Released on September 10, 1975.
Alive! peaked on Billboard's chart at # 9 and stayed on the charts for 17
weeks. It was also to become the longest-lasting album by the band to sit
on Cash Box's Top 200 album a total of 110 weeks and peaking at #9. The single,
"Rock and Roll All Nite" (live) backed with the original studio version of
the same song, broke throuhg Billboard's Top 40 singles, staying a total of
10 weeks and reaching as high as #12.
Alive! was the first album from the band to go Gold, then platinum
and then double platinum.
Alive! was the first album by KISS to feature additional freebies.
The gatefold album contained a full-color booklet with live photos of the
band members. Front cover of the Alive! booklet pictured above.
Eddie Kramer, who produced Alive and Alive II, Comments On Alive!
In the recent issue of
Home Recording magazine producer/engineer Eddie Kramer was asked about recording
live albums. A couple of names were dropped and KISS was mentioned, since
he was the chief producer and engineer on both KISS ALIVE and KISS ALIVE II.
When asked if any overdubs were used, he mentioned that since KISS was "all
over the bloody place" on stage, it was very hard to be perfect and thus
there was a lot of sloppy playing and missed vocals. He also stated that KISS
was not very "tight" musically and that the entire KISS ALIVE album except
for the drums were all overdubs. The interviewer had said that the album couldn't
really be "Alive" then, Eddie replied, "Hardly".
According to Gene Simmons own autobiography Kiss and Make-Up,
"There have always been rumors that the Alive! record was substantially
reworked in the studio. Its not true. We did touch up vocal parts and fix
some of the guitar solos, but we didn't have the time or money to completely
rework the recordings. What we wanted, and what we got, was proof of the band's
rawness and power." (p.111)
Alive! was the first KISS album to feature free goodies as part of the package
(the 8 page full color photo book) and set a trend for the group to give the
fans something extra with each succeeding album. The first pressing of the
cd didn't include any of these photos. The Remastered Series includes all
the photos as part of the booklet.
Alive! peaked on Billboard's chart at # 9.
Alive! wasn't expected to sell well because not only was it a live album,
but a double album as well (i.e. more expensive).
Alive! was recorded
as a means to fulfill contractual obligations with Casablanca Records. Because
the first 3
albums sold poorly, Alive! would quicken the band's progress in fulfilling
album quotas with Casablanca before moving to another label. Fortunately for
both Kiss and Casablanca, Alive! took off with "Rock and Roll All Night"
as the lead single. Alive! was also released as a result of KISS being dropped
from tours because headliners were constantly being upstaged by the band.
The Japanese version of Alive! was subtitled Crazy Beast (Running Amok)
From Hell.
5 shows were recorded for the album - Cleveland, Ohio; Detroit, Michigan;
Tri-Cities, Wyoming; Wildwood, New Jersey; and Springfield, Illinois.
Circus magazine
picked Alive! as the second-best album of the year behind Led
Zeppelin's 'Physical Graffiti.'
Back
to Kiss Discography
