Kiss are reportedly planning to commemorate the 50th anniversary of their 1975 commercial breakthrough Alive! with an expanded version of the double live album.
The record helped the band break through to a mainstream audience, after they had spent years building a reputation as an amazing live act that somehow couldn’t sell studio albums.
In a recent interview on former Twisted Sister guitarist Jay Jay French’s podcast (embedded below, starts at about the 57-minute mark), original Alive! producer Eddie Kramer reveals he spent over a month and a half working on the new collection.
“It’s a project I spent 46 days mixing,” Kramer explained. “It’s called Kiss Alive! 50, which is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the first Alive! album, which was mixed at Electric Lady in 1975, you know, 50 years ago. Fortunately, they found all the bloody tapes, thank God! It was incredible.”
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The original album, which the band has admitted was sweetened with a heavy dose of studio overdubs, was recorded at four different shows in May, June and July of 1975. The band also recorded some of their daytime rehearsals, a decision that saved the day according to Kramer.
“I mixed every single show that actually contributed to the final one plus all the rehearsals that Gene [Simmons] and Paul [Stanley] said ‘we gotta record in the afternoon,’ which they did thank God because we were able to capture some fantastic performances,” Kramer continues. “But what you hear during this period is that those guys were serious about getting this record out and making it sound fantastic. And then I mixed the final album in Dolby Atmos, so it’s a beautiful package that’s coming out, I think, late fall.”
As Kramer notes, the release plans for the Kiss Alive! 50 box set have not been confirmed.
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Gallery Credit: Matthew Wilkening
