Released as a follow-up to the 1st volume in the Millennium Collection comes volume II which continues its "Best Of KISS" editions. The first CD handled a brief sampling of the bands earlier material from the "KISS" to "Dynasty" albums. This release delivers some choices from "Creatures Of The Night" to "Hot In The Shade" and as you can see the pickings are on the slim side. These releases under the "20th Century Masters" label seem to be merely a nice way to introduce a person to a particular band as they leave far too many seminal tracks off to fully be a "Best Of" with any note to it. In a nutshell this CD features 2 songs from each of the 6 albums that it covers and while there are a few highlights among them they have left off tracks that should be represented. For an introduction piece this is fine but for a retrospective piece it falls very short. Simply put this is not a CD for the ardent KISS fan since we have either the original albums with all of these tunes or another more comprehensive Best Of that features them. In my comments on the first volume I had stressed that perhaps these be left as last minute presents for a new fan or something to simply have to listen to in the office or car. A true best of is found in either "KISS Gold" or "The Very Best Of KISS"; each are affordably priced and will serve the need for a collection of KISS' classics.
The CD does come with a nice fold out for the booklet with a handful of great pictures. It features the second makeup lineup with Eric Carr and Vinnie Vincent as well as a number of shots without the makeup to each of those corresponding albums. This booklet also has liner notes by Jeff Kitts who wrote the copy in Volume 1. It picks up where that one left off and makes for good reading. If you are a KISS collector and find these cheap then by all means grab them, otherwise this is one pair of kisses you don't want to get.
Track Listing
1. Creatures Of The Night
2. I Love It Loud
3. Lick It Up
4. All Hell's Breakin' Loose
5. Heaven's On Fire
6. Thrills In The Night
7. Tears Are Falling
8. Uh! All Night
9. Crazy Crazy Nights
10. Reason To Live
11. Hide Your Heart
12. Forever
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