Sold Date: November 16, 2024
Start Date: August 14, 2024
Final Price: $21.99 (USD)
Seller Feedback: 3323
Buyer Feedback: 0

Kiss ‎– Alive! 

Vintage LP   *see all pictures*

 40+ year old Item in Very Good (VG) to Very Good Plus (VG+) Condition - Sold as a USED Collectible - Not Play Tested - original booklet,  edge wear,  general age & storage related wear.

***Due to the Age of the item, Audio imperfections may be present ~ Please clean vinyl before use****

Kiss ‎

KISS was formed in Queens, New York (USA) in 1973. Often stylized KIϟϟ they play rock, hard rock, heavy metal and 1980s hair/glam metal.

Easily identified by its members' face paint and flamboyant stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid to late 1970s on the basis of their elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing, blood spitting, smoking guitars, shooting rockets, levitating drum kits and pyrotechnics. Kiss has been awarded 24 gold albums to date. The band has sold more than 40 million albums in the United States, of which 19 million have been certified by the RIAA, and their worldwide sales exceeds 100 million albums.

Kiss trace their roots to Wicked Lester (2), a New York City-based rock and roll band led by co-founders Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley. Wicked Lester, with its eclectic mixture of musical styles, never achieved any success. They recorded one album, which was shelved by Epic Records, and played a handful of live shows. Simmons and Stanley, feeling that a new musical direction was needed, abandoned Wicked Lester in 1972 and began forming a new group.

In late 1972, Simmons and Stanley came across an ad in the East Coast version of Rolling Stone placed by Peter Criss, a veteran drummer from the New York club scene, who was previously in bands called Lips and Chelsea. Criss auditioned for and joined the new version of Wicked Lester. The trio focused on a much harder style of rock than Wicked Lester played. Inspired by the theatrics of Alice Cooper and the New York Dolls, they also began experimenting with their image by wearing makeup and various outfits.

In early January 1973, the group added lead guitarist Ace Frehley who impressed the group on his first audition, where he showed up wearing two different sneakers, one red and one orange. A few weeks after Frehley joined, the Wicked Lester name was dropped and the band became Kiss.

The 1973–80 lineup of Paul Stanley (vocals and rhythm guitar), Gene Simmons (vocals and bass guitar), Ace Frehley (lead guitar and vocals), and Peter Criss (drums, percussion and vocals) is the most successful and identifiable. With their makeup and costumes, they took on the personas of comic book-style characters: Starchild (Stanley), The Demon (Simmons), Spaceman or Space Ace (Frehley), and Catman (Criss). The band explains that the fans were the ones who ultimately chose their makeup designs. Paul Stanley became the "Starchild" because of his tendency to be referred to as the "starry-eyed lover" and "hopeless romantic." The "Demon" makeup reflected Simmons's cynicism and dark sense of humor, as well as his affection for comic books. Ace Frehley's "Spaceman" makeup was a reflection of his fondness for science fiction and supposedly being from another planet. Peter Criss's "Catman" makeup was in accordance with the belief that Criss had nine lives because of his rough childhood in Brooklyn. Because of creative differences, both Criss and Frehley left the group by 1982. The band's commercial fortunes also waned considerably by that point.

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MY ITEMS COME FROM A CLEAN SMOKE FREE ENVIRONMENT!
I try to describe everything as well as I can and show many pictures. I am NOT a professional grader! If the exact condition of an item, down to the smallest details, is critical to your enjoyment of a particular item, it is YOUR responsibility to ask questions BEFORE bidding. Don't assume that my definition of "Very Good Condition" is the same as yours!