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Gene Simmons brings you (literally) ‘The Vault’ – a new 10CD box set

By Paul Sinclair

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122

“This is my personal invitation. Welcome to The Vault.”

Next time you hesitate over the value of that four-disc box set that some record company has the cheek to charge you $50 for, reflect on Gene Simmons‘ new 10CD package called The Vault that costs up to $50,000!

The KISS co-founder says “I’ve created a 50-year time capsule (1966 to 2016) that serves as a soundtrack to my life, filled with songs I’ve written, but have never been released. Until now. The Vault includes 150 recordings featuring notable rock and roll artists and of course, my bandmates from KISS.”

Here’s a tweet with the man himself explaining how it works:

https://twitter.com/genesimmons/status/907591455493038080

The packaging is an actual safe that weighs 38 pounds. As well as the ten CDs, you get some “exclusive mementos” such as a new Gene action figure, an “oversized commemorative coin” (naturally), a deluxe book with over 50,000 words and 160 pages of unseen photos and track-by-track commentary on every song. Additionally, Gene will ‘hand select’ a personal gift “from me to you” direct from his archive.

$2,000 gets you the ‘Vault Experience‘ which is a meet and greet in your area to spend “one on one time” with Gene and get photos, autographs etc.

For $25,000 you can upgrade to the ‘Producer Experience‘ where you and a guest will spend an “intimate hour” with Gene in a recording studio listening to tracks from The Vault. Your name also appears as ‘executive producer’ on The Vault and you are guaranteed low-numbered edition (1-500).

If the Producer Experience seems a bit ‘meh’, then why not cough up $50,000 for the ‘Home Experience’? With this, Gene comes to your house and you and up to 25 guests will spend two hours with Gene and you get a “Songs & Stories” playback session and Q&A in your home! If you can’t imagine what that would be like, the image below might help.


The Home Experience: “Dad, please ask this man to leave…”

Gene appeared on US TV’s Today Show yesterday, which gave him time for a shameless plug. This at least gives you an idea of the size and scale of the set.

https://twitter.com/genesimmons/status/907682396539019264

The Vault is only available from Gene’s website. Head over to GeneSimmonsVault.com for more.

SuperDeluxeEdition.com helps fans around the world discover physical music and discuss releases. To keep the site free, SDE participates in various affiliate programs, including Amazon and earns from qualifying purchases.

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122 Comments

122 thoughts on “Gene Simmons brings you (literally) ‘The Vault’ – a new 10CD box set”

  1. Ha.. Just found the treat again..
    Let’s recap after 2 years..

    That I know of..
    1x Home edition
    2x Producer’s Edition

    Around 1800 pieces with M&G..

    and still selling..

    I’d say that’s good money

  4. well if it was Lars Ulrich I would strongly consider buying the thing, especially since there’s a m&g to come with it. ‘tallica charges that money for the m&g ALONE these days! then again, there is no way lars could whip out 150 unreleased studio tracks, lol.

    btw, gene who?

  6. Paul, you absolutely MUST order this. You must video tape Gene handing it to you, and you must open it and review it in front of Gene. I’m actually kinda curious about the content. The 150 tracks aren’t named. Do we get answering machine messages? Anyway, sorry it took me so long to comment on this. In war torn Florida. Got power yesterday.

  11. If you’re a fan of the man, and you have that kind of money, the downside is what exactly?

    And all of the people here harrumphing and rolling their eyeballs – since it’s obviously not meant for YOU in the first place, what is your point exactly?

    Can we make fun of you the next time you buy a picture disc of an album you already own 25 times? One man’s foolishly spent money is another man’s…..foolishly spent money.

    Or, to condense all that – Dudes! You must chill!

    1. Absolutely. People pay big money for ‘experiences’ nowadays, it’s nots do outrageous, especially for 25 hard-core Kiss fans. That said, some of the comments on here have been laugh out loud funny!

  13. In Australia we have dedicated television channels for selling products such as mops, vacuum cleaners, wigs(?) etc. Gene has a whole new career waiting for him as a host! ‘If you call in the next twenty minutes, you also get a free set of steak knives….’
    Or to put it another way – ‘Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right, stuck here in the middle with you’

  14. Low number [1 – 500] guaranteed for the $ 25.000 Producer experience. He actually thinks he can sell more than 500 of those ridiculously priced vaults !? For the $ 2000 experience you have to go to an event in your country or a country near you (if you live in the Netherlands or Belgium you have to go to the UK or Germany) and you will then have 5 minutes with Gene. For the $ 50.000 home experience Gene will stay 2 hours and will sign a maximum of 2 more items [no instruments] for you. Wow. I’m pretty sure one of those vaults hit his head before he priced these things.

  17. Amidst all of the jocularity (swot alert) and to me this is faintly ridiculous. But only because Simmons and Kiss mean nothing to me. If it were someone else, someone I was fond of, offering to deliver something to my house that would be super rare…

    Basically would I do this for Kate Bush? Offering to deliver the contents of her vaults, (200 tracks?) all demos, versions, unreleased doodlings etc. for what £30K? The price of a very decent car. I wouldn’t be mocking and laughing then, I would be figuring out which child I liked least and which Kidney was expendable…. Seriously, I think most of us might have *one* person we could contemplate this for…..It just ain’t this guy, It would be Kate. Even if I didn’t actually do it because my wife would leave me and I couldn’t really afford it… I would still be trying to work out a way….

  18. Ahhh someone mentioned The Residents Box, ltd. to 10 Boxes for 100.000 each, but one box included a “?” and cost 5.000.000 !!! Yes. So Gene’s vault is a DEAL ALERT !

  19. Are you an investment banker with a big fat bonus burning a hole in your pocket? Well then we’ve got the perfect option for you! You’ll want to opt for our ultimate “Dick-Vault Experience” where Gene’s best friend Martin Shkreli tags along (and brings the drugs).

  20. OK, you’ll think I’m mad, and Gene Simmons & Kiss leave me cold, but honestly, I think the $2,000 (£1,500) option isn’t *too* bad… yes, you need to be pretty “flush”, and you’d have to give up next year’s family holiday, but for your *absolute-super-favourite* artist, 150 demos, actual personal memorabilia, a local meet & greet and all that gumph is a reasonably decent once-in-a-lifetime purchase…

    Obviously the $25k & $50k versions are only for the super-rich, but as already noted, just selling 500 of these $2k packages in the US (pretty achievable I’d have thought) will net GS a million bucks, most of which will go straight to him, so it’s probably a good plan…

    (I do hate the safe itself, though…)

  21. I used to love Kiss, but they are destroying their legacy bit by bit with all the ridiculous cash grabs. Why not just try and make a decent final album and retire?

  22. Gene Simmons has been a marketing guy since the early days, Kiss dolls, kiss lunch boxes, Phantom of the park movie etc, he Licenced the kiss name to anything he could and still does, he openly admits all he is interested in is making money.
    So if some rich dude wants to shell out 50,000K on this, he has more money than sense.

    Each to their own.

    C’est La Vie.

  23. So I’m thinking if I fly to London to pick up my extremely heavy safe how the hell im I going to get it on the plane I’m sure there’ll be some funny looks from folk wondering what the hell is he doing .

  27. This is the best thing ever. So appropriate for Gene to be doing this. Too funny!

    I’m sure there are enough people who will cough up the dough to make this worth his time.

    @Dean – I totally agree about early Kiss and at what point they jumped the shark.

  28. I’ve read most of these comments, and while I am not a KISS fan (I only like “Beth”), I don’t really think this is a bad price, because the vast majority of that money isn’t for the music (which fans will probably torrent off the internet one day), but for him and his employees to TRAVEL to YOUR HOME and spend time with you (and possibly others) for a once-in-a-lifetime experience with what may be one of your favorite artists.

    AND this ad was NOT meant for most fans. It was mean for wealthy people who will be glad to pay for this. We are talking wealthy baby-boomers we grew up in the ’70s, and there are LOTS of them. 1,000’s of them.

    “If” I was wealthy with much expendable income, I would consider doing to with some of my favorite artists.

    He might have an ego, but his time is worth money, and even without the songs, this set (including travel expenses and safe) costs a lot of money.

    It was OBVIOUSLY meant for wealthy people. No reason to make fun of him for doing this.

    Hard-core wealthy fans will have the time of their life, talking to him in person, (in his studio or your home), discussing songs he’s never released. It sounds pretty cool, whether we have the money or not.

  31. Rumor has it you can also contact Gene’s people about some of the unadvertised Home Vault experiences that are available and slightly cheaper than the full Home Vault experience:
    -Lawn Vault ($7500) – You and four friends can watch Gene cut your grass for up to 3 minutes (no professional video equipment allowed), after which he will present you with your vault along with a souvenir, replica Demon bass guitar that is actually a working weed eater (batteries not included)
    -Barbecue Vault ($12,500) – Gene will grill hamburgers and hot dogs for you and up to eight friends (Gene will bring the condiments however you must supply the meat and buns). Max time – 25 minutes. Gene will present you with your vault along with fake blood he coughs up that can be used as ketchup
    -Bathroom Vault ($5000) – Gene will greet you in the shower for up to 1 minute, and then present you a vault and a special collector’s bar of soap, previously used by Gene himself
    -Please note that other fabulous vault experiences will be announced in the coming months

  34. Has Gene banged his head??? He cannot be serious about this wonderful offer can he?? Perjaps he will also throw his wig into the Super dooper deluxe edition.

    He badly needs therapy if he thinks anyone will take him up on his offer.

    A final thought I don’t if his or Gary Numan’s wig gets the award for worst thatch!

  35. Gene isn’t even that talented. KISS isn’t even that good. Why would he think it’s even worth that much. The whole KISS thing was just a character act before it’s time, which made it appealing. But the thing that matters, the music, has no real depth. It’s somewhat unfair to compare bands, but take Rush for instance. Their music is the reason why they are who they are, not their gimmick, which their has never been one for them. Gene/KISS has never written a song worthy of this kind of hype, or price tag. Glad I’ve never been a fan. For the die hard fans that are working men like me, they won’t be able to afford it, and that’s the craziest thing of all. This should be a thing for the true fans, not only the rich ones, or crazy collectors just to have it.

    1. Unfortunately, they’ve been fleecing the fans for at least 25 years. Remember that KISSTORY book that was $300 (or more) around ’93 or so? To say nothing of the condoms, caskets, and whatever other junk they put their name on.

  36. Coming to SDE next week: Paul Stanley offers, for $50,000, his new memoir, which includes, and is the only way to get, the combination to open The Vault.

  38. Answer to the question “would you do it if this was tour favorite artist?”: If my favorite artist would do this, it wouldn’t be my favorite artist anymore.

  41. It’s so extravagant, and silly, and unique, that it actually made me do a calculation. Because you need 25 die-hard and rich! Kiss fans, who each pay $2000, to get the party started. A meet and greet before a Kiss concert will cost probably that amount, so I’d say get some of those people together.

  43. @Paul Sinclair: “…the box set and reissue music blog for collectors and fans who love holding the music in their hands” – for $50k we can finally “hold” Gene Simmons. BUT for $100 you get a download code and hologram Gene [no 25 person limit with the hologram by the way].

  46. I’m not a Gene Simmons fan, but I was trying to think of ANY artist (living or dead) that I would pay $50,000 to spend two hours with and end up with 10-13 hours of otherwise unreleased material (and other assorted exclusive ephemera), and the answer is no. Not Björk, not Sting, not David Byrne, not Madonna, not Elvis Costello, not Tori Amos, not Stevie Wonder, not Daft Punk, not Dave Grohl, not Aretha Franklin, neither Morrissey nor Marr, neither Bono nor Edge, neither Run nor DMC, neither Jagger nor Richards, neither Sumner nor Hook, not even Prince or David Bowie.

    There are plenty of great indie artists I’m guessing you could book to play a small concert/hangout in your home for less than half that. They could use the money a lot more than Gene Simmons, and I’m sure their stories would be just as interesting.

  47. We can laugh at this, but people will still buy this, thereby justifying the whole thing. It’s music by an @sshole, for @ssholes. It’s the circle of life. And that circle….is another @sshole.

  48. At the risk of sounding like a curmudgeon, this just sounds like another opportunity for rich wankers to hang out and play with each other’s willies (figuratively speaking)…

  52. What an absolute TOTAL RIP OFF…he’s not that good and if the songs were any good they would have been released by now…This is for die hard fans who are mad enough to want everything this guy has ever done and be foolish enough to shell out the various rip off prices he wants before you get your gullible hands on it….I guess he needs your money coss he’s not got enough of his own…A quote comes to mind…A Fool And His Money Are Soon Parted.

  58. Preposterousness is GeneS’s bread and butter, and I enjoy his chutzpah more than his music. From a business point of view, if he sells, say, 500 of those $2000 packages that’s a $1m gross from a package where he’s controlling the distribution directly. There’s more profit and less waste there than trying to gross $1m through record stores selling 20,000 box sets at $50 a pop.

    But it has got me thinking…would I pay €2000 for a similar experience with any favourite artist? Hang out with Elvis Costello at a meet & greet and get a deluxe box of 15 CDs of unreleased material. Hmmmm…

  59. An actual safe? The psychology of that is grim – someone has a very inflated sense of the importance of their work! At least when The Residents did that million dollar fridge, the concept of something being preserved was sound and that, of course, was stocked with very rare things and one-offs (including an original eyeball head), not a buncha demos.

  60. Paul i will pay today the 50.000 if i would get 150 unreleased songs of ABBA and the intimate hour in the studio with michael b.tretow. i call this then for me the “just like that” lifetime experience. And i promise you an exclusive interview for SDE.

  61. A few years ago, Mike Judge was on Fresh Air (an interview program, here in the United States) and the interviewer asked him about using Gene to portray a lawyer in his film “Extract”. I actually just went and found the exact quote, simply because it so perfectly encapsulates the man: “Well, I’ll tell you. I had written in the script that the lawyer looks like, – I say he looks like Gene Simmons with a suit and tie and a ponytail. And then when we started casting it, we were just looking at a bunch of people, and some really good actors wanted to do that, actually, and nothing – you know, really good actors read for it. Nothing was popping in the right way, and actually, my producer, John Altschuler, goes, you know, because I was trying to articulate what it is I’m looking for, and he goes, he just needs to be a running sore of a human being. And then I – well, shortly after that, we had Gene Simmons come in.”

  64. If you get the 50,000 option and have 25 people at 2,000 each as far as I can tell you only get one vault and he’ll stay for dinner and a chat then ye can fight over who keeps it lol

    2. His ASSHOLE album is available as a 5.1 DualDisc and is pretty enjoyable actually. Prices range from € 4 – € 15 on Discogs. New to Gene Simmons ? Then why not skip the € 4 DualDisc and get the $ 2000 box for Christmas. IF he comes to a country near you that is.

  68. I just hope one can tell the difference between the ‘action’ figure and the real thing. This whole thing is just so bizarre it could only be true.

  69. Did one of his investments go bad? Its pretty much guaranteed there is not one good song on this. May be an idea for Boris Becker. He’ll come to your house to deliver a gold plated tennis racket and will play 3 games with you at your local club.

  73. Imagine Gene reversing up your driveway in an old, white Ford Transit van dropping this off at your house, wearing a green high-vis jacket. And sunglasses.

  74. You have got to admire the shameless brass neck of this. Certainly made me laugh, esepcially the shopping channel style of that clip. About twelve years ago I paid about £70 for Buck Dharmas (Blue Oyster Cults guitairist) four CD archive, signed photo, exclusive website content and back stage pass. I thought that was an indulgence. Oh and he sent me a Christmas card.

    3. From Dunfermline, apparently.

      My Kiss knowledge begins and ends with one track off the Elder so what do I know…are they still big around the world?

  78. I seem to recall reading that a straight buy of this – without the visit – is $2k.

    Look, I enjoy early Kiss (everything to, and including, Unmasked). But come on. Simmon’s isn’t exactly a great song writer. These are Simmons DEMOS. Good grief.

    It’s a wonderfully mad idea, and I’m always happy to see things getting out of hand this way – it’s wonderfully eccentric. But would I want this, even at £200? No.

  82. i suppose if 25 people wanted an intimate experience with Gene Simmons then $2000 each might not be a bad price, i wonder how many $50k options they will sell?

    2. I’m pretty sure 25 people had an intimate experience with Gene on a nightly basis. At least in the 70’s. And they didn’t pay NEARLY that much.

  90. This idea is so crazy that it actually sounds awesome!

    I wonder how much just the Vault is without the extra meet and greets and home experience?

    Unless of course it’s not possible to buy one without the other?

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