Alive!

Alive! is the fourth album overall, and the first live album, by American hard rock band Kiss. It is considered to be their breakthrough, and a landmark for live albums. Released on September 10, 1975, the double-album contains live versions of selected tracks from their first three studio albums, Kiss, Hotter Than Hell and Dressed to Kill. It was recorded at concerts in Detroit, Michigan; Cleveland, Ohio; Wildwood, New Jersey; and Davenport, Iowa on May 16, June 21, July 20 and 23, 1975. The album's title was an homage to the 1972 live album Slade Alive! by the English rock group Slade, a band that heavily influenced Kiss. Background From 1974 to 1975, Kiss released three albums: Kiss, Hotter Than Hell, and Dressed to Kill. Although the three albums helped establish a cult following for the band in the Rust Belt, they were commercial failures. Guitarist Paul Stanley attributed the low sales to Kiss' weak sound when they were in the studio versus when they were in concert. According to Stanley: "I never thought any of our first three albums captured the intensity of what the band was going for or was. And it was a problem because people would come to see us and many of them weren't buying our albums." Kiss was famous for its elaborate stage performances, where the band members would wear kabuki-style makeup, use pyrotechnics, and spit fake blood. Bassist Gene Simmons said that because of Kiss's notoriety, they were kicked off of multiple tours with groups like Argent, Black Sabbath, and Savoy Brown because they were afraid to play after Kiss. Kiss's record label, Casablanca Records, had similar financial issues. By 1974, Casablanca's profits were declining, so CEO Neil Bogart decided to release a double album of audio highlights from The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, a show that averaged fourteen million viewers a night. Casablanca shipped 750,000 copies, but the album was an enormous failure. Distributors mailed back their free copies, and Casablanca co-founder Larry Harris said: "It hit the floor with a lifeless, echoing thud." The failure negatively affected many acts signed with Casablanca, including Kiss; the band only received a $15,000 advance for the first three albums, and had yet to receive any royalties. As a result of the breach of contract, Kiss began looking at other labels to sign with, and a lawsuit was eventually filed against Bogart.