If you pick up a copy of Kissology Vol. 1, I sincerely hope you love Kiss. When I say “love”, I mean it — you’re about to experience nearly six hours of (primarily) concert footage of varying quality.
Rather than making some sort of hokey documentary, Kiss has opted to instead release what appears to be every recorded or broadcast appearance that exists. Beginning straightaway with 1974 and their first performances, only occasionally does the music stop for a bit of television interview or snippet from a guest appearance. For the non-fanatic, these are the most entertaining portions of the collection. Regardless of band adoration, the highlight of the set is an interview with the former principal of Cadillac High School, where he recounts the time Kiss played their homecoming back in 1975.
As the years go by, the performances become (predictably) more over-the-top and enjoyable. While their stage demeanors don’t very much, the additions of fire breathing, blood spitting, smoking guitars, and moving platforms quickly build Kiss from some guys in costumes to a full-on spectacle. Although the set lists are quite repetitive in the beginning (do you really need to see “Firehouse” played six times?), one is reminded as the discs progress that Kiss’ biggest hits and best material were release during this period of time. Oh, and they started to let Ace sing, proving that not all of Kiss’ choices in these days were coated in platinum.
The quality of material is, as one would presume, spotty given the era. Still, the footage seems to be in better shape than one might imagine, and this is helped by re-mixing the sound to 5.1 for the best possible quality that one could achieve given the sources. It’s also an amusing insight into the ideas of television production in the mid-70s; zooming in on candles repeatedly, ridiculously rapid cuts between cameras, and other trademarks dating the video are sometimes painful to watch.
However, it’s the evolution that’s the most fun to watch. See the bands’ outfits as they blossom from pieced together to the polished looks of which action figures are made. Watch as Paul acquires more guitars in various styles (with an amusing moment in Houston where Paul is playing the bottom of a double-axe with Ace standing behind playing the top), Gene “upgrades” from a giant Stingray to a comedically smaller bass while his outfit becomes twice as large; Ace removes the neck pickup from one of his Les Pauls to shoot smoke while he plays a distorted and barely-coherent solo; Peter acquires an enormous kit that raises at the end of each show to display below him two panther-like things with golden heads.
Unfortunately, for someone whose life doesn’t revolve around Kiss, almost six hours of 95% concert footage is extremely tedious. There is a commentary track, but aside from that, this is not a documentary. As time progresses, one can only assume from the growing grandeur that the band is becoming more successful; there are no benchmarks, no “this was our first show after selling a million records”, no other frames of reference. Either you know Kiss’ history and can follow along with the knowledge you already have, or you are left to make assumptions. Oh, and you get to see “Firehouse” six times. Did I mention that already? You get to see “Firehouse” six times. Wonderful.
There’s no sense in recommending this 2-disc set to a die-hard Kiss fan; chances are that they already had it pre-ordered and have watched it five times by now. But for anyone else — casual Kiss fan or not — aside from a moment or two, it’s bloated and repetitive. It’s a nice collection of archival footage, but without any story, the appeal isn’t going to extend far beyond the Kiss Army.
Website: Kiss
