Kiss has had a few different eras so this second volume focuses on a part of their career that was successful but not quite the heights achieved back in their heyday.  The first disc starts off with a TV broadcast of Land Of Hype And Glory which was really where their popularity started to wane right after that show.  I remember seeing it on its initial broadcast and I did get a bad bootleg copy of it but it is a great, clean version here.  Next up we are presented with the European version of Kiss Meets The Phantom Of The Park (called Kiss In Attack Of The Phantoms).  I have no idea why they chose to put that version out (not that it is different), but maybe they wanted to give us U.S. fans something we didn’t already have.  I’m sure most Kiss fans remember the Tom Snyder interview in 1979 where a drunk Ace Frehley cracked jokes and made Snyder focus on him.  It is a legendary interview and it, too, is in great condition for all to see.  Disc one and disc three (more on that later) are the ones that really hold my interest and make the set worth getting.

Disc two is where we start getting the Unmasked and Music From The Elder material.  This was the lowest point in Kiss’ career, but as you can see, in Australia, they were treated like the second coming of The Beatles.  There is some documentary footage from that trip along with a concert that really showcased the stage show.  It was basically the same stage as the U.S. Dynasty tour.  The disc is then capped off with a couple of television shows that showcased the material from Music From The Elder.  This was certainly the lowest the band ever got but if you are fan, you’ll enjoy all the footage in pristine condition.

The last disc is where things start to move back in the right direction.  Although there is concert material from the last tour with makeup, the majority of the DVD focuses on the non-makeup era where the band got back to playing to their strengths.  You get the MTV special where the band was first seen without their makeup, a show from the Crazy Nights tour and a 1990 show from Detroit.  The disc finishes off with a clip about Eric Carr’s death and his last performance in the video for "God Gave Rock 'N' Roll to You II."  As I mentioned earlier, for my money, discs one and three are where the real good material lies but fans who love it all will still enjoy disc two.

This review is available in book (paperback and hardcover) form in Music Street Journal: 2022  Volume 4. More information and purchase links can be found at: garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-2022.