Customer Reviews

Kiss - Symphony: The DVD

5 star:		(48)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(19)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

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!

I was looking forward to this one, as I already have the CD. Well, the sound of the DVD is great. Just turn off the picture and turn up the surround sound. The video itself is unwatchable. The worst editing in the history of video. I have read where some think this is nitpicking. It's not. When editing takes away from the viewing experience instead of adds to it, then it is a problem.

A brief example: I chose one of my favorite songs, "Shout It Out Loud" and decided to count the number of edits, camera, transitions, etc...196 in a 3 minute song. 196...that comes out to an average change every 1.08 seconds. Now, some shots actually lingered for maybe 2 seconds, and some just popped on screen for a fraction of a second, but 196 in 3 minutes? Also, you will notice that Gene has the punisher bass in some quick shots and the axe bass in others, all in the same song. This is called continuity, or in this case, lack of continuity...We all know Gene does not change basses back and fourth several times during the same song. It is just careless, sloppy editing.

Unwatchable...Sad, because this is a great concert. The editing actually makes me physically sick. I could only watch about half of this thing before a splitting headache made me turn it off. I would love to see this redone with some actual skill applied to editing. Some lingering shots of guitar solos, some wide screen views of the whole band, some scenes that last longer than 2 seconds.

Nitpicking...I don't think so. This is a great video documentary of a historic event by one of the world's greatest bands that has been reduced to unwatchable status by poor, thoughtless editing.

I was in my favorite CD store today picking up "Dynasty" to replace my long lost copy when the clerk behind the counter said "You'll probably like this." It was this DVD and it wasn't even released yet. Needless to say, I bought it.

This is a great DVD and must have for KISS fans. There are two DVDs.

The first disc gives a behind the scenes look at how KISS and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra got together. It then goes into what's titled "Act Three" which is KISS and the Orchestra doing; 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 and Rock And Roll All Nite.

Disc Two shows you how the concert really started; KISS without the Orchestra doing a normal KISS show. This is called Act One and the songs are Deuce, Strutter, Let Me Go Rock and Roll, Lick It Up, Calling Dr. Love and Psycho Circus.
Next is Act Two which is KISS unplugged with a scaled down version of the orchestra, The Melbourne Symphony Ensemble, doing Beth, Forever, Goin' Blind, Sure Know Something and Shandi.

Act Three is the same footage that is on the first disc. Not really sure why they have Act Three on disc one and disc two. Perhaps they did not have enough footage of how KISS and the Orchestra got together to fill up disc one and decided they'd fill up the rest of the disc with Act Three. I guess KISS wanted to show you, on the second disc, how the show progressed from one act to another.

The Bonus Features have a KISS interview on an Australian TV show along with a performance of "Sure Know Something" with the Ensemble along with some web links.

KISS and the Orchestra sound great togther. Neither drowns out the other and the Orchestral arrangements add a nice touch to many KISS classics.

All in all a GREAT DVD!!!

After reading the reviews, I still bought it because, hey, it's KISS! Anyway, I agree with the first reviewer. It could have and should have been an awesome DVD. The sound, picture quality and content was great. However, I think the person editing this DVD thought they were doing a series of KISS video's for MTV. Got to jam pack as many shots of everything in sight into each song. Slow down! Just as you get a shot of something you'd like to see, it's snatched away from you - on to something else. Sometimes you don't even have time to focus on what you're looking at. At best you get a 3 second shot of something. After watching and listening to it, at the end I still feel like I haven't seen the concert. There are no good shots of the whole stage, and things just don't stay focused enough on one thing long enough for you to enjoy it. It's unfortunate, but true. I'm surprised that Gene & Paul gave it the OK.

I've read many of the other reviews of this DVD here and I have to agree about the editing. It's horrid. If you've ever seen the "Shout It Out Loud" video from YOU WANTED THE BEST, then you'll get the idea of this entire DVD from an editing standpoint:

Shot of man sticking tongue out (1 second)
Shot of Tommy walking across the stage (1.5 seconds)
Shot of random half-naked woman (2 seconds)
Shot of Peter smiling and hitting a cymbal (1.5 seconds)
Pan over entire crowd (3 seconds)

Shot of singing half-naked woman (1.5 seconds)
Shot of Paul shaking his butt (1.5 seconds)
Shot of half-naked woman sticking her tongue out (2 seconds)
Ad nauseum.

However, the music as presented here is fantastic. Sure, there's obviously some overdubbing and "fixing" going on in the vocal and music mix, but note-for-note it sounds pretty damn good. On my rather modest home theater system, the sound was great. (A little light on the bass, but very crisp sounding.)

The song selection is OK. Leaning heavily on the previously-orchestrated DESTROYER, there are few surprises. However, the inclusion of "Psycho Circus" (in the electric Act 1) and "Forever" and "Shandi" (in the unplugged Act II) are welcome additions to the usually pretty predictible (by now) songlist.

Tommy Thayer does an impressive job of staying true to Ace Frehley's lead breaks while not necessarily playing them note-for-note. Peter Criss, however, is the musician that surprised me the most (aside from any of the symphony members, that is.) He's really enjoying himself AND playing very well. He's not the drummer that Eric Carr was or that Eric Singer is, but he's definitely better now than when he rejoined the band in 1996.

The members of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra seem to be very good sports during this whole shebang and that comes through in the included rehearsal footage and the shots of them coming off the stage during the credits. They're having fun and smiling during the performance too.

In fact, everyone looks to be having fun during the performance. Due to the camera being trained on every individual female in the audience for at least five complete minutes each (albeit 1 second at a time), I'm pretty sure each one enjoyed herself. The musicians certainly appear to be having fun. But since you seem to see them as often as you see certain audience members, you're certainly going to be disappointed if you want to use this video to learn how to play any KISS songs.

Overall, this is a definite must buy for hardcore KISS fans. It's not something I can recommend to a casual fan because the editing is headache-inducing. Who knows? Maybe Gene intentionally allowed this DVD to look so bad so he can release the KISS Symphony Director's Cut edition next year to continue to line his wallet with KISS fan's cash.

The video editing is horrible for this otherwise outstanding show. The camera view changes every 2 to 3 seconds making it nearly impossible to watch the 3 act show from beginning to end. One song in this camera style would have been cool, but the video is ruined when it contiues for the entire 1:52. The repeat of act 3 on both disks is not needed. The sound is outstanding! I just pop it in my DVD player and listen to the show in DTS and leave the TV off.

This was a fantastic concert. One of the best I had ever been to.
I was beyond myself when I heard that it was to be recorded for a DVD.
I've watched it a few times now. The concert is still fantastic. The crowd is great, the orchestra are kicking and our boys are at their peak!!! I have never experienced a concert DVD that doesn't bring you into the show, make you feel like you are there. I just didn't feel connected to what I loved the most - KISS!!!! The editing is atrocious. All that hard work!!!! All that preparation - for what!! Some wino in an editing room who wanted his ego stroked. Well mate, the Kiss world would have been better without you. Your mother may be happy with your work, but I tell you, not many poeple here are. The camera men and women's pictures are beautiful, so full of colour and clear, Kiss were in top form, everything was perfect for a great DVD - except the editor loser!!! Look Mr Editor - its Kiss for God's sake, with a full on show, with 40,000+ people going crazy, with a full ORCHESTRA!!!! We don't need you to add anything to it. Its already roaring to go!!!! This so called "expert" has totally ruined what would have been the greatest rock concert DVD out there. I have over 200 DVD's most of them music concert ones. This is just sad, that one person can ruin so much hard work from so many people.
It may be fine over 1 or perhaps 2 songs, but believe me when I say, you will not be able to watch this DVD in its entirity without skipping ahead or getting dizzy. Stick to the basics.
I wouldn't say don't buy it, but I would say buyer beware!!

The audio on this is great to hear 5.1 remix of the show versus the CD. The documentary is interesting, seem to show that Paul/Gene really do run the show with Peter/Tommy (hired guns?) absent from the development stages with the arranger. Might have been fun to let Tommy play Hold on to 18 (Black 'n Blue with an orchestra, could that be next?) The editing is unforgivable, they should re-release it without the seizure producing quick change artistry. It is sooooo fast and virtually unwatchable. It also also seems like Paul and Gene's mouth is conspicuously blocked by the microphone or else they are not shown up close signing. This combined with the 1 second per shot editing makes me think there could be a lot of overdubs dropped in. I know all live stuff does (as Eddie Kramer and Paul emphasized in the Alive! show on VH1), especially with this being a one-night show, but...oh well, I made another contribution to Paul and Gene's retirement fund (Farewell Tour II?) and would buy this DVD again for the sound.

"You Wanted The Best? You Got The Best. The Hottest Band In The Land, KISS." This is the taped introduction to every KISS concert since the year dot. Who would be brave enough to dispute this claim? Their stage shows are folklore now, and after 30 years, 32 albums, and over 90 million record sales, the band is still going strong.

The lineup has fluctuated dramatically over the years with only main stays Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley remaining constant. Some musicians leave and return, as does original drummer Peter Criss, for these shows, but already less than a year down the road he has been replaced by the returning Eric Singer. The make-up of each replacement musician stays the same so the crowd hardly ever notices. The idea is that once you are in the band, make sure you don't upset Gene or Paul or you will find yourself on the outside again. So, on this recording you have Tommy Thayer, playing the role of Silver Spaceman and Ace Frehley on lead guitar, never missing a note or smudging his make up.

Alive Four Symphony is the first Full length concert available from the masters of Theatre Rock and what a concert it was, too. Over 40 thousand rabid KISS fans attended, and it is spread over two DVD's. The first documents the arrival of the band in Australia and their meeting up with the conductor and musical director of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra with its classically trained musicians. Although it starts out in distrust and coldness, but by the time of concert, band, Orchestra members, and choir are as one and have the time of their lives.

On Disc two is the full concert broken up into three acts. The first act is the 4-piece rock band playing six of their classic songs stripped to the bone. Act two consists of five songs given the acoustic treatment with a 12-piece string section. Songs like 'Beth' and 'Forever', two ballads, gave KISS surprise ballad single hits, and have been screaming out for in the live context. Act three is where all the action really kicks off. The four members of the band look great despite the fact that all of them are in their sixth decade. They rock `round the stage shaking their booties like never before; all in their adopted make up and specially made stage space suits.

The Cat behind the drums only comes to the front to play up to the crowd during his solo singing spot in `Beth'. The Spaceman on lead guitar takes every opportunity to blaze out as many notes per second solos as possible, and, being new to the band, obviously loves every second of it.

The Beast on bass, forever sticking out the longest and most suggestive tongue in rock, spits blood and eats fire during his bass solo before flying bat-like sixty feet into the gantry above the stage, and then is flown down again to join his crewmen.

Center stage is the Starman in his 8-inch stack heeled boots, flouncing and pouting at the audience, playing his guitar over each shoulder before bringing it crashing to the ground, and being flown round the audience on a flying trapeze. Add to this a 60-piece Orchestra and Conductor all in full KISS make up (each member of the Orchestra was allowed to choose which member of KISS' make up they wanted to wear) enjoying their new found freedom in being able to play rock music instead of the strict rigors of the classics. When they are then joined by a 40-piece Australian Children's Choir (naturally also in full make up), the audience (half of them are also in full KISS dress) go completely wild. Add to this KISS playing all their classic songs (ranging from selections from their first album to their latest studio effort); a great stage set; a hilarious Paul Stanley in-between song raps; some of the biggest and loudest pyrotechnics ever set off on a rock stage, and you have one of the greatest rock shows ever recorded on this DVD.

Over the course of the two DVD's the playing time (including bonus features) clocks in at over three and a half hours. So with KISS, as usual, everything to excess.

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