Kiss - Animalize Live & Uncensored (2007) DVD5

This DVD was recorded live at Cobo Hall, Detroit Michigan December 8th, 1984. It has never been released officially on DVD, although as you can see there are unofficial versions to be had. (It’s clearly unofficial since it has a picture of Carnival of Souls era Kiss on the back!) Annoying subtitles are the only real drawback to the DVD. There’s not much crossover between this and the two Alive albums, as it leans heavily on newer material (Creatures, Lick It Up, Animalize). The tempos are, in general, faster. The energy is high, and Paul is singing at the peak of his talents. The solos by Bruce Kulick are flashy in that 80′s sort of way, which isn’t my thing. Basically this is 80′s KISS, like it or lump it. I like it somewhat, probably due to nostalgia.
Visually, Gene and Paul are all over the stage, while Eric stands on his drums and demands to be seen and heard. At the end, the band climb onto a flying platform. Very cool live show.
One special treat was Eric’s lead vocals on “Young and Wasted” and “Black Diamond”. I also quite enjoyed Eric’s drum solo. Gene’s bass solo is nothing much to speak of, just a chance for him to introduce “I Love It Loud”, but far more musical than solos past or present. Actually he only speaks twice on the whole DVD. Before “I Love It Loud” he says to the crowd, “Oh yeah? Ohhh yeeeah? Well alright, come on.” And then at another point Paul says, “How you doing Gene, alright?” to which Gene responds, “Welll ooooooohhhh yeeeeaaaah!” Quite comical really. Paul’s raps are some of his all time classics. “Paul, what you are doing with a pistol down your pants?” (“Love Gun”) His story about Gene’s “little child” (“Fits Like A Glove”) is also classic. His guitar solo is nothing special, I guess Bruce Kulick was just too new to the band to warrant a big solo? The fact that Paul has one is somewhat a rarity in KISStory.