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Music, Reviews

“Playlist Plus” by KISS

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Artist: KISS
Title: “Playlist Plus”
Label: Universal Music
Release Date: 4/29/2008
Genre: Hard Rock
Rating: 3.5/5

KISS “Playlist Plus” is the title of newest compilation that presents us with the hits from the legendary Hard Rockers from New York and given the amount of these types of albums being released in the not too distant past the buyer might wonder if they even need this one to complete their KISS collections. When I heard about the three CD set I have to admit that the long time KISS fan in me was a little bit excited because while I was sure it would include a number of the same songs that all of us have in one fashion or the other I was convinced that this could potentially be just a little different in its offering in terms of music and photography. Sadly, I must inform the world that I was wrong because the three CD’s are essentially a re-packaged and re-titled edition for the three individual KISS “Millennium Collection” releases that were delivered to fans over the course of the years 2003-2006. Every song that is on those three re-masters is here for your enjoyment, but now in one convenient place. Having copies of these previous albums myself, I had hoped that the notch would go up just a little bit in the way of the booklet in terms of their taking all of the photos and liner notes from the “Millennium” CD’s and putting it all together in one big enclosure but they would disappoint me here and not deliver any booklet or notes at all. There is a neat little slipcase that the foldout digipak slides into and on each of its sections we find a nice photograph of the boys but there are only four of them inside and counting the cover leaves the buyer with a mere five band images. They lost me by not keeping the booklets and notes because they were well delivered and managed to feature most of the band members across their rich and colorful history.
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Reviews, Videos

“KISSology Vol. 3: (1992-2000)” [DVD] by KISS

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Artist: KISS
Title: “KISSology 3”
Label: VH1 Classic
Release Date: 12/18/2007
Genre: Hard Rock
Rating: 5/5

Given that the second volume of these incredible boxed sets was only released in August of 2007 the KISS fans around the world are probably stuck in a mix of surprise and shock at the aspect of the third volume coming out so quickly. Of course like most ardent fan bases, the KISS ones are never hesitant to enjoy new releases that feature footage they might have seen before or only heard about in legend as even existing. Arriving just in time for your holiday purchasing needs comes “KISSology Volume 3” which picks up where the last volume ended and presents us with content from the band’s history during the years 1992-2000. For those who are not too up on their band history these years find the “Revenge” album with an as yet still unmasked lineup as they visit “Alive III” and get their “Unplugged” a happening all the way to the makeup sporting original membership as they began their Reunion tour, the “Psycho Circus” and Farewell tour along with some cool stops in between. This is truly something that the fans cannot get enough of and who can blame them with a band that is as big on spectacle as the guys in KISS are. Volume 3 finds four separate DVD’s making up the main set so let’s talk a little bit about what they feature. Strap yourself in KISS fans the ride continues along now.

Contents: DVD1: The Palace Of Auburn Hills, Detroit Michigan (11/27/1992), MTV Unplugged (Behind The Scenes), MTV Unplugged –Sony Studios, NY, NY (8/9/95); DVD2: Tiger Stadium, Detroit MI (6/26/1996), MTV VMA Performance, Brooklyn Bridge (9/4/1996), Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, CA (10/31/98) – part one; DVD3: Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles CA (10/31/98) – part two, “Detroit Rock City” movie premiere party Los Angeles CA (8/9/1999), “The Last KISS” Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford NJ (6/27/2000); DVD4: Coventry, Queens NY (12/22/1973).
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“KISSology Vol. 2: 1978-1991” by KISS

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Artist: KISS
Title: “KISSology Vol. 2”
Label: VH1 Classics
Release Date: 8/14/2007
Genre: Hard Rock
Rating: 4/5

“You Wanted The Best And You Got The Best, The Hottest Boxed Set In The World — KISSology Volume 2!!!!” Yes indeed fellow KISS fans – our favorite band has returned with the second installment of unreleased footage from deep inside their historic vaults and believe me there are some real gems on this one. “KISSology 2” picks up right where its predecessor left off and covers the years spanning 1978-1991 so that means there is a fair amount of Eric Carr footage to enjoy on top of all the other goodies that they decided to share with us this time around. Given the amount of actual songs that are featured across the three DVD’s in the set, I have opted to instead line out the included main features and then discuss the contents as a whole. There are quite a bit of treats presented on the release and for the most part KISS fans already know about many of these segments existence. Let’s face it – the tape traders and bootleggers were once rampant at music conventions of the past and as result much of this footage was available for years until they cracked down on it something fierce. I have to admit that it’s really nice to see this stuff released officially and restored and cleaned up for maximum viewing/audio pleasure. Let’s go over some of the highlights now shall we?
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Music, Reviews

“Alive! 1975-2000” by KISS

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Artist: KISS
Title: “Alive! 1975-2000”
Label: Universal Music
Release Date: 11/21/2006
Genre: Hard Rock
Rating: 5/5

It goes without saying that KISS is one of the most visually exciting bands to have ever been formed and experienced over the past century. The levels of spectacle and entertainment at their concerts have given millions of fans worldwide experiences that are forever remembered and recounted. This CD boxed set celebrates the performances of KISS by featuring all three of the Alive releases and also giving the listener something special that was never expected. We have broken each release up to briefly line out the special nature of each of them.

CD1: “Alive”: Deuce, Strutter, Got To Choose, Hotter Than Hell, Firehouse, Nohin’ To Lose, C’mon And Love Me, Parasite, She, Watchin’ You, 100,000 Years, Black Diamond, Rock Bottom, Cold Gin, Rock And Roll All Nite, Let Me Go, Rock N Roll.
**** It was not until the band took the risk of releasing a double live album that their true powers over the listener were realized. While they had an ever growing fan base, their albums were simply not selling all that well and many had advised them that such a release would be career suicide. Live albums were becoming more common, but a double one from a band that no one was buying the records of did not seem the most sound of business decisions. Instead of musical death KISS would find a resounding level of success with this release as it brought the fan front stage to one of their shows and came with crowd dialogue and explosions as well. The band’s “anthem” introduced on “Dressed To Kill” would officially claim that status as a result of “Alive” and it’s impact. Years after it’s release this is still considered one of the “must have” albums in any music fans collection. Listening to a remastered version of it in this set one can easily see why.
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Music, Reviews

“20th Century Masters: Millennium Collection 3” by KISS

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Artist: KISS
Title: “The Millennium Collection Volume 3”
Label: Universal Music
Release Date:
Genre: Hard Rock
Rating: 3.5/5

Universal Music continues their releasing of “Millennium Collections” with Volume 3 for the legendary KISS. I had not been a fan of the first two for while they included some good tracks, the limiting them to 12 songs leaves the listener with a sense of “what else do you have for me”. Those are primarily for the purest and collector who needs every single release in the bands catalog. They redeemed my view with “Gold” a double CD, forty track edition which covered a great span of years in the bands lifetime. With the release of “Millennium Collection” v.3 I was not expecting much, but this is where I would be pleasantly surprised.
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