Kissology Volume III 1992-2000

You wanted the best, well…here’s the rest. That’s right, the final installment of the Kissology DVD series has come in and, to quote the band behind it all, it’s hotter than hell. Kissology Volume Three 1992-2000 picks right up from where Volume Two left off, taking off the make-up for a 1992 concert at the Palace of Auburn Hills in Detroit before remasking themselves for a latter day reunion of the original line-up that lasted through 2000. With six complete concerts, including their appearance on MTV's Unplugged, there’s enough Kiss spread out over four discs to give even the biggest diehard a scorching case of mononucleosis.

The Auburn Hills show features Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley as commanders of the Kiss Army, with drummer Eric Singer and guitarist Bruce Kulick along for support. This combination plays as tight as can be; in fact, it’s refreshing to see how well Simmons and Stanley handle themselves without the clown faces and wagging tongues. The choice of tunes also reveals a sharpened chemistry, as the quartet blazes through rockin’ versions of “Heaven’s On Fire,” “Domino” and “God Gave Rock N’ Roll To You.” As musicians, Singer and Kulick are clearly miles beyond Peter Criss and Ace Frehley. And nowhere is this more evident than during the Unplugged performance from 1995, which brought the original line-up together, with plenty of help from the hired guns.

Without taking anything away from the pure spectacle of Kiss, the reunion of Simmons, Stanley, Frehley and Criss was more of a nostalgic trip with a profit-driven agenda than a friendly rekindling of blood brothers. The first volume of Kissology disseminates the enthusiasm that exploded as the band made a run for the gold; this third volume finds the same four lumbering through the motions, posing for the cameras, and trying not to look ridiculous in the dated get-ups. Frehley seems bored or lost a lot of the time; Stanley’s raps grow more painful every time he opens his trap; Simmons keeps a cool head, yet fails to stir up much excitement; and Criss could use a few drumming lessons from Singer. The “reunion” failed to gain much momentum beyond the repetitious concerts they slept through for four years.

With the fireworks and slick camera work, Kiss are a little more on their game during the 1996 MTV Video Music Awards. Hearing Frehley’s “New York Groove,” arguably the only decent song from the four Kiss solo albums released simultaneously in the 70s, places the reunion on a more even playing field. They also run through “Love Gun” like a band on a mission. But the true motivation for bringing back the original Kiss can be more accurately pinpointed during the band’s 1998 stand at Dodger Stadium, captured on the second and third disc of this set. For this so-called farewell tour, the four recorded Psycho Circus, a new album of all new songs. Angling for identity, “Psycho Circus,” “Within” and “Into The Void” are slotted in with a batch of Kiss favorites, and duly slip between the cracks. Despite its success, Psycho Circus never had a chance for distinction, because Kiss was (and still is) more interested in revisiting their past then reinventing their future. Simmons and Stanley probably have a million and one reasons why the group sticks to a rigid and proven formula, chasing away the possibility for growth and evolution. I mean, having Criss back in the fold couldn't have been anything more than a strategic and calculated ploy to roll out the tear drops for “Beth.”

Footage from the premiere party for the movie Detroit Rock City finds the four in a tighter formation, but for The Last Kiss, a suitable name for the last concert of the original line-up together in 2000, it's all too obvious that Kiss, in full make-up and related regalia, had overstayed their welcome. Supposedly, Simmons and Stanley made things financially and artistically difficult for Frehley and Criss to continue. And even though the band has chosen to carry on with new recruits (Singer returned to the drummer’s chair; Kulick was sent packing), The Last Kiss symbolically drives the nail into the coffin.

As a reminder, the fourth disc goes back to the beginning for the very first performance of Kiss in make-up on December 22, 1973. Crudely filmed in black and white at the Coventry Club in Queens New York, the performance lacks the pyrotechnics, fireworks and general antics that would come about as the band grew in popularity. Essentially, you get the four in face paint, developing material to correspond with the stiff choreography. Seeing this young version of Kiss in action — despite the lack of flash — provides far more insight into the growth and potential than all the other performances combined. Even an additional fifth bonus disc, taken from an appearance at the KROQ Weenie Roast in 1996, can't take away the purity and ambition of the Coventry show. It also means there couldn’t possibly be anything left for a Volume IV.

~ Shawn Perry