribute to it. I like both versions, so that puts me on the fence as I find myself on many occasions.

This is the second official greatest hits compilation after Double Platinum, which comprised everything from KISS to Love Gun. S,T&H is pared down in term of representative hits, one or two key tracks from nearly each album. Here's a breakdown:

KISS "Deuce", "Strutter"
Dressed to Kill "Rock And Roll All Nite"
Destroyer "Detroit Rock City", "Shout It Out Loud"
Rock And Roll Over "Calling Dr. Love"
Love Gun "Love Gun"
Dynasty "I Was Made For Lovin' You"
Creatures/Night "I Love It Loud"
Lick It Up "Lick It Up"
Animalize "Heaven's On Fire"
Asylum "Tears Are Falling"

As one can see, tracks from albums considered lesser, such as Hotter Than Hell, Unmasked, and The Elder, as well as the solo albums, have been omitted. What, "Reason To Live" from Crazy Nights wasn't considered good enough to be included?

As for the older songs, "Detroit Rock City" is the radio edit version, minus the opening diner sounds and radio and the crumpling kerrang of metal that leads to "King Of The Night Time World" on Destroyer. "Shout It Out Loud" has a sudden ending, not the gradual fade of the original. KISS and Destroyer have two songs each, justified considering the importance of the songs.

So what does this selection imply? My theory is as follows: KISS was five years without makeup and the post-makeup songs stress the importance of the present. However, there wouldn't have been a present without a past, hence the need for the classics. The song ratio is 8:7 makeup, non-makeup (I count Beth '88 as non-makeup). As Double Platinum was "the story so far" aimed for late-Boomers, this compilation was for MTV era Generation X-ers, who grew up with Lick It Up through Crazy Nights and who now had an opportunity to go back in time and get the other albums--hey, that's what I did.

I think this is a great collection of songs from the early eras of KISS. Some may complain that most, if not all, have been tampered with. The thing is, if you actually own all of these songs in the original formats, then this compilation is a great addition to any KISS fan's collection. It's neat to hear different takes on all of the classic songs, and the version of BETH with Eric Carr of vocals is, hands down, the better the version of the two. Eric Carr just has a better singing voice, no offense to Peter Criss. The new songs, (Let's Put The X In Sex, You Make Me Rock Hard) are great 80's rockers by themselves, and the only way to get these 2 songs is to buy this compilation.
All in all, this is a good little compilation for those who appreciate the phenomenon of KISS...I have all of their albums, so I may be a bit biased, but I think every die-hard KISS fan should give it a chance, (but then again, if you are a KISS die hard you probably already own this). If you are a new KISS fan, then I would probably stick with Double Platinum, so you can get more of the classic era, in their original form, for your money.

Smashes, Thrashes & Hits is a Kiss compilation that was released in 1988. It is made up of fifteen songs. Two of these tracks--"Let's Put the X in Sex" and "(You Make Me) Rock Hard"--were recorded especially for inclusion on this compilation. The rest of the cuts are taken from ten studio albums. All of the studio albums released by the band are not represented on Smashes, Thrashes & Hits; Crazy Nights is an example. In addition, some of the compositions are remixed. Eric Carr does a nice job singing on "Beth." I also enjoy the sequencing of Smashes, Thrashes & Hits--it is not in chronological order. "Let's Put the X in Sex" and "(You Make Me) Rock Hard" are pleasant tunes. The remix of "Love Gun" is my favorite version of this excellent, classic song, one of my favorite songs in general. The CD is just over 53 minutes. When it comes to the CD insert, it includes the song lyrics to all fifteen of the tracks. I procured this album because of the new songs that were recorded for it and Carr's vocal rendition of "Beth." The remixes were a surprise to me, but I am not bothered by them--they are interesting. I actually rate this compilation 3.5 stars. Smashes, Thrashes & Hits is recommendable.

In between CRAZY NIGHTS and HOT IN THE SHADE, someone in the Kiss camp must've had the bright idea to put out another greatest hits package.The good part of this package is that they include hits made after 1979,like:I LOVE IT LOUD and TEARS ARE FALLING.The new tracks,LET'S PUT THE X IN SEX and ROCK HARD,point the way to a new harder edge, minus keyboards.However,getting Eric to redo Peter's vocals on BETH was insulting to both men. Also,why tamper with the classic tracks by remixing and cutting?Maybe Paul and Gene wanted to say "This Kiss is the real Kiss.Everything we ever did before could've been done a lot better with this lineup".If this was the case,both men were misinformed.All in all,this is a hit and miss affair.If you want a good greatest hits package,go and get DOUBLE PLATINUM or GREATEST KISS.

Greastest hits albums shouldn't have new/unreleased material on them. It should be considered a crime, since all the band is essentially doing is taking money from their fans to basically re-purchase many songs that they already own.
No one in rock 'n' roll is better at doing such things as Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley. Here on 'Smashes' (at least their 3rd G.H. package at this point) they prove this, 'cause in this package are two new songs, as well as the inclusion of "Beth" featuring drummer Eric Carr on lead vocals.
Included as well are the typical hits "Rock and roll all night", "I was made for lovin' you", & "Shout it out loud", as well as some not so hits, but good songs anyways such as "I love it loud" and "Strutter".
I think that "Let's put the X in sex" (one of the new songs featured on the album) is one of Paul Stanley's best songs of the 80's, even though it sounds a bit dated now, and the lyrical topic isn't the most sophisticated, the song has a great opening hook, a great chorus, and some awsome licks being played by guitarist Bruce Kulick.
I personally love Eric Carr's version of "Beth". Even though it's disappointing that this was Carr's first lead vocal on a KISS album, and it was done in such a way that it positioned Eric as the 'replacement' drummer, his vocals are very heart felt, as well as pleasant to hear and unique, he didn't just try to re-do the original, he did it with his own style, which adds another dimension to the song.
All in all fans are basically forced to purchase this album, but as far as anyone curious about KISS, purchase 'Double Platinum' or 'Greatest KISS'. Even though neither album feature songs during the 80's or later, these would probably be the best ones to get.

Great music from the band and excellent sound, vinyl is better than any other format.

This one is re-recorded hits from the band in 1988. So you get in reality a whole new disc and not the older versions of the hits. The new songs are good but not great but that is just a bonus for buyers. "lets put the x in sex' is a silly song but that's ok too. the video of it was funny too!
Do I like the new versions of the old hits better than the older ones? NO, but they are still good versions. In fact , only 1982's 'killers' had real versions of the older songs on it , plus 4 new ones too. There wouldn't be a greatest hits disc with the older songs until 1996 or so.
So if you like melodic rock and want some classic kiss redone by the 1980's version of kiss then you could do alot worse than this.

Hard hitting American Rock
Listen to the tape all during the 1st Persian Gulf War
Semper Fi

This is my first Kiss album, and to be perfectly honest, I'm LOVIN' IT! These guys have a great sound.

Smashes, Thrashes & Hits is another KISS compilation but I like it. (You Make Me) Rock Hard is the better one of the two new tracks and the remakes of Detroit Rock City & Shout it Out Loud are also good but, the best track on Smashes is the new remixed version of "Love Gun" I actually like this version better than the original.

Worth picking up, especially for "Love Gun"