KISSology, Volume One (KISS: 1974 – 1977)

 

Picture: C+     Sound: B-     Extras: B     Compilation: B

 

 

KISS is one of the most enduring bands in the history of the music industry.  Founded in 1973, they would soon become a quintessential phenomenon thanks to the genius of Casablanca Records owner and founder Neil Bogart, who made the label a powerhouse in the 1970s whose run was only ended by his untimely death in 1982. 

 

In 1975, the band splashed onto the album and singles charts and were one of the first few early bands to take advantage of tie-in merchandise mania which in their case only fired up their fan base and popularity.  That merchandise is only rivaled by The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin for popularity, demand and value.  The constant flow of product continues today and includes CDs and DVDs, including the new comprehensive double DVD set KISSology, Volume One.

 

Covering the period from 1974 – 1977, it reminds us that they were a big deal then and more subversive than they got credit for.  Just as well, it is fair to say in retrospect that the mainstream had no idea how to deal with them, so ignoring them altogether was more often the case trying to assimilate them in.  The content include the following, starting with DVD 1:

Long Beach, CA
2/17/74
"Acrobat"
(previously unreleased track)

ABC’s In Concert
3/29/74
"Nothing To Love"
"Firehouse"
"Black Diamond"

The Mike Douglas Show
4/29/74
Gene Simmons comes out as a guest before the band performs “Firehouse"

Winterland - San Francisco, CA
1/31/75
"Deuce"
"Strutter"
"Got To Choose"
"Hotter Than Hell"
"Firehouse"
"Watchin' You"
"Nothin' To Lose"
"Parasite"
"100,000 Years"
"Black Diamond"
"Cold Gin"
"Let Me Go, Rock 'n' Roll"

The Midnight Special
4/1/75
"She"
"Black Diamond"

Kiss Alive Promo Clips, 1975
"Come On & Love Me"
"Rock & Roll All Night"

Documentary: Cadillace, Michigan – October 1975

Cobo Hall Detroit, MI
1/26/76
"Deuce”
"Strutter"
"C'mon & Love Me"
"Hotter Than Hell"
"Firehouse"
"She”
"Parasite”
"Nothin' To Lose"
"100,000 Years"
"Black Diamond"
"Cold Gin"
"Rock 'n' Roll All Nite"
"Let Me Go, Rock 'n' Roll"

 

DVD 2 offers:

So It Goes
Interview
"Black Diamond"

The Paul Lynde Halloween Special
10/29/76
Lynde and Margaret Hamilton (dressed as The Wicked Witch Of The West from her classic performance in The Wizard Of Oz) meet the band, then she introduces them as if all costumed evil people hang out all the time!  Lynde’s jokes are “unbelievable” and the band then performs "King Of The Night Time World".  You have to see it all to believe it!

Budokan Hall - Tokyo, Japan
4/2/77
"Detroit Rock City"
"Take Me"
"Let Me Go, Rock 'n' Roll"
"Ladies Room"
"Firehouse"
"Makin' Love"
"I Want You"
"Cold Gin"
"Do You Love Me?"
"Nothin' To Lose"
"God of Thunder"
"Rock 'n' Roll All Nite"
"Shout It Out Loud"
"Beth"
"Black Diamond"

Don Kirshner's "Rock Concert"
5/28/77

Introduction by Kirshner, then the band performs "Hard Luck Woman”, "Love Em & Leave Em" and "I Want You".

The Summit - Houston, TX
9/2/77
"I Stole Your Love"
"Take Me"
"Ladies Room"
"Firehouse"
"Love Gun"
"Hooligan"
"Makin' Love"
"Christine Sixteen"
"Shock Me"
"I Want You"
"Calling Dr. Love"
"Shout It Out Loud"
"God Of Thunder"
"Rock 'n' Roll All Nite"
"Detroit Rock City"
"Beth"
"Black Diamond”

 

 

Besides some great performances, it occurred to me that Paul Stanley may have had some kind of influence on Prince.  This is the band at the early peak of their powers in their original form, including original drummer Peter Criss (The Cat), Simmons (The Bat Lizard), Stanley (Star Child) and Ace Frehley (Space Man) all in their iconic make-up.  Recently, some of their classics finally started to surface in some feature films, but so much more of their catalog has yet to be rediscovered.

 

Though their Rock music was somewhat Pop-tinged, it was far from radio safe, though they still landed six Top 40 hits including Beth, which was even #1 in some markets.  Rock 'n' Roll All Nite, Shout It Out Loud, Detroit Rock City, Hard Luck Woman and Christine Sixteen are among the others classics of this period.  In these concerts, they could play and were among the best showmen of their time in the business, offering energy here that puts many a Rock and Punk act today to shame.

 

The image quality varies throughout, from professional analog NTSC videotape to 16mm and 35mm film footage, but all is 1.33 X 1.  The producers have done their best to make this all look good and they have done a decent job.  The regular color TV taped segments are comparable for the most part to the best DVD collections we have seen of such material and the filmed footage is especially solid.  The sound is here in Dolby Digital 5.1 mixes better than the 2.0 mixes in mono, stereo and stereo-boosted mono.  The 5.1 is just good enough in most cases to be the preferred choice.

 

The one extra throughout is commentary on the openings of each piece by Simmons and Stanley that shows remarkable recall in more cases than expected.  Some may consider unreleased footage a bonus, which would be fair enough.  That as much of this footage survived as it did is amazing, but here it is and it also proves that the band was a decade ahead of MTV in considering how image sold the band.  Like Elton John, however, it was more than just about the look.  As popular and sought after as ever, the footage on Kissology, Volume One seems fresher and less dated than expected.  Can’t wait for the next volume.  I hope they show the TV ad (shot on film) for their Mego Action Figures (produced 1978 – 1980) and talk briefly about that.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo