The first two discs in the set are bonafide classics, and I don't know of many people who like music of this genre that would disagree with me. Alive! and Alive II regularly do well in lists of greatest live albums, and quite rightly so. The songs are all fantastic, everyone of them a singalong hard rock classic.

Alive III is an interesting choise. Recorded towards the end of the bands unmasked phase, whilst it has a few old classics the band are focusing mainly on material left off the previous two versions of the Alive, and on songs from the interim 15 years or so. This is a good thing, and agreeing with Paul Stanleys comments in the liner notes this is a good live record, until you hold it up against the previous two records. All in all I like this record, for showcasing many of the better 80s and early 90s KISS songs. It also (arguably) has better musicianship than the earlier ones, with a killer production on the record.

However the 4th disc is a let down for the… more »

The first two discs in the set are bonafide classics, and I don't know of many people who like music of this genre that would disagree with me. Alive! and Alive II regularly do well in lists of greatest live albums, and quite rightly so. The songs are all fantastic, everyone of them a singalong hard rock classic.

Alive III is an interesting choise. Recorded towards the end of the bands unmasked phase, whilst it has a few old classics the band are focusing mainly on material left off the previous two versions of the Alive, and on songs from the interim 15 years or so. This is a good thing, and agreeing with Paul Stanleys comments in the liner notes this is a good live record, until you hold it up against the previous two records. All in all I like this record, for showcasing many of the better 80s and early 90s KISS songs. It also (arguably) has better musicianship than the earlier ones, with a killer production on the record.

However the 4th disc is a let down for the pack. It showcases how the band have become their own tribute band, seeming like they're only going through the motions. With the exception of 2 songs from Psycho Circus there are no surprises with the setlist here. The production seems sloppy as well, with a loud audience track that detracts from the performance, also suffering from a loud low end. On the other hand this could just be the recreation of being in the front row, where the crowd is noisy and the sound is muddy!!

I would reccomend that people buy this though, if only for the first 3 discs. Use the 4th as a coaster, it doesn't matter, the other discs are well worth the price of this collection!