Description
Blue vinyl with printed innersleeve. Limited 500 numbered copies
A new compiled album featuring high quality outtakes spanning 25 Years Of Kiss from 1973 to 1998. I Have Just Begun To Fight and Reputation are Gene Simmons Virgin Demos from 1978. Gene was working with the band Virgin who’s drummer Chuck Billings is said to be playing drums. Pretty together demos for the songs they both feature overdubbed vocals and guitar, the songs are typical Gene Simmons fair, certainly not really anything in the hard rock vein like KISS but similar to the material found on his first solo album. There’s Nothing Better and Dirty Livin’ are Dynasty demos from 1979. Two Peter Criss demo tracks. Only Dirty Livin’ would be used on the record. If one listens to Paul and Gene nothing constructive was coming from Peter, while these songs are not chart topping mega sellers that are well put together and not any worse some of the material KISS was churning out at this point. Very good quality recordings and definitely interesting to listen to. Just A Boy, Deadly Weapons are from Music From The Elder 1981. Perhaps no period in Kiss career is stranger than the Elder period. The band were divided, Ace wanted to make an rock album and Gene wanted to work with Bob Ezrin who had produced the Destroyer record. Gene got his way and the result was the concept of The Elder and the most ill fated project the band would produce. Hard core fans have come to love the record, I for one can listen to it from time to time as there are some really strong songs on it but as a whole does not work. Just A Boy sounds like a working mix but the real interesting track here is Deadly Weapons, a song that was worked on by the band almost pre Elder and is a very strong hard rock song. It would eventually be re worked by Gene as Loves A Deadly Weapon on the Asylum record. Quality of both songs are very good. Something Wicked This Way Comes and Street Legal are 1989 demos for the Hot In The Shade album. Some working demos Gene did for the Hot In The Shade record. In the Kiss Behind The Mask book Tommy Thayer said he wrote these songs with Gene and produced some demos with Gene and Eric Carr on drums. I am guessing that these are the versions he is referring to. Something Wicked was considered for the Hot In The Shade record but not used, female metal singer (formerly of Warlock) Doro would go on to use the song on her solo record titled Doro that Gene produced. Again very together songs and the sound quality is excellent.
Track list:
1. Stanley The Faggot
2. I Have Just Begun To Fight
3. Reputation
4. It’s Gonna Be Allright
5. There’s Nothing Better
6. Dirty Livin
7. Just A Boy
8. Deadly Weapons
9. Street Legal
10. Something Wicked This Way Comes
11. Body And Soul
12. Rain Keeps Falling