Brightest Starz: Anthology [Yellow Vinyl] [Ltd] in Bloomington, MN

To some,
Starz
were
Kiss
' "little brother band," due to the fact that -- like the masked quartet --
debuted in the 1970s, were managed by
Bill Aucoin
, hailed from the East Coast, and specialized in hook-heavy arena rock (heck, both acts even toured together). And to a certain degree, this is true. But upon hearing the 2000 compilation
Brightest Starz: Anthology
,
really were their own band -- capable of penning quite a few ditties that really should have stormed the charts (especially when they sporadically took a bit of a power pop detour). Highlights from all four
studio albums are here, and for admirers of smartly penned mainstream rock, the power pop nugget
"Cherry Baby"
and the mid-paced
"Sing It Shout It"
(both of which coulda/shoulda been mega-hits) surely won't disappoint. And like
Cheap Trick
early on,
manage to throw a few curve balls when it comes to subject matter in their tunes, straying from the expected "party rock" topics -- cases in point being
"Pull the Plug"
(which appears to be about "pulling the plug" on a lover on her deathbed) and
"Subway Terror"
(which details the risks of riding the subway, indeed no safe haven circa the '70s in N.Y.C.). Start with a tablespoon of
, stir in a teaspoon of
, and add a dash of
Aerosmith
, and you get
, and
is a fine intro to this often overlooked band. ~ Greg Prato