Kiss is notorious for releasing Greatest Hits compilations and it is both the band and the label responsible for that travesty. Don’t get me wrong, they have a ton of great songs so a few greatest hits compilations are probably necessary. However, this is not one of them even though this one is a little different. On June 14, 2004, the label allowed a second volume in the 20th Century Masters’ Millennium Collection. They released ‘The Best of Kiss: Volume 2 – The Millennium Collection’ and what makes it a little different is that it is only compilation from Kiss that focuses solely on their material from the 1980’s. Well, most of the 80’s as it goes from 1982-1989. It does skip the ‘Unmasked’ (1980) and ‘The Elder’ (1981) albums which Volume 1 doesn’t cover either. So a big miss.
But like Volumes 1 & 3, it is only 12 songs and all are previously released so nothing new here. No remixes, single edits, just album cuts which is easier and cheaper. The look is exactly like the other comps in this set so at least they are consistent. My poor case is cracked, the CD is scratched up and is a bit of a mess, but it was free!! Noble Records threw it in when I bought some other Kiss material at the store. Such a great store!!
“Creatures of the Night” was written by Paul Stanley and Adam Mitchell and had Steve Farris on lead guitar. Steve would go on to play for the band Mr. Mister. Also on the album was Adam with additional guitars and Mike Porcaro on bass as Gene wasn’t available or something. The song starts off explosive with Eric’s drums and then some wicked, heavy guitar riffs. Paul sings with a swagger that he has not had in years. He sounds confident and serious and this is a much heavier and more determined Kiss.
“I Love it Loud” is up next and MTV played it a lot. Every time it came on it was event TV for me. I actually remember having our little black & white TV in the dining room on at dinner one night because I knew the song was coming on. When it did, I stopped eating to watch and made everyone else watch it too. Ace was in the video and I thought Kiss was chugging along just fine. Plus, I loved seeing the Giant Tank stage and Eric was slamming away on those drums. The song was written by Gene Simmons and Vinnie Vincent and it was our first glimpse in to Vinnie as a song writer and it was awesome. This was such a heavy metal track and it was the Demon rejuvenated. A massive anthem despite the simple, somewhat stupid lyrics. I love the fade out at the end to then come back again for a few more pointless seconds. Not sure the need, but as a kid, I thought it was cool.
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2 Loud 2 Old Music 