I'll Never Admit To Liking 20th Century Masters Best of Kiss Volume 2

Kiss is a love ‘em or hate ‘em proposition. I have yet to come across a rabid rock fan that says, “Oh, Kiss is just okay.” There’s no fence sitting with Kiss. You are either on one side spitting blood and breathing fire, or on the other side laughing with disdain. I’d love to put a hidden camera on the CD section at Best Buy or Target. The facial expressions related to music fans catching a glimpse of this release would have to be priceless.

To many fans, Kiss dropped the ball (or jumped the shark) in the late 1970’s (say “hello” to lunch boxes, dolls and kid’s sleeping bags), and have been dribbling and/or losing the same ball ever since. Kiss in the 80’s was a total mixed bag. There were a few good tracks on every release, but the albums as a whole were never as good as they could be. Well, at least as fans had hoped for. Now, along comes 20th Century Masters Best of Kiss Volume 2 (Mercury Chronicles). Holy guacamole!

Despite the reasonable price, I was not sure whether to love it or hate it. I felt like a pop art fan lost in the Guggenheim. What was I looking at? I grew up on Kiss. I owned Creatures of the Night by the second day of release. I never wanted to believe that the magic that was so captured on my Kiss lunchbox had gone away. I worked around the filler by fast forwarded my cassettes and skipped tracks on my CDs. I made one killer mix tape (and later a mix-CD) that got played until it wore out. And what songs were on them?

Nearly the same songs as on 20th Century Masters Best of Kiss Volume 2!

20th Century Masters Best of Kiss Volume 2 proves that even through Kiss was going though an 80’s identity crisis, they still had the ability to pull a gem from between their buttocks. Late 1970’s Disco Kiss had turned into early 80’s Strange Kiss (just listen to The Elder), but the drum into to “Creatures of the Night” erased all those confusing thoughts and urges (talk about hard rock puberty). “I Love It Loud” was the first Kiss anthem for the decade, “Lick It Up” made teenage girls scream but curious at the same time, and by the time you get to “Tears Are Falling,” the faith has been restored.

Then a funny thing happens.

Just as 1970’s Kiss went with a softer and more commercial sound, so does 1980’s Kiss. Yes, my friends. History does repeat itself. However, the saving grace is that (like it or not) the songs “Hide Your Heart” and “Forever” are very well crafted. And “Forever” was ironically the last MTV hit for the band. Gee, nothing lasts forever. Especially when talking about the music business. But if you can keep a secret, then I’ll tell you this – it was also co-written by Michael Bolton. Holy Fools Game, Batman!

Every Kiss fan will have a song or two that they wished was included on 20th Century Masters Best of Kiss Volume 2. Mine are “Turn On The Night” and “Who Wants To Be Lonely.” However, at this price, you can’t be disappointed. This CD may start hard and end tender, but not unlike a Tom Cruise movie from the same era, you just can’t help but like it. Or like it and not tell your friends that you do.