KISS.  As Paul Stanley once said, "You show a picture of us to anyone in any place in the world and they can tell you what band that is."  The thing is, unlike most wildly popular bands, KISS' worldwide brand recognition didn't come via hit singles or radio airplay.  KISS is a rare beast in that at the height of their popularity they were ranked above Led Zeppelin in most popular music opinion polls but couldn't get their songs played on the radio.

So how did a band whose music was once described by Rolling Stone as "like buffalo farts" become a household name? 

Marketing.  Sheer marketing.  It's one of the more interesting stories in rock actually.  The four men who started KISS began right away doing things that would set them apart from the other rock bands trying to make it big.  The makeup came early on.  The special effects did also.  Gene Simmons learned to breathe fire from a circus performer and used it in their stage show.  The floating drum riser was done on the cheap in clubs.  Everything about their image was calculated and was meant to make them look bigger and more popular than they actually were.  The ploy worked and soon they were signed to Casablanca Records.

KISS didn't stop there though.  Their manager Bill Aucoin had a theater background and was a perfect fit for the band.  Every tour was bigger.  Every album promotion a little wilder.  Merchandising was not something many bands were good at in the 1970s but KISS had toys, lunchboxes, pinball machines and even the most awesome Marvel Comic ever (printed in their own blood!).  KISS made sure that wherever they were, photos were taken and news was made.

Knowing this, one might think that it was all fluff and no meat.  However, fluff does not sell concert tickets.  That's what Kissology: Vol. 1 was meant to prove.  KISS at the height of their fame was a rock and roll act that had few equals when playing live.  They toured incessantly through the early 1970s selling out halls in places as big as Detroit, MI and as small as Lakeland, FL.  When you went to see KISS, you got your money's worth.  No question. 

While volume one gave fans exactly what they were looking for in vintage live KISS, KISSology Vol. 2 gives fans a taste of the latter years.  Covering the period 1978 - 1991, this three disc set (four if you buy it at one of the special stores featuring exclusive bonus material) catches KISS as they jump the shark and begin a slide that took them years to stop.  It also covers their tours in the 1980s that reestablished them as a premier rock band that could still generate bona fide hits.

Disc one is the one many fans have been waiting for.  Featuring the European cut of movie KISS in Attack of the Phantoms, it's the only disc that doesn't include concert footage.  The movie is hilariously awful in a way that only TV movies of the 1970s seem to be.  Attack of the Phantoms includes music from the four solo albums as the soundtrack (with occasional concert footage when the story obliges).  Otherwise, it's just the band in a story that was described once as a live action Scooby Doo episode (which since this was co-produced by Hanna-Barbara may have been the idea).

The rest of the disc contains an excerpt from a reasonably unflattering news feature done on the band and a portion of an interview the band did with Tom Snyder.  The Snyder interview is one of the most hilarious and engaging the band ever gave.  Ace Frehley is blitzed out of his skull and has a great time derailing both Snyder and a very serious Gene Simmons. Finally having this interview is worth the money for any big KISS fan.

The footage included on discs two and three follow the band through eras that included a concept album (the absolutely horrible The Elder... which I have a vinyl copy of because I was an impressionable youth), the ousting of founding member Peter Criss, Ace Frehley leaving, the new band unmasking (captured here on the MTV special with JJ Jackson) and finally the death of second drummer Eric Carr. 

It's a lot of ground to cover and the biggest complaint that I have with Kissology Vol. 2 is that it leaves out some truly great tours.  There is no footage here from the Dynasty tour (possibly the most expensive stage show KISS ever attempted to put on) nor is there any footage from their awesome Animalize tour (the first one I caught them on).  The thing is, quality footage of both shows exists because VHS releases from both were issued in the 1980s.  It would have made more sense to make this set part two in a trilogy that covered 1978 - 1986/1987 (a year when KISS landed "Tears Are Falling" at the top of the MTV most requested videos heap). 

Another beef I have is that Creatures of the Night (the last tour done in makeup until the reunion tours of the 1990s) is represented here with only part of a concert.  That album is extremely underrated and the tours at the time featured a renewed KISS, with two new members and a fire that rivalled their 1976-77 peak.  The footage included here is grainy but the energy is apparent and really makes me long for more.

What is here though is definitely worth picking up if you're a fan.  The Sydney 1980 show is a strong argument that the Paul, Gene, Ace, Eric Carr lineup truly was the best musically.  It just smokes with energy and the crowd is insane.  Also, the full concert from their 1990 Hot in the Shade tour shows off a band who finally is relying on their musical chops instead of the theatrics.  It makes a great argument for KISS being more than a 1970s fad.

That said though, this collection really is one for true fans and not just for folks who remember seeing a KISS show in the 1970s.

Presentation
The thing about these sets is that they're at the mercy of the technology of the times.  The video here is mostly blurry and/or grainy.  Even the film suffers from some obvious scratches.  Still, it's hard to complain.  The audio quality varies from show to show but overall it's damn good and really highlights the changes in the band.  Hearing the difference between the band with Peter Criss on drums versus the band with Eric Carr on drums is like hearing a band with handcuffs on suddenly get freed.  While I love the original lineup, Carr brings a technical prowess that Criss never had and you can hear it in the performances featured in this set.

Extras
Well digitally, there are no extras to speak of.  It's all one gigantic collection of extras.  However, the packaging on this set is stellar.  Included in the set is a booklet with some commentary by Simmons and Stanley as well as a "ticket" to see KISS at Magic Mountain in Attack of the Phantoms.  Some stores are selling exclusive discs.  If you happen to get one of those, you'll get bonus concert footage but the discs change depending on which store you're shopping at.  One of the bonus discs is from the Dynasty Tour 1979 and the other is from the Crazy Nights tour 1988.

The Bottom Line
If you are a fan, you'll buy this.  Will it be the thing to show in converting people who aren't fans?  No.  That's what Volume 1 is for.  This one is for the fans who saw them in their latter incarnations and want a document for themselves.  Still, I absolutely loved it and hope they put out a Vol. 3 full of goodies real soon.