Kiss - Symphony: The DVD
KISS bassist/chief provocateur/world-class swagmeister Gene Simmons once infamously claimed that his cartoon shock-rockers were more influential than Dylan, though the driving sentiment behind this double-disc DVD chronicle of the band’s liaison with the Melbourne Symphony seems to paraphrase “Love Minus Zero”: “There’s no success like excess / and excess is the best success of all.” The history of the fusion of rock bands and orchestras is a long and notoriously spotted one, th [Read More...]
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Finally a full length live DVD release from probably the most visual band in rock history. There are two DVD’s included with Disc 2 containing an entire full length Kiss Concert filmed in February, 2003 in front of 40,000 wildly enthusiastic fans in Melbourne, Australia. The concert is presented on Disc 2 in three Acts with Act 3 repeated on Disc 1 following an informative documentary on the preparation for the show including the band’s rehearsals with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO). Act 1 is the four band members (Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Peter Criss, and Tommy Thayer doing a good job filling Ace Freley’s shoes) in full make up performing six Kiss classics (See listing below). Act 2 is an semi acoustic set with a string ensemble from the MSO and Act 3 is Kiss on stage with the full MSO.
As far as the positives, the 5.1 sound mix is superb and the video quality is excellent. Kiss is in full makeup with the full stage show Kiss fans have come to expect. All songs are presented uncut and the band performs as well as they ever have although they did seem a little nervous at the beginning of Act 3 when they began playing Detroit Rock City with the full MSO. This quickly changed however and the band settled in to perform a tremendous show. A particular highlight of Act 3 was Kiss performing Great Expectations from the Destroyer Album with The Australian Children’s Choir.
The only real negatives were that the video director seemed intent on constantly using all 45 camera angles available and sometimes the angles changed so rapidly as to become somewhat overwhelming. There also may have been a few too many crowd shots although seeing how enthusiastic the crowd was did add to the visual presentation.
Overall I think this a really good live video release and I would encourage all Kiss fans to buy this along with anyone wanting to see one of the best live musical acts in the world.
Here is the Track Listing:
Act One
Deuce
Strutter
Let Me Go Rock and Roll
Lick It Up
Calling Dr. Love
Psycho Circus
Act Two
Beth
Forever
Goin’ Blind
Sure Know Something
Shandi
Act Three
Detroit Rock City
King of the Night Time World
Do You Love Me
Great Expectations
Shout It Out Loud
God of Thunder
Love Gun
I Was Made For Loving You
Black Diamond
Rock and Roll All Nite
First, let me say that I really like this DVD. The sound is superb and you can really hear the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra better than on the CD release. The fast-paced edits are a bit much but it keeps with the fast pace of the music…The documentary/making of segment is cool, as well as the TV show appearance. Overall, this is a very entertaining DVD from THE most entertaining band in the world.
I’ve been a KISS fan for 27 years (seen them live 26 times…so far) and have tons of video (mostly bootleg) of the band live. I notice all the flaws…but, live shows (especially on the scale of KISS) are rarely perfect. At this one-off show they had one chance and one chance only to get it shot and get it right.
In response to the question of dubbing? YES. Absolutely. For whatever reason I found it really easy to notice using Gene as the source. This is why: after spitting blood prior to “God Of Thunder”…you can see parts AFTER that song where he has no blood on him…then he does, then he doesn’t…and well, you get the idea.
Especially during “Great Expectations” where they cut to him and he has perfect make-up and NO BLOOD…then cut again and there’s the blood…then again NO…then again yes! In addition, notice that he has TWO (2) basses during the song…the ax and signature.
Maybe they shot footage on the stage without the audience and cut it in later? Who knows…did anyone else notice this or am I imagining it all? Just wondering.
So, there is obvious dubbing involved. And yes, sometimes with their mouths covered by the mics you can splice in any part of any song and it isn’t really noticeable especially when the shot is quick…which there is a lot of in this DVD. But, in truth…SO WHAT?…everything gets cleaned up and made to be as perfect looking as possible. It’s all illusion anyway…movies, tv, even KISS concerts.
With all this it still makes for one helluva DVD from an excellent band that is always fun to watch! So, just enjoy it for what it is: FUN!
KISS has been by far my favorite band bar-none, and will continue to be without question. But even with that in mind, I unfortunately cannot give this DVD any more than two stars.
Let me first identify the good. The sound quality of the show is fantastic. The bonus version of “Sure Know Something” from Australia’s ROVE LIVE! was excellent. And Act Two was just fantastic. The songs sound absolutely great and the cameras are nice and calm.
Unfortunately, that is where my praise has to end. For the high level of expectation that was associated with this project, the final editing of the concert is atrocious. In both Acts One and Three, the camera cannot stay on one scene for more than two seconds. By the time you have focused on what you are looking at, the image is gone. One of the biggest parts of KISS is the visionary portion of the show. When you cannot hope to focus on the show, there is a huge part lost.
The endless shots of the audience are extremely excessive and they repeat on the same fifteen people over and over. The shots that pan across the stage or the audience in fast-forward are distracting. And why the editor insists on changing from one angle of a band member to another angle to yet another angle in a span of three seconds is beyond me.
Another problem is that the editor does not understand how to edit a concert to begin with. When a lead guitar riff is being played, the camera should be focused on the lead guitarist. When lyrics are being sung, the majority of the cameras should be focused on the singer(s), and not on some other body part. There are also too few wide angle shots to let the viewer truly gain a perspective of the sheer size of the show. Finally, one of the best songs from the concert (God Of Thunder) is so hard to see because of the reflected green lights and poor camera angles that it is a chore to watch.
Finally, why is Act Three on disc one and on disc two? The concert proceeded from Act One to Two to Three. It did not start with Act Three. That is why it is Act Three. The behind-the-scenes scenes were nice, but there really was not that much, unfortunately, and it would have been nice to see something more detailed about the collaboration between the band and the symphony.
So, it is my unfortunate responsibility to limit this DVD to only two stars, even with the high hopes that I had for the DVD (Which is from a good concert) from my favorite band.