HIDDEN GEMS: KISS AND MOTLEY CRUE

Part of my point in writing this blog is not only to explore new music, but old music that's maybe not given much attention any more, or never got it's due: as a result, I'm starting a new HIDDEN GEMS feature, where I take popular rock bands with a huge catalog and put together a playlist of their best material you've never heard of.  

In preparation for the KISS/Crue concert tonight at Comcast Theatre, I’ve been listening to more of both bands, but not just the stuff they’d be likely to play at the show.  Both bands have a rich catalogue including several tracks each that have gone largely unnoticed but every fan of the bands should give a listen:

KISS:  KISS has a pretty huge back catalogue they’ve accumulated over forty-plus years together.  It’d be difficult to distill every overlooked moment into a manageable playlist, or even define what an overlooked moment is.  For the purpose of this segment, I’m assuming casual fans looking for more KISS to enjoy already have their greatest hits, The Very Best Of KISS, and the undisputable classic Alive!, but nothing else.  If you don’t have those, and are a fan of the band, I highly recommend you get those two releases, or at least listen to them, as soon as you get the chance.  I intend this to serve as a sort of Best Of Part Two, and should fit onto a single standard-length disc (80 minutes.)

There’s a good chance you’ve heard a couple of these songs, (“Heaven’s on Fire,” “Creatures of the Night,” and Gene Simmons theme song “God of Thunder” are glaring omissions from several best of collections,) however, I hope there’s some new material for fans on here.  Of course, I can’t guarantee there isn’t a top-notch KISS song I’ve excluded from this list—I’d never have the time to pour through the entire 20+ album catalogue, nor is my word golden on this matter. 

1.)    “Psycho Circus”  Psycho Circus

2.)    “Ladies Room” Rock and Roll Over

3.)    “Who Wants to be Lonely” Asylum

4.)    “Mr. Speed” Rock and Roll Over

5.)    “Larger Than Life” Alive II

6.)    “Unholy” Revenge

7.)    “Hate” Carnival of Souls

8.)    “Shock Me” Love Gun

9.)    “Makin Love” Rock and Roll Over

10.) “Almost Human” Love Gun

11.)  “Heaven’s On Fire” Animalize

12.)   “Nowhere To Run” Gold: 1974-1982

13.)  “Domino” Revenge

14.)   “War Machine” Creatures of the Night

15.)  “Carr Jam 1981” Revenge

16.)   “Creatures of the Night” Creatures of the Night

17.)   “All Hell’s Breakin’ Loose” Lick It Up

18.)   “God of Thunder” Destroyer (Resurrected)

 MOTLEY CRUE: Crue has a much less extensive catalogue than KISS, not to mention their heyday was not as consistent.  Nonetheless, they racked up less hits, and had several overlooked classics.  For the purposes of this playlist, we’ll assume you have/know their most recent best of, The Greatest Hits (version including “Saints of Los Angeles”,) and their new single, “Sex.” 

1.)    “City Boy Blues” Theatre of Pain

2.)    “Public Enemy #1” Too Fast for Love

3.)    “Bastard” Shout at the Devil

4.)    “Starry Eyes” Too Fast for Love

5.)    “Come On and Dance” Too Fast for Love

6.)    “Helter Skelter” Shout at the Devil

7.)    “Jailhouse Rock (Live)” Girls, Girls, Girls

8.)    “Merry Go-Round” Too Fast for Love

9.)    “Knock ‘Em Dead Kid” Shout at the Devil

10.)   “Hooligan’s Holiday” Motley Crue

11.)   “Mutherf***er of the Year” Saints of Los Angeles