HARD TIMES GOT ME DOWN
GOOD TIMES AIN'T AROUND
NOW I GOT THE MIND TO SAY
GIRL, YOU HIT ROCK BOTTOM
AND YOU'RE THERE TO STAY
Kiss Unplugged
is a live album
by the American
rock band
released in 1996.
It was recorded
in studio
for the television program
MTV Unplugged
and released as part
of a series of
live and
video albums.
Overview
On August 9, 1995,
the band performed at
Sony Music Studios
in New York City
for the TV show
MTV Unplugged.
Paul Stanley
and
Gene Simmons
contacted former members
Peter Criss
and
Ace Frehley
and invited them
to participate.
It marked the only time
the original lineup
performed publicly
without their
trademark makeup
and was also
the only time
Frehley and Criss
shared a stage with
Eric Singer
and
Bruce Kulick.
It was the first time
Singer had part of
a lead vocal
on an album
(shared with Criss on "Nothin' to Lose").
Fan reaction to
Criss and Frehley
at the show
was so positive that,
in 1996,
the original lineup of
Kiss reunited,
with all
four original members
together for the first time
since 1979.
"The sound was deafening:
the sound of
rock 'n' roll history
coming full circle
in a TV studio",
wrote
Kerrang!'s
Don Kaye
in a review of the taping
at New York's
Sony Music Studios.
"Complete pandemonium
ensued as they struck
the opening chords
to '2,000 Man',
and it continued
when Ace's voice
rang out in the clear,
sardonic manner
we all know and love."
Release
On March 12, 1996,
the concert was
released on CD.
The LP version
of the album includes
a poster
and some were
pressed on
yellow marbled vinyl.
A stand-alone VHS
and
DVD documentary
were produced
around the same time
as the CD release,
with archival footage
of the band's
rehearsal sessions
at SIR Studios
in New York.
It also shows the first
KISS Konvention"
appearance earlier
in the year,
with Criss
joining the
touring members
on stage
to sing a few tunes.
According to Criss,
this invite gave
Simmons the idea
of reaching out
to both him
and Frehley
to be a part of
the Unplugged taping
in an
unannounced reunion.
On December 18, 2007,
the performance appeared
as part of the
Kissology Volume Three:
1992–2000 DVD set.
This included
the original DVD release
of the concert
plus five previously
unreleased songs:
"Hard Luck Woman"
(with Stanley on vocals),
"Heaven's on Fire",
"Spit"
(mostly sung by the audience),
"C'mon and Love Me",
and a country version of
"God of Thunder".
An overseas release
of the album on
two DVDs
features outtakes
from the show
that were edited out
of every other release,
such as Gene
forgetting the lyrics
to a song or
Paul breaking a string
on his guitar
in the middle of a song,
plus some banter
between the band
and the audience
while they were
changing the stage for
Ace and Peter
to come out.
"Got To Choose"
also appeared
much earlier
in the album,
right after
"Domino".
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