KISS – 40 Years; Decades Of Decibels [2CD Japanese Edition] (2014)

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“40 Years : Decades Of Decibels” celebrates KISS incredible 40-year recording career and their long-overdue induction to the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, an anthology spanning 1973-2013 featuring one track off every album including live LP’s & their 1978 solo releases.
The double CD luxury packed with a 20-page booklet also features rare mixes / edits, a previously unreleased 1977 demo ‘Reputation’, and this Japanese Edition, a bonus track.
All has been remastered with a superb sound (just listen ‘Beth’).

Love or hate them. KISS have been thrilling audiences worldwide now for 40 years. They were once the masters of disguise & rock‘n’roll legends, making the astounding mark of 6 studio albums, 1 compilation, 2 live albums and 4 solo records all in the space of 5 years in the seventies.

Into the ’80s the American market for them was soft, however they kept good fortune in other territories. The make-up came off, a heavier sound arrived, a slew of line up changes happened, until finally the fans’ dreams came true and the make-up went back on.
Again they catapulted to fame and fortune, the drama raised its head, a farewell tour and the giant could still not be slayed.
Kiss have been accused of being all about image and no musical substance, let us get one thing straight; you do not have a consistently dedicated fanbase if the music you release has no merit.
As an introduction to KISS, on “40 Years : Decades Of Decibels” the choices are somewhat of the beaten track compared to previous comps.
For the collectors there is nothing really of note here to get you too excited apart from the Simmons demo of “Reputation” which is a moment in time and an oddity which will force their hand.
“God of Thunder” demo with Stanley singing, the Remix of “Forever” (one of the best KISS songs ever), and the Japanese bonus track are also worth the entry price.

“40 Years : Decades Of Decibels” perfectly showcases all the faces of KISS; the hard rockin’ 70s, the egos, the romance, the melodic rock and the metallic edge from the ’80s / ’90s. Try not and tap your foot to “Shout it Loud” and bang your head to “Unholy” and warble along with “Reason to Live”.
In short: it’s a collection of pure hits, all remastered and put together on 2CD with an awesome artwork, all for a very decent price.
A great set which gives a fairly extensive overview of one of the greatest Rock bands of all time.

Universal Japan ~ UICY-15297/8

CD 1 :
1. Nothin To Lose
2. Let Me Go, Rock ‘N’ Roll
3. C’mon and Love Me
4. Rock And Roll All Nite (Live)
5. God Of Thunder (Demo Paul Stanley lead vocals)
6. Beth
7. Hard Luck Woman
8. Reputation (Demo) – PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED
9. Christine Sixteen
10. Shout It Out Loud (Live)
11. Strutter ‘78
12. You Matter To Me (Peter Criss)
13. Radioactive (Gene Simmons)
14. New York Groove (Ace Frehley)
15. Hold Me, Touch Me
16. I Was Made For Lovin’ You (Single Edit)
17. Shandi
18. A World Without Heroes
19. I Love It Loud
20. Down On Your Knees
21. Lick It Up
22. Heaven’s On Fire

CD 2 :
1. Tears Are Falling
2. Reason To Live
3. Let’s Put The X In Sex
4. Forever (Remix)
5. God Gave Rock ‘N’ Roll To You II
6. Unholy (Live)
7. Do You Love Me? (MTV Unplugged)
8. Room Service (Live)
9. Jungle (Radio Edit)
10. Psycho Circus
11. Nothing Can Keep Me From You
12. Detroit Rock City (Live)
13. Deuce (Live 2004) – UNRELEASED COMMERCIALLY
14. Firehouse (Live – 1999/2000)
15. Modern Day Delilah
16. Cold Gin (Live 2009) – UNRELEASED COMMERCIALLY
17. Crazy Crazy Nights (Live 2010) – UNREL. COMMERCIALLY
18. Hell Or Hallelujah
19. Hell Or Hallelujah (Budokan 2013) [Japan bonus]

Paul Stanley – rhythm guitar, vocals
Ace Frehley – lead guitar, vocals
Gene Simmons – bass, vocals
Peter Criss – drums, vocals
Eric Carr – drums, vocals
Vinnie Vincent – guitar, vocals, (Disc 1, track 19, 21)
Mark St. John – guitar, (Disc 1, track 22)
Bruce Kulick – guitar, backing vocals, (Disc 2, tracks 1-9)
Eric Singer – drums, backing vocals (Disc 2, tracks 5-9, 13-19)
Tommy Thayer – guitar, backing vocals, (Disc 2, tracks 12-19)
Bob Kulick – lead guitar (Disc 1, track 20)

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