KISSOLOGY: THE ULTIMATE KISS COLLECTION VOL. 1 1974-1977

KISSOLOGY: THE ULTIMATE KISS COLLECTION VOL. 1 1974-1977

by Brian Hughes

I was boppin’ about my Gramercy neighborhood in Gotham City when I happened upon the poster of KISSOLOGY: The Ultimate KISS Collection Vol. 1 1974-1977 fastened to a construction site wall. Seeing those four brilliant faces is akin to seeing your favorite wrestling or GI Joe doll in the store window of an antique toy store. You probably won’t play with them, but you want to embrace them with a hug and relive your youth. Except with KISS, I keep playing with them, and I revel in them with wild abandonment.
So, instead of spending 35 bucks on a new stack of cigars, I ventured into Borders and bought me the 2-disc set. I couldn’t wait to get it home and relive my youth.

KISS had just finished a gig at The Winterland in San Francisco, and they found themselves ashen faced in the office of the head of Casablanca Records – Neil Bogart. As Gene Simmons recounts on the audio commentary, KISS suddenly became un-bookable due to their outlandish outfits, fire-spewing antics, and loud stage show. It seems that many of the acts that they shared a bill with were threatened by their show stealing theatricality. Their booking agent actually asked them if they could be “less good.” Of course KISS would have nothing of it, and to Neil Bogarts’ credit, told Gene and Paul to continue on being themselves, and he would take care of the rest.

And that is precisely what you get on this set: KISS being KISS, in their prime and bombastic glory. I don’t think KISS knows how to be anything but themselves. That’s what makes them unpretentious, even in their pretentiousness. What do I mean by that? When Paul Stanley talks about praising the all mighty rock and roll, or when he talks about “standing up for what you believe in, for that’s what rock and roll is all about,” it can come off as Spinal Tap kitsch – but it is not – for it’s what they truly believe. And this DVD document is a fine example of it.

When asked by Tony Wilson, for the British television show So It Goes, how they wanted their audience to feel at the end of a concert, Paul and Gene both simultaneously say, “exhausted.” And if you place yourself back in time to when KISS was new to the world, you can see how their shows might be deemed exhausting to an unexpected audience; like the audience for their first nationwide television appearance on ABC for Dick Clark’s In Concert, on disc one of this DVD set. I couldn’t help but tap my foot and bang my head as they kicked it up a notch at the tail end of “Firehouse,” catapulting a less than energetic audience to their feet.

The set takes you from a band of unknowns to beating The Beatles attendance record for 5 nights at Budokan Hall in Tokyo, Japan. We witness the turning point of KISS from Rock and Roll band to a phenomenon, or as Paul Stanley says in the commentary, “we were going to become exactly what we thought – a phenomenon. Rock bands make music, phenomenon’s impact society.” Their invitation and subsequent support of the Cadillac (Michigan) High football team, on disc one, showed the band that when an entire town and their government dons the face paint, something much larger is taking place. Paul was right – they had become a phenomenon. And KISS would be concretized for good as a business with their appearance on The Paul Lynde Halloween Special from 1976, as their face paint went from gimmick to four of the best selling Halloween masks and outfits to grace the shelves that fall

KISS is a business – no doubt, but they weren’t so at the start of this collection. They were out to conquer the world, rock out, and entertain, and they do all of that and more in the four full concerts on this collection. The best of the bunch being The Winterland and Budokan sets, along with a partial set from their first stab at Madison Square Garden. Watching these concerts you realize that KISS sounds more like Metal than Rock and Roll – live and in person. That even though their shows seldom changed, (Paul’s audience banter NEVER changes), they were always tight and full of energy and excitement. No band makes an entrance, nor closes a show out quite like KISS, and that no matter when you saw them (I saw them at Madison Square Garden in 1998) they always made you feel like they were doing it for the very first time.

They don’t pretend to be Led Zeppelin. They are KISS, and that is more than enough. This is why they are one of the greatest bands that ever lived, this is why they’ve influenced groups and personalities as diverse as Wilco, Weezer, Lenny Kravitz and Nirvana, and this is why you should run out right now and purchase this set today.

The Disc

Picture Quality: 6/10
I gave this set a six, though it is really not fair, for you can only do so much with crap footage. I know there are going to be people bitching about the quality of this footage – but the stuff comes from the KISS library, it was mastered, and they have done the best they could with it. I like the oldness of it. It adds something special. When you watch their television performances, you feel like you are sitting cross-legged in front of the television with your jammies on. I think we should just be grateful that modern technology allows us to preserve these moving images forever – digitally, and be happy with that. If you need it to be crystal clear perfect, buy KISS: Symphony or KISS: Rock The Nation Live.

Sound Quality: 8/10
The 5.1 and Stereo Sound mix is as good as one can make with this archival footage. The sound on the audio commentary is superb. You feel as if Paul and Gene are in the room with you.

Easter Eggs:
No Easter Eggs Found on Disc.

Extra Features: 4/10
The extra features on this set are minimal. But if you are a KISS fan, you feel as if the entire set could be considered “extra features.” The commentary by Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons is informative and funny. They are very relaxed, and they tell tales I’m sure even the hardened KISS fan will appreciate. And as far as the “Bonus” disc … it isn’t much. I think they could have easily made a third disc, but chose not to. Instead, they make you believe you are getting something extra, extra special, when in fact, it only teases you and makes you want more. The extra disc (available on Special Edition set) contains seven songs from their Madison Square Garden show of February 18th, 1977. The footage is not shot well and considering how important it was for KISS to play Madison Square Garden - it is lackluster

The Final Word:

This collection certainly belongs in every KISS fan collection, and should be in every Rock and Roll music lovers’ DVD library for the importance and influence of KISS on succeeding generations of successful bands. It is fun, the music still holds up, and it depicts a moment and time when KISS ruled the music world. I hang my hat on it.

reviewed: 2006-12-27