Gene Simmons’ favourite greatest hits albums: “The sign of greatness”

Posted On February 25, 2025February 25, 2025

Sometimes, you’re only in the mood to hear the top tracks from your favourite artists and can’t be bothered listening to the filler songs on individual albums that will inevitably, eventually, get lost in the sonic graveyards of years gone by. But to admit that can be akin to confessing sacrilege, so oftentimes, it’s best just to keep quiet and grit your teeth through those blander tunes you really can’t stand. It’s refreshing, in that sense, to hear Gene Simmons of Kiss fame freely waxing lyrical on his favourite well-known bangers.

When previously discussing his all-time favourite albums across the course of his career, ‘The Demon’ has listed at various points no less than five greatest hits records by different artists as being among his top picks. You might think these may all come from Simmons’ heavy metal heavyweight cronies, but encompassing everything from classic chart pop to 1950s crooning, it seems he has a very different taste to dispel.

Beginning with the greatest hits album of the Swedish pop masters Abba, Simmons said: “If I’m riding in my car and Abba music comes on, I turn it up, and that’s the sign of greatness.” It’s an incredible image – Simmons belting out ‘Dancing Queen’ while dressed to the nines in all his stage paraphernalia, but if you think that’s a bit of a juxtaposition, his other picks go even further in breaking down his famous screaming persona.

That’s none more so true than in his next pick, the top hits of 1950s pioneering country pianist Patsy Cline. An unconventional choice it may be, but Simmons enthused that: “You can’t appreciate music without really appreciating music,” justifying his unlikely pick by saying, “Yes, Jeff Beck’s riffs and guitar playing, the bombast of Led Zeppelin, but you can’t leave Patsy Cline over on the side.”

Elsewhere, a more harmonious soul pairing in the form of Ray Charles and James Brown join Simmons’ ranks with their greatest hits albums, with the bassist saying that “you can’t get any better” than the former’s seminal tune, ‘Hit the Road Jack’. Speaking of the song’s appeal, he explained: “It doesn’t have a bridge; it doesn’t have a chorus. It only has that riff that keeps going back over and over again, and on top of that is a haunting melody with a give-and-take in the background. It’s just classic.”

Moreover, when it comes to Brown’s allure, Simmons said: “James Brown came up from nothing in the swamps of Georgia and somehow created himself, educated himself and learned the craft without going to dancing school or music school.” Finally, the greatest hits of the Dave Clark Five round out the list, harkening back to one of the most successful exports of the British invasion who was bound to have inspired many young American boys like Simmons to take the world of rock and roll rapture into their own hands.

Above all, it teaches us a lesson to question our pre-set assumptions in music. You might assume that a heavy metal icon like Simmons would be dead rooted in the heart and soul of his genre, but his evident outreach into other sonic realms goes a long way in capturing what makes him so genius. It’s also quite satisfying to know he’s not fussed by the filler tracks – he’s only looking for the best of the best.

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