Courtesy: Eagle Rock Entertainment
Late last year, veteran rock band KISS played a nine-night residency at Las Vegas’ famed Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. Now almost a year later, one of those shows has been made available to audiences in the form of the band’s new live recording KISS Rocks Vegas. Released just this week, the extensive recording offers audiences and members of the KISS Army to appreciate beginning with its set list. That will be discussed shortly. The band’s stage show and presence are just as important to the concert as the set list. That will be discussed later. The varied platforms on which the concert is available rounds out the concert’s most important elements. Each element is important in its own right to the concert’s overall presentation. All things considered, they make KISS Rocks Vegas one more must have for any KISS fan whether just a fan or a longtime member of the KISS Army.
KISS’ new live recording KISS Rocks Vegas is hardly the band’s first ever live recording. It is, however a welcome addition to any KISS fan’s collection. That is due in part to the concert’s set list. The set list reaches all the way back to the band’s 1974 self-titled debut and all the way up to its 1998 album Psycho Circus to make up its body. The band’s 1976 album Destroyer is most heavily represented in this set list with no fewer than five of its songs presented here. Those songs are: ‘Beth,’ ‘Detroit Rock City,’ ‘God of Thunder,’ ‘Shout It Out Loud,’ and ‘Do You Love Me.’ Love Gun (1977) receives three nods with ‘Christine Sixteen,’ ‘Love Gun,’ and ‘Plaster Caster.’ These are just some of the band’s hit songs included in the twenty-three-song set. The band obviously couldn’t pull songs from every one of its albums in just one show. That would require a set list that would lead to a much more extensive recording. Of course odds are that few, if any, KISS fans would complain about that. Keeping that in mind the show’s extensive set list gives audiences plenty to appreciate in the bigger picture of this recording. The band’s show and stage presence combine to make for another important part of the recording’s presentation.
The extensive twenty-three song set that is featured in KISS’ new live recording is clearly pivotal to the recording’s overall presentation. It obviously doesn’t cover the band’s entire catalogue of hits and albums. But audiences will agree that it does cover quite a bit of ground. It is just one of the key features of the recording, too. The band’s overall show and its stage presence throughout are collectively just as important to note as the show’s set list. The band’s stage show is just as intense as it was in the band’s heyday. Those that have seen the band’s live shows from its early days will agree with that sentiment. It includes all of the pyro, lights, and other over-the-top elements for which the band has come to be known. The camera crew’s work in capturing that intensity is to be applauded, too. That is because it does such an impressive job translating that intensity to audiences at home. In the same vein the band’s actual presence throughout the concert is just as notable. All four members of the band give one hundred percent and then some in entertaining the audience in attendance. Paul Stanley commands the stage and the audience. Fellow founding member Gene Simmons expertly compliments Stanley’s persona with his own *ahem* fiery energy throughout the show. One would expect that both men would take it easy at their age, as so many older performers do. But neither one does. Rather, they give their all because the audience gave its all, too. Even current drummer and guitarist Eric Singer and Tommy Thayer put in their share of energy, too in their performances. The combined efforts of all four men make the band’s stage presence in itself intense and wholly entertaining. The band’s actual stage show couples with that performance to make both elements one whole that is just as important to this recording as the show’s set list. Even collectively, they are still not all that makes KISS Rocks Vegas another standout live recording from what is considered by many to be “the greatest band in the world.” The varied platforms on which this recording is available rounds out the concert’s most important elements.
The set list that is featured in KISS Rocks Vegas works with the bands stage presence and stage show to give KISS fans more than enough reason to add this new live recording to their personal collections. They are just the tip of the proverbial iceberg for the recording. The concert is available on a number of platforms. Those platforms include: DVD + CD combo pack, Blu-ray + CD combo pack, Deluxe Edition DVD + Blu-ray + 2CD. In making the concert in three separate platforms, Eagle Rock Entertainment and KISS have covered all of their collective bases here. Regardless of whether fans have DVD players or Blu-ray players, every fan can enjoy the concert in full with both its audio and audio/visual presentation. For the true KISS loyalists—the hardcore members of the KISS Army—there is also the Deluxe Edition, which includes both the DVD and Blu-ray in one complete package along with a double CD audio presentation of the concert. That Deluxe Edition also includes a large photo book complete with pictures from the band’s nine-night residency at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. So whether one is just a fan, a devoted fan, or full-blown member of the KISS Army, there is something for everyone across the board. Eagle Rock Entertainment and KISS are to be highly commended for going this route. When this element is set alongside the band’s stage show and presence, and the show’s extensive set list, it all comes together to show once and for all why this concert is, again, a must have for any KISS fan and his or her collection.
KISS Rocks Vegas is not KISS’ first ever live recording. And regardless of whether fans have any of the band’s previous live recordings, this latest live offering still proves in the long run to be one more must have for any KISS fan and his or her collection. This is made clear in part through the concerts extensive, twenty-three song set list. The band’s performance of that set list and the band’s overall stage show make that even clearer. The multiple platforms on which the concert has been made available by Eagle Rock Entertainment and KISS puts the finishing touch on why the recording is so impressive. Each element is obviously important in its own way to the concert’s overall presentation. All things considered KISS Rocks Vegas proves to be, once more, a must have for any KISS fan and his or her KISS collection. It is available now in stores and online. More information on this and other titles available from Eagle Rock Entertainment is available online now at:
Website: http://www.eagle-rock.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/EagleRockEnt
Twitter: http://twitter.com/EagleRockNews
To keep up with the latest sports and entertainment reviews and news, go online to http://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it. Fans can always keep up with the latest sports and entertainment reviews and news in the Phil’s Picks blog at https://philspicks.wordpress.com.
philspicks 