KISS - Live At Budokan 1988

Some things, as an old friend of mine likes to point out, are just for the sake of being, with no apparent reason. Well his words sound true and this DVD of “the hottest band in the world!” is here to prove him right. I really can’t understand the reason behind this release (except from the obvious, that of cash!). I mean what’s the reason of watching KISS in their performance at Budokan in front of the Japanese audience in 1988, 20 years later (it was originally released in 2008)? I could be ok with that if we were talking about a classic performance that stood the test of time, something like the “Alive” releases, but we’re not.
\r\nAnyway, this release, as I mentioned before, is nothing more than KISS’s performance at Budokan, Japan in a time that they were stripped of their make-up and costumes trying to catch the spirit (or the cash) of those days having a more “glam” attitude as well as appearance. Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Eric Carr and Bruce Kulick are performing some of their most classic hits along with some songs from that specific era. There’s a lot of energy on stage (how could it be otherwise? It’s KISS we’re talking about) while Paul Stanley is no less than the idol of every poser/glamster! The image and the sound of this release are unfortunately average, something that makes me think that this is likely a VHS re-recorded on a Digital Disc. The DVD contains no extras at all, something that makes it even less worth buying.
\r\nObviously this is not a release that will give a taste of KISS’s glorious live shows, so if you’re not some crazed fan, better ignore it.
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\r\nDimitris Karantounias\r\n