You Wanted The Rest, You Got The Rest. The Hottest Parody Of The Group, KISS!

Kiss fans consider this as not only the pinnacle of Kiss' career but as the best live album of all time. Many facts, however, have remained covered for 25 years..... until now.

PACKAGING:
1. The famous back cover photo was actually shot at an Elton John concert in May, 1975. The blonde "he-she" in the photo, John Rhodsen, explained how the shot was taken (quote taken from a 1984 interview for the Dutch fanzine KISS Van Hoopen!). "Yeah, so check this out. Me and my buddy were in line for the Elton tickets when this tall ugly-ass dude with a s*** load of hair shows up, right? Turns out years later we figured it was Gene Simmons! He asks if we'd sneak a Kiss banner down the center aisle before the show and let him take our picture. It was wild, man! I didn't even know who Kiss was at the time or anything, but he gave us a joint and $20 each, so we figured cool! Letís do it!"

2. The biggest in-joke for years was Ace's, Peter's, and Paul's appearance on the back cover shot! Ace appeared in a blonde wig and glasses (look to the left of the top edge of the banner about an inch); Paul appeared in drag, complete with a lipstick and blue eyeliner (look just 1" inche to the left of Ace); and Peter is half visible behind the left arm of the guy throwing the "Kiss Power" sign and holding the banner. Photographers searched for years to unmask Kiss members when they had clues under their noses the whole time!

3. The front cover was shot in the garage of Peter's mother, with truck exhaust and cherry bombs used for the smoke (This explains why each member looks close to asphyxiation; Ace was in fact so overcome by fumes that he was incapable of even holding his guitar correctly.) Peter's uncle, Robert "Uncle Bobby" Crisscoula remembers how "They wanted us to back our trucks up into the garage and just rev the shit out of 'em, y'know? Felt sorry for those guys 'specially when Little Pete was laying in the yard afterward coughin'. But the picture came out damn good, hah?"

4. The inclusion of personal messages from the band on the gatefold sleeve was in fact one of the biggest gaffes in KISStory. An associate at Casablanca's marketing department apparently assumed these were statements to the fans, believing each member wrote in the guise of their stage personas. This is certainly how the messages were received by the fans. They were in fact statements scrawled to each other during the recording of "Dressed to Kill." The band apparently had a troublesome stretch of days in which no one would speak to the other except through producer Eddie Kramer; they were forced to write notes to communicate. Although the band has never discussed these notes, even during the convention tours, various sources point to who wrote what to whom. Gene's sadistic note was obviously directed at Paul, but the note is also somewhat guilt-ridden (mentioning, in essence, how hard Gene works for the band and receives little thanks from Paul). Peter, still in a confused state of who to turn to in the band, wrote a response to Gene to reassure him that the fans would like what they heard on the record -- the note refers to "Dressed to Kill," not "Alive!" as many fans assumed -- and appreciate Gene's hard work (Some would later say that giving Gene an ego boost is like asking Ace if he needs a stiff drink). Ace actually wrote two notes. The first one, written to Paul, is revealed here for the first time anywhere (thanks to one of many Casablanca janitorial staff members who provided so much "retrieved" gems such as this one): "If I'm the Spaceman, why are you wering [sic] a star on your face? What the hell is my makeup suposed [sic] to be anyway? A goddam silver bat? I'm changing it, maybe to match your star, maybe an ankh or something. Talk to me." The second note appears as is in the gatefold, written to Paul as a reinforcement of what the "space character" represented in the band. His obvious drunkenness led to some of the stranger lines, as in "getting used to the gravity." Paul's note to Peter needs no further explanation.

5. The center spread of the photo album included a first at the time: Gene's staged "affection" for Ace. Gene obviously knew about the Paul and Peter connection, and in an effort to sway Ace to his side (see the "Dressed to Kill" article for more information), Gene began kissing and licking Ace in concert essentially to show off to Paul. Ace hasn't (to date) reciprocated and apparently just considers it part of the Demon's antics.

SONGS
1. The audience sounds were meant to be left as is for a raw live sound. Eddie Kramer quickly discovered that layering the crowd noises on top of each other creates a "fuller" effect. In essence, an arena of 3,000 can easily sound like 30,000.

2. The setlist from the bootleg "'75 Alive: Raw Tracks" CD, which includes the undubbed, full concerts Kiss taped for the album, shows the band playing a few rarities that most fans have not heard. For a short time, the band played "Getaway" in a much harder style (a la "Firehouse") as well as an almost dirge-like "Strange Ways." The CD also contains the only known medley of "Love Her All I Can"/"Anything For My Baby." I asked Paul about this extremely rare clip at the San Antonio Kiss convention. He became visibly tense and asked who I was and why I wanted to know. When I told him I was thinking of selling it to a fan-based website, he pulled me aside and angrily said the following (I secretly taped the conversation, so this is verbatim): "There's a lot of shit going into our box set. If this gets out, I've got people who will sink you so fucking fast, you'll feel like the Titanic. Keep your fucking nose out of our business." I was then escorted out of the auditorium, but not before yelling over my shoulder how he ought to use that Titanic line in another stupid ballad with Diane Warren. I pass this information on to you, Kiss fans, knowing my career, and possibly my life, is at risk.

3. While "Rock Bottom" and "She" were definitely recorded in Detroit, the rest of the songs are actually recorded in Davenport, Iowa. In a major PR gimmick, the band was awarded a key to the city of Davenport and even marched on a high school football field. For maximum exposure, a press conference was set up in the same manner as the "Beatles in America" conferences of 1964. All four members stood behind a podium as questions were thrown at them. Here are just a few sample Q & A's from the long-lost transcripts:

Reporter: "So how do you boys find Davenport?"
Ace: "Turn left at Dubuque -- AACK!" (cackles)
Reporter: "And what about the girls -- do you find the girls of Davenport pretty?"
Gene: "We've been to Detroit. We've been to L.A. and we've seen St. Louis. We've had some good times, but we've been waiting for a town like Davenport."
(Mild cheers as Paul appears to be suddenly deep in thought.)
Reporter: "Ever been to Cleveland?" Paul: "We've been to Cleveland too. There wasn't much to do. One thing I know is true, what we would rather do is to rock Davenport tonight!
(Room explodes with cheers while Gene appears to be suddenly deep in thought)

Reporter: "What about your hairstyles? Any plans to get a haircut?" (quiet chuckling)
Gene: "I got one today." (flicks tongue)
Ace: "AACK!"

Reporter (to Peter): "So are you and Paul lovers?"
(Room goes silent; only flashbulbs are heard)
Peter: "Um"
Paul: "Well, being in a band is like being in a four-way marriage. I mean, it - uh - I mean, a two-way marriage is hard to work out, so a four-way marriage is REALLY hard!"
(Uncomfortable silence.)
Ace: "So I'm married to Gene? His morning breath would smell like brimstone! AAAAAAACK!"
(Room bursts with relieved laughter)

THE ORIGINALS
I briefly mention the Originals in this article because it summed up Kiss' career at this point (even though it was technically released after Destroyer). After Gene's failed attempt at the first set of Originals (see the "Dressed To Kill" article), he assumed that the idea of re-releases was dead. Little did he or the other members know that the Casablanca executives, including Neil Bogart, essentially stole the idea for later use. The repackaging of the first three albums was a brilliant marketing strategy, especially with the inclusion of a sticker, trading cards, and a short historical booklet with rare photos.

The only real nugget I could uncover about the Originals was provided by Bill Starkey, founder of the Kiss Army. He not only designed the logo sticker but wrote the original drafts for the back of the trading cards. "Well, you see how the cards are, right? Where Gene's listed a vampire (chuckles) and how Ace, uh, levitates (chuckles even more)? I mean, this superhero garbage was nothing close to what I wrote." And what were some of those things? "Oh god, well okay, I had hung around the band for a few days; they had allowed me private access to talk to them just so I could get some ideas of their personalities. So I wrote down fun facts about them they had mentioned in passing. Uh, for Gene I wrote "Once ate entire cheesecake in Atlanta hotel room." (laughs) That's what he told me. Didn't get laid much back then I guess. Ace's was "Drank so much he blew a roadie for backstage passes! (laughs very hard). Peter's and Paul's well, there was stuff going on I wished I could have written and never did! I'm pretty sure you know what I'm getting at." Bill's ideas were immediately struck down, and his involvement with the band came to a near halt. The "fun facts" were eventually written by the Bill Aucoin's 8-year-old niece (with help from her uncle).

Comparisons of the Alive! versions to the original songs (semi-serious) Deuce: Thumbs up -- Lightly faster, extended ending, and an extra DO IT! This song actually sets the standard for the rest of the album.

Strutter: Thumbs up -- Punchier vocals, and the 6/8 triplets (after the second "She'll let you walk the street beside her") send this above the original.

Got to Choose: Thumbs up -- Pretty close to the original, actually. Unlike on a lot of bootlegs, the high notes are hit quite well.

Hotter Than Hell: Thumbs halfway -- The vocals here are actually better on the original and benefit from the smoother, poppier feel (especially the double-tracked vocals) on HTH. Here Paul just kind of screams them out. Also, the gong and dual guitars make the original HTH better, even though Ace's live solo is great. My humble suggestion? They should have left this off the album and replaced it with "Getaway." It would have been great live, and following the mid-tempo "Got to Choose" on this album would have given this side an even harder kick. However, what better song than "HTH" to lead into "Firehouse"? While I'm on this song, it provides another great ending that could have been used at the end of "She." Kiss had a few songs like this in which, after the final chorus, the rest of the song ends with a completely different feel than what preceded it (e.g., "Black Diamond," "Let Me Know")

Firehouse: Thumbs way up -- A huge improvement over the original! The original starts out kind of nice, a song to stroll by. The live version is one to stomp by. The crowd sounds are a bit much at the beginning, but I love the longer solo (although I miss that nice muffled tone on the fourth measure of the original), Peter's drumming, and the siren that won't die. Overall the best improvement on Alive! from an original. (By the way, if this is where Gene breathed fire, who is keeping the throbbing bassline going? Whoops!)

Nothin' to Lose: Thumbs way up -- Another big improvement, although not as good of one as "Firehouse." The chorus on the original sounds like something from the Archies (with Veronica on the keys!), but the live version sounds nice and raw like it should thanks to the vocals. With Gene's growling in the verses ("I didn't care anyWEEEEEE!") and Peter's screaming in the choruses (just like James Brown -- I don't know what in the hell he's saying half the time but I know he means it!), this is a great version of the song. Great drums here, especially from the solo to the final chorus, but what's that sound in the 6th measure of Ace's solo?

Címon and Love Me: Thumbs up -- Almost frantic! Another improvement on an original.

Parasite: Thumbs up The original was mean enough and hard to improve on. The live version is cool for its double lead vocals though! And again, Ace's solo and Pete's drumming be suh-mokiní on the live version.

She: Thumbs up The song without a chorus! Kind of muddy-sounding, but the bass is damn nice throughout. And Ace gets to shine!

Watchin' You: Thumbs up A virtual copy, down to the "tryiní not to staaaaAAARE!" line. This wins out over the original just for the more manic instrumental break after the chorus, but what happened to the mini-solo at the end of the song?

100,000 Years: Thumbs up There's no comparing the middle part, obviously, but the song itself is good. The dual guitar solo from the original is missed here, but the other three guys are damn raucous in the background!

Black Diamond: Thumbs up Can't put down a song that literally blows up at the end! Paul's guitar intro is better here, as are Peter's vocals. And the audience sounds worked up, even though they're mixed a little heavy.

Rock Bottom: Thumbs generally up. No doubt it's a good live song, but like with HTH, the more subtle vocals on the original actually makes me a bit partial to the original. But the riff is fantastic, so what the hell, I'll say the live one wins!

Cold Gin: Thumbs way up -- Another Firehouse moment, where the original has kind of a nice, head-bobbing groove while the live one explodes into a faster, desperate-sounding song. The dual lead, as well as Ace's and Peter's playing in the second verse, exemplify why Alive! works so damn well. Great solo at the end too.

Rock and Roll All Nite: Thumbs way up It's hard to be objective about the standard original, but there's no doubt the live one wins based on energy alone. Am I stupid or did I just not realize that the original lacked a solo? Hmm. Check out the "dog bark" at the end of the 6th measure of the live version's solo though (The one heard in "Detroit Rock City").

Let Me Go, Rock and Roll: Thumbs way up An Ace fan's dream! He's fantastic here. And check out Pete's drumming after the second verse! And hey, what other musical break from Kiss actually holds your interest as along as the one at the end of this song?

Lyrics I misunderstood when I was younger: "You wanted the best, you got the best. My heart is burnin' my man Kiss"; "Ace played he guitar!"; "I'm sure there's some people out there who like to drink The Killa!" (said with an accent, obviously); "Come on rock city (or is that actually what Gene says in LMGRNR?)!"; "It's what you rock and roll!" (Peter's last line on LMGRNR)

BONUS: A quick count of Paul's most used words between songs!
Oh yeah/oh hey!: 9
Alright!: 8
Yeah!: 3

You Wanted The Rest, You Got The Rest. The Hottest Parody Of The Group, KISS!

© 2000 Rich Hund/KISS ASYLUM.
We kindly ask that you please not reproduce this article without prior consent.

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