Kiss
Rock The Nation Live! (Image Entertainment)
by Martin Popoff
Gorgeous packaging, but you’ll never get it shoved back in to the slipcase without that annoying end flap poking out on you. But yeah, great cover, modest but flashy booklet with pics, and a Ken Sharp essay. This is essentially a no-nonsense live DVD of a pretty damn inspiring Kiss show. The stage set is classy and modern. Paul and Gene take their responsibilities seriously. Paul in particular amusingly camp with his stage raps. Tommy Thayer needs to smile more, put on some weight, or pad that costume. He looks too skinny in it. And maybe a little silver in the mane. Musically, he’s Tommy when he should be, and Ace when he should be. Eric Singer is bloody perfect as a Peter picker. The physique is close, and – God love him – he even does Peter-style Ringo moves back there. Little bits break the flow nicely, with (paying) fans all lit up for meet and greets, interesting soundcheck footage, a glimpse into photo shoots, and the backstage area, Doc McGee included, some Melbourne documentary-type material. There’s a pall of lies that covers it all, but the lies are something we’ve sort of agreed to live with, winks and nudges included (I mean, is Paul very quiet back stage or always cracking jokes?). Kiss Powervision allows the viewer, for seven songs, to pick one guy and watch him, with helpful insets of the others on the screen as well. But the real cream is hearing super rarities like “Makin’ Love,” “Love Her All I Can” (not great – Paul has to duck the notes), “Parasite,” “War Machine,” “I Love It Loud,” and even friggin’ “Tears Are Falling,” in a live setting. And ‘Unholy”… Well, that just made me pull out Revenge again and realize how under-rated it is. Sadly, Carnival of Souls actually went down in my estimation, but Revenge, damn!
Really bloody good live show, as well as killer track listing. A pure and purely fun live DVD experience. But check out the competition lately: Both the UFO and the Rush DVDs astound compared to this.
(www.image-entertainment.com)
