Kiss: Alive!

KISS – Alive! 50th Anniversary Edition

Fifty years ago, Alive! did what three studio albums couldn't: it broke KISS wide open. The album captured the band at their most explosive, took "Rock and Roll All Nite" to the top of the charts, and essentially invented the template for the arena rock live album. Now UMe commemorates the anniversary with a sprawling reissue that offers something for casual fans and completists alike.

The pedigree here is legit. Bernie Grundman handled the remaster of the original album, working from the 1975 stereo analog master tapes. Grundman's approach tends toward transparency rather than revisionism, and that philosophy serves Alive! well. The band's chemistry comes through clearly without sacrificing the raw energy that made the original pressing so compelling. Whether Grundman's touch improves on the original Casablanca pressings is a matter of taste. Some find his work on other classic rock catalogs a bit subdued, but here the balance feels right.

The real draw for collectors is the bonus material. Eddie Kramer went back to the original multitrack analog tapes and mixed two complete unreleased concerts from the 1975 Dressed To Kill Tour: the RKO Orpheum Theatre in Davenport, Iowa and the Wildwood Convention Hall in New Jersey. Kramer preserved the raw performances with no overdubs, which means you're hearing the band exactly as they sounded that summer. Given how much studio sweetening went into the original Alive! (an open secret among fans), these unvarnished performances offer genuine historical value. Ace Frehley's guitar work sounds particularly ferocious on the Davenport recordings.

Format options abound. The Super Deluxe 8LP box includes everything: remastered album, both complete concerts, rehearsal tracks, Cleveland Music Hall recordings, plus a Blu-ray with Kramer's Dolby Atmos and 5.1 surround mixes. The 100-page hardcover book and mountain of memorabilia (press kit reprints, tour programs, guitar picks, backstage passes) make this a genuine collector's piece, though the $400 price tag reflects that ambition.

For those who just want the album on quality vinyl, the Premium Color Vinyl edition offers two LPs on gold and white cornetto with black splatter, limited to 3,000 copies. The Picture Disc edition was capped at 1,000 units and already sold out. Both feature enhanced packaging with gold foil and metallic ink details. No word yet on pressing plant or specific manufacturing details, which makes it difficult to assess the actual vinyl quality independent of the mastering.

The timing of this release carries extra weight given Ace Frehley's recent passing. Hearing him tear through these performances from the band's hungriest era serves as a fitting tribute to what he brought to the original lineup.

Is this the definitive Alive! for your collection? If you're after the complete archival experience and have the budget, the 8LP Super Deluxe delivers. If you want a quality pressing of the original album with improved packaging, the Premium Color Vinyl edition should satisfy. Just know that the limited quantities and KISS Army exclusive distribution means these won't sit on shelves for long.

Solid remastering from Grundman, exceptional bonus material from Kramer. Manufacturing specifics remain unclear, but the source material is impeccable. 💵

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