The Very Best Of Kiss

Of all the Kiss hits compilations, The Very Best of Kiss is the album that most resembles the band’s live experience. It begins with the adrenaline groove of “Strutter” and concludes with the flag-waving drama of “God Gave Rock ‘n’ Roll to You.” Following 1988’s Smashes, Thrashes, and Hits — which featured remixed, and arguably compromised, versions of classic songs —The Very Best of Kiss is the only collection to straddle the band’s ‘70s and ‘80s incarnations and no album better highlights the breadth or consistency of the band’s career. In addition to the early anthems (“Strutter,” “Deuce,” “Shout It Out Loud”), space is given to early live favorites like “Got to Choose” and “Hotter Than Hell.” In a move that will appeal to old-school fans, the 1975 Alive! version of “Rock ‘n’ Roll All Nite” is included in place of the commonly-heard studio original. The collection salvages the best songs from the band’s fallow years (“I Was Made Made For Lovin’ You,” Ace Frehley’s solo hit “New York Groove”), and touches on its ‘80s comeback with “I Love It Loud” and “Lick It Up.” It doesn’t hit every high point, but by the end you have a clear sense of the bricks by which Kiss built itself into a rock institution.