KISS – KISSTORY 14: 1984-1985 ANIMALIZE (3 DVD-R)

Description

Hugely popular KISS treasure trove video series, ‘KISSTORY’, continues with its 14th installment, venturing into the ‘ANIMALIZE’ era, featuring appearances by Mark St. John and Bruce Kulick!

　This series is essentially a look at KISS’s untold history. It’s a compilation of rare footage, including little-known TV appearances, forgotten commercials, valuable interviews, film clips, and more—all gathered in the best masters. We’ve archived 13 works from the era of makeup to the new KISS with their natural looks, and this latest installment finally takes us into the era of Mark St. John and Bruce Kulick. First, let’s start with the usual series overview.

●Makeup Era
: VOLUME 1-5: 1974-1979 (Golden Age)
VOLUME 6-8: 1980 (UNMASKED Era)
VOLUME 9: 1981/1982 (THE ELDER Era)
VOLUME 10-12: 1982/1983 (CREATURES OF THE NIGHT Era)
●No Makeup Era:
VOLUME 13: 1983/1984 (LICK IT UP Era)
*VOLUME 14: 1984/1985 (ANIMALIZE Era) ←★This work★

　In the previous work, “KISSTORY 13 (Shades 2616)”, we traced the turning point of the “LICK IT UP” era, but this work is the second chapter of the no-makeup era. Featuring new talents such as Mark St. John and Bruce Kulick, this 3-disc set, totaling approximately 188 minutes, compiles rare footage from the promotion of ‘ANIMALIZE’, the European tour, the MTV concert special, and previously unreleased interviews. Let’s take a look at each disc.

●DISC 1: Chapter 1-5 “Rare Mark St. John Era (5 types)”
　DISC 1 starts with promotional footage that heralds the beginning of a new chapter. First up is “Heaven’s On Fire,” the only promo video featuring Mark St. John. The source is a 1984 Phonogram master videocassette, the very same material that was distributed to TV stations and record shops at the time.

　The subsequent interviews are also excellent. You can enjoy a collection of promotional videos from immediately after the album’s release, including Paul Stanley’s appearance on “Night Flight,” Mark’s first interview, and an interview with Paul by popular MTV VJ Martha Quinn. Particularly noteworthy is the appearance of Mark on a popular Japanese late-night program. A female college student reporter conducts an impromptu interview at the rehearsal studio. The exclusive interview with Japanese subtitles is included in two versions: the original broadcast version and the 2001 rebroadcast version.

■DISC 1: Chapter 6-13 “Very Early Footage Featuring Bruce Kulick (4 types)”
　Bruce Kulick took over from Mark, who was unable to play guitar due to a worsening of his arthritis during tour rehearsals. Promotional TV appearances just before the start of the European tour are included. The British program “Sky Fi Music Show” is Bruce’s first footage, and the following Swedish TV program features interviews with Gene and Paul, followed by a studio performance of “Heaven’s On Fire.”

　Next up is the Dutch program “Veronica’s Strandrace,” filmed on October 21, 1984. It features a mime performance on a specially constructed stage on the beach, which is also the venue for a dirt bike race, showcasing three songs: “I Love It Loud,” “Lick It Up,” and “Heaven’s On Fire.” They also had a concert scheduled in Copenhagen that night, showing how much effort they put into this event, having flown there just for it. In addition to rare footage of them traveling, Meat Loaf and Bruce’s brother Bob can also be seen on stage.

■DISC 1: Chapter 14-15 “Munich Performance, October 18, 1984”
　DISC 1 concludes with pro-shot footage of the Munich performance. In addition to an interview with Gene and Bruce in the Circus Krone dressing room, it includes the complete live performance of “Heaven’s On Fire” from the master source.
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■DISC 2: Chapter 1-8 “Stockholm performance on October 26, 1984”
　DISC 2 begins with 8mm footage of the Stockholm performance. This is the only audience shot from the European leg of the “ANIMALIZE Tour,” and the audio is overlaid with the classic album “THEY ONLY COME OUT AT NIGHT,” which was said to be synonymous with bootleg recordings of the 80s.

　The stage set used at this time was the same one used during the ‘UNMASKED’ era. It was stored in the UK for four years and then repainted with an animal print for reuse. This was done because the set used in the US was too large for the smaller venues in the UK and Europe.

■DISC 2: Chapter 9-10 “Further Valuable Promotional Footage (2 types)”
　An interview with Paul filmed on “November 4, 1984 (the day of the Zwolle concert)” towards the end of the European tour, and an extremely rare promotional commercial for the US tour. The latter is included from the master source.

■DISC 2: Chapter 11-23 “MTV Concert Special”
　The main focus of DISC 2 is the “MTV Saturday Night Concert Special” broadcast on January 27, 1985. It is a multi-camera pro-shot of the “Detroit concert on December 8, 1984”. This day is also familiar from the official video ‘ANIMALIZE LIVE UNCENSORED’, but the MTV version is an edited version different from the home video. The source is a master VHS recording, a broadcast version of approximately 50 minutes including MTV’s unique intro footage.
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■DISC 3: Chapter 1-3 “TV reports (2 types) and PVs from the US tour”
　The final DISC 3 is a collection of footage from 1985 onwards. First, there are two TV reports from the US tour (“Good Rockin’ Tonight” and CNN’s “Entertainment Report”) and the PV for “Thrills In The Night,” which was not included in the official “KISS EXPOSED.” “Thrills In The Night” is included from the master source.

■DISC 3: Chapter 4-6 “Paul Stanley’s Unedited Complete Interview”
　The main content of DISC 3 is the interview from “Radio 1990” broadcast on Canadian TV station Much Music. Although only 5 minutes were actually broadcast, this release contains the complete, unedited version of the filmed footage from the studio master with timecodes. The recording date is unknown, but the content is considered to be the earliest interview about ‘ANIMALIZE’.
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　The above is a 3-disc set totaling approximately 188 minutes. This is the ‘ANIMALIZE’ edition of the treasure trove of video footage series compiled from the finest masters provided by researchers. It includes rare footage of Mark St. John, a promotional performance immediately after Bruce Kulick joined the band, and ‘ANIMALIZE LIVE’. From an MTV concert special different from “UNCENSORED” to the complete, unedited interview with Paul, this is the definitive archive of KISS accelerating with their new guitarist. Please enjoy it to the fullest.

★The 14th installment of the treasure trove of video collections, “KISSTORY” series. A three-disc set compiling approximately 188 minutes of footage from the “ANIMALIZE” era. Includes rare footage of Mark St. John, a promotional performance immediately after Bruce Kulick joined the band, the only 8mm footage from the European tour, an MTV concert special different from “ANIMALIZE LIVE UNCENSORED,” the complete, unedited interview with Paul, and much more. This is the definitive collection featuring the acceleration of KISS with their new guitarist.

Disc 1 (67:01)
1. Heaven’s On Fire Promotional Video
2. Paul Stanley Night Flight Interview August 1984 Broadcast September 1984
3. Japan TV Interview September 1984 (Original Broadcast)
4. Japan TV Interview September 1984 (Rebroadcast 2001)
5. MTV Martha Quinn Interviewed Paul Stanley 10th September 1984
6. Sky Fi Music Show England 28th September 1984

Gladjehuset, Sweden October 1984
7. Interview
8. Heaven’s On Fire

9. Music Box Interview England October 1984
10. Veronica’s Strandrace Arrival 21st October 1984

Veronica’s Strandrace Scheveningen, Holland 21st October 1984
11. I Love It Loud
12. Lick It Up
13. Heaven’s On Fire

Ein Schones Wochenende, Munchen, Germany 18th October 1984
14. Interview
15. Heaven’s On Fire

PRO-SHOT COLOR NTSC Approx.67min.

Disc 2(71:54)
Johanneshovs Isstadion, Stockholm, Sweden 26th October 1984
“They Only Come Out At Night” 8mm
1. Detroit Rock City
2. Cold Gin
3. Heaven’s On Fire
4. Under The Gun
5. I Love It Loud
6. Love Gun
7. Rock And Roll All Night
8. Lick It Up

9. Rock Influence Interview Paul Stanley 4th November 1984
10. Animalize Tour Promo Ad 14th January 1985

MTV Saturday Night Concert Special 27th January 1985
*Edited, different version to Animalize Live Uncensored. Cobo Arena, Detroit 8th December 1984
11. MTV Intro
12. Detroit Rock City
13. Cold Gin
14. Heaven’s On Fire
15. Thrills In The Night
16. Paul Stanley Solo
17. Gene Simmons Solo
18. I Love It Loud
19. I Still Love You
20. Love Gun
21. Lick It Up
22. Black Diamond
23. Rock And Roll All Nite

PRO-SHOT COLOUR NTSC Approx.72min.

Disc 3(49:05)
1. Good Rockin’ Tonight 1985
2. CNN News The Entertainment Report 1985
3. Thrills In The Night Promotional Video

Much Music Paul Stanley Uncut Interview with Timecode
4. Interview 1
5. Interview 2
6. Interview 3

PRO-SHOT COLOUR NTSC Approx.49min.

PRO-SHOT COLOUR NTSC Approx.188min. total