IN THE 70’S, KISS WERE A CULT PHENOMENON WITHOUT TWO CENTS TO RUB TOGETHER. HOWEVER, THE RELEASE OF THEIR FIRST LIVE ALBUM LAUNCHED THE KABUKI-STYLE FOUR-PIECE INTO THE UPPER ECHELON OF HARD ROCK STARDOM. CHECK OUT HOW THEY DID IT HERE.
AFTER THE RELEASE OF THEIR FIRST THREE ALBUMS TO LITTLE FANFARE, KISS WASN’T SURE ABOUT THEIR NEXT BIG MOVE. TENSION BETWEEN THE BAND AND THEIR RECORD LABEL, CASABLANCA, WAS REACHING A FEVER PITCH AS LITTLE TO NO MONEY WAS COMING IN.
THIS TENSION EVEN LEAD TO A LAWSUIT AGAINST LABEL HEAD NEIL BOGART OVER UNPAID ROYALTIES!
AT THE TIME, KISS HAD ESTABLISHED A CULT FOLLOWING FROM THEIR EXPLOSIVE LIVE SHOWS, FULL OF PYROTECHNICS AND FAKE BLOOD SPITTING COURTESY OF BASSIST GENE SIMMONS. BOGART AND THE BAND THOUGHT A LIVE ALBUM WAS THE JUMPSTART CASABLANCA AND KISS NEEDED TO FINALLY FIND SOME SUCCESS.
KISS EMBARKED ON THE “LOOKS THAT KILL TOUR” TO GET MATERIAL FOR THE ALBUM, TAKING ITS NAME FROM THEIR 1975 ALBUM AND INSPIRED BY THE BAND’S NOTORIOUS KABUKI-STYLE FACE PAINT. WITH CASABLANCA RECORDS PRACTICALLY BANKRUPT, THE BAND’S MANAGER, BILL AUCOIN, FUNDED THE $300,000 TOUR OUT OF HIS OWN POCKET......AND THE STAKES WERE HIGH.
THE MATERIAL FOR “ALIVE!” WAS TAKEN FROM 4 SHOWS ON THE TOUR, INCLUDING CLEVELAND, DETROIT, DAVENPORT MISSISSIPPI AND WILDWOOD NEW JERSEY.
WHILE THE “LOOKS THAT KILL” SET BOASTED SOME OF THE WILDEST ANTICS KISS’ LIVE SHOWS COULD OFFER, THE ENERGY DIDN’T TRANSLATE TO TAPE AS WELL AS THE BAND WOULD HAVE LIKED. PRODUCER EDDIE KRAMER STEPPED IN AND OVERDUBBED PORTIONS OF THE RECORD, EVEN MESHING THE SOUNDS OF THE AUDIENCE TO GIVE THE SONGS A FULLER SOUND.
MOST OF THE ALBUM ALSO REQUIRED MAJOR RE-RECORDING, WITH ONLY THE DRUM TRACKS REMAINING INTACT. BASSIST AND FRONTMAN GENE SIMMONS, GUITARISTS ACE FREHLEY AND PAUL STANLEY AND DRUMMER PETER CRISS WORKED AT ELECTRIC LADY STUDIOS IN THEIR HOMETOWN OF NEW YORK CITY.
RELEASED ON SEPTEMBER 10TH, 1975 AND TAKING ITS NAME FROM A LIVE ALBUM BY ENGLISH BAND SLADE, “ALIVE!” WAS GIVEN TO FANS ON THE SAME DAY AS THEIR FIRST SHOW ON THE COINCIDING TOUR. AT THE TIME, “ALIVE!” GARNERED MAJOR PRAISE FROM CRITICS AND FANS, WHO FELT THAT KISS HAD FINALLY REACHED THEIR FULL POTENTIAL AS A BAND. “ALIVE!” PEAKED AT NUMBER 9 ON THE BILLBOARD TOP 200, STAYING ON THE CHART FOR 110 WEEKS!
RERELEASED AS A LIVE SINGLE FOR THE ALBUM’S RELEASE, THE TRACK “ROCK AND ROLL ALL NITE” PEAKED AT NUMBER 12 ON BILLBOARD, AND WOULD GO ON TO BECOME KISS’ SIGNATURE SONG, WITH THE BAND CLOSING OUT EVERY LIVE SHOW WITH THE TRACK UNTIL 2008.
RETROSPECTIVELY, “ALIVE!” HAS BEEN AN ENTRY ON ROLLING STONE’S 500 GREATEST ALBUMS OF ALL TIME, AND RANKED 26 ON GUITAR WORLD’S LIST OF THE 100 BEST GUITAR ALBUMS OF ALL TIME.
FOR ITS CAREER DEFINING PERFORMANCES, HIGH-RISK INCEPTION, AND LONGSTANDING LEGACY AS ONE OF THE BEST HARD ROCK ALBUMS OF ALL TIME, “ALIVE!” BY KISS IS OUR GREATEST ALBUM EVER...THIS WEEK.