CHAPTER 52 – “Alive IV” As Originally Conceived (2001)

When KISS released their “Box Set” in November 2001, they included a live recording of “Rock And Roll All Nite” as the very last track on Disc 5. Sadly, while the liner notes indicated that the song was from the then forthcoming “Alive IV” album, the track had the usual KISS-related misinformation. Rather than being from the credited New Year's show in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada that had been recorded on December 31, 1999, the song was actually recorded earlier in the year, probably during the “Psycho Circus” tour earlier in the year, or in the studio/rehearsals during the summer.

It had been given obvious studio over-dub treatment, but for fans it was at least another live recording from the historic “Reunion” era. Strangely, especially considering KISS’ history and marketing, few proper live recordings were released during the “Reunion” era to commemorate the true scope of what brought KISS back to international attention in 1996. As a result, fans were left with only the “Greatest KISS” (now out of print in the US) sound-check recording of “Shout It Out Loud” and the “Psycho Circus” European bonus CD as the live commemoratives of KISS: 1996-2001. At least the “Farewell” Pay-Per-View had been broadcast on video and radio formats – not perfect, it was better than nothing.

More incredibly, perhaps, the box set recording had already been used as KISS' backing-track for their lip-synched Pixelon's iBash performance at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on October 29, 1999. Also performed at the mini-show were "Shout It Out Loud," "Detroit Rock City," "Love Gun," and "God Of Thunder." It would seem to be logical to suggest that these songs are also from the same source. Ironically, the week following the Pixelon event the band announced the BC Place Stadium 1999/2000 New Year’s show.

Originally it was intended to release “KISS Alive IV” in conjunction with the “Farewell Tour” in audio and video formats. Part of the set would include material recorded in Vancouver, Canada on New Year’s Eve 1999/2000. Promotional ads were soon appearing in magazines hyping that the album was “recorded live at the last KISS show of the 20th century: 12/31/99, BC Place Concert Bowl, Vancouver, BC” (Metal Edge). However, it didn’t take long for the band to step back from those comments. Gene suggested that the format of the album was changing: “Some of those [songs recorded in Vancouver] will be used on ‘Alive IV,’ some from other shows” (Metal Edge Special 2000). The necessity to have to blend different recording sources and touch up the material in the studio certainly isn’t surprising. After all, it was going to be a KISS live album, and as a result there were issues concerning quality.

The format of the album was also in a state of flux. According to Gene, “It’s gonna be a single record initially and it’s gonna turn into a double record mid-tour. We haven’t gotten the master track listing but there are obscure things on it like Paul doing ‘Forever’ acoustically, from Australia” (Metal Edge Special 2000).

The press release announcing the “Farewell” tour detailed that the “Alive IV” album was scheduled to be released in March 2001: “In addition to the ‘Farewell Tour,’ KISS will release ‘Alive IV’ on March 28th (Mercury/Island Def Jam). ‘Alive IV’ includes songs that were recorded during the ‘Reunion’ Tour, the ‘Psycho Circus’ Tour and on New Year’s Eve 2000 at Vancouver’s BC Place Concert Bowl. The album contains such classics as ‘Rock and Roll All Night,’ ‘Shout It Out Loud,’ ‘Love Gun’ and ‘Beth’” (PR, with the usual mis-spelling of Night).

However, the March release date soon slipped to April 18. And then the date was pushed far back from the original release schedule. Apparently the band had missed their deadline to have the released. Rumors flew around that the band was not happy with the product, but little official information ever came from the band. Some sources have suggested that the recordings done in Vancouver were considered unusable and the amount of clean-up work that would have been required would have put “Alive IV” in the same class as “Alive!,” being an essentially studio recreation. Few commentators would fail to notice that while the Farewell Tour showed the band being more relaxed the performances were also some of the sloppiest ever witnessed at times.

Another source has suggested that this original “Alive IV” had never even been fully constructed (meaning source material mixed and mastered, even after the end of the “Farewell” tour), leaving the album as being something of a plan never exercised. Apparently no masters were delivered to the band's label, at the time, due to issues arising out of the merger between the labels, Universal Music Group, with the European Vivendi conglomerate. This merger resulted in KISS being moved to the Def Jam label. Gene, apparently, did not like that, so politics and business eventually put the album on hold indefinitely.

After numerous delays, and the band leaving the PolyGram/Universal Music Label, the project was abandoned in favor of providing a different type of “Alive IV.”

52.01. Psycho Circus

52.02. Shout It Out Loud

52.03. Deuce

52.04. Heaven’s On Fire

52.05. Into The Void

52.06. Firehouse

52.07. Do You Love Me?

52.08. Let Me Go, Rock ‘N Roll

52.09. I Love It Loud

52.10. Lick It Up

52.11. 100,000 Years

52.12. Love Gun

52.13. Black Diamond

52.14. Beth

52.15. Rock and Roll All Nite

52.16. 2,000 Man

52.17. God Of Thunder

52.18. Detroit Rock City

Entries 52.16-52.18 would have been bonus tracks for the Japanese release.