The Very Best of Kiss

Kiss | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 27, 2002)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Island / Mercury
• ASIN: B00006GFAB
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Music
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (147 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,661 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Sure, Detroit had the MC5 and the Stooges, but Long Island's Kiss threw down their own gauntlet. Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Ace Frehley, and Peter Criss cleaved a spot between glam, punk, waning Woodstock rock, and adult-oriented pop and became a phenomenon in the process. Kiss kept their music simple and, of course, sexual, with the likes of "Hotter than Hell," "Love Gun," and "Calling Dr. Love," paving the way for the waves of pop-metal sexpot wannabes and winning fans in such quantities that they launched the so-called Kiss Army. Their magnetism permeates this 21-song set, with Criss sounding so lonesome he could cry on "Beth," and the fire-breathing, blood-spitting Simmons unfailingly serving up a comical mix of menace and lasciviousness. The version of "Rock & Roll All Nite" comes from 1975's crowd-noise drenched Alive!, cut at the time when live albums were de rigueur. This collection was made smartly enough that only four songs come from the band's post-Dynasty period, making The Very Best of Kiss an essential primer on 1970s rock grandeur. --Andrew Bartlett

Product Description

KISS those other anthologies goodbye! This one has better sound and more key cuts: 1974 classics like Strutter and Hotter Than Hell plus the hits Rock and Roll All Nite (smash live version); Beth; Hard Luck Woman; Calling Dr. Love; I Was Made for Lovin' You; Forever; Christine Sixteen; Shout It Out Loud; Love Gun , and 10 more!

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 37 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Best KISS compilation August 27, 2002

By T. C Lane

Format:Audio CD

This is the best KISS compilation. A perfect introduction for those who are curious and a good mix tape for the die-hards. It's better than Smashes, Thrashes and Hits and Greatest Kiss because it goes longer. All The way up to 1992. The versions on this CD are the original ones. Which means "Rock and Roll All Nite" is the live version from Alive. All but one of their Top 40 hits are here (1978's "Rocket Ride" from AliveII is missing). Also "New York Groove" is indeed the Ace Frehley hit from 1978. KISS fans may find something missing. A track from the 80's like "Heaven's On Fire" could be here, as could a 70's one like "Black Diamond". One caveat: their are NO liner notes here. Just Album info for each song. It would be nice if Mercury would put liner notes on one of these KISS collections. At over an hour, though, this is a great introduction to the KISS legend.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars ALMOST the Very Best August 27, 2002

By Frank M. Murtaugh III

Format:Audio CD

With 18 studio, three live, and four solo albums to choose from, coming up with the definitive "Very Best of KISS" is a sizeable chore . . . if it's to be done right. This 21-track collection almost pulls the trick. You've got the six definitive KISS classics (songs that have been included on three previous greatest-hits packages): "Deuce," "Strutter," "Detroit Rock City," "Beth," "Calling Dr. Love," and the dynamic live version of "Rock and Roll All Nite." The finest song from the four solo albums of 1978 � Ace Frehley's "New York Groove" � is an appropriate addition, as is one of the best power ballads of the late-Eighties, "Forever."
Where the album falls short is in the absence of the very best (!) song released in the post-makeup era of the band: "Heaven's on Fire." An omission the band should be ashamed of. Also, instead of including some rather average tracks, like "I Want You" and "I Stole Your Love" from the band's glory years in the late Seventies, the album would be better served with another one or two tracks from the more recent KISS catalog. Why not "Domino" from 1992 or "Psycho Circus" from 1998?
This is a fun album, particularly for newcomers to the KISS Army. Its only limitation is in not providing a full audio spectrum of a rock band whose impact has now grown for more than a quarter century.

26 of 33 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars 5 Stars For The Music, 1 Star For The Greed... September 2, 2002

By "The Woj"

Format:Audio CD

Here's Kiss (aka Gene Simmons) following in Aerosmith's footsteps and running a close second in the "Greatest", "Ultimate", "Best Of", "Essential", "Classic Hits" sweepstakes. Didn't Kiss come out with a box set and an album called "Greatest Kiss" recently.
Not to mention "Double Platinum", "Smashes, Thrashes, & Hits" & "You Wanted The Best...".
You can not fault the music. The songs are imbedded in the hearts and souls of every kid who grew up with this band in the 70's. "Ace Frehley, lead guitar!" But the recycling of the music over and over is wearing thin. NO unreleased studio or live tracks, NO new music at all. "If it wasn't for the fans we would be nothing", Simmons always boasts. Well I am a Kiss fan, a Stones fan, an Aerosmith fan, a Skynyrd fan, a Tull fan, a Blue Oyster Cult fan, a Who fan etc...etc....and I ain't biting anymore. Excuse me while I go spin my vinyl copy of Alive I bought 30 years ago for under 5 bucks.