Alive! (album)
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| Alive! | ||
 |
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| Live album by KISS | ||
| Released | September 10, 1975 | |
| Recorded | March – June 1975 | |
| Genre | Hard rock | |
| Length | 74:50 | |
| Label | Casablanca Records | |
| Producer(s) | Eddie Kramer | |
| Professional reviews | ||
|---|---|---|
| KISS chronology | ||
| Dressed to Kill (1975) |
Alive! (1975) |
Destroyer (1976) |
Alive! was KISS' fourth album and is considered their breakthrough, as well as a landmark for live albums. Released on September 10, 1975, the double-disc set contained live versions of selected singles from their first three studio albums, KISS, Hotter Than Hell, and Dressed to Kill. It peaked at #9 on the album charts and has, to date, sold over 4 million units although the RIAA only has it listed at Gold. In 2003, the album was ranked number 159 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
Contents |
[edit] Uncertainty and risk
Despite KISS' reputation as a live act, which emphasized theatrics (such as explosions, smoking guitar solos, fire breathing, and blood spitting), as much as it did the music, their notoriety did not translate to increased record sales. KISS was essentially surviving on then-manager Bill Aucoin's American Express card. Complicating matters was the fact that their label, Neil Bogart's Casablanca Records, was having financial difficulties of its own stemming from a major misstep: the label had released a double album of Johnny Carson monologues earlier in the year. However, the album was a flop, and Casablanca Records had pressed millions of copies in anticipation.
The band and Aucoin were nevertheless able to convince Bogart that a memento of a KISS show would boost their album sales.
Years later, both guitarist Paul Stanley and bassist Gene Simmons recounted that in the weeks after the release, they saw a significant increase in concert attendance. In the documentary KISS: X-treme Close Up, Stanley remembers that at one particular show in Dayton, Ohio, "the place was packed; I mean you couldn't have gotten another person in with a shoehorn".
[edit] Overdubbing controversy
There has been considerable debate as to how much use was made of studio overdubs. Gene Simmons states in his autobiography KISS and Make-Up that very little corrective work was done in the studio and that most of the studio time was devoted strictly to mixing down the multi-track recordings. He also emphasized that KISS could not have done extensive overdubbing even if they had wanted to; thanks in no small part to the Johnny Carson album fiasco, the extremely meager budget allotted to the band simply would not allow it.
According to Dale Sherman's book Black Diamond and Goldmine Magazine, in the early 1990s, Eddie Kramer stated there were a few overdubs to correct the most obvious mistakes: breaking strings breaking or off-key notes, for instance. However, in recent years, Kramer has stated that the only original live recording on the album is Ace Frehley's guitar. In a recent televised interview, he also stated the only original live recording on the album is Peter's drums.
Paul Stanley has noted that there's a bass mistake in the choruses of "C'mon and Love Me". He's also made comments that even though there have been live albums recorded later that make Alive! sound like it was recorded in a washroom, he has no qualms about it.
As evidenced by the track order on Alive!, "Rock and Roll All Nite" had not yet supplanted "Let Me Go, Rock 'N Roll" as the band's closing number.
[edit] Trivia
Most of the songs on Alive! were culled from a performance at Detroit's Cobo Hall during the Dressed To Kill tour, with a few others coming from a Cleveland show during the same tour. The distinctive cover art, however, was not taken at a show; KISS' stage was partially constructed at a smaller facility in Detroit. Judicious use of smoke and lighting techniques bely the fact that, except for the lighted KISS logo sign, there is virtually nothing behind them.
The man who introduced the band at the top of the album is former road manager J.R. Smalling, who worked for the band from 1974 to 1976.
Alive! was also the first KISS album to include a free promotional item. In this case a it was a colorful eight-page booklet.
The original "gatefold" cover featured messages written by the individual band members.
The liner notes state that KISS uses Gibson guitars because "they want the best". However, only Ace Frehley (who played Les Paul models almost exclusively live), remained a notable Gibson player. Paul Stanley has endorsed a number of guitars not made by Gibson, and Simmons has contracted luthiers to build at least two custom basses, the Axe Bass and the more recent Punisher bass.
[edit] Track listing
[edit] Disc one
- "Deuce" (Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley) – 3:32
- "Strutter" (Stanley, Simmons) – 3:12
- "Got To Choose" (Stanley) – 3:35
- "Hotter Than Hell" (Stanley) – 3:11
- "Firehouse" (Stanley) – 3:42
- "Nothin' To Lose" (Simmons) – 3:23
- "C'mon and Love Me" (Stanley) – 2:52
- "Parasite" (Ace Frehley) – 3:21
- "She" (Simmons, Stephen Coronel) – 6:42
[edit] Disc two
- "Watchin' You" (Simmons) – 3:51
- "100,000 Years" (Simmons, Stanley) – 12:10
- "Black Diamond" (Stanley) – 5:50
- "Rock Bottom" (Frehley, Stanley) – 4:59
- "Cold Gin" (Frehley) – 5:43
- "Rock and Roll All Nite" (Stanley, Simmons) – 4:23
- "Let Me Go, Rock 'N Roll" (Stanley, Simmons) – 5:45
[edit] Credits
- Gene Simmons - bass guitar, lead vocals, backing vocals
- Paul Stanley - guitar, lead vocals, backing vocals
- Ace Frehley - lead guitar, backing vocals
- Peter Criss - drums, backing vocals, lead vocals on "Nothin' To Lose" and "Black Diamond"
[edit] Charts
Album - Billboard (North America)
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | Pop Albums | 9 |
Singles - Billboard (North America)
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | "Rock and Roll All Nite" (live) | Pop Singles | 12 |
[edit] External link
- KISS FAQ - Alive!, Accessed on July 8, 2005.
| KISS |
|---|
| Gene Simmons – Paul Stanley – Tommy Thayer – Eric Singer |
| Peter Criss – Ace Frehley – Eric Carr – Vinnie Vincent – Mark St. John – Bruce Kulick |
| Discography |
| Albums: Studio – Live – Compilation |
| U.S. Top 40 Singles: "Rock and Roll All Nite" – "Shout It Out Loud" – "Beth" – "Hard Luck Woman" – "Calling Dr. Love" – "Christine Sixteen" "Rocket Ride" – "New York Groove" – "I Was Made For Lovin' You" – "Forever" |
| Filmography: KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park – Detroit Rock City |
| Related articles |
| Anton Fig – Bob Kulick – KISS Army – KISS merchandising - KISS timeline – List of KISS concert tours – Wicked Lester |
