One of the KISS TV appearances that I do fondly remember as a kid, was when they showed up on the Paul Lynde Halloween Special in October of 1976. KISS was the perfect Halloween guests along with Margaret Hamilton, who played the wicked witch of the west in The Wizard of Oz and was also in full costume. Lynde was the forever center square on the classic game show, Hollywood Squares, and his quick wit was the perfect antidote to the band's purposely menacing demeanor, which made for a hilarious episode. Although KISS lip-synched three songs during the actual broadcast, only one, an abbreviated "King Of The Night Time World", is presented here.
The So It Goes British TV documentary is one of the rarest inclusions in this set, and it provided an excellent behind-the-scenes look at the band during their first British tour in 1976. The documentary highlight of this package, however, has to go to the fascinating footage of KISS' trip to Cadillac, Michigan on October 9th, 1975, to take part in the town high school's homecoming celebration. They mingled with the townspeople all day before eventually performing a climactic concert in the high school gymnasium. The one or two thousand who where actually there, has supposedly grown into about one or two hundred thousand who claim they were.
The next morning, a breakfast was held in the band's honor, where the town officials presented KISS with a key to the city - this was after they graciously allowed the band to apply KISS makeup to each and every one of them. Hearing the football coach talk about how they played KISS in the locker room to get the team pumped up before each game, brought back fond memories of myself cranking Alive! on my stereo before each and every one of my high school hockey games to get myself fired up. Believe me, it worked. In true KISS fashion, a giant helicopter unsuspectingly swooped down onto the football field to pick up the band as they were saying their goodbyes to the town. The KISS phenomenon had officially begun.
Four complete concert performances are included in this package. The January 1975 Winterland, San Francisco concert is the earliest and is my absolute favorite of the bunch. Shot in black-and-white, this ancient footage captures a hungry young band who were already exuding the confident swagger of a group of guys who knew they were about to conquer the world. The performance was remarkably tight and energized, and these early classics never sounded better. At first I was turned off by the black-and-white aspect of the film, but it really highlights just how extraordinary the band's performances where before the days of multi-million dollar stage shows. Surprisingly, the audio for this show was the best sounding of all the concerts in this package.
Article comments
1 - tink
Just when I thought I had all the KISS in my collection that I needed, partially due in fact to their constant 'final' tours and repackaging, this review made me change my mind. Even if it's just to see them on that Paul Lynde special!!!
I like the idea that the production values weren't tweaked via the technology available today. Makes it seem like what it would have been like to actually see these performances in the time/space that they originally came from.
I remember the Phantom of the Park vividly. They used the Magic Mountain theme park in Valencia, Ca for filming the live sequences and I was there as part of the audience. It was the first time that I saw them live...but certainly not the last.
Nice work!!!
2 - Vern Halen
I took them seriously until Destroyer - it sounded like a disco pop album to me - what happened to all that great rock and roll from the first three studio albums plus Alive!? Replaced with screaming babies, glockenspiels, youth anthems, and - gasp! a ballad!! good thing I stumbled onto the MC5, the Dolls, Television etc etc etc to restore my faith in r'n'r.
I'd be alright, though, with Kiss doing one more butt kicking rock album before calling it a day. Sometimes the old foxes still have a few more tricks to play.
3 - Timmy
When I was young, I was as ate up with Kiss as you still appear to be. I even got a thank you in the Dynasty tour book for all the fan mail I sent them over the years. It wasn't until about a couple of years after their first reunion tour that I realized they aren't that great. In fact, as a band they are mediocre. It was a profit deal all along. The music was just a tool, and a secondary one at that. That's not to say it's all bad. I still enjoy Dynasty and Unmasked, Peter Criss (solo), Kiss (self-titled), and some songs not on those albums, including "Comin' Home," "Rock Bottom," "Mr. Speed," and "Larger Than Life."
4 - Paul Roy
Don't forget the car crash in "Detroit Rock City". I'm with you Vern. Kiss lost me after Destroyer, and REALLY lost me with "The Elder". I wonder if they will put their "Friday's" TV appearance on Vol. 2? And Timmy, I am certainly not "ate up with Kiss". You sound like a scorned lover. This DVD was just a great nostalgic trip for me.
5 - Vern Halen
I posted this months ago, but I still think it's funny - back when I was a lad, when Kiss first came out, a friend said to me, "Kiss? How's any band gonna make it with a name like that???"
6 - Devin
I got this DVD boxset for christmas and i was really amazed on how much rare footage they bunched up into these dvd's. The 4 concerts in the 2 dvd's were incredible also, but i'd have to say the Tokyo one was my favourite.
7 - Curly
I don't know if you still read this review's comments, or if you've been clued in to this yet but, there are 2 fantastic "easter eggs" - as I believe they're called - on these discs. On each of the 2 main discs, in the main menu screen, if you highlight and 'PLAY' on the KISS logo, you will be treated to: (Disc 1) a 4-5 minute video clip w/sound of the earliest known live footage of the band, playing "Deuce" at their 2nd to last show as a club band 12/21/73 at Coventry in NYC. (Disc 2) a 6-7 minute home movie w/sound of the guys' impromptu performance at Ace's wedding in May '76, complete in tuxedos and with the hired bands' instruments.
8 - Paul Roy
Thanks for bringing that up Curly, since I didn't mention it in my review. That's some pretty cool stuff to watch if you are a big Kiss fan.