Spiderbite

Just curious. I am a big KISS fan but haven't really kept up lately. I just found out this was coming out tomorrow just a week ago (after years of delays & promises).

Anybody heard any of it? How does it sound? Any major difference between the limited edition & the regular edition (except 7 bucks)?

I saw a recent picture of KISS for there tour and it looks like Eric Singer is dressed in Criss' make-up again and now Ace appears to be out of the picture. Is it Bruce Kulick dressed up like Ace or is it someone else?

Dubya

First of all it is the band performing with an Australian Orchestra. I saw this at a store over the weekend that broke street date and as far as I could tell the only difference in the limited was the inclusion of a poster. I believe Peter Criss did perform with them, however they have now put the greasepaint on their roadie/assistant/water boy, etc. Tommy Thayer and he is playing the part of "Ace."

JestersTear

That's a pretty poor description of Thayer. The man's been in the business for ages, and let's face it... if he's bothered to learn at all, he's probably a better guitarist than Ace is.

cactusoly

Actually the CD is pretty good. The best parts are "Great Expectations" , "Sure Know Something" and "Shandi" which have never been recorded on an official live album. My only dissapointment is that they apparently axed the originally recorded Alive 4 with Ace.

Another interesting tidbit... there is not a single song on Alive 4 that was co-written by Ace. Coincidence? I don't think so.

bigjim25

Thanks for info. If I want a poster with mine I'll buy at Kmart for $16.99

Scot1458

Man, I hate to give that whore Simmons any more $. Guess I'll be it second hand somewhere.

cultshock

I'm a big Ace fan, so I'm really going to have mixed feelings about picking this one up. (but I probably will)

No Ace and no Ace songs?

Dubya

Same here, which is why I will not be buying it (in addition to the fact that I do not want any of my $$$ going to Gene Simmons). But hey, I'm sure Tommy Thayer does a great job!

JestersTear

What is all this backlash against Gene Simmons?

For chrissakes, people, Gene Simmons has always been upfront and said that the whole reason he does this is to make money. If you can't handle that, you've picked the wrong band to be a fan of.

At least he's being honest with you, unlike other sellout acts I can think of (Metallica, Dave Matthews, etc)

cactusoly

oops I mentioned sure know something was never on a live album... I forgot about unplugged

Thunderball

I refuse to buy this.

Giantrobo

...and we're being upfront about our dislike of Simmons.

It's even.

Scot1458

KISS has always been a sell out, but $immons is the biggest a$$ hole in the business. The way he treats his bandmembers, the way he treats women, the guy is a complete piece of #$%^.

I used to think he's cool, I still love Paul, and can handle Ace and Peter for all their problems, but $immons is an @#$ hole.

I read his book, and almost threw up the guy is so full of himself.

B5Erik

Tommy Thayer is better at being Ace than Ace is. He's got Ace's solos down pat (without all the flubs that Ace makes), and he's been around recording albums and touring for almost 20 years now.

KISS Symphony - Alive IV is pretty good. The symphony is pretty much kept to a supporting role, and most of the arrangements for the symphony are really good.

The only thing that keeps this from being absolutely brilliant is Peter Criss' drumming. He's not horrible, but he plays some of the songs too slowly and his tempo wavers a bit here and there (which, I'm sure, drove the orchestra nuts). His playing is also a little too simplistic for an event like this. Eric Singer would really have been a better fit musically for a project like this.

Still, it is pretty good, and worth buying if you ever liked KISS. VERY interesting stuff....

Scot1458

for their tour here, they should get Bruce Kulick and Eric Singer, the old band back. I'd have a huge hard on to see that show.

Musically, it would be the best lineup other than the Vincent/Carr years.

turborobb

Awesome album, I loved it.
The year before Peter left and they went to Australia with Ace and Eric Singer in Pete's make-up, and now they come back with Peter and Tommy in Ace's make-up... oh well.

I liked that they did songs from every period of KISS and not just the 70's stuff. Strange to hear Peter Criss play Forever and Lick It Up, but he sounded good. Peter has really improved since the beginning of the reunion tour. To hear him sing Beth with a full orchestra behind him is amazing beyond words.

Tommy is a great guitar player and he's been working with KISS since back in the 80's. He co-wrote songs on Hot in the Shade and Carnival of Souls and played on Psycho Circus. He also put together the Kisstory book and was Aces guitar tech. I have mixed feelings of having someone else in Aces or Peters make-up, but what can you do, the show must go on.

Spiderbite

I agree. I wish they would just give them new make-up if they are going to have different people play with them.

Let's see...Eric Singer could be The Poodle (he'd have to dye his hair back). And Tommy Thayer...hmm..could be The Martian (maybe add a little green to him).

I might have to pick this up. I guess $16 isn't bad for a 2 disc set. I recently picked up a copy of Kisstory 2 off ebay for $75 so I was pretty pleased. Great book but Kiss really pussed out on the nude poster they put in it. They showed boobs but wherever there was pubic hair or a kitty-cat, they put a large "KISS" symbol over it. Lame.

tommy28

Kiss????

are they still together!!!

god god!

B5Erik

Still together and still able to drive some people nuts.

I guess that they really are still doing something right....