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IKONS [4 CD Set]

KISS - IKONS [4 CD Set] Audio CD

A fair review of the KISS "IKONS [4 CD Set]" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all KISS reviews here, or go back to the KISS tabs.

Band: KISS
Title: IKONS [4 CD Set]
Rating:

Release Date: 2008-10-21
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: GOD OF THUNDER 2: ALMOST HUMAN 3: CALLING DR. LOVE 4: LADIES ROOM 5: CHRISTINE SIXTEEN 6: DEUCE 7: ROCK AND ROLL ALL NITE 8: COLD GIN 9: PARASITE 10: LARGER THAN LIFE 11: LOVE `EM AND LEAVE `EM 12: PLASTER CASTER 13: RADIOACTIVE 14: CHARISMA 15: DETROIT ROCK CITY 16: LOVE GUN 17: TAKE ME 18: STRUTTER 19: C'MON AND LOVE ME 20: HOTTER THAN HELL 21: 100,000 YEARS 22: ROCK BOTTOM 23: DO YOU LOVE ME 24: ALL AMERICAN MAN 25: MR. SPEED 26: I STOLE YOUR LOVE 27: WOULDN'T YOU LIKE TO KNOW ME 28: I WAS MADE FOR LOVIN' YOU 29: NEW YORK GROOVE 30: SHOCK ME 31: 2,000 MAN 32: ROCKET RIDE 33: SNOW BLIND 34: SPEEDIN' BACK TO MY BABY 35: TALK TO ME 36: WHAT'S ON YOUR MIND 37: RIP IT OUT 38: SAVE YOUR LOVE 39: HARD TIMES 40: TWO SIDES OF THE COIN 41: DARK LIGHT 42: INTO THE VOID 43: HARD LUCK WOMAN 44: BABY DRIVER 45: HOOLIGAN 46: BETH 47: I CAN'T STOP THE RAIN 48: BLACK DIAMOND 49: MAINLINE 50: DON'T YOU LET ME DOWN 51: DIRTY LIVIN' 52: GETAWAY 53: STRANGE WAYS 54: THAT'S THE KINDA SUGAR PAPA LIKES 55: EASY THING 56: I FINALLY FOUND MY WAY

Almost Complete
That said, there are some interesting ommissions, primarily from the Paul Stanley disc. This is a very comprehensive package and would be a welcome addition to the casual fan. I Want You, Sure Know Something and Shandi, all from the heyday era, are somewhat glaring ommissions. Other than that, a couple of the track orders are kind of odd. Rip It Out and Deuce would have been better suited as disc openers, but hey, that's being nit-pickey! Excellent packaging and a very cool concept.

Kiss is one of few bands in which each member made some sort of impact individually
It's a four CD collection that features highlights from each individual member of the group. The Good
Ikons is the latest box set by Kiss. The packaging is exceptional with high gloss photos of the group and each disc is color coded to the shade that best represents the band member. Through the the little hole of the disc is the face of the member it is highlighting. The pictures are similar to what Kiss did when the released solo albums in the seventies. Now on to the music.

The Demon (Red) highlights the Kiss material that Gene wrote and performed with the group. The material ranges focuses on Kiss material from the 70s and Gene's solo album. "God of Thunder" (oddly written by Paul Stanley) kicks the set off. This of course is Gene's signature track when performing live. It's a little different than the one you're used to, as this is the album version. The bass still rocks you foundation. Other Kiss classics include "Calling Dr. Love," "Chirsteen Sixteen," "Deuce," "Rock and Roll All Nite," "Cold Gin," and "Parasite. " Lesser known songs such as "Ladies Room" and "Larger Than Life" are good, but it is obvious why they have not appeared on any greatest hits albums.

The Star Child (Purple) highlights Paul Stanley. As much as Simmons is tied to some Kiss hits, without Stanley's tracks (and vocals), the group would have never flourished. "Detroit Rock City," "Love Gun," "Strutter," "Do You Love Me," "I Stole Your Love," and "I Was Made for Loving You" are all instantly recognizable. Paul too keeps it in the 70s. "Wouldn't You Like to Know Me" is a stellar track from Stanley's solo album.

Space Ace (Blue) highlights the fact that Frehley may actually be from the great beyond. "2000 Man," "Dark Light," and "Rocket Ride" truly have Ace reaching for the stars. Sure they're aren't as many hits on this disc than on Gene & Paul's, but there still are some quality tracks and minor hits for the group. "New York Groove" has a great beat and rhythm that will make your head bounce. "Speeding Back to My Baby" was co-written by Jeanette Frehley and has a sweet tone to it. Most of the tracks revolve around Ace's blusey guitar tones and gritty vocals. "Rip It Out" was quite the shocker as it sounded every bit as good as a Kiss hit. It came from his solo effort, as did most of the material here. Ace even has a track from the 1998 Kiss reunion album Psycho Circus. What's that say about Paul and Gene's contribution to that effort?

The Cat Man (Green) highlights drummer Peter Criss who, despite being assigned the sappiest ballad ever ("Beth"), manages to crank out a few rock tunes. Every Kiss fan knows "Hard Luck Woman," but "Dirty Livin'" is the perfect personification of the group. I wonder why it never caught on as a fan favorite. "Black Diamond" is the only other (minor) hit Criss contributed to the group. His disc is solo album heavy. On top of that, Criss is more of a crooner than a rocker. Think of Barry Manilow with more guitar. It's not necessarily bad, but sometimes a drummer should be a drummer.

The Bad
Each member has a song or two (from their 70s solo efforts) that could have been left off without any complaints. How many more Kiss compilations are we going to get?

The Verdict
Kiss is slowly closing in on the record for most compilation albums in a career (I think The Beach Boys have a good lead), but Ikons is a bit different. Kiss is one of few bands in which each member made some sort of impact individually. Kiss is also one of the few bands that you know each band members name or face (who are the guys in Linkin Park again?). Ikons is material you've heard over and over again, although the way it is packaged and presented, does make it worth getting your hands on. Besides, Kiss IS all about the packaging.

A Box Set For Ikons
They are still around today and made some great music, the fact that they are still known today proves that. KISS has made an impact in music, no doubts on that. There have been many compilations out there and a box set already so what could another of these do that hasn't been done? Well, "Ikons" released in 2008, is a box set containing four discs representing each individual members of the band. There's been nothing like that before, usually you take all the hits and put them together to make a compilation, this time there is four discs and they represent each a member. It's noticeably different and in some ways much better, Paul, Gene, Ace and Peter are KISS but having a discs of material with some of each's music shows their distinct personalities and talent. The concept of Ikons is great and hasn't been done before but what about the music in there?

The list is there and shows which song is where already so I won't do that. Gene's disc has the essentials "Deuce", "Calling Dr. Love" and "God Of Thunder" amongst others. "Radioactive" from his solo album was a predictable move, but it's a good song. Not much surprise with the song selection except for "Larger Than Life", also"Charisma" is odd but a good choice. Same thing with Paul, "Detroit Rock City", "Love Gun", "Strutter" and many others are no brainers. "Wouldn't You Like To Know Me" is a god choice from Paul's solo album. Ace and Peter's discs are more interesting because they aren't what you usually have on greatest hits and so this is something different. Of course there will be "Shock Me" and "Beth" but they have more songs from their solo albums. I found it great that included "Dark Light" from "The Elder" on Ace's disc as you don't see a lot of Elder stuff near KISS compilations.

Gene and Peter's discs have 1 song from their 1978 solo albums while Ace and Peter get 4 each. There's an easy explanation to this: Ace and Peter have written or been showcased in less songs than Paul and Gene have so it only seems normal that they would get more of their solo recordings on their discs. I find interesting that Ace and Peter each have a song from the "Psycho Circus" album (not that I personally care for Peter's track "I Finally Found My Way" but I thought "Into The Void" was one of the best things ace ever did).

I think this set does a good job at showing how unique those people are while being in the same band. All in all these four individuals once were the collective force that is KISS and this set shows it. The songs chosen are both very representative and good. It's not something to get for a fan like me who has every album (including the solo ones) but if you don't own any KISS or you want to buy a compilation maybe this would be something to check out for, it's much more worth it. The thing is that it costs more than the average compilation so you have to shell out more cash which means you pretty much have to be a fan with nothing to buy this otherwise you may find it pricey. KISS themselves, as has been said in other reviews, did not endorse this release and they did not decide to do this but they thought the idea was pretty cool. Overall Ikons does a good homage to true ikons and is a good set.
.

Good Set !!!
When the set first came out I was very uneasy about purchasing it mostly b/c the members have nothing to do w/ the set at all as far as packaging, art work, remastering, etc. Okay so we all know that record companies dust off older albums and groups to make a quick buck but I must admit I love this set. . . . track selection is great and it has a few songs that are not on the orig albums. Favorite albums have to be Peter Criss & Space Ace; Simmons album is okay an the Stanley album is nothing more than a kiss greatest album with two or three Paul stanley indie songs thrown in.

All in All a very well done set and Secondhandtunes did a great job in shipping me my collection; came within a week.

Worth your money if your a true KISS fan !!!

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Amazing KISS collection
Although all titles have been already published, this is a great addition for any KISS collector and for the ones that want to know what KISS is about!!!
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You can see a complete list of all KISS discography, or go back to the KISS tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.