Man i know how you feel Erik, i'm a pathedic Detroit Lions fan here near Motown, he used to be our Quarterback back in the day.

Alright, I've spent enough time this week trying to get the most inept college football coach fired. It's time to move on to...

THE BOX SET

Released on November 20, 2001


Track listing:


One of the greatest box sets of all time, the KISS box set is not without it's flaws. First, the ONE song I wanted on this set more than any other was left off ("Deadly Weapons," from 1981). Second, they should have included all five of the songs from the Eddie Kramer produced 1973 demo. Third they should have included at least two more Wicked Lester songs. Fourth, what's up with no, "Jungle?" (True also of all the other compilations that cover that era.)

Still, with all my griping about what ISN'T on there, I love most of what is on there. Sure, there is a fair amount of Best Of material here that all the fans already had, but there are still a good amount of rarities and some really cool stuff. "Dontcha Hesistate," was one of the rare demos that the band all recorded together after Alive, and it's a good song. (Very Rock and Roll Over sounding, even though it was demoed up for Destroyer.)

The Limited Edition version packaging was and still is the coolest packaging ever for a box set. A mini hard shell guitar case. Damn, that's just cool. I'm glad I've got that one.

I have held out hope that another rarities package will see the light of day somehow, and then I might finally have a good audio version of, "Deadly Weapons."

The set isn't perfect, but it's well worth the price.

I'd rate it a **** out of *****

One track on the box set that I was glad finally got an official release was, "It's My Life." I've always liked that one - ever since it first appeared on the Wendy O. Williams solo album. The KISS version is really good, but just a tad slow. (But that can be fixed with Sound Forge and just a little time compression...)

Obviously not gonna do a track-by-track analysis here LOL.

Just a quick remark that this is a great box set, geared more towards the "casual fan who wants a big KISS collection" than the "hardcore fan who's looking for some sweet rarities, live tracks, demos"... although there are some sweet rarities, live tracks and demos. It's more of a "Greatest Hits" with a large handful of "Goodies".

For me, it's worth it just for the "God of Thunder" demo featuring Paul's vocals and some alternative lyrics.

Overall, it's a really good collection, well worth the money and the time spent listening. I suppose * * * * out of * * * * * is a reasonable rating. But as devoted and mostly nutty KISS fans, we know there's more (and deeper) stuff out there, here's to hoping it gets an official release.

[Hacksaw]The topic is on the table... This is your talk show...[/Hacksaw]

Here are my Question's

1. Why was Alive 3 not represented on the box set.
2. Do you think that the Wicked Lester Album will ever be released.
3. Will there be another box set to have other rarities that were left off.

Thank you in advance

1. I don't know. The album wasn't as well received as they thought it would be. Maybe that had something to do with it. (Personally, I love Alive III.)

2. The Wicked Lester album will likely never be released as a stand alone CD. But more tracks from it could show up on...

3. A rarities/demos collection. I think it's a safe bet that they'll release one in the next 5 or 6 years. Then again, who knows? If they honestly believe that the business model for the record industry is horribly bad and out of date, and that they can't make much money on a release then they might not do it.

I really believe that, if KISS is really working on a new album, as Paul has hinted at for awhile now, it will probably follow the Eagles/AC/DC/Guns N Roses model and be a retailer exclusive (most likely Wal-Mart). Guaranteed millions in sales (like the solo albums!) will give KISS a bit more exposure (even if it's artificially generated, i.e. the albums don't generated much POS activity but the initial hype brings them more press) and maybe that will convince Gene & Paul to get those rarities out there.

Or we could just keep hitting the bootleg sites and getting them anyhow. But it would be nice to have high quality sources...

This is what I was thinking too, They could put out a new album at Wal-mart and it would be on a big display with all the other albums selling between 7 and 9 bucks and they would make a killing on their back catalog. and just think of all the kiss merchandise that wal-mart could see elsewere in the store. Anyways thank's guys for such an entertaining thread so far!

If they do record a new album it's a safe bet it will be an exclusive with one of the retail outlets, but I would expect sales somewhere in the range of the latest Journey album, around 500K. Kiss never sold as many albums as the other artists mentioned, especially after the golden era of the mid to late '70s.

Listening to the KISS boxset, I can't really recommend it to the non-KISS fan or the average KISS fan. At 5 discs and 94 songs, it is just too large for someone not that into KISS to buy and help them join the bandwagon. There are too many good songs missing and various demos that they won't really want to hear. And it doesn't have enough rarities for the average KISS fan to really warrant a purchase. Only the fanatic KISS fans need apply here.

I personally wish they had made a true KISS fan's dream come true and made a huge set of just demos, unreleased tracks, oddities, etc. Instead they mix way too much studio stuff and make it more of greatest hits package with the occasional demo. Only 3 Wicked Lester songs? Only a couple "rare" live tracks. And once you get past the first two discs, only 5 more demos! Out of 94 tracks...this is the best they could come up with???

KISS is notorious for keeping anything and everything they recorded or licensed merchandise...live, studio, coffee cups, whatever. They keep EVERYTHING! And this is what the true fans get? I was very disappointed after this came out after hear Paul and Gene brag so much about the massive boxset they were doing full of rarities.

There are so highlights...just not enough for me to recommend spending much money on this set unless you are a KISS completist. The Wicked Lester tracks are cool but I have the bootleg with 9 tracks on it! Some early demos from the first album are nice but the really cool ones are the early demos by a wacky Paul doing the worst song in history...Stop, Look To Listen. Wow...it is so bad that it must be heard. I get a laugh at it every time I hear it but it shows that everyone starts somewhere. Gene's early demo of Leeta fairs much better and it an enjoyable listen. I know they were just kids when they recorded those two songs but jeez...they sound so incredibly young. Cool to hear.

Acrobat (live at The Daisy), the soundcheck of I Want You, and the live version of Talk To Me are the nice few "rare" live tracks that I wish we had seen more of. Paul's original God Of Thunder demo is almost worth the purchase of this boxset alone for the above average KISS fan. Fantastic to hear and it just sound unbelievable cool. Other neat demos include Bad, Bad Lovin' (which is the pre-cursor to Calling Dr. Love) and Mad Dog...more of stuff like this should have filled out the entire boxset.

It's like they put some time into the first two discs and then just filled the remaining 3 discs with greatest hits and the occasional bone thrown to the KISS fan yearning for cool, unheard shit.

Rating: ***

The low rating is due to the awesome potential this boxset could have had and was originally promised...but failed to deliver.

The large guitar box was indeed cool packaging...but I just couldn't part with the money for a glorified box. Especially after all the money I have spent on KISS over the years. It should have included several other items to warrant the high price.

It makes me wonder what happened to that Gene Simmons "100 songs" rarities boxset that Gene promised was coming a few years ago. Guess that is on the backburner. Problem is...the longer they wait, the less market there is for this kind of stuff.

Sorry guys. Just been monumentally busy the past week. Which, ironically, reminds me of when I first got the the KISS box.

Unlike most CD's I get, with this one, even though I was very excited to get it and even bought it the day it came out, I didn't even end up finally opening and listening to it until much, much later. Like six months to a year later, if you can believe it. Why? I don't know exactly. (And yes, despite the coolness factor, I went with the standard instead of the deluxe version at a 3rd, or half of the price back then.)

As big a fan of the band that I consider myself, I do not own many KISS bootlegs, and never went out of my way to track down all their unreleased stuff. So to me, being less aware of that material, I can't complain as much about what's missing from the set, and most of what did appear on this set in that regard was pretty much a bonus.

That said, I pretty much agree with most of the points the rest of you brought up. Some of my favorite tracks on here are the demo version of "God Of Thunder", the band's own take on "It's My Life", and the Eddie Kramer produced demo material (which I really would have liked to hear all of) - particularly the version of "Strutter". That version just has a such loose swing I love, but that's absent from all the other versions of the song I've heard.

I just read on Billboard that they are hitting the studio next year to record a new album.
SWEET!

Ahem:

http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/...03921442.story

Kiss Making First Album Since 1998


December 10, 2008 12:35 PM ET

Jonathan Cohen, N.Y.
Kiss has reversed course and decided to hit the studio next year to record its first new album since 1998's "Psycho Circus." Guitarist Paul Stanley will produce.

In recent years, bassist Gene Simmons has been vocal about his lack of enthusiasm about making a new album, which he attributes to the state of the business.

"The record industry is in such a mess," he told Billboard in November 2007. "There is nothing in me that wants to go in there and do new music. How are you going to deliver it? How are you going to get paid for it if people can just get it for free?"

In 2006, Stanley told Billboard making a new Kiss album in the shadow of the band's classic repertoire would be a formidable challenge. "The fact is, [fans] may tolerate the new songs, but it's the old ones you want to hear," he said. "I think Jimmy Page and Robert Plant found that out. The [Rolling] Stones certainly know it. The Who certainly know it. So unless you're willing to go into the studio accepting that how your album will be received will never match your expectations, I'm not sure it's worth the effort."

Stanley admitted complete control would change his mind. "I would consider doing it if I could do it the way I wanted to do it," he explained, adding that his 2006 solo album "Live To Win" confirmed how he'd "like music to sound that I'm a part of. To do another Kiss album, I would not be willing to compromise my point of view perhaps as much as I have in recent years."

It's unknown how Kiss will distribute the album, which will feature original members Stanley and Simmons alongside guitarist Tommy Thayer and drummer Eric Singer.

Following its 35th anniversary tour, which primarily played Europe this summer, Kiss is expected to hit North America at some point in 2009.

Dude... YOU'RE KISS!!!! Who the hell do Gene and Paul have to answer to? If they wanted "Psycho Circus" to be an album by the original band, they should have told Bruce Fairbairn to bite it. Why they allowed him to replace Ace and Peter on that album is beyond me. Could they have been THAT bad?

THAT bad? Not quite - but close.

It's about time we got a new album! And I like the idea that they're going back to their roots and doing an album closer in style to their 70's material than anything else.

I'd still hope that it has shades of Revenge here and there, though...

But this is great news.

Cool if Paul Stanley is going to produce it maybe i'll get my wish and it will have a early 80's vibe to it like 'Unmasked" or "Lick It Up".

You are all pond scum who listen to people who wank on their guitars. You should all throw out your KISS stuff and replace it with Coldplay.

That said,


I look forward to some new KISS. To be honest, I don't have much faith in their ability to put out a great album but I'll try to keep an open mind.

I hope this means they are taking off the makeup.

I'd be cool with that but they'd better keep the platforms.

That isn't going to happen.

Especially since Paul's saying that this is going to be a 70's style KISS album.

I just hope he doesn't make the mistake (again) of trying to recreate Destroyer....

I have a question about the box set...

What is the segue like between "Detroit Rock City" and "King of the Night Time World"? I'm assuming that if DRC is the version from Destroyer, it would have the car crash at the end. And if KOTNTW is from Alive II, it would have the gong at the beginning. I'm just wondering if they combined the two or just faded one out and then the other in.

I just wish they'd give Tommy and Erik there own character/make-up. I know that won't happen either. They probably won't even have new costumes for this album. I was really looking forward to seeing new costumes for "Psycho Circus". When they just wore the "Destroyer" costumes, I was disappointed. Don't get me wrong... I like that era's costumes, I was just hoping for something new.

Nope.

The DRC on the Box Set is the "single" version.... no binaural audio, no newscaster, no car crash, just the music.

Ewwww.. I don't like the single version. There's something about it.

So KOTNTW just fades up?

Kind of anti-climactic.