Despite the issues I have with the production on both of those albums I still like most of the songs on them. Say Yeah! is one of my favorite KISS tracks ever.
Horrible's probably a bit harsh but they are certainly not the best sounding KISS records. Conversely, Paul's '78 solo album and others like Asylum and Hot In The Shade where he was one of the producers, sound excellent.
If they do another comp they need to tack on a disc of unreleased stuff or do a unreleased live comp. They can't do another comp with just a couple new tracks. Kiss 40 was well done. No need to retread that again.
We'll never agree on those Eighties records. Regardless on your opinion of their songs, do you think the production is poor?
Very substandard absolutely. Very thin, sterile, and the reverb drums don’t help either. And HITS is basically just demos. Really they have one or two good sounding non makeup albums (LIU and Revenge-which certainly makes the songs seem a lot better than they are).
I always thought this band could make one hell of a Greatest Hits album followed by like a 10 song "these were kind of good too" album.
We have different ears, for sure. They sound warm and fresh to me. It's all good though! Agree that the production on Revenge far exceeds the quality of the songs.
Production on Sonic Boom and Monster is just fine...it's the mastering on Monster that is the problem. But if an outside producer can get better songs out of Gene I'm all for it.
There is some good stuff on HITS. But yes a lot of that album is pretty terrible filler. They clearly wanted to capitalize on CDs with that one given it has 15 songs and runs at just under 80 minutes.
For me, twelve of the songs are top drawer with Boomerang being the only real clunker. The rest of Gene's songs are excellent, I reckon. Earlier on in the thread, a few people suggested that if the album hat been cut to a dozen tracks, it would have been much improved. Don't remember getting a consensus on which songs should be removed though. 'Twas ever thus with KISS.
I remember that my vinyl pressing of Monster was horrible... a lot of surface noise... even had fingerprints on it right out of the shrink wrap.
I’d lose these myself (or make them b-sides...’member them?) Prisoner of Love Cadillac Dreams Read My Body (not a b-side, though - RMB should be on the soundtrack to some T&A movie)
I really like Betrayed and Somewhere Between Heaven & Hell. Not really bothered with Cadilac Dreams and outside the opening Boomerang is pretty terrible. Read My Body and Love Me to Hate You. Read My Body is a terrible attempt by Paul to try and do Poor Some Sugar On Me and it is nowhere in the league of that song.
For me, Rise To It and Boomerang are really weak links so I'd get rid of them. Of the rest, though I quite like it, Silver Spoon is next for the chop.
Maybe Boomerang. Definitely Read My Body. Controversially, I'd replace them with Let's Put The X In Sex and (You Make Me) Rock Hard which aren't great but I think live on this album.
Funny thing is, I don't dislike Read My Body. There's a whole bunch of people here claim, with some foundation I have to admit, that it's a cheesy rehash of Leppard's Pour Some Sugar On Me, yet somehow, I quite enjoy the KISS song but would happily never listen to Sugar again. Can't go against your own ears, I suppose. The other songs you mention are disposable but fun which at least elevates them above Boomerang, in my book.
Maybe Paul or Gene read this thread and that's why they're ending now. "They hurt my feelings," said Paul in an interview with Sewing Monthly.
I appreciate your love for the song even though it's not for me. This would have been a tedious thread with nothing but blanket agreements!