Only a few weeks after unveiling a deluxe box set of their third studio album Dressed To Kill – which featured, in part, overdub-free versions of shows utilized for their breakthrough concert album Alive! – KISS have revealed that they will, in fact, release a whole box set for ”Alive!” as well, confirming previous rumors and reports.
Available on four CDs or eight LPs and a Blu-ray Audio disc, ”Alive! [50th Anniversary Super Deluxe]” features the original double album (here for the first time pressed on one CD) along with two more previously unreleased complete shows (plus some relevant rehearsal audio and an excerpt of a third) that were, with a few post-production tweaks, used to create the landmark Alive! double LP in 1975.
These overdub-free recordings have been newly mixed by the album’s original engineer, Eddie Kramer.
The timing of Alive! could not have been more fortuitous. KISS was desperate to break through, and their label Casablanca Records desperately needed a hit after sinking a major investment in an underselling record of clips from The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. Knowing that KISS’ over-the-top live sets – featuring bold, brassy rock songs sung by a quartet of New York musicians in distinct black and white makeup, theatrical costumes and onstage special effects (including pyrotechnics, larger-than-life drum risers and stage blood shooting from bassist Simmons’ mouth) – had considerable potential, Casablanca had Kramer roll tape on several shows in the summer of ’75.
The challenge was that the theatrics sometimes obscured the quality of the songs, whether the band missed a cue or was drowned out by an explosion. Though they’d deny it for decades, the group reconvened in Electric Lady Studios to tighten and sweeten the 16 tracks selected for the album.
Fans didn’t mind the illusion: Alive! became KISS’ first album to hit the Top 10 in America and their first album to be gold certified by the Recording Industry Association of America, and a version of Dressed to Kill standout “Rock and Roll All Nite” peaked at No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Now, nearly two years after the group took their final bow (and a month after the passing of founding lead guitarist Ace Frehley), the Dressed to Kill and Alive! box sets will offer Kramer’s new, overdub-free mixes of all the shows that made Alive!: one at Detroit’s Cobo Arena on May 21, 1975; a portion of a June 21 appearance at the Cleveland Music Hall; two from the RKO Orpheum Theatre in Davenport, Iowa on July 20, 1975; and a show at Wildwood Convention Center on the New Jersey shore from July 23 of that year. With any luck, it’ll keep your attention for at least part of every day.
A timeless classic.
Tracklist:
Disc 1 of 4
1. Deuce (Live/1975) (03:55)
2. Strutter (Live/1975) (03:22)
3. Got To Choose (Live/1975) (03:40)
4. Hotter Than Hell (Live/1975) (03:29)
5. Firehouse (Live/1975) (03:57)
6. Nothin' To Lose (Live/1975) (03:37)
7. C'mon And Love Me (Live/1975) (03:04)
8. Parasite (Live/1975) (03:34)
9. She (Live/1975) (06:55)
10. Watchin' You (Live/1975) (03:49)
11. 100,000 Years (Live/1975) (12:09)
12. Black Diamond (Live/1975) (05:52)
13. Rock Bottom (Live/1975) (03:45)
14. Cold Gin (Live/1975) (07:17)
15. Rock And Roll All Nite (Live At Cobo Hall, Detroit, Michigan / 1975) (03:59)
16. Let Me Go, Rock 'N Roll (Live At Cobo Hall, Detroit, Michigan / 1975) (05:45)
Disc 2 of 4
1. Deuce (Live At RKO Orpheum Theatre, Davenport, Iowa, July 20, 1975 / Show 2) (04:00)
2. Strutter (Live At RKO Orpheum Theatre, Davenport, Iowa, July 20, 1975 / Show 2) (04:06)
3. Got To Choose (Live At RKO Orpheum Theatre, Davenport, Iowa, July 20, 1975 / Show 2) (04:03)
4. Hotter Than Hell (Live At RKO Orpheum Theatre, Davenport, Iowa, July 20, 1975 / Show 2) (03:19)
5. Firehouse (Live At RKO Orpheum Theatre, Davenport, Iowa, July 20, 1975 / Show 2) (04:09)
6. She (Live At RKO Orpheum Theatre, Davenport, Iowa, July 20, 1975 / Show 2) (06:28)
7. Ace Frehley Guitar Solo (Live At RKO Orpheum Theatre, Davenport, Iowa, July 20, 1975 / Show 2) (01:33)
8. Nothin' To Lose (Live At RKO Orpheum Theatre, Davenport, Iowa, July 20, 1975 / Show 2) (03:42)
9. C'mon And Love Me (Live At RKO Orpheum Theatre, Davenport, Iowa, July 20, 1975 / Show 2) (03:15)
10. 100,000 Years (Live At RKO Orpheum Theatre, Davenport, Iowa, July 20, 1975 / Show 2) (03:10)
11. Peter Criss Drum Solo / 100,000 Years (Live At RKO Orpheum Theatre, Davenport, Iowa, July 20, 1975 / Show 2) (10:27)
12. Black Diamond (Live At RKO Orpheum Theatre, Davenport, Iowa, July 20, 1975 / Show 2) (06:34)
13. Cold Gin (Live At RKO Orpheum Theatre, Davenport, Iowa, July 20, 1975 / Show 2) (08:10)
14. Let Me Go, Rock 'N Roll (Live At RKO Orpheum Theatre, Davenport, Iowa, July 20, 1975 / Show 2) (05:36)
Disc 3 of 4
1. Deuce (Live At Wildwood Convention Hall, New Jersey, July 23, 1975) (04:27)
2. Strutter (Live At Wildwood Convention Hall, New Jersey, July 23, 1975) (03:43)
3. Got To Choose (Live At Wildwood Convention Hall, New Jersey, July 23, 1975) (04:11)
4. Hotter Than Hell (Live At Wildwood Convention Hall, New Jersey, July 23, 1975) (03:16)
5. Firehouse (Live At Wildwood Convention Hall, New Jersey, July 23, 1975) (04:07)
6. She (Live At Wildwood Convention Hall, New Jersey, July 23, 1975) (06:14)
7. Ace Frehley Guitar Solo (Live At Wildwood Convention Hall, New Jersey, July 23, 1975) (01:41)
8. Nothin' To Lose (Live At Wildwood Convention Hall, New Jersey, July 23, 1975) (03:30)
9. C'mon And Love Me (Live At Wildwood Convention Hall, New Jersey, July 23, 1975) (02:59)
10. 100,000 Years (Live At Wildwood Convention Hall, New Jersey, July 23, 1975) (03:21)
11. Peter Criss Drum Solo / 100,000 Years (Live At Wildwood Convention Hall, New Jersey, July 23, 1975) (09:26)
12. Parasite (Live At Wildwood Convention Hall, New Jersey, July 23, 1975) (03:35)
13. Black Diamond (Live At Wildwood Convention Hall, New Jersey, July 23, 1975) (07:04)
14. Cold Gin (Live At Wildwood Convention Hall, New Jersey, July 23, 1975) (08:14)
15. Let Me Go, Rock 'N Roll (Live At Wildwood Convention Hall, New Jersey, July 23, 1975) (06:23)
Disc 4 of 4
1. Kiss Jam (Rehearsal / Live In Davenport, Iowa, July 20, 1975) (05:09)
2. Room Service (Rehearsal / Live In Davenport, Iowa, July 20, 1975) (03:38)
3. Strange Ways (Rehearsal / Live In Davenport, Iowa, July 20, 1975) (03:54)
4. Rock Bottom (Rehearsal / Live In Davenport, Iowa, July 20, 1975) (03:26)
5. Watchin' You (Rehearsal / Live In Davenport, Iowa, July 20, 1975) (03:39)
6. She (Live In Cleveland, Ohio, June 21, 1975) (06:16)
7. Ace Frehley Guitar Solo (Live In Cleveland, Ohio, June 21, 1975) (01:39)
8. Nothin' To Lose (Live In Cleveland, Ohio, June 21, 1975) (03:37)
9. C'mon And Love Me (Live In Cleveland, Ohio, June 21, 1975) (03:04)
10. 100,000 Years (Live In Cleveland, Ohio, June 21, 1975) (03:15)
11. Peter Criss Drum Solo / 100,000 Years (Live In Cleveland, Ohio, June 21, 1975) (10:00)
Kiss – Alive! (50th Anniversary Super Deluxe) (2025)
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