Kiss - '40' CD Review (40th Anniversary Compilation)

“Ever get the feeling you’ve been cheated?” - John Lydon

Kiss’ latest greatest hits compilation, 40, has a unique hook in that it is a chronological walk-through of Kiss’ back catalog, pulling one track from thirty-nine of the band’s past releases. The downside is that this looks like yet another cash grab as Kiss has already released numerous greatest hits compilations and the only previously unreleased song on this release is a 1977 demo from Gene Simmons entitled “Reputation”. “Reputation” is decent track that is comparable to “Christine Sixteen” and “Radioactive” but this track alone doesn’t justify the purchase of yet another compilation.



Here is the track list for 40:

Disc 1
01. “Nothin' to Lose” (from KISS)
02. ”Let Me Go, Rock ‘n’ Roll” (from Hotter Than Hell)
03. ”C’mon and Love Me” (from Dressed to Kill)
04. ”Rock and Roll All Nite" (Live) (from Alive!)
05. “God of Thunder” (Demo) (from The Box Set) (Note: Paul on vocals)
06. “Beth” (from Destroyer)
07. “Hard Luck Woman” (from Rock and Roll Over)
08. “Reputation” (1977 Demo)
09. “Christine Sixteen” (from Love Gun)
10. ”Shout It Out Loud” (Live) (from Alive II)
11. ”Strutter ’78" (from Double Platinum)
12. ”You Matter to Me” (from Peter Criss)
13. ”Radioactive” (from Gene Simmons)
14. ”New York Groove” (from Ace Frehley)
15. ”Hold Me, Touch Me” (from Paul Stanley)
16. ”I Was Made for Lovin’ You” (Single Edit) (from Dynasty)
17. ”Shandi" (from Unmasked)
18. ”A World Without Heroes” (from Music from “The Elder”)
19. ”I Love It Loud” (from Creatures of the Night)
20. ”Down on Your Knees” (from Killers)
21. ”Lick It Up” (from Lick It Up)
22. ”Heaven’s on Fire” (from Animalize)

Disc 2
01. "Tears Are Falling" (from Asylum)
02. "Reason to Live" (from Crazy Nights)
03. "Let’s Put the X in Sex" (from Smashes, Thrashes and Hits)
04. "Forever" (Remix) (from Hot in the Shade)
05. "God Gave Rock ‘N’ Roll to You II" (from Revenge)
06. "Unholy" (from Alive III)
07. "Do You Love Me?" (from KISS Unplugged)
08. "Room Service" (from You Wanted The Best, You Got The Best!!)
09. "Jungle" (Radio Edit) (from Carnival of Souls: The Final Sessions)
10. "Psycho Circus" (from Psycho Circus)
11. "Nothing Can Keep Me from You" (from Detroit Rock City: Music from the Motion Picture)
12. "Detroit Rock City" (from KISS Symphony: Alive IV)
13. "Deuce" (from KISS Instant Live, 2004)
14. "Firehouse" (from Alive: The Millennium Concert)
15. "Modern Day Delilah" (from Sonic Boom)
16. "Cold Gin" (from Alive 35)
17. "Crazy Crazy Nights" (from Sonic Boom Over Europe)
18. "Hell or Hallelujah" (from Monster)
19. “Hell or Hallelujah” Live - Japanese Bonus Track

My challenge is that I can’t figure out what demographic this compilation is being targeted to. Long-time Kiss fans will already have all of these tracks and “Reputation” has commonly circulated on Kiss bootlegs (i.e. First Kiss, Last Licks). If this release is targeted to the ‘uninitiated’, the aging soccer dad/mom who wants to relive the radio hits of their youth may not be prepared for or want to hear the soft white underbelly of Kiss’ late 70’s/early 80’s lite FM/disco schmaltz. All-in-all, Double Platinum or any of the “Alive” albums would be a better place for this later demographic to start.

Links:
Kiss

Rolling Stones - 'GRRR!' CD Review (ABKCO)

"GRRR!" is sound most Rolling Stones fans make when realizing they have to buy yet another greatest hits compilation to hear two new songs (of middling quality). If fans choose to trade up to the 'super deluxe edition' ($139.88 on Amazon), they can also get the official release of the 1963 IBC Demos along with a 1964 BBC session (both of which have been widely bootlegged and readily available for the past couple decades). With all of the economic pundits on the news attempting to forecast the country's economic direction (consumer spending, etc.) for 2013, a pure cash grab, like this box set, would seem to provide a good leading indicator.

Here is the track list for the three-disc set:
(Note: Also on Forty Licks - FL)

Disc 1:
1. Come On
2. Not Fade Away (FL)
3. It's All Over Now (FL)
4. Little Red Rooster
5. The Last Time (FL)
6. (I Can t Get No) Satisfaction (FL)
7. Time Is On My Side
8. Get Off Of My Cloud (FL)
9. Heart Of Stone
10. 19th Nervous Breakdown (FL)
11. As Tears Go By
12. Paint It, Black (FL)
13. Under My Thumb (FL)
14. Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing In The Shadow? (FL)
15. Ruby Tuesday (FL)
16. Let's Spend The Night Together (FL)
17. We Love You

Disc 2:
1. Jumpin' Jack Flash (FL)
2. Honky Tonk Women (FL)
3. Sympathy For The Devil (FL)
4. You Can't Always Get What You Want (FL)
5. Gimme Shelter (FL)
6. Street Fighting Man (FL)
7. Wild Horses (FL)
8. She's A Rainbow (FL)
9. Brown Sugar (FL)
10. Happy (FL)
11. Tumbling Dice (FL)
12. Angie (FL)
13. Rocks Off
14. Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker)
15. It's Only Rock 'N' Roll (FL)
16. Fool To Cry (FL)

Disc 3:
1. Miss You (FL)
2. Respectable
3. Beast Of Burden (FL)
4. Emotional Rescue (FL)
5. Start Me Up (FL)
6. Waiting On A Friend
7. Undercover Of The Night (FL)
8. She Was Hot
9. Streets Of Love
10. Harlem Shuffle
11. Mixed Emotions (FL)
12. Highwire
13. Love Is Strong (FL)
14. Anybody Seen My Baby? (FL)
15. Don't Stop (FL)
16. Doom And Gloom
17. One More Shot

So - what you have with GRRR! is a huge overlap with Forty Licks but Forty Licks included four new songs to GRRR!'s two. Unfortunately, another similarity to Forty Licks is that a number of tracks on GRRR! are edited versions - which makes little sense as none of this set's three discs clock in over an hour. The one thing GRRR! has going for it is that it presents the tracks in chronological order but...the problem with this is that you can quickly hear the quality of the Stones' output in decline as you get into the second half of Disc Three.

Now for the new tracks - "Doom and Gloom" is a decent mid-tempo rocker that is somewhat in the same vein as "Don't Stop". While Jagger's vocals are immediately recognizable, Richards teases but never never throws down any memorable guitar licks and there is nothing striking from the other members of the band so this sounds more like a Jagger solo track than "the new single from the Rolling Stones". "One More Shot" is a slower bluesier number that starts off with some strong guitar licks but the song fizzles into blandness as it never kicks into high-gear (no drive, no energy, weak chorus).





Jumping over to the bonus tracks on the 'super deluxe edition':

The Stones' IBC Demos (IBC Studios, Portland Place, London, March 11, 1963) mark the Stones' first trip into the recording studio where they recorded five blues numbers with engineer Glyn Johns. My biggest complaint is that I would have expected more than 15 minutes of bonus tracks given the high price point of this set.

1. Diddley Daddy
2. Road Runner
3. Bright Lights Big City
4. Honey What's Wrong
5. I Want To Be Loved

The tracks on the 7" EP were originally recorded for the BBC's "Blues in Rhythm" program (5/9/64):
1. Route 66
2. Cops & Robbers
3. You Better Move On
4. Mona

It is a sad statement when the bootlegger outdo the major label record companies as these tracks PLUS two Saturday Club Sessions and Chess Studio, Chicago sessions were included as bonus tracks on the Russian reissues of England's Newest Hit Makers and Now!.

"Ever get the feeling you've been cheated?" - John Lydon

Links:
Rolling Stones