In my hunt for Kiss compilations, I came across this single disc cd from 2007 that was actually a promo CD of a larger collection that had 8 CDs, only one of which was Kiss. The info on it is as follows:

KISS/VARIOUS Horipro Music Publishing Collection (2007 US promotional only 120-track 8-CD album set issued by the music publishing arm of the Horipro Entertainment Group to illustrate the diversity of their song catalogue, comprising four various artist compilations of hit country songs and classic rock songs, individual discs dedicated to the ‘Emerald Forest’ subsidiary, Jerry Reed and REO Speedwagon, plus a 13-track Kiss collection exclusive to this set. Custom printed discs and full colour picture sleeves, housed in a card picture slipcase with 16-page booklet including artist biographies).

I do not have the whole set, but only the Kiss CD that I picked up on Discogs. I would love to grab the whole set one day, but for now, I’m happy with the Kiss CD at the very least…which is all I really wanted anyway. It is a simple collection with 13 tracks and the inside album sheet had the songs listed and where they wound up on the Billboard Charts and the year. However, not all the songs charted. A very simple set with nothing else included and heck, it didn’t even have the normal Kiss Logo. But it did have a great selection of tracks.

First up is the studio version of their most well-known song, “Rock And Roll All Nite” off the album, ‘Dressed to Kill’. The song peaked at #69 and was the first single off the album.  However, according to this, it went to #12 on the pop charts in 1976 (yeah, what chart?). This version is not what broke them, it was the live version off ‘Alive!’ which will be discussed on the next review.  It is the rock anthem of rock anthem’s and you can hear those elements and that this song was bursting to be heard.  The song came together because Neil wanted them to write an anthem or something for the fans to rally behind and this was the result…not bad!  I will add that if I never hear this song played live by the band again, I would be okay with that.  I am sick and tired of hearing this song, but I will admit is still great…just overplayed to death.

“Detroit Rock City” was so different than anything they had done prior, musically and lyrically.  They took a chance shaking things up a bit and it worked.  The song does mention Detroit, but is really about a young fan that is killed why he was on his way to a Kiss concert.  The story is based off an actual event that occurred outside a Kiss concert in Charlotte where a fan was hit by a car and killed outside the arena.  Knowing it is based a real life event adds a little extra to the impact of the song. This is the edited single version with all the dramatic car crash build up removed. It says it charted at #7 in 1976.

“Shout It Out Loud” was the first single off ‘Destroyer’ trying to capitalize off the success of the live version of “Rock and Roll All Nite” that was released previously.  The title of the song comes from the Hollies song “We Want to Shout It Out Loud” which Wicked Lester demoed years earlier. The song is sung by both Paul and Gene  and that chorus of “Shout it, Shout it, Shout It Out Loud” is pure rock gold. It charted to #31 in 1976 apparently.

The second single off ‘Hot in the Shade’ became the band’s biggest hit since “Beth” going all the way to #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 (that is what the packaging here says as well). The song was written by Paul Stanley and Michael Bolton. The Micheal Bolton who was giving us all those soulful ballads meant for old people. The song is “Forever” and features Paul and Bruce handling the acoustic guitars to open the track and Phil Ashley on keyboards. It is a power ballad and it is so sugary sweet, but I can live with it. It is also a cool moment for Eric has his playing is great as it is subtle enough yet he has a lot of little fills in it that give the song a little extra something.

“I Was Made For Lovin’ You” was written by Paul Stanley, Vini Poncia and the great Desmond Child makes his first of many appears with the band (only one on this album). The story goes that Disco was really big at the time and the record company wanted the band to be a little more commercial. Paul thought any idiot could write a disco song and a bet was made and a few hours later, the song was written and the Paul proved his point. The song went to #11 on the Billboard Hot 100.

“Lick It Up” is the band’s first single and first video without make-up and the song only went to #66.  It opens with a nice little riff and a little scream from Paul.  Paul’s second song on the album and it was meant for the radio.  This is a pure 80’s, melodic rock song and no wonder it still gets played a lot.  The video was so 80’s as well.  Real cheesy and had the band in a post-apocalyptic world.  It is a little comical watching it now.  The song, however, is about a guy trying to talk his girlfriend in to doing the nasty so doesn’t really fit with the video.

“Calling Dr. Love” stems from a Gene song called “Bad Bad Lovin’” which you can hear in many forms on Gene Simmons ‘The Vault’. Interesting to note, on the backing vocals, you can hear Katy Sagal from Married With Children and Sons of Anarchy.  Of course she wasn’t famous at this point. According this release, it states it went to #16 in 1977.

“Hard Luck Woman” was written by Paul and he had written so Rod Stewart could sing and when listening to the track, I could hear Rod singing this.  Paul was talked in to giving it to Peter and although the song did do as well as “Beth”, it still gave the band another Top 20 hit as it went to #15.

The first single off “Love Gun” was “Christine Sixteen”. There is a cool piano riff in the song which was done by Eddie Kramer. A fun fact about the song, the demo was done with Gene and two unknown artist at the time by the name of Eddie and Alex Van Halen.  This one went to #25 in 1977 and is a song that probably wouldn’t go over so well with the whole underage thing going on here.

“Love Gun” is up next and Paul has stated that the song was inspired by “The Hunter” by Booker T. & the MG’s but I believe performed by Albert King.  The song does mention a “love gun”.  That barrage of drum hits by Peter are so recognizable that the second you hear you know it is “Love Gun”. This song went to #61 in 1977 and the last one on this set that actually charted.

“Strutter” was written by both Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons and over the years, this would be a rare experience as they would wind up writing songs by themselves.  The music of the song was based off an old Gene song called “Stanley the Parrot” which was recorded even before there was a Wicked Lester.

“I Stole Your Love” was written by Paul which he used the same formula he did for “Makin’ Love” and you can kind of hear it.  There are two guitar solos on this one with the first one being Paul and the second one is Ace Frehley.

The final track is “Deuce” which was written and sung by Gene and he doesn’t even know what the song actually means.  He just thought it sounded good…and he was right.  The opening line, “Get Up and get your Grandma out of here” is the best opening line.  This is one of those songs that live sounds so much cooler and has more grit, but this is still awesome.

And that is it. A cool piece that is not something you’ll probably run across out it in the wild. I honestly wouldn’t mind grabbing the whole set so it would be housed how it was meant to be in a box with 7 other discs (non-Kiss discs). Since this is a promo, there is no need to rank as this was not meant for the buying public. But for the collector, it is a pretty cool piece to have in the set. Who knows what else is out there, but I’ll keep looking for whatever I can find. Thanks for hanging around.

The Kiss Review Series:

1. Wicked Lester and the Progeny Demo Sessions (Bootleg)
2. Kiss – Kiss (1974)
3. Kiss – Hotter Than Hell (1974)
4. Kiss – Dressed to Kill (1975)
5. Kiss – Alive! (1975)
6. Kiss – Destroyer (1976)
7. Kiss – “Flaming Youth” 45 Promo Single – Bonus Edition (1976)
8. Kiss – “Beth” – 7″ Single – Bonus Edition (1976)
9. Kiss – Special Kiss Album For Their Summer Tour (1976)
10. Kiss – The Originals (1976)
11. Kiss – Rock & Roll Over (1976)
12. Kiss – “Calling Dr. Love” – 7″ Single – Bonus Edition (1977)
13. Kiss – Love Gun (1977)
14. Kiss – “Christine Sixteen” – 7″ Single – Bonus Edition (1977)
15. Kiss – Alive II (1977)
16. Kiss – Double Platinum (1978)
17. Kiss – Paul Stanley (1978)
18. Kiss – Gene Simmons (1978)
19. Kiss – Peter Criss (1978)
20. Kiss – Ace Frehley (1978)
21. Kiss – Best of Solo Albums (1978)
22. Kiss – Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park Movie (1978)
23. Kiss – Dynasty (1979)
24. Kiss – “I Was Made For Lovin’ You” (1979) – 12″ & 7″ Singles (Bonus Edition)
25. Kiss – Unmasked (1980)
26. Peter Criss – Out of Control (1980)
27. Kiss – Music From The Elder (1981)
28. Kiss – Killers (1982)
29. Kiss – Creatures of the Night (1982)
30. Kiss – Lick It Up (1983)
31. Kiss – Animalize (1984)
32. Wendy O. Williams – WOW (1984) (Bonus Edition)
33. Kiss – Animalize Live Uncensored (1985)
34. Kiss – Asylum (1985)
35. Kiss – “Tears Are Falling” 7″ Single (Bonus Edition) (1985)
36. Kiss – Creatures of the Night (1985 Re-Issue)
37. Vinnie Vincent Invasion – Vinnie Vincent Invasion (1986)
38. Black N’ Blue – Nasty Nasty (1986)
39. Ace Frehley – Frehley’s Comet (1987)
40. Kiss – Exposed VHS (1987)
41. Kiss – Crazy Nights (1987)
42. Kiss – “Crazy Crazy Nights” – 12″ Single (Bonus Edition)
43. Kiss – “Reason To Live” – 12″ Picture Disc (Bonus Edition)
44. Kiss – Chikara (1988)
45. Kiss – Smashes, Thrashes & Hits (1988)
46. Kiss – Hot In The Shade (1989)
47. Kiss – “God Gave Rock And Roll To You II” (1991) – 12″ Picture Disc
48. Kiss – Revenge (1992)
49. Kiss – Alive III (1993)
50. Kiss – “I Was Made For Lovin’ You (Live)” (1993) – CD Maxi Single (Bonus Edition)
51. Kiss – Konfidential VHS (1993)
52. Kiss – Kiss My Ass: Classic Kiss Regrooved (1994)
53. Kiss – MTV Unplugged (1996)
54. Kiss – You Wanted the Best, You Got the Best!! (1996)
55. Kiss – Greatest Kiss (1997)
56. Kiss – Carnival of Souls: The Final Sessions (1997)
57. Kiss – Psycho Circus (1998)
58. Kiss – The Second Coming Documentary (1998)
59. Eric Carr – Rockology (1999)
60. Mark St. John – Mark St. John Project (1999)
61. Eric Singer Project – ESP (1999)
62. Bruce Kulick – Audiodog (2001)
63. Kiss – The Very Best of Kiss (2002)
64. Kiss – Kiss Symphony: Alive IV (2003)
65. Kiss – The Best of Kiss: The Millennium Collection (1974-1982) (2003)
66. Gene Simmons – Asshole (2004)
67. Kiss – Rock the Nation 2004 World Tour: Instant Live (Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre Charlotte, NC 7/28/04) (2004)
68. Kiss – The Best of Kiss: Volume 2 – The Millennium Collection (1982-1989) (2004)
69. Kiss – Rock the Nation Live! DVD (2005)
70. Kiss – Gold (2005)
71. Kiss – The Best of Kiss: Volume 3 – The Millennium Collection (The 90’s) (2006)
72. Kiss – Alive! The Millennium Concert (2006)
73. Kiss – Kiss Alive! 1975-2000 Box Set (2006)
74. Paul Stanley – Live to Win (2006)
75. Kiss – Kissology: Volumes 1 to 3 (2006-2007)
76. Kiss – HoriPro Music Publishing Collection: Disc 1 (2007)
77. Kiss – Jigoku-Retsuden (2008)
78. Kiss – Ikons (2008)
79. Kiss – Playlist Your Way (2008)
80. Kiss – 3 CD » Playlist + Plus (2008)
81. Kiss – Sonic Boom (2009)
82. Kiss – Superstar Series: The Best of Kiss (2009)
83. Kiss – Icon 2 (2010)
84. Kiss – Monster (2012)
85. Kiss – The Casablanca Singles 1973-1982 (2012)
86. Kiss – Star Boulevard (2012)
87. Kiss – Kiss 40 (2014) – 2 CD Set
88. Kiss – Kiss 40 (2014) – Japanese Edition
89. Momoiro Clover Z vs Kiss – Samurai Sun – CD Single (2015)
90. Kiss – Kiss Rocks Vegas (2016)
91. Kiss – Kissworld: The Best of Kiss (2017)
92. Kiss – Off the Soundboard: Tokyo 2001 (2021)
93. Kiss – Off the Soundboard: Live in Virginia Beach July 24, 2004 (2022)
94. Kiss – The Albums Ranked From Worst to First (2021)
95. Kiss – Destroyer: 45th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition (2021)
96. Kiss – Destroyer: 45th Anniversary 2-LP Deluxe Edition (Colored Vinyl) (2021)
97. Kiss – Creatures of the Night: 40th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition (2022)
98. Kiss – Creatures of the Night: 40th Anniversary 3-LP Deluxe Edition (Colored Vinyl) (2022)
99. Kiss – Off the Soundboard: Poughkeepsie, NY Mid Hudson Civic Arena, November 28, 1984 (2023)
100. Kiss – Icon (2010 / 2023)
101. Kiss – Lick it Up (40th Anniversary Picture Disc) (2023)

The Bootleg Series:

1. Kiss – ‘Accept No Imitations’ (Bootleg Series) – Album Review (ASYLUM TOUR)
2. Kiss – Look Wot You Dun to Me (Bootleg Series) – Album Review (CRAZY NIGHTS TOUR)
3. Kiss – The Summer of Satan: The Devils Ride Out! (Bootleg Series) – Album Review (DESTROYER TOUR)
4. Kiss – Return to Capital Center (Bootleg Series) – Album Review (DYNASTY TOUR)
5. Kiss – With Fire & Thunder (Bootleg Series) – Album Review (HOTTER THAN HELL TOUR)
6. Kiss – Northhampton PA March 19th, 1975 (Bootleg Series) – Album Review (DRESSED TO KILL TOUR)
7. Kiss – The Hottest Show On Earth (Bootleg Series) – Album Review (THE HOTTEST SHOW ON EARTH TOUR 2010)
8. Kiss – All the Way to the Ball Room (Bootleg Series) – Album Review (Australian Tour 1995)
9. Kiss – Kiss of Thunder (Bootleg Series) – Album Review (The Rising Sun Tour 2006)
10. Kiss – Agora Ballroom 1974: The Cleveland Broadcast plus Bonus Cuts (Bootleg Series) – Album Review (THE KISS TOUR)
11. Kiss – Hotter Than Hell: Radio Broadcast 1976 (Bootleg Series) – Album Review (ROCK & ROLL OVER TOUR)
12. Kiss – The Tickler (Bootleg Series) – Album Review (LICK IT UP TOUR 1983)
13. Kiss – Barbarize (Bootleg Series) – Album Review (ANIMALIZE WORLD TOUR 1984 – North American Tour)
14. Kiss – They Only Come Out At Night (Bootleg Series) – Album Review (ANIMALIZE WORLD TOUR 1984 – EUROPEAN TOUR)
15. Wicked Lester and the Progeny Demo Sessions (Bootleg)
16. Kiss – Black Diamond: Lafayette Music Room, Memphis, TN April 18th, 1974 – FM Broadcast
17. Kiss – End of the Road: In Allentown 2020 (PPL Center, Allentown, PA, 4th February 2020) (End of the Road Tour) – Blu-Ray
18. Kiss – ‘Monster Tour: Simpsonville 2013’ (Charter Amphitheatre at Heritage Park, Simpsonville, C – 13th August 2013) – Blu-Ray
19. Wicked Lester – The Original Wicked Lester Sessions (Bootleg)
20. Kiss – The Ritz on Fire (August 12, 1988, The Ritz, New York City. A radio broadcast – Crazy Nights Tour)
21. Kiss – Kiss My Axe 1978: Live from the Los Angeles Forum in California, August 25, 1977 (Love Gun Tour)
22. Kiss – Gods of Thunder: The Legendary Concert Broadcast – Sao Paulo, August 27, 1994′
23. Kiss – Black Diamond: Lafayette Music Room, Memphis, TN April 18th, 1974 – FM Broadcast (Alternate Cover)
24. Kiss -Alive! in Amityville: June 1973 – (2021)
25. Kiss – Set the World On Fire: Live (10 CD Box Set – Radio Broadcasts 1974-1994)
26. Kiss – Diamonds in the Dust (2022)