Alive III catches KISS on live overdrive in the wake of their spine-crunching Revenge album. Joe Mackett gets in on Act III with rock n' rolls raving Lothario, Gene Simmons.
By Gene Simmons' own admission the question he's been asked most often over the past decade is 'When are Kiss going to release Alive III?' I myself felt the urge when questioning Paul Stanley last year. He answered:
Such was the effect of Revenge that Kiss were voted 'come back band off the year' last year in an American publication.
With Nigh on a quarter of a century at the top of the tree, does Gene still feel a sense of pressure to deliver?
"We want to make it very special and great. We want to make sure that it's not a bad sequel to Alive II."I believe that Kiss have lived up to the standards set by previous live sets. Alive III came together very quickly, as Gene explains.
"We finished recording in December and mixed it in two months. But getting round to doing it took so long because we never felt that we had the bookends. Without Revenge I don't think Alive III would have happened."Track selection must have been a painstaking process?
"It was like pulling teeth," affirms Simmons. "It was a tug and pull of whether we should do any older material at all, 'cos a lot of vintage stuff has already come out. But another argument was that this is a brand new unit playing those songs, so we should chronicle that. About 70% hasn't been on a live record before, but there's always someone who's pissed off, and we're in a peculiar position because we've got 24 records to choose from."The inclusion of older classics also led to serious discussion.
"I have to take the blame for not wanting to do them. If you've got Alive I or Alive II you've already got that material, and to do it again is like becoming a Las Vegas lounge act.
VALID
Such was the effect of Revenge that Kiss were voted 'come back band off the year' last year in an American publication.
"That's like a tip of the hat," laughs the 'God of Thunder,' "saying what we're doing is valid. You can hurl all sorts of insults at this band, and some of them should stick, but we've never tried to play to our past. Since Revenge there's been a shot of adrenaline shot right up our gaping holes and it's an energy that makes us feel that we can make better records than ever."By Simmons own admission, some of their past output has been substandard. Why did he make these comments?
"Cos it's true!" comes the startlingly honest reply. "For me to sit here on my fat leather-lined ass and say that everything I've done is great would stink. No one can maintain a hard dick for days on end. In retrospect, there are records I'm proud of that wear well with time. If I heard Creatures or Destroyer today I'd want to go and check the band out. On the other hand Crazy Nights sold well but isn't one of my favourites. When I was doing Hot in the Shade I felt good about it, but two years down the line it doesn't hold up. When we did The Elder we were lost in the ozone! Revenge was like, 'ah, that's exactly how to do it'."The extravagance of Kiss's stage show secured their reputation. With the advent of the MTV generation does Gene feel that live music is still important?
"There's less emphasis but it's still there. The thing I like at the moment is that the rules are more flexible -- you can even be a little fat -- so people shouldn't worry about image. Overall things are pretty healthy, lots of bands are trying different things, so it goes back to the survival of the fittest. For all the noise thrash makes -- and this is really going to piss people off -- it really doesn't count. The two or three bands that have made an impact have all gone mainstream and that's life. METALLICA have become a great rock act whereas before they just made a lot of noise!"
ROLLER COASTER
With Nigh on a quarter of a century at the top of the tree, does Gene still feel a sense of pressure to deliver?
"Well we haven't been at the top all that time," he corrects. "We've been on a roller coaster ride. Do I feel pressure? You're goddamn right I do! No one wants to be yesterday's news because yesterday's news is no news at all. I'm as jazzed now as I've ever been. I've got ten brand new demos, one called 'Carnival of Souls,' which is just a kick in your pants. Another called 'Seduction of the Innocent,' which is a face melter!"If anyone thought that Kiss were resting on their laurels, think again.
"We're editing a video entitled 'Kiss Konfidential' which has loads of excited moments, like one girl fan who had the exceptional talent of crushing beer cans between her tits! We've already started another project which we can't talk about yet, and then, in the fall, start to record another studio record. So, if anything, we're going into overdrive. Rather than spending nights hobnobbing with girls with big tits, which actually isn't a bad idea, time is spent editing the new video."I leave Gene laughing at one of his many double entendres as I ask him whether Kiss aim to come over to Europe.
"I'd love to come 'cos 'coming' is one of my favourite things!"
Joe Mackett
Riff Raff
July 1993
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