Customer Reviews

Extreme Closeup [VHS]

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

You remember Ace & Peter, the other two members that were vital in making KISS what it is! Well, they're not being interviewed on this video or any other so far. This video receives four stars because of one thing: the classic KISS footage. It is the best in terms of quantity of the 70's footage available! The downfall? You have to wade through lots of interview footage of Gene & Paul blaming Ace & Peter and pretty much everyone else besides themselves for problems with the band. I liked watching this the first couple of times, back when I was naive enough to believe most of it, but now I fast forward through the interviews to get to the make-up footage, which is very cool. Things I got tired of hearing while watching Extreme Close-up are:

1. Hearing Paul say how Ace's guitar playing stopped "blossoming" (a. Ace's 1978 Kiss solo LP sold the most copies, b. Like Paul's playing "blossomed" ?, and c. How do you "blossum" when your guitar solos are being edited and your allowed 1 to 2 songs an album?)

2. Hearing Gene talk about how Ace created the original KISS logo and then Paul "refined it" and how they're still using "Paul's logo" today - Give me a break, just say Ace created it!

3. Hearing how Eric Carr "buried" Peter Criss as a drummer. For one, their styles were different, Peter had a funky sound that made songs like "Parasite", "Hotter than Hell", and "Strange Ways" groove as hard as they did and Eric Carr had a hard rock style that gave the "Creatures of the Night" album and subsequent albums a kick in the butt.

4. In general, hearing how Ace & Peter were basically self destructive losers who wanted to bring down the band and Gene & Paul are drug-free, consumate professionals.

The thing I did like: The classic footage, which is worth owning it for.

The classic line up (Ace, Peter, Gene, & Paul) and the make-up and costumes, etc. are why the group has had any success at all. There success did not start with "Lick it up", "Asylum", or "Revenge", it started with "Alive!". Their influential period began and for the most part ended when Ace Frehley and Peter Criss were officially out of the band. When people think of KISS, they're going to think of Ace, Peter, Gene, and Paul. These four are the reason KISS is what it is. There should be a video for Ace & Peter to tell their sides of the KISS story for once. I almost don't care what is true anymore, just show a different point of view for crying out loud. Buy Extreme Close-up for the footage of KISS in their most influential, exciting, prime: the 1970's, not for the "truth" from Gene & Paul.

The only aspect of this video that is not cool is that you only hear Gene and Paul's side of the story on everything including Ace & Peter's departure. A video would be great having interviews with all four KISS members. Gene and Paul may have kept the band together but it gets old hearing how seemingly problem free each of them are. Great footage throughout of the first and best KISS lineup - Ace, Gene, Paul, & Peter - If your a fan, you'll love it.

This Kiss video is by far one of their best home video's ever.
Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons tell you everything you need to
know about Kiss through the entire video.From begining to the
Revenge album,it also has alot of videos and rare videos that you
can't get any where else.Hard luck woman,Love em'leave em,I want
you,video's with Eric Carr with and with out make up.Although
some of the videos they start playing them and near the end of them Paul and Gene start talking.This is a must have for a true Kiss fan,it is a classic home video.

I wanted to know how the original band broke up, and true to form, you never really get a straight answer from Paul or Gene. This video is packed with great clips from the 70's. I could skip the entire 80's thing. Gene looking like Bea Arthur isn't good for anyone.

This a great video! It has lots of footage of the old days and rare photos. The only thing that I think they made a mistake on is that they didn't put whole videos on the tape(except for'Unholy','Love em and Leave em','Hard Luck Woman', 'Rise to It', 'Hide Your Heart', and 'Forever'. It would have been good to have interviews with former members. Ohterwise, it is a must-have for the TRUE KISS FANS out there

If you're looking for a good career overview (well, at least up to 1992), then this is the tape you want. Well edited live footage, interviews, and videos make this a must-have for any KISS fan. Forget the version that's running on VH1 this month. Ths is the unedited real deal. For a more up-to-date (i.e. the reunion tour) tape, get "The Second Coming". But if you're interested in the 70's,80's,and early 90's versions of the band, this is the way to go.

This video is still enjoyable to watch after all these years. This has the terrific videos from "Hot in the Shade" & is an in depth interview with Gene and Paul with a tiny bit from Bruce and Eric.

Worth getting if you're a KISS fan.

This video interview from 1992 is pretty informative, though Gene and Paul are careful to play it close to the vest about past members of the band. In some cases only snippets of their videos are shown, but it leaves room for more content that way. This video was probably the first public step the band had taken up to that point to reveal some of the inner workings and turmoil of the band. But it is still entertaining, which is the most important point. Gene and Paul finally admit to some of their missteps in the past, and as expected Vinnie Vincent gets portrayed as ungrateful. Maybe he was, or maybe he was just so excited about being in a high profile band that his enthusiasm caused his head to swell. He wouldn't be the first. But KISS owes a lot to VV, primarily for his songwriting contributions to the band, from 1982's "Creatures of the Night" and 1992's "Revenge", plus a few other things over the years. Gene and Paul may be the last to admit that VV, for all his flaws, was as important in keeping KISS alive and well for many years as anybody else in the band. 'Nuff said.
At the time this video was produced, KISS' line-up consisted of Gene, Paul, Bruce Kulick, and Eric Singer -- this was probably their strongest line-up musically (give or take one Ace Frehley). But let Singer's example be a good business lesson to us all -- he maintained an amicable relationship with his former bosses (Gene and Paul) even after he was fired in 1996. That would serve him well when G&P decided to bring him back into the fold in 2001 when Peter Criss got greedy (again) and was ousted from the remainder of the Farewell Tour. Just as well for KISS fans - Singer is a FAR superior drummer to Criss.
This is a really good video, but if you are expecting complete honesty and disclosure about the band, you may be somewhat disappointed. But this video is here to entertain you, not to be a tell-all.

I liked the whole music videos that were there and the history of the band that was there, but I wish that more of the whole videos were shown and more of KISS's history with Vinnie Vincent was talked about.

this is the tape you must have in your collection. it tells about all the members of the group, how they got their name, an inside look at Carr's death of Cancer you name it this tape has it.