This came out in 2003 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
If Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley spent half as much time writing new songs as they do concocting schemes to repeatedly resell the old ones, fans could have half a dozen more albums to buy.
Instead, they have stuff like KISS Symphony: The DVD, which features the band — well, Gene, Paul, drummer Peter Criss and some the guy impersonating MIA guitarist Ace Frehley — sweating to the oldies in front of an orchestra. Admittedly, it’s kind of cool at times: The gods of plunder make good use of the symphony, drawing on their grandeur and power to add new depth and dimension to ’70s rock chestnuts like Detroit Rock City, Do You Love Me?, Shout it Out Loud and even Rock And Roll All Nite. But as you always have to expect from KISS, this set is also kind of a ripoff. The symphonic footage is included twice for no good reason — except, presumably, to pad the set out to two discs so they can charge you more. Sure, KISS are the Barnum & Bailey Circus of rock ’n’ roll. But remember, it was P.T. Barnum who said, “There’s a sucker born every minute.”
