''Kiss 40'' (also known as ''Kiss 40 Years: Decades of Decibels'') is a compilation released by

Kiss A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...

to celebrate the band's 40th anniversary.

Information

The album contains one track from every album the band has released over their 40-year career including live albums, the 1978 solo albums, as well as songs from compilations and from the three instant live albums, which are commercially available for the first time. There is one unreleased song: "Reputation". The album is the first released by the band since their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. A limited-edition Best Buy exclusive version was released that came with a T-shirt. The Japanese edition features an exclusive track, "Hell or Hallelujah (Live at Budokan 2013)".

Reception

Reception for the album has been mostly positive. In David Jeffries' review for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

, he praised the album for being "filled with classics and desirable extras" but questioned the album's "odd one song-per-album rule" before finishing the review by commenting that "this is a triumph of format and the band's longevity, but not necessarily a knockout introduction".

Track listing

Chart performance

Certifications

Personnel

Paul Stanley Paul Stanley (born Stanley Bert Eisen; January 20, 1952) is an American musician who is the co-founder, frontman, rhythm guitarist and co-lead vocalist of the hard rock band Kiss. He is the writer or co-writer of many of the band's most popula ...

– rhythm guitar (disc 1, tracks 1-5, 7-11, 15-22; disc 2), lead vocals (disc 1, tracks 3, 5, 10-11, 15-17, 20-22; disc 2, tracks 1-5, 7-12, 14, 16-18), acoustic guitar (disc 2, track 7) *

Ace Frehley Paul Daniel "Ace" Frehley (; born April 27, 1951) is an American musician, best known as the original lead guitarist and co-founding member of the hard rock band Kiss. He invented the persona of The Spaceman (a.k.a. Space Ace) and played wit ...

– lead guitar (disc 1, tracks 1-5, 7-11, 14, 16-18; disc 2, tracks 10-11, 14), lead vocals (disc 1, track 14), acoustic guitar (disc 1, track 18) * Gene Simmons – bass guitar (disc 1, tracks 1-5, 7-11, 13, 16-22; disc 2), lead vocals (disc 1, tracks 1-2, 4, 8-10, 13, 18-19; disc 2, tracks 5-6, 13, 15), acoustic bass (disc 2, track 7) *

Peter Criss George Peter John Criscuola (born December 20, 1945), better known by his stage name Peter Criss, is a retired American musician, best known as a co-founder, original drummer, and vocalist of the hard rock band Kiss. Criss established The Ca ...

– drums (disc 1, tracks 1-5, 7-12, 16-17; disc 2, tracks 11-12, 15), lead vocals (disc 1, tracks 6-7, 12), (for disc 1 tracks 16-17 credit only) * Eric Carr – drums, vocals (disc 1, tracks 18-22; disc 2, tracks 1-4) *

Vinnie Vincent Vincent John Cusano (born August 6, 1952), better known by his stage name Vinnie Vincent, is an American guitarist. He is a former member of the rock band Kiss from 1982 until mid-1984 during the band's transition out of their 1973–1983 make ...

– lead guitar, vocals (disc 1, track 19, 21) * Mark St. John – lead guitar (disc 1, track 22) * Bruce Kulick – lead guitar, backing vocals, (disc 2, tracks 1-6, 8-9), acoustic guitar (disc 2, track 7) *

Eric Singer Eric Singer (born Eric Doyle Mensinger; May 12, 1958) is an American drummer. Associated with the hard rock band Kiss since 1991, he has also performed with artists such as Black Sabbath, Alice Cooper, Lita Ford, Badlands, Brian May and Gary ...

– drums, backing vocals (disc 2, tracks 5-9, 13, 15-19) *

Tommy Thayer Thomas Cunningham Thayer (born November 7, 1960) is an American musician and songwriter. He is the lead guitarist and vocalist for the American hard rock band Kiss. He was also lead guitarist for the band Black 'n Blue. Early life Thomas Cu ...

– lead guitar, backing vocals (disc 2, tracks 10, 12-13, 15-19) with * Bob Kulick – lead guitar (disc 1, track 20) *

Bob Ezrin Robert Alan Ezrin (born March 25, 1949) is a Canadian music producer and keyboardist, best known for his work with Lou Reed, Alice Cooper, Aerosmith, Kiss, Pink Floyd, Deep Purple, Peter Gabriel, Andrea Bocelli and Phish. As of 2010, Ezrin's car ...

– piano (disc 1, track 6) *

Dick Wagner Richard Allen Wagner (December 14, 1942 – July 30, 2014) was an American rock guitarist, songwriter and author best known for his work with Alice Cooper, Lou Reed, and Kiss. He also fronted his own Michigan-based bands, the Frost and the Bo ...

– acoustic guitar (disc 1, track 6) *

Kevin Valentine Kevin Valentine is an American rock drummer who is best known for being a member of Donnie Iris and the Cruisers. Valentine played drums on all of the band's early albums during the 1980s. Valentine has recorded as a member of Breathless, The ...

– drums (disc 2, track 10) *Tobias Nievelstein – recording engineer (disc 2, tracks 16-17) * Anton Fig – drums (disc 1, tracks 16-17)

References

{{Authority control Kiss (band) compilation albums 2014 greatest hits albums