KISS: Kissology - The Ultimate Kiss Collection - Vol. 3 (1992–2000)

KISS: Kissology - The Ultimate Kiss Collection - Vol. 3 (1992–2000)

Front Cover

Back Cover

Here's a run down of what's in Vol. 3

Revenge Tour - The Palace of Auburn Hills: Detroit, MI - (November 27, 1992) "Full Concert" 

Solid concert. Video and Audio is sweet. My only complaint is that the vocals seem to be buried somewhat in the mix. Other than that, this would have gotten a perfect 5 star rating. 

MTV Unplugged Behind The Scenes - (1995)

MTV Unplugged Concert - (August 9, 1995) Full Concert 

This one was great when it originally aired on MTV. But the one on the disc is waaaaaay better. It's the unedited version of the concert, containing 5 unreleased songs. The video and audio is amazing, and in your face.

Reunion Tour - Tiger Stadium: Detroit, MI (June 28, 1996) "Full Concert" 

What a shame. This too suffers from the "Fade To Black" syndrome, where they cut out any video feed between songs, leaving only the audio. So this concert is really only good for an audio experience if ya just want to hear the songs. Audio really isn't all that for this show. Also, it uses stupid video FX thru-out. I wanted this concert to be perfect as it was the first "official" show of the reunion. 

1996 MTV Video Music Awards - Brooklyn Bridge, NY (September 4, 1996) - "Mini Concert" 

"Rock and Roll All Nite", "New York Groove", "Deuce", "Calling Dr. Love", "Love Gun"

This is as flawless a recorded concert can get. Everything from video production to audio was perfect. And all the credit has to go to MTV and its crew for putting it together. This is what I like to see in a concert film. Too bad it's only 5 songs long.

Psycho Circus Tour - Dodger Stadium: Los Angeles, CA (October 31, 1998) "Full Concert" 

A 22 song set. Looks and sounds good.

Detroit Rock City Movie Premiere Party - Los Angeles,CA (August 8, 1999) "Mini Concert" 

The Last KISS - Pay-Per-View Event - Continental Arena, NJ (June 27, 2000) "Full Concert"

Very good production value and pretty decent set list. 

Coventry Gig - Queens, NY (December 23, 1973) "Full Concert" 

It's funny how this particular footage is better than a lot of the more expensive film productions of KISS' stuff in the 80-90's. Really simple setup. A stationary camera on a tri-pod, filming in a wide shot of the band. I'm glad they put this on last on this set. You get a real appreciation of how solid they were as a band way back then. It sounds exactly as if they played it live last week. Also, gotta give it up for the 2 chicks in the front row making out and dancing. At times its a little distracting.  I wonder if they were girlfriends of the band? Or Band-Aids. :)

The audio and video is of course something to be taken with a grain of salt. It is afterall: 1973.

Easter Eggs...

Highlite Kissology Logo on Main Menu to play...

Disc 1 Carnival Of Souls Studio Sessions Video Montage

Disc 2 MTV Video Music Awards soundcheck footage

Disc 3 KISS plays "2,000 Man" (Live at midnight/Millennium concert)

Disc 3 Play all the way thru the end credits to reveal Peter Criss Destroying Drum Kit

Bonus Disc

(General Release) KROQ Weenie Roast - Irvine Meadows, CA (June 15, 1996) "Full Concert" 

This was the first public show since getting back together. They did this as a warm-up gig to work out the kinks. And it's a good thing they did. This show was mired in fuck ups and glitches all over the place. And not to mention some pretty sloppy playing in parts of the show. This concert also suffers once again from that dreaded "Fade To Black" shit between songs. 

The Video is great, but the audio leaves alot to be desired. The bass (Gene) was way to high in the mix. So much so that at times it would cancel itself out. I found myself constantly messing with the equalizer to fix this, to no avail. 

I bought this particular pressing of Vol. 3 so that I could get this "historic" first show. In hindsight, I would have gone with either of the 2 other Bonus disc. 

The other 2 Bonus disc are:

Revenge/Alive III Tour - Sao Paulo, Brazil (August 27, 1994) - Best Buy

Reunion Tour - Madison Square Garden: New York City, NY July 27, 1996 - Wal Mart

All in all, Vol. 3 is just an OK collection. It seems they just ran out of behind the scene stuff and just decided to pack as many "Full Concerts" to fill as many disc as possible.

If KISS decides to do a Vol 4 covering 2001-2010, I will pass, as that particular era spits in the face of any KISS fan. I respect Eric Singer and Tommy Thayer as musicians (they are both damn good at what they do). My biggest bone of contention is the lack of respect to both of them as well as Ace and Peter and of course the fans. To me it just seems like what is being said is that Eric and Tommy are not worthy enough to have their own characters. And that Ace and Peter are easily replaced, that all the fans care about are the "characters" they created. Has nothing to do with their performance but the whole replacing members that rubs me the wrong way. If they were touring without the makeup as is, then I would easily pick up a Vol 4.

Rating: 3 1/2 Stars out of 5

Review by Chiprocks1