Kiss 40

Kiss 40
Greatest hits album by Kiss
Released	May 23, 2014
Recorded	1973–2013
Genre	Hard rock
Length	02:31:07
Label	Universal Music Group
Producer	Various
Kiss chronology
Jigoku-Retsuden (2008) Kiss 40 (2014)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]

Kiss 40 is a compilation released by Kiss to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the band.^[2]

Information

The album contains one track from every album the band have released over their 40-year career including live albums, the 1978 solo albums, as well as songs from compilations, the three instant live albums, which are commercially available for the first time and one unreleased song ("Reputation").^[3]

The album is the first released by the band since their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.^[4]

A limited edition Best Buy exclusive version was released that came with a T-shirt.^[5]

The Japanese edition features an exclusive track "Hell or Hallelujah (Live at Budokan 2013)".^[6]

Reception

Reception for the album has been mostly positive. In David Jeffries' review for AllMusic, he praised the album for being "filled with classics and desirable extras" but questioned the album's "odd one song-per-album rule" before finishing the review by commenting that "this is a triumph of format and the band's longevity, but not necessarily a knockout introduction".

Track listing

Disc 1
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Original album	Length
1.	"Nothin' to Lose"	Gene Simmons	Kiss, 1974	3:23
2.	"Let Me Go, Rock 'n' Roll"	Simmons, Paul Stanley	Hotter Than Hell, 1974	2:14
3.	"C'mon and Love Me"	Stanley	Dressed to Kill, 1975	2:55
4.	"Rock and Roll All Nite (Live)"	Simmons; Stanley	Alive!, 1975	3:59
5.	"God of Thunder (Demo)"	Stanley	The Box Set, 2001; originally from Destroyer, 1976	2:55
6.	"Beth"	Bob Ezrin, Peter Criss, Stan Penridge	Destroyer	2:45
7.	"Hard Luck Woman"	Stanley	Rock and Roll Over, 1976	3:32
8.	"Reputation (Demo)"	Simmons	Previously unreleased, 2014	5:39
9.	"Christine Sixteen"	Simmons	Love Gun, 1977	3:11
10.	"Shout It Out Loud (Live)"	Ezrin, Simmons, Stanley	Alive II, 1977	3:25
11.	"Strutter ‘78"	Simmons, Stanley	Double Platinum, 1978	3:40
12.	"You Matter to Me"	John Vastano, Michael Morgan, Vini Poncia	Peter Criss, 1978	3:14
13.	"Radioactive"	Simmons	Gene Simmons, 1978	3:51
14.	"New York Groove"	Russ Ballard	Ace Frehley, 1978	2:59
15.	"Hold Me, Touch Me (Think of Me When We're Apart)"	Stanley	Paul Stanley, 1978	3:39
16.	"I Was Made for Lovin' You (Single edit)"	Desmond Child, Stanley, Poncia	Dynasty, 1979	4:01
17.	"Shandi"	Stanley, Poncia	Unmasked, 1980	3:34
18.	"A World Without Heroes"	Ezrin, Simmons, Lou Reed, Stanley	Music from "The Elder", 1981	2:37
19.	"I Love It Loud"	Stanley, Vinnie Vincent	Creatures of the Night, 1982	4:12
20.	"Down on Your Knees"	Mikel Japp, Stanley, Bryan Adams	Killers, 1982	3:27
21.	"Lick It Up"	Stanley, Vincent	Lick It Up, 1983	3:53
22.	"Heaven's on Fire"	Child, Stanley	Animalize, 1984	3:17

Disc 2
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Original album	Length
1.	"Tears Are Falling"	Stanley	Asylum, 1985	3:52
2.	"Reason to Live"	Child, Stanley	Crazy Nights, 1987	3:59
3.	"Let’s Put the X in Sex"	Child, Stanley	Smashes, Thrashes & Hits, 1988	3:48
4.	"Forever (Remix)"	Michael Bolton, Stanley	Hot in the Shade, 1989	3:51
5.	"God Gave Rock 'N' Roll to You II"	Ezrin, Simmons, Stanley, Ballard	Revenge, 1992	5:20
6.	"Unholy (Live)"	Simmons, Vincent	Alive III, 1993	3:31
7.	"Do You Love Me? (Live Unplugged)"	Stanley, Ezrin, Kim Fowley	Kiss Unplugged, 1996	3:15
8.	"Room Service (Live)"	Stanley	You Wanted the Best, You Got the Best!!, 1996	3:37
9.	"Jungle (Radio edit)"	Stanley, Bruce Kulick, Curtis Cuomo	Carnival of Souls: The Final Sessions, 1997	4:53
10.	"Psycho Circus"	Stanley, Cuomo	Psycho Circus, 1998	4:50
11.	"Nothing Can Keep Me from You"	Diane Warren	Detroit Rock City soundtrack, 1999	4:04
12.	"Detroit Rock City (Live)"	Stanley, Ezrin	Kiss Symphony: Alive IV, 2003	4:43
13.	"Deuce (Live)"	Simmons	Kiss Instant Live, 2004	3:51
14.	"Firehouse (Live)"	Stanley	Alive: The Millennium Concert, 2006	3:52
15.	"Modern Day Delilah"	Stanley	Sonic Boom, 2009	3:36
16.	"Cold Gin (Live)"	Ace Frehley	Kiss Alive 35, 2008-2009	5:30
17.	"Crazy Crazy Nights (Live)"	Adam Mitchell, Stanley	Kiss Sonic Boom Over Europe, 2010	4:08
18.	"Hell or Hallelujah"	Stanley	Monster, 2012	4:07
19.	"Hell or Hallelujah (Live)"	Stanley	Japanese bonus track, 2014	5:07

Chart performance

Chart (2014)	Peak position
Australian Albums Chart	31
Spanish Albums Chart	55
U.S. Albums Chart	30

Personnel

• Paul Stanley – rhythm guitar(Disc 1, tracks 1-5, 7-11, 15-22; Disc 2), lead vocals, (Disc 1, tracks 3, 5, 10-11, 15-17, 20-22; Disc 2 tracks 1-5, 7-12, 14, 16-18), acoustic guitar (Disc 2, track 7)
• Ace Frehley – lead guitar(Disc 1, tracks 1-5, 7-11, 14, 16-18; Disc 2, tracks 10-11, 14), lead vocals, (Disc 1, track 14), acoustic guitar (Disc 1 track 18)
• Gene Simmons – bass guitar(Disc 1, tracks 1-5, 7-11, 13, 16-22; Disc 2), lead vocals, (Disc 1, tracks 1-2, 4, 8-10, 13, 18-19; Disc 2 tracks 5-6, 13, 15), acoustic bass (Disc 2, track 7)
• Peter Criss – drums(Disc 1, tracks 1-5, 7-12, 16-17; Disc 2, tracks 11-12, 15), lead vocals, (Disc 1, tracks 6-7, 12), (for Disc 1 tracks 16-17 credit only)
• Eric Carr – drums, vocals, (Disc 1, tracks 18-22; Disc 2, tracks 1-4)
• Vinnie Vincent – lead guitar, vocals, (Disc 1, track 19 and track 21)
• Mark St. John – lead guitar, (Disc 1, track 22) (credit only)
• Bruce Kulick – lead guitar, backing vocals, (Disc 1, track 22), (Disc 2, tracks 1-9), acoustic guitar (Disc 2, track 7)
• Eric Singer – drums, backing vocals, (Disc 2, tracks 5-9, 13, 15-19)
• Tommy Thayer – lead guitar, backing vocals, (Disc 2, tracks 10, 12-13, 15-19)

with

• Bob Kulick - lead guitar (Disc 1, track 20)
• Bob Ezrin - piano (Disc 1, track 6)
• Dick Wagner - acoustic guitar (Disc 1, track 6)
• Kevin Valentine - drums (Disc 2, track 10)
• Tobias Nievelstein – recording engineer (Disc 2, track 16 and 17)
• Anton Fig - drums (disc 1, tracks 16-17)

References

1. "Kiss 40 Years: Decades of Decibels - Kiss | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 2014-06-01.
2. "Lick It Up: “KISS 40″ to Include Rare Live Tracks, Unreleased Demo | The Second Disc". theseconddisc.com. Retrieved 2014-05-09.
3. "KISS - KISS 40 | Album Review | Hit The Floor". hitthefloor.com. Retrieved 2014-06-01.
4. "Kiss founders set aside feud to take stage at Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction - NY Daily News". nydailynews.com. Retrieved 2014-06-01.
5. "KISS 40 Years Only @ Best Buy - CD - Best Buy". bestbuy.com. Retrieved 2014-06-01.
6. "Pre-Ordered: KISS 40 (Japanese with bonus track) | mikeladano.com". mikeladano.com. Retrieved 2014-06-01.