AMG Review of Kiss Alive! 1975-2000

Greg Prato
All Music Guide

The '70s saw an overabundance of live albums, with quite a few effectively launching various rock band's careers. This is especially true of Kiss and their classic 1975 double album, Alive! Since it was such a success, the group has issued follow-ups from time to time over their career, including 1977's Alive II and 1993's Alive III. So, it shouldn't come as a surprise that the masters of merchandising came up with the idea of issuing all three as a box set in 2006, Kiss Alive! 1975-2000. But to entice Kiss fanatics who already own the aforementioned three albums, a fourth unreleased live disc is included, Alive IV. Not to be confused with 2003's Kiss Symphony: Alive IV, the original Alive IV was set to be released in 2000, and was dubbed the "millennium concert" by fans (since it was recorded New Year's Eve 1999 in Vancouver) -- before being shelved. Reflecting a typical setlist from their now humorously billed "Farewell Tour" (the group has launched several tours since then), the CD features Kiss classics ("Deuce"), then-new material ("Psycho Circus"), plus non-makeup-era material performed for the first time by the original lineup ("Lick It Up"). Although it doesn't hold a candle to the original Alive! set (which still remains arguably the best live rock album ever released), the inclusion of Alive IV is sure to inspire members of the Kiss Army to break out their piggy banks once more.