I didn’t buy this when it originally came out as I was not a in a good music place at the time. My music buying was limited. So, now that I wanted it, I had to search for it, find one in good condition and find it at the right price as some of the prices were RIDICULOUS!!!
Lo and behold, I was at a record show here in Charlotte and a guy had one for sale. Actually, he had two. One was in the guitar case, CDs still sealed and had the hard back book, but I didn’t want to spend that much dough, when I could get this version for a fraction of the price. Plus, I wasn’t paying a premium for sealed CDs as the seal doesn’t last long on my collection. I listen to my music. As much as I want the guitar case version, my wallet decided this was the better way to go. Sometimes my wallet is smart and other times, he wants to spend, spend, spend.
The Box Set by Kiss was released on November 20th, 2001 and consists of 5 CDs spanning their entire career (up to that point) and a paperback photo book which we will get to in a minute. I will review all 5 CDs individually over 5 different posts over the next couple of months. For now, we will talk about the overall box set and the packaging.
The CD’s span different eras of the band and there are 5 discs full of music. The Box Set includes 94 tracks, which consists of 30 previously unreleased band and solo demos as well as outtakes and live recordings. The other 64 tracks are songs selected from each of the band’s albums except for Gene’s solo. From that one you get a demo.
That is a lot of stuff. Here are the discs…
Disc One: 1966-1975
Disc Two: 1975-1977
Disc Three: 1976-1982
Disc Four: 1983-1992
Disc Five: 1992-1999:
PHOTOBOOK:
You also get a 120-page color booklet that contains track-by-track commentary by the band, detailed track information, photos and essays. I loved the commentary and getting all the tidbits of information on the songs. The pictures are stunning and the book is really high quality as it is with everything the band does.
Here are some pictures…
I had to have my daughter hold it open to take the pictures as the book hadn’t really been viewed and was nice and stiff. I was able to edit out her fingers.
The package comes in a nice box with a red velvet insert to hold the disc. It is really a nice little set up.
And then on the spine of the box, the Kiss logo is in engraved into the fabric for a nice shiny feel. You can feel the grooves.
For the packaging and the photobook, I will give the set a 5.0 out of 5.0 Stars. It is what you would expect from a Kiss Box Set. Now for the music, I will review over the next 5 posts and rate each disc separately and then a final Overall Score on the last post. There will be 6 parts overall (this is part 1) to this series and I hope you enjoy them all as much as I will going through them. Thanks for stopping by and until next time, have a great day!
The 6 Part Series:
- The UnBoxing
- Disc One: 1966-1975
- Disc Two: 1975-1977
- Disc Three: 1976-1982
- Disc Four: 1983-1992
- Disc Five: 1992-1999
2 Loud 2 Old Music 
Nice score John! Congrats on your wallet having common sense. I’m like you nothing stays sealed. Crack it open and let’s hear these things!
I got this box set for XMAS that year from the family and it’s been a really long time since I listened to them so I look forward to your thoughts on them.
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I held off buying this but was able to get a new copy fairly cheap a year or two after it came out. Not the best box set out there but pretty good! Definitely has enough rare stuff to be worth having. And the book is excellent quality! Look forward to your thoughts on the music…
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Those first two discs are awesome with so much rare stuff, the last three could have used more.
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This is one of my favourite box sets. I have the guitar case. The CDs inside are identical though so it doesn’t matter.
Periodically I will get this out and spin all five discs in one day. That’s the way to do it!
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If the guitar case was a little cheaper I would have gone with it mainly for the hardback book and the case is cool.
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Cool, but harder to file 🙂 mine is flat on the bottom of a shelf. It just doesn’t display well. Also the CD cases pop out when you open it.
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I can see that being an issue on the filing.
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This one is waaay harder to file. It’s a little house.
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Kiss did a great job with this. Looks great. Looking forward to the reviews.
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They may put out a ton of merchandise – but to their credit, as with this set, it looks like they often do it right!
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That they do.
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