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. The final track is an interview with the reunited group, conducted by Jay Leno.
| You Wanted the Best, You Got the Best!! | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Compilation album by | ||||
| Released | June 25, 1996 | |||
| Recorded | 1975, 1977 & 1996 | |||
| Genre | Hard rock | |||
| Length | 59:16 | |||
| Label | Mercury | |||
| Producer | Various | |||
| Kiss chronology | ||||
| ||||
Reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal | 6/10[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
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Origin | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Room Service" | Paul Stanley | previously unreleased, recorded in Davenport, Iowa in 1975 | 3:38 |
| 2. | "Two Timer" | Gene Simmons | previously unreleased, recorded at Cobo Arena Detroit, Michigan on May 16, 1975 | 3:15 |
| 3. | "Let Me Know" | Stanley | previously unreleased, recorded at Cobo Arena Detroit, Michigan on May 16, 1975 | 3:38 |
| 4. | "Rock Bottom" | Ace Frehley, Stanley | Alive! (1975) | 3:33 |
| 5. | "Parasite" | Frehley | Alive! | 3:37 |
| 6. | "Firehouse" | Stanley | Alive! | 4:00 |
| 7. | "I Stole Your Love" | Stanley | Alive II (1977) | 3:32 |
| 8. | "Calling Dr. Love" | Simmons | Alive II | 3:35 |
| 9. | "Take Me" | Sean Delaney, Stanley | previously unreleased, recorded in Los Angeles, California in 1977 | 3:06 |
| 10. | "Shout It Out Loud" | Bob Ezrin, Simmons, Stanley | Alive II | 3:14 |
| 11. | "Beth" | Peter Criss, Ezrin, Stan Penridge | Alive II | 2:33 |
| 12. | "Rock and Roll All Nite" | Simmons, Stanley | Alive! | 4:01 |
| 13. | "Kiss Tells All" | Kiss, 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]
Personnel
- Kiss
- Paul Stanley – rhythm guitar, vocals
- Gene Simmons – bass guitar, vocals
- Ace Frehley – lead guitar, vocals on "New York Groove"
- Peter Criss – drums, vocals on "Beth"
- Eric Carr – drums on "New York Groove"
Charts
| 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
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA)[6] | Gold | 500,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||