Kiss are done - or are they?

[captainkurtz]

Ace has left the planet.

Another bit of my childhood gone.

[Slim]

Ahhh sad to hear that.

Rock'n'Roll never forgets.

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[David L]

RIP Ace.
I'm sure his signature song will drift in and out while I'm walking the streets of NYC next week. Thanks for visiting earth, enjoy your final Rocket Ride.....ack, ack!

[Nick]

Shambolic but fun guy

[Thenop]

It is hard to put into words what this band, and Ace in particular, meant to me growing up. I was alone as a child for the better part of 11 years. Kiss kept me company. I ran home from school and get out the record player, put on an LP and was there with my heroes. I have always kept a healthy distance, never meet your heroes especially when they are larger than life.

Ace was the odd one out, he did not want to conform. That was not an act. His struggles with addiction have been widely published, not in the least by himself. But he managed to pick himself up and carry on. He was his own man, and once he found out he could use his voice it didn't take him long to find his own path.

His musical legacy will remain just that. I loved his voice, not the best but it had a charm that was undeniable. He was ever the little boy, trying to prank everyone.
I have seen him play up close with his solo band 10 years ago, not even 20km from where I live in a small venue. It was great! As he would have said himself.
The Ace solo album might be my favourite of all the Kiss releases, it is wacky, like Ace, it stumbles and falls but gets back up and it has Anton Fig on drums.

End of an Era for me, one of the 4 founding members passed.. I always thought Criss would be the first to go but in hindsight, the way he had lived, it could only be Ace.

I am sad, but with such fond memories I cannot stay sad for long.

Goodbye Paul Daniel Ace Frehley, thanks for the music, the support, the Rocket Ride

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[The Picnic Wasp]

I didn't ever follow the Kiss career closely, but he seemed to be a well liked guy. Geddy and Alex spoke fondly of him in a documentary. "Where's the bag?" R.I.P

[Thenop]

I didn't ever follow the Kiss career closely, but he seemed to be a well liked guy. Geddy and Alex spoke fondly of him in a documentary. "Where's the bag?" R.I.P

Out of the original four, Ace was - excuse the pun - the most down to earth one. Gene and Paul ran the show, Criss was always the 'underappreciated' one, looking for attention, and Ace, well he just went about his business. There are tons of stories to tell. Real life happened stories, his book No Regrets, even though a bit over tghe top now & then, is a very good read. Funny as hell.

[Thenop]

So the Dressed to Kill boxset is here. I have not bought it. 6 cd's for 300 EUR, or 8 LPs for 400 EUR. All sorts of junk thrown in no one needs.
The good news is: it is up on streaming.. well most of it is anyway.. seems they deliberately left off 1 disc, which is half a show. Bit of a sad move. Boxes are only for sale from Kissonline, so they are trying to draw people into buying that.

Not sure whether Gene and Paul are worse than opsike is now, probably not. First box issued under their flag and it's controversy already.

In other news: an announcement is expected nextmonth on the Alive! boxset already, and considering the DTK announcement was Oct 16 and the release Oct 24, that may be just in time for X mas. I have a feeling that might be more widely available.. Let's wait and see.

Oh yeah: the original album has never sounded this good and the live shows are great, the Davenport shows is a bit timid though. Demos: soundwise extremely well done, some nice surprises here and there, overall a good box. But 400 EUR? Nah..

[Thenop]

As expected, the Alive! 50th ann. boxset was just around the corner. It'll be released in 2 weeks, costs and arm and a leg, but can simply be streamed as well.
This completes the Eddie Kramer project of the Alive! years. All professionally recorded shows and used to compile Alive! from have now been released. There are some tracks missing from one show but it is likely the tapes were simply no longer available, or damaged beyond repair.

It has to be said, Kramer did a fantastic job in making these sound fantastic. It is also commendable the shows are being released 'as is'. No doctoring as is clear from (for instance) C'mon and Love Me in which Paul clearly struggles vocally, having dealt with a cold over a few days.

Anyway, full details:
ALIVE! (REMASTERED)

CD ONE:

1. DEUCE
2. STRUTTER
3. GOT TO CHOOSE
4. HOTTER THAN HELL
5. FIREHOUSE
6. NOTHIN' TO LOSE
7. C'MON AND LOVE ME
8. PARASITE
9. SHE
10. WATCHIN' YOU
11. 100,000 YEARS
12. BLACK DIAMOND
13. ROCK BOTTOM
14. COLD GIN
15. ROCK AND ROLL ALL NITE
16. LET ME GO, ROCK 'N ROLL


LIVE IN DAVENPORT, IOWA – RKO ORPHEUM THEATRE – JULY 20, 1975 – SECOND SHOW*

CD TWO:

1. DEUCE
2. STRUTTER
3. GOT TO CHOOSE
4. HOTTER THAN HELL
5. FIREHOUSE
6. SHE
7. ACE FREHLEY GUITAR SOLO
8. NOTHIN' TO LOSE
9. C'MON AND LOVE ME
10. 100,000 YEARS
11. PETER CRISS DRUM SOLO / 100,000 YEARS
12. BLACK DIAMOND
13. COLD GIN
14. LET ME GO, ROCK 'N ROLL


LIVE IN WILDWOOD, NEW JERSEY – WILDWOOD CONVENTION HALL – JULY 23, 1975*

CD THREE:

1. DEUCE
2. STRUTTER
3. GOT TO CHOOSE
4. HOTTER THAN HELL
5. FIREHOUSE
6. SHE
7. ACE FREHLEY GUITAR SOLO
8. NOTHIN' TO LOSE
9. C'MON AND LOVE ME
10. 100,000 YEARS
11. PETER CRISS DRUM SOLO / 100,000 YEARS
12. PARASITE
13. BLACK DIAMOND
14. COLD GIN
15. LET ME GO, ROCK 'N ROLL


BONUS LIVE

CD FOUR:

REHEARSALS – LIVE IN DAVENPORT, IOWA – RKO ORPHEUM THEATRE – JULY 20, 1975*

1. KISS JAM
2. ROOM SERVICE
3. STRANGE WAYS
4. ROCK BOTTOM
5. WATCHIN' YOU

LIVE IN CLEVELAND, OHIO – CLEVELAND MUSIC HALL – JUNE 21, 1975*

6. SHE
7. ACE FREHLEY GUITAR SOLO
8. NOTHIN' TO LOSE
9. C'MON AND LOVE ME
10. 100,000 YEARS
11. PETER CRISS DRUM SOLO / 100,000 YEARS


BLU-RAY AUDIO – ALIVE!:

DISC FIVE:

[DOLBY ATMOS* / DOLBY TRUE HD 5.1* / 192KHZ 24-BIT & 96KHZ 24-BIT PCM STEREO]

1. DEUCE
2. STRUTTER
3. GOT TO CHOOSE
4. HOTTER THAN HELL
5. FIREHOUSE
6. NOTHIN' TO LOSE
7. C'MON AND LOVE ME
8. PARASITE
9. SHE
10. WATCHIN' YOU
11. 100,000 YEARS
12. BLACK DIAMOND
13. ROCK BOTTOM
14. COLD GIN
15. ROCK AND ROLL ALL NITE
16. LET ME GO, ROCK 'N ROLL

BLU-RAY AUDIO SPECS:

APPROX RUN TIME: 312 MINS

AUDIO: 48KHZ 24-BIT DOLBY ATMOS / 96KHZ 24-BIT DOLBY TRUEHD 5.1 /

192KHZ 24-BIT PCM STEREO / 96KHZ 24-BIT PCM STEREO

PICTURE: 1080P / 16:9 WIDESCREEN


* PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

[Thenop]

Aaaaand it's out! Streamable, downloadable. I think physical media will be there in a week or 2.

This is a fun set, disc 04 is geat, it has half a show (the master tapes are lost for that one) and rehearsal materials. Clearly some songs were culled from that for Alive! It is also very apparent Deuce and Strutter are taken from the Wildwood show, the similarities are that close. I have heard these songs so much, I know them inside out, every little detail.
Now, I know I won't be able to trace every song (it's probably somwhere done already) but I do know - and this a fun fact - Rock n Roll All Nite was from the shows of which the tapes are partially missing. Also: RaRAN was not the smash hit it would become (that was the version released on Alive!) so they closed shows with Let Me Go, Rock n'n Roll and would often skip RaRAN.

Anyway, I'll geek off a little more by myself.

As you were.

[The Picnic Wasp]

I love how raw this sounds. It reminds me of the first live bands I ever heard playing in pubs. Particularly the Burns Howff in Glasgow city centre. It was an amazing place. 

Downstairs was a rough and ready drinking den with a quarry tiled floor, usually awash with spilt beer. Upstairs was the live venue, like someone's large attic. There was a tiny stage at floor level, a bar and a few tables shoehorned in. 

I've always been a lager lout but they sold a fantastic heavy called Burns' Special. My first experience of underage Saturday afternoon drinking was so memorable. 

I can remember three bands quite clearly. Anaconda, Non Compos Mentis (who played Sabbath covers fantastically well) and Weeper who later became Heavy Pettin'. HP are still on the go I believe. My mate was their guitarist for a short time until he broke his leg shortly before they supported Ozzy. 

Happy days!

[Thenop]

They should have called themselves Inevitable but that's not good for sales probably. It's not bad, they know how to play & sing of course, and I hear some happier version of Alice in Chains in there.
Hope they do some real rock and roll as well.

[David L]

They should have called themselves Inevitable but that's not good for sales probably.

'Demonstar Seed' has a certain ring to it 

[The Picnic Wasp]

They should have called themselves Inevitable but that's not good for sales probably. It's not bad, they know how to play & sing of course, and I hear some happier version of Alice in Chains in there.
Hope they do some real rock and roll as well.

I know it's their surnames too, but.....................maybe they could've tagged Lite onto the name.

[Thenop]

Not sure why I keep resisting these boys, this is a fun song. And the resemblance is remarkable...
Evan Stanley sounds like Paul Stanley with a slight rasp, and Nick Simmons, when he takes the lead and roars it sounds like Gene is there. Not to mention he looks like his dad in his younger years, not just a little..