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You Wanted the Best, You Got the Best!!

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You Wanted the Best,
You Got the Best!!
Compilation album by
ReleasedJune 25, 1996
Recorded1975, 1977 & 1996
GenreHard rock
Length59:16
LabelMercury
ProducerVarious
Kiss chronology
Kiss Unplugged
(1996)
You Wanted the Best,
You Got the Best!!

(1996)
Greatest Kiss
(1997)

You Wanted the Best, You Got the Best!! is a live compilation album released by American hard rock band Kiss. The album was issued to coincide with the group's 1996–97 Alive/Worldwide Tour. All of the songs on the album are live versions, with most taken from Alive! (1975) or Alive II (1977). Four recordings had been previously unreleased, with the liner notes stating that the tracks are outtakes from Alive! and Alive II-era recordings, however the four unreleased tracks are simply re-recordings by the band. The final track is an interview with the reunited group, conducted by Jay Leno.

Reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal6/10[2]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[3]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[4]

The album received mixed reviews. AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave the album one star out of five and said, "It's a rip-off album, pure and simple... There is simply no reason for this to exist... you may have wanted the best, but you didn't get it – you just got exploited."[1] Rolling Stone's 1996 review was also negative, calling it a "shameless reunion-promotion biscuit".[5] However, the 2004 album guide by the same magazine gave the album three stars out of five.[4]

The album was certified gold by the RIAA on May 21, 1997.[6]

Track listing

[edit]
US Version
No.TitleWriter(s)OriginLength
1."Room Service"Paul StanleyPreviously Unreleased3:38
2."Two Timer"Gene SimmonsPreviously Unreleased3:15
3."Let Me Know"Paul StanleyPreviously Unreleased3:38
4."Rock Bottom"Ace Frehley,
Paul Stanley
Alive! (1975)3:33
5."Parasite"Ace FrehleyAlive! (1975)3:37
6."Firehouse"Paul StanleyAlive! (1975)4:00
7."I Stole Your Love"Paul StanleyAlive II (1977)3:32
8."Calling Dr. Love"Gene SimmonsAlive II (1977)3:35
9."Take Me"Paul Stanley,
Sean Delaney
Previously Unreleased3:06
10."Shout It Out Loud"Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Bob EzrinAlive II (1977)3:14
11."Beth"Peter Criss, Stanley Penridge, Bob EzrinAlive II (1977)2:33
12."Rock and Roll All Nite"Gene Simmons, Paul StanleyAlive! (1975)4:01
13."Kiss Tells All"Gene Simmons,
Paul Stanley,
Peter Criss,
Ace Frehley,
Jay Leno
 17:34

The Japanese CD and US vinyl releases had another live track ("New York Groove"), featuring Eric Carr on drums rather than Peter Criss, which was also released as a promotional single at Blockbuster. The track is also available on the Apple Music version of the album.[7]

  • Room Service (live) was previously unreleased, recorded in Davenport, Iowa in 1975
  • Two Timer (live) was previously unreleased, recorded at Cobo Arena Detroit, Michigan on May 16, 1975
  • Let Me Know (live) was previously unreleased, recorded at Cobo Arena Detroit, Michigan on May 16, 1975
  • Take Me (live) previously unreleased, recorded in Los Angeles, California in 1977

Personnel

[edit]
Kiss

Charts

[edit]
Chart (1996) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[8] 26
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[9] 35
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[10] 34
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[11] 82
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[12] 39
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[13] 70
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[14] 29
Scottish Albums (OCC)[15] 95
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[16] 25
UK Albums (OCC)[17] 77
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[18] 7
US Billboard 200[19] 17

Certifications

[edit]
Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[6] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. You Wanted the Best, You Got the Best!! at AllMusic
  2. ^ Popoff, Martin (August 1, 2007). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 3: The Nineties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 229. ISBN 978-1-894959-62-9.
  3. ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 4 (4 ed.). Muze. p. 875. ISBN 978-0-19-531373-4.
  4. ^ a b Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian David (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-0-7432-0169-8. Archived from the original on June 27, 2011.
  5. ^ "Kiss: You Wanted The Best, You Got The Best". Rolling Stone. December 18, 1996. Archived from the original on August 18, 2017. Retrieved January 24, 2012.
  6. ^ a b "American album certifications – Kiss – You Want It – The Best". Recording Industry Association of America.
  7. ^ "You Wanted the Best, You Got the Best!! (Live) by Kiss". June 25, 1996.
  8. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Kiss – You Wanted the Best, You Got the Best". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  9. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Kiss – You Wanted the Best, You Got the Best" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  10. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 3033". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  11. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Kiss – You Wanted the Best, You Got the Best" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  12. ^ "Kiss: You Wanted the Best, You Got the Best" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  13. ^ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005 (in Japanese). Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  14. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Kiss – You Wanted the Best, You Got the Best". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  15. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  16. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Kiss – You Wanted the Best, You Got the Best". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  17. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  18. ^ "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  19. ^ "Kiss Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved February 20, 2024.