The Kiss "Alive!" appreciation thread!

[Mr Badguy]

Alright, we`ve had the "Dynasty", "HITS" and "Psycho circus" threads, where we`ve all debated the dubious merits or otherwise of those records.

Now it`s time to celebrate the jewel in the Kiss crown: "Alive!".

"Alive" was released in 1975 as a last throw of the dice for Kiss. The band had toured non-stop for almost two years and released three studio albums to indifference from the record buying public. Their record company was on its knees having overspent on Kiss `s explosive theatrical stage show. None of the three LPs captured the powerfully heavy sound of Kiss`s live act, so someone had the idea that the band should release a live album. So it was that Kiss recorded shows in Detroit, Michigan, Wildwood, New Jersey, Davenport, Iowa and Cleveland, Ohio with Led Zeppelin/Jimi Hendrix engineer Eddie Kramer. The result is one of the greatest live albums of all time. From the opening one-two of "Deuce" and "Strutter" through the Paul Stanley led crowd participation of "100,000 years", the showstopping stereo explosions of "Black Diamond" right up to the encores of "Rock n roll all nite" and "Let me go, rock n roll", this album captures the essence of what a rock concert should be. The strength of Stanley and Simmons songwriting is also at it`s peak as there are no fillers and many of the tracks are still in Kiss`s set to this very day. Special mention must also go to Ace Frehley`s lead guitar playing which really lights up the album with it`s searing electricity. The whole band turn in a tight performance perhaps demonstrated best by an amazing "C`mon and love me". From the opening "You wanted the best and you got it, the hottest band in the land...KISS" right through to Peter Criss`s final shout of "Kiss loves you! Rock and roll!" this is the album that defined Kiss and kicked off the hysteria that would follow the band for the rest of the 70`s.

Although there have been accusations of major overdubbing (some reports say that only the drums come from the original live source) the band have never denied this. Perhaps ethically it`s wrong but when it sounds this good, who cares?

This was the first Kiss album I ever got when I found it in my local record library and was enticed by the cover. I couldn`t believe how good it was and still is today.

I love it.

[Terry]

My cousin gave me a copy of the album (yes, back in the days of vinyl) maybe 6 months after it first came out, because he had gotten another one from my aunt and uncle for his b-day.

I used to listen to that album CONSTANTLY. I'm an old fart now, but I was pretty young back in the day when that came out...that was just as KISS was starting to get big, but still a year or so before they really exploded. I still dig it every once in a while.

Even when I got older and realized that most live albums get retouched in the studio, somewhere in the back of my mind I always thought KISS ALIVE hadn't been subjected to any of that, even after I found out that it wasn't all recorded from one single concert. Wasn't really a shock to find out it wasn't, but still a mild bummer in some backward-looking way.

Fave cuts on it were the same then as they are today:

Got To Choose
Parasite
Rock Bottom (basically the guitar intro)
Cold Gin ("I was talkin' to someone backstage before, and they were tellin' me there's a lotta you who like vodka and orange juice")
Nothing To Lose
100,000 Years drum solo ("Why don't you stand up for what you believe in?")

and, of course, Black Diamond.

That was back when KISS still had a hard edge to what they were doing. Before Beth, before they became a cartoon band for kiddies, before merchandising became as important as the music.

[Mr Badguy]

Originally posted by Terry

Cold Gin ("I was talkin' to someone backstage before, and they were tellin' me there's a lotta you who like vodka and orange juice")

That line always cracks me up.

I remember me and a couple of my mates were really stoned listening to that and tried to imagine the situation.

Paul Stanley standing talking to some guy and the guy says "There`s a lot of people out there like to drink Vodke and orange juice".

Like that happens every day.

Crowd pleasing bullshit if I ever heard it.

[Terry]

Oh, no doubt. 'Specially coming from someone as controlled as Stanley.

[PHOENIX]

I like old Kiss. They are about the only band i can associate with my childhood. Brings back memories.

[Mr. Vengeance]

Best live album ever! Even if there were a lot of overdubs. The story was that Eddie Kramer tried to record the band live with 1970's technology, and you had a lot of problems with the recording as a result of the theatrical nature. Paul Stanley wouldn't get close enough to the mic, so they had to redo some vocals.

It's still the best!

[rustoffa]

I had never heard of KISS before seeing that record at the K Mart.....I couldn't afford it, as it was a "double album". A friend of mine "borrowed" his older brothers copy, and I remember scratching the shit out of it playing "Deuce" over and over. Great stuff. The first KISS album I owned was Destroyer....I did the same thing to "Detroit Rock City."

[Matt White]

Had a babysitter back in the mid-70's who would bust this out when my parents left for the night..........

She must have just gotten it too...it was the summer of '75 I believe.......

My older Bro & I believe this is where the two of us went wrong!!!


BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

I knew that when i grew up I was gonna have: Long Hair, tattoos & an ear ring!!!

[Diver Down NJ]

I remember I had a copy of this on cassette, and I damn near wore it out playing it over and over on my Walkman. Good times. I have a video bootleg of one of the Cobo shows on that tour. It's fucking awesome.

[Va Beach VH Fan]

The amazing thing I've found over the years is that before Alive! came out, KISS wasn't generating anything in terms of sales, radio play, etc...

But once you heard them live, and obviuusly saw them in concert, that was all it took....

I love the explosions on "Black Diamond".....

[Hardrock69]

My best friend at the time bought the album, and played it for me. It blew my mind!

I found it at a used record store, bought it, and their first 3 studio albums.

For Christmas of 1976, my parents bought me Destroyer. I had bought my first electric guitar on December 4th, 1976, and found a "Kiss Eazy Guitar" tab book at the mall.

Then, only 3 weeks later, on January 13, 1977, I saw Kiss live with Uriah Heep opening.

Basically, Kiss Alive was my guitar teacher. I learned the entire record (well both of them) note for note, though it did take me some months to figure out how they played some of the licks.

Kiss was the greatest Rock & Roll Spectacle on the face of the planet.

Period.

At that concert, I snuck in that afternoon, and hung out during soundcheck (I hid behind the seats of the top row of the arena so I would not get thrown out). When we finally did get busted and shown the door, we were haning out at the backstage entrance, when who should come walking out, but KISS!!!!

Me: Hey man how's it going?

Kiss: All right

They got int heir limo and left.

I was too awestruck to say anything further or even ask for autographs.

[DABSR]

I got into KISS with their 2nd album "Hotter than hell" and was blown away from that point on.

But when "Alive!" came out, it became my benchmark for "live" albums. The live versions of the songs I was already diggin' were awesome. I used to tihnk, "THAT is how it should have been recorded in the studio" as far as tempo, groove etc..

Regardless of the recent "truths" about how it came about, it is definitely MY favorite "live" album of all time.

[franksters]

KISS

were really my first band thing deuce, cold gin, strutter, parasite,

ouf!! the worst thing is that there are so many songs that have that great vibe to it, i don't know but sometimes I crank it and I still get the same feeling as when I was a kid...


$immons, Stanley, Frehley , and Criss...

what have you done to us!

[Vinnie Velvet]

One of the best live albums of all time! Without question.

Even if it wasn't as 'live' as it was--like all supposed live recordings.

But the shere energy of that album is awesome.

Deuce, Strutter, Peter's mind blowing drum solo in 100,000 Years, Black Diamond, the big explosions that can be heard, and the album cover.

A landmark album for the band and for hard rock.

[jacksmar]

That’s a great story HardRock. Loved it.

My parents were the very strict types and they didn’t get it. I don’t think they bought into the satan thing but they wouldn’t even allow KISS in the house. So everything I had in the house was KISS related was like porn!

I had an old electric football game from the late 60’s and hid KISS ALIVE in the box it was stored in. One day my dad and little brother are looking for something to do and they decide to play the electric football game. You can imagine it all. I got a whippin’ and grounded and was off the auto racing circuit at that moment.

The whipping went away, and I was pretty poor at driving a racecar anyway. But today, I’m in a KISS Tribute act and have more KISS crap than I need. For example, as I sit in my office at my job, I have a brand damn new Hamer Standard, Black with a Dimarzio Super Distortion in the bridge staring at me and waiting to have the pick guard replaced with a mirrored-pick guard. I just spent $450 on new Paul Stanley boots and his Love Gun era outfit.

ALIVE was the reason I wanted to be a guitar player. Ace Frehley and Paul Stanley made me want to play the guitar and as I’ve said before, Eddie Van Halen made me want to play the guitar better. ALIVE was not only best live recording I’ve heard it the best recording I’ve heard. ALIVE is a lot of things: Out of control, dark, moody, light, and my definition of Hard Rock. Hard Rock is not technique; “You play it with your dick!”

What I remember most was the back page of the book insert. The live shot says it all: full Marshall Backline, Frehley lost in space, Gene head down and head bangin’, Paul jamming out, Criss holding down the fort, and fog, and the fans raising their fists and yelling, and the women down front, and the candelabra, and the women down front, and the fire siren lights, and the women down front, and the photographer, and the women down front, and the KISS sign!!!!!!

I have an autographed guitar from Ace and the first thing I did when I got it back home was spin the old vinyl up and plug in to Deuce.

I guess I’ve never been the same ALIVE ……… and I never will regret it……….ever.

[Hardrock69]

Kewel man.

IT was ZZ TOp that made me want to get an electric guitar...saw them Nov. 4th, 1976. Which is why one month later I had bought my first electric.

That said, after seeing them live in January, 1977, I realized the guitar I had to have was a Gibson Flying V.

People have asked me occasionally if it was Michael Schenker that inspired me to love Flying Vs, but no...it was Paul Stanley!

My first Flying V was a black 1975 with a white pickguard that I bought from a music store in Huntsville, AL. I knew enough (just barely) that I had Dimarzio Super Distortion Humbuckers put in it.

Had that guitar until 1983, when I had to sell it or else starve....

Next one I got was a 1988 model. Bought it in 1989 brand new, and it is still my Number One son:

(crappy digicam photo)

[WACF]

There was a special on one of the music channels dedicated to this album...apparently the only thing left intact were the live drum tracks...

Regardless...this is one stellar album!

[jacksmar]

Man, great amp. Is that a JCM900 or 800 series cab?
I bet that head just ROOAAARRSSS!!!!
Awesome rig!

[Hardrock69]

It is a 1979 Mark II 100-Watt Super Lead.

Got it in the mid-90s for $275 bucks.

Some drunk loser who owned it before me decided to get fucked up one night and spray paint the thing red.

But, just some retubing, a level 1 gain mod, and yes, it ROARS!!!!

But....yes, (back to the subject at hand) it was Paul Stanley that inspired a love of Flying V's in me, and Ace Frehley was my own personal guitar teacher on vinyl.

[jacksmar]

Cool, man. That's great to get a price on a piece of pro gear like that. Was the mod the gain mod where you get a little extra gain and mid boost?

And on subject: Ace has a vibrato that most guys either don't hear or don't know about. I think it's done with his elbow more than fingers; it's just his style. Ace's damn fingers go the same side of the neck when plays past the 19th fret! His thumb hooks the neck so hard I don't know how he gets it done but the son of a gun can burn up the fretboard when he wants to.

Paul Stanley is quite simply is THE most underrated professional rhythm guitarist. Everyone can hear how good EVH is on rhythm and of course there's guys like Townsend, Malcom Young, Ron Wood, and the rest that get noticed for their rhythm ability. Paul Stanley plays rhythm almost like he's playing symphony. It fills, it adds, it lifts and it is never in the same place on stage twice!!!!!

I don't think of Chuck Berry or Duane Allman when I think of Paul Stanley, but I think of Jimi Hendrix, Mark Knopfler, and Steve Cropper when I think of rhythm guitarists. When I think of Paul Stanley playing guitar, I actually think “guitarist”.

When I hear Parasite or Watching You, now you're talking guitarist!

[Mezro]

KISS Alive is one of the best live albums ever!

Mezro...still sounds fresh, vital, raw and intense...don't forget, this puppy is 30 years old!...if you are a KISS fan, it does not get much better than this...

[Mr Badguy]

Anybody get the "You wanted the best" CD with the so called lost tracks from "Alive!"?

I don`t know about you, but to me "Room service", "Two timer" and "Let me know" don`t even sound like they`re played by the same band never mind from the same shows.

"Take me" does sound like an outtake from "Alive II", though.

[Vinnie Velvet]

Originally posted by Mr Badguy
Anybody get the "You wanted the best" CD with the so called lost tracks from "Alive!"?

I don`t know about you, but to me "Room service", "Two timer" and "Let me know" don`t even sound like they`re played by the same band never mind from the same shows.

"Take me" does sound like an outtake from "Alive II", though.

They weren't.

Any die hard KISS fan can tell that those supposed unreleased tracks were not from the two Alive albums.

They sound like KISS, circa 1996 (the year of the Reunion and release of You Wanted the Best). Listen to both Paul and Gene's vocals and they don't sound like '75 or '77.

So, I think KISS re-did the tracks in the studio, added the audience and there you have it.

That's not to say that those songs weren't ever played during those two eras (1975 and 1977). They were.

[Mr Badguy]

Originally posted by Vinnie Velvet
They weren't.

Any die hard KISS fan can tell that those supposed unreleased tracks were not from the two Alive albums.

They sound like KISS, circa 1996 (the year of the Reunion and release of You Wanted the Best). Listen to both Paul and Gene's vocals and they don't sound like '75 or '77.

So, I think KISS re-did the tracks in the studio, added the audience and there you have it.

That's not to say that those songs weren't ever played during those two eras (1975 and 1977). They were.

Yeah, Frehley`s solo on "Room service" features an Octavia (or something like it) and it`s something I`ve never heard him use.

"Two timer" was never played live in concert.

Neither was "Tomorrow and tonight" from "Alive II".

[Va Beach VH Fan]

Originally posted by Mr Badguy
"Take me" does sound like an outtake from "Alive II", though.

One of their better songs, IMO..... Sounded great live, BTW.....

[Keeyth]

I still remember the day sitting in my best friends room when he came in with his older brothers copy of Alive. We sat on the bed with his electric Memphis guitar and listened to the album non-stop. Inside of two weeks, I had my first guitar, an old SG copy. (I was in 5th grade).

We put on our first talent show at school later that year of compilations of riffs we had learned off the Alive album. We were just three kids with just two guitars and a set of drums, but the response we got from the school made us feel like rock stars. Everybody wanted to know us and talk to us. It was pretty amazing stuff, especially for grade school.

I eventually went on to become a drummer professionally, but Ace made me pick up the guitar first, and I've never stopped needing to have a guitar in the house. Personally I love Alive and Alive II. They were what made me fall in love with Rock and Roll.

[Vinnie Velvet]

Originally posted by Mr Badguy
Yeah, Frehley`s solo on "Room service" features an Octavia (or something like it) and it`s something I`ve never heard him use.

"Two timer" was never played live in concert.

Neither was "Tomorrow and tonight" from "Alive II".

You're correct, I'm pretty sure Two Timer was never played live.

Great song, though!

[jacksmar]

Shameless self promotion!!!!

Check out: www.kissasylum.com

A very drunk jacksmar as Paul Stanley.

[DrMaddVibe]

I think I've bought this on every format available at least 2 each!