In 1995, the band released its 440-page book ‘Kisstory’, and then embarked on a Worldwide Kiss Convention tour, all day events that included massive Kiss memorabilia displays of outfits and instruments, performances by Kiss cover bands, a Q&A with the band, and a live acoustic set played by the band, which often included fan requests on the day. The whole convention tour was a smash hit with fans, and the first event even included an appearance and performance with Peter Criss, the band’s original drummer, and the first time he had performed with the band in 16 years.
Later in 1995 – August 9 to be precise – Kiss joined the list of artists who had appeared on MTV’s iconic program ‘Unplugged’, probably a given as they had been playing acoustic sets during their convention run. The surprise point of the evening however came when for the final four songs, former members Peter Criss AND Ace Frehley appeared on stage to play, marking the reunion of the original four for the first time in 16 years. According to Peter Criss, it was the success of his appearance at that first convention that brought about the idea of inviting the two former members to appear at the performance.
While this aired on MTV, it was not released as an album until seven months after the initial performance, and by that time the wheels had been slowly in motion as to where the band was heading in its immediate future. And all of this made the release of the “MTV Unplugged” album something that created a bigger splash than you would normally have expected to occur.
Here’s the thing about the MTV Unplugged show itself, along with the performances that it brought and the releases that followed it. For me, there is not a lot of relevance to it all. For a start, it’s a bit rich calling it unplugged if the guitars are still all miked up and playing through amps, in order to be able to be broadcast to the audience and recorded. Kurt Cobain famously ensured his was running through his amp to get the sound he wanted for his guitar. MTV Acoustic might have been a better title, but that also isn’t necessarily accurate either.
When this came out, I really thought that it was a stitch up, or at the very least, the next money-making idea for the band that has made a business out of doing so. And in retrospect I have had to retract that, because at the time I was unaware that they had been playing acoustic sets at their conventions, and thus this was an obvious next step.
The album contains a setlist that covers most of the eras of the band, and many songs that don’t always get a chance to shine in the live setting. All three of the opening tracks fall into this category. “Comin’ Home” is given great life, in the main from the guitaring of Bruce Kulick and the vocals of Paul Stanley, which at least draws you in to experience what else they have to offer. Gene’s “Plaster Caster” is always a great up tempo track which sounds surprisingly good here, and is then followed by “Goin’ Blind”, the Wicked Lester song that was transformed into the Kiss ballad. And if you are going to play a song like this, I guess it may as well be in an unplugged setting.
My favourite part of the album follows, starting off with “Do You Love Me?”, a great song in any setting, but it does sound particularly good on this version. Paul always manages to make songs sound good, and his attitude here is as always, the winner. Then comes a great version of “Domino” from the then current release of “Revenge”, one where Gene carries the track with his vocal. And completing this excellent trio of songs is the classic “Sure Know Something” that never fails to delight.
The third section of the album again is replete with songs that don’t often see the light of day, and while this makes this album unique and offers you a point of difference when it comes to what you hear when you buy the album, various tastes of the music may collate in a different fashion. “A World Without Heroes” from “Music from The Elder” kicks it off, and again I would stress that if you are going to compose and release a song like this, then perhaps the unplugged environment is the best option to do so. The same could be echoed for the opening passage of “Rock Bottom”, though once the song jumps into gear we get a more energetic performance from the band. Perhaps the most surprising song here is “See You Tonite” which is from Gene’s 1978 solo album, not because of the style because it makes complete sense to be found in this format, but because it was from the solo pickup era of 1978. More surprising is the epic hard focus of “I Still Love You”, one that I would NOT have expected to be here. It’s a little funny to hear the overplayed drums from Eric Singer that should be the booming belligerence of the track, here in a muffled undertone so as not to damage the situation. And rounding out this section of songs is “Every Time I Look at You”, which still sounds so much like a Def Leppard song that it is hard to disassociate itself from that sound and image. There are even ‘unplugged’ keys utilised. Except they aren’t unplugged. Ah, what a time to be alive.
The final four songs are where Ace and Peter come out to play, initially as just a four piece with Bruce and Eric relinquishing their spot and allowing the other two to move in. It allows Ace to sing “2000 Man” as his contribution, and Peter of course to sing “Beth”. Bruce and Eric then return, marking the only time ever that all six appeared on stage together, and completed the evening with “Nothin’ to Lose” which both Peter and Eric sang, and then “Rock and Roll All Nite” as the closer, with Gene and then Ace and Peter doing the vocals. It was a nice touch of nostalgia to add to an event that, to be fair, probably needed something to make it into something that drew it apart from the everyday Unplugged performance.
It may not surprise you to know that I did not rush out to buy this when it was first released. I know I watched the performance about a year or so after it was first shown, when it was aired on MTV on repeats, at a time I had cable TV and MTV was a part of it. And it was OK, but it really was at a time that I was of the belief that Kiss was winding down and that I had other bands I was more interested in following. More to the point, when you compared what was offered here compared to the performances of Nirvana and Alice in Chains in this format, there is a great deal of difference in quality. Hell, even Midnight Oil lit up the stage with their performance on MTV Unplugged, it was fabulous. In the end, what really drove me into watching this was the reappearance of both Ace Frehley and Peter Criss, which although was the shining light of this performance, had already begun to fade in a reason to watch it again, because the catalyst had become reality with the reintegration of the original four members into the reunion that included falling back into full makeup and stage gear. Like I said, it was fine, but I didn’t really need to invest in it. I did revisit it when the band released “Alive IV” which they recorded in Melbourne with the Symphony orchestra, but that was generally about it.
As it turns out, I have only just recently bought the CD of this album. It is one of my rules as such, that I must own the album that I am reviewing, and it does help to complete my Kiss collection by doing so. And when I first put it on to listen to it, I was surprised by how good it sounded. Certainly better than I remembered the concert looking and sounding from MTV. Even the tracks that I have a problem with enjoying SOUNDED really good, and the performance itself sounded great. The same problems still arise with the concept. I mean, Kiss is not an unplugged band. Even if they have songs that can be suitable in that arena, they are not that band. They need to be loud and bright and outrageous, on stage and on album. They aren’t really either of those things here. But I won’t lie to you, this has been fun to revisit. I would without doubt have listened to this more over the last two weeks than the rest of my life combined. And now that I have finished this episode, it will return to my CD shelves, where it could well sit for the remainder of my days. Probably not – there will be occasion at some stage in the future to listen to it again – but it isn’t one I’m going to consider playing under normal circumstances. It isn’t Alice in Chains after all. But I’m glad to have finally rectified a gap in my Kiss collection. That in itself makes this worthwhile.
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