Hard Vision |
KISS"Your Presence is Requested: KISS Symphony" Somebody had this crazy idea to put a world renowned symphony orchestra on stage with the most outrageous rock band in the world... Who thought that an insane idea like this would ever work? It's hard to write about Kiss because there's nothing I can say that hasn't been said before. So, when I was given the chance to review this release, I knew it wasn't gonna be easy. But, I've been a Kiss fan for as long as I can remember and I knew I would be up for the challenge. I wouldn't consider this release a music video. The way they have it set up and the way they present it, it comes off more like a big budget Hollywood movie with a slow build. The first thing you're introduced to here is the story behind the event. They take you behind the scenes to show you how the rock 'n' roll world came crashing into the world of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. There's an equal focus on Kiss and The MSO, which is the way it should be. There's a lot of interesting information to be found here as well, such as everything that went into making this one show possible. The end of disc one is what most people will probably be talking about. You get to see the third act of this performance, which is Kiss with the MSO. Since this complete show is featured on the second disc, there's bound to me a lot of conversation as to why they didn't include more behind the scenes footage on the first disc. But, the way it's set up, well, I view disc one as the highlight of this event. As I said, you get the story behind the show with the MSO and then you get the actual show. There was more to it, which is featured on disc two. But, let's face it, the third act was really what this show was all about. End of story. Disc two features the complete concert performance. Act One features Kiss tearing through six tunes, "Deuce," "Strutter," "Let Me Go Rock And Roll," "Lick It Up," "Calling Dr. Love" and "Psycho Circus." It may seem like an odd selection of songs, but, it comes off rather well. They mellow down a bit with the second act, which is an unplugged performance with the Melbourne Symphony Ensemble featuring "Forever," "Goin' Blind," "Sure Know Something" and "Shandi." Starting it off, Peter Criss takes center stage to perform "Beth," which is the first time he got to do this classic number with real musicians behind him and he seems to be lovin' every minute of it. As I said before, the third act was really what this show was all about and once you get to this point in your viewing experience, you'll get to see what will go down in history as possibly the greatest Kiss performance ever. The band goes right into a double shot of "Detroit Rock City" and "King Of The Night Time World" to get it started. From there, they take you through an additional eight songs including "Shout It Out Loud," "Do You Love Me," "Black Diamond," "Love Gun" and "I Was Made For Lovin' You." Without a doubt, the highlight here is Gene Simmons doing "God Of Thunder." The smoke and green lights are used to enhance his blood spitting opening and, if that's not enough, he literally rises above the audience to rip into the song. As I mentioned before, I've been a Kiss fan for as long as I can remember. I have numerous DVD's in my collection and, out of everything I've ever seen, I've gotta tell you, this was Gene's greatest moment. But, wait...there's more. They bring out The Australian Children's Choir, in full Kiss make up, of course, for a fantastic version of "Great Expectations" and, before they call it a night, they go through an explosive version of "Rock And Roll All Nite." During the show, Paul Stanley says, "We created another page in KISStory tonight. This is awesome!" I couldn't agree more. You know, they could've called it a day ten/fifteen years ago and their place in musical history would've been secure. But, they didn't. They continued to move forward, marching to the beat of no other drummer except their own. After everything they've done, they're still working hard to become bigger and better and, with this release, they have managed to top everything they've ever done. Larger than life doesn't even begin to describe Kiss at this point and time. They went above and beyond that term and I'm sure I can find a few million people who would agree with that. If you think you're viewing experience is done and over with now, wait, there's one more additional feature that I forgot to mention. There's a Kiss interview and performance of "Sure Know Something" with The Melbourne Symphony Ensemble from the Australian television show "Rove Live!" Nothing more really needs to be said. Kiss came, Kiss saw, and it was good. Without a doubt, this is the ultimate Kiss viewing experience. This is something that everyone, from the hardcore fan to even the most casual fan, will appreciate. Kiss "Symphony" is the reason why people will buy a DVD player this year. You wanted the best, you got the best. The hottest band in the world....KISS!!!! |