Kiss Kissology Volume 3

2008-01-08T02:33:00.000-08:00

Kissology Vol. 2 4.35$ Buy Now
Year: 2007

The now trilogy state of KISSOLOGY videos wraps up with Volume 3. And while Gene Simmons has said there were going to be '10 volumes' (?!), this seems to be the final one.

Where as we had TV appearances and interviews on KISSOLOGY’S 1 and 2 (not to mention the Attack of the Phantoms movie on the 2nd volume), this edition mainly sticks to all live concert action footage.

A great gig from the Palace of Auburn Hills in late 1992 shows that the last makeup-less version of KISS (Simmons, Paul Stanley, Bruce Kulick, and Eric Singer) was now a very tight unit. As 1992 was smack in the middle of all that was Grunge and Alternative, KISS was still a decent concert draw and was one of the seasoned hard rock bands who were not (temporarily at least) disabled at that time (which was a bad time and a very difficult music scene for established bands).

The mid-90’s also harped upon the Unplugged craze (thanks to the suits at MTV) and KISS’ appearance on the show in 1995 (which is included in full on the set) unwittingly became the springboard for the re-emergence of the original KISS lineup, which was the highlight of their Unplugged set (first time the original configuration of KISS had done a set of any kind since 1980, the year Peter Criss first left the band).

The rest of the DVD’s mostly covers from the years 1996 to 2000, covering the quartets blockbuster Reunion Tour (1996-’97), the Psycho Circus jaunt (1998-1999, which also included one date in 2000) and the Farewell Tour (2000-2002), which turned out to be the last tour of the original band (but not the end of a touring version of KISS).

The good vibes and high energy of the reunion tour (caught in all its glory on the set with a gig at Tiger Stadium in Michigan) blended into the Psycho Circus tour, a big deal at the time as Psycho Circus was the first new KISS record with both Frehley and Criss in 18 years. The possibilities for future KISS albums and the ilk were dashed by the announcement of a final tour in 2000. The show from this tour, at Continental Arena in New Jersey, shows the band had once again gotten back their '1979/80-curse' and was a tired looking unit and at the end of their line. The good times of the prior two tours apparently were a facade as Simmons say in the KISSOLOGY liner notes that working with Frehley and Criss was 'torture' from the Unplugged set all the way through the disablement of the original band once again. Regardless, the band created some of their most poignant moments during their second coming, and the performances from these reformation years are a rock historical keepsake on how to properly re-launch a band of this caliber.

The most interesting moment on the set is footage from the first KISS tour in 1973 in Queens, NY. Looking more like the tons of KISS cover bands that would follow, it is a great time machine view at the embryonic state of the group, sans the stadium backdrops and mayhem, which would be an essential part of their shows from then on.

Volume 3 is by far the best of all the KISSOLOGY’s. And while your sensible side may wonder why you would ever need more versions of Rock and Roll All Nite-your rock side (if you truly do have one) knows you can never hear it enough.

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Kiss Kissology Volume 3