Whatever you may feel about the human beings at the heart of the maelstrom, it has to be acknowledged that Kiss are one of the great rock ‘n’ roll bands. Combining wild showmanship with a back catalogue that is regularly and unfairly overlooked when one considers just how many gems the band have thrown up, Kiss have now clocked up a massive 40 years and still show no sign of slowing down. Indeed, recent albums ‘Sonic Boom’ and ‘monster’ have contained some of the band’s best material in years and the band’s live reputation remains undimmed. Quite why, then, Kiss are so regularly pilloried is something of a mystery for while they certainly had a mid-period slump (‘Unmasked’, ‘Carnival of souls’, ‘revenge’), there can surely be no question hanging over the likes of ‘destroyer’, ‘love gun’ and ‘rock n roll over’ and, in Paul Stanley, there is also a fair argument that Kiss contain at least one of rock’s finest vocalists. Ultimately, however, whatever mistakes Kiss have been made, the band have remained true to their core ideals of making music that they love without feeling the need to reference current trends, and whilst that has not always stood them in good stead (making a concept album in the form of ‘music from the elder’ for example), their showmanship, hard-fought success and massive collection of hits surely marks them out as a band who have more than earned their place at the top.
So here we have a two disc collection celebrating 40 years of Kiss and it is one hell of a compilation. If you’re honest with yourself it seems likely that, whatever your opinion of Kiss, you’ve got off on at least one of their songs, whether it be the cheesy, wonderfully goofy ‘god gave rock n roll to you II’ (which, via Bill and Ted, led to a whole generation wanting to be rock stars), the teary ‘Beth’, the disco-strut of ‘I was made for loving you’ or the full on metal theatrics of the still unsurpassed ‘god of thunder’, and ’40 years’ does a grand job of appealing to fans and newcomers alike by presenting the greatest hits via a series of live cuts, demos and studio tracks (one track from each of the band’s albums to date including live discs) rather than simply throwing together another greatest hits compilation to add to the ever growing pile. It’s a smart move (but then Kiss never did miss a trick on the financial front) and one the will cause all but the most cynical of listeners to crack a smile at regular intervals.
Whilst a track by track guide is hardly necessary – these are mostly songs that are instantly familiar – the first thing to note about this new release is how good everything sounds, even early cuts from the notoriously thin sounding early albums, suggesting that Kevin Reeves put a hell of a lot of work into mastering the collection. Of course, songs like ‘Nothin to lose’, ‘c’mon and love me’ and ‘let me go rock ‘n’ roll’ struggle to compete sonically against monstrous live tracks like ‘rock ‘n’ roll all nite’ (here taken in a thunderous version from breakthrough live album ‘alive!’), but for all that the compilation should fluctuate wildly, it actually hangs together remarkably well. Another point to note is just how many amazing tracks are drawn from just four years (a total of fourteen cuts coming from between ’74-’78), whilst the remaining tracks do a good job of highlighting the fact that even at their worst, Kiss were still more than capable of penning a decent tune. Just to really hook you in there are no fewer than four previously unreleased tracks (‘Reputation demo’, ‘Deuce live’, ‘cold gin live’ and crazy crazy nights live’) and some rare cuts from box sets thrown in just to keep the package appealing. Of these the highlight is surely a disco-flavoured demo of ‘God of thunder’ (previously released as part of the Kiss box set) that throws in some strangely camp backing vocals and a fast beat that fails to match the solemn sonic thunder of the final version, but which offers a fascinating insight into the band’s creative process nonetheless; whilst ‘reputation’ (previously unreleased and from the ‘love gun’ sessions) is a fun gem that sounds suspiciously similar to ‘Christine sixteen’ from the finished album.
There are, of course, some niggles. The biggest missed opportunity here is the booklet which, although generously illustrated with pictures from across the decades, surely deserved at least a few liner notes, whilst the decision to include tracks from the original band members’ solo albums, whilst laudable, is questionable given the classics (or should that be klassics) absent from the track listing. These are, however, minor gripes, and what Kiss 40 really does is to remind the listener exactly how many great tracks Kiss have penned over the years and just how much damn fun they are. Sure rock ‘n’ roll shouldn’t be a circus act, but there’s nothing wrong with enjoying the art form and Kiss, with their crazed pyrotechnics, larger than life personalities and huge, stadium-crushing anthems, are proof that you can mix a sense of the absurdity of rock stardom with some truly great music. Kiss fans are likely to have this compilation already, but for those thinking it over, this is a timely reminder of the enduring power of Kiss and the perfect introduction for those who have somehow managed to avoid them all these years. Great rock ‘n’ roll never dies, and Kiss have more than enough to their name to live forever.
