by Matthias Mineur (11.01.2007) The attention for the latest solo album of Paul Stanley has hardly ended, still the make-up Rockers themselves return with a new release. Like Stanley said in an interview lately: "I hope that someday there will be a new studio album, as well. However that will only happen when I get clearly more control over it than the last time. Otherwise it wouldn't be interesting for me." The outcome of this statement can only be guessed. Fact is: if the band will really come together in summer 2007 (Stanley: "before that, a fabulouos DVD named 'Kissology' will be released; two DVDs with six hours of playing time, things from Winterland in the year 1975, a show from 1976, Houston 1977, plenty of TV appearances, a really great package") is not of any importance for the business side of the band, because there are still too many things that can be found in the vaults, compiled newly, and made attractive to the fans with expensive packages. Like e.g. the "Alive-Boxset", containing the four live albums of the band in a beautiful box set. CD 1 features the unforgotten "Alive!"-album from 1975, representing one of the most legendary live records in Rock history. If you want to experience classics like "Deuce", "Black diamond", "Rock and roll all nite" and "Let me go, Rock'n'Roll" in truly juvenile charms, check this one out. Two years later, Kiss had managed the worldwide breakthrough and with the burning "Alive II" gave everything. Just hear and enjoy songs like "Detroit rock city", "Love gun" and "God of thunder": we all bent down in front of the stereo, even if the five at that time new studio songs could hardly live up to the live material which slowed down the euphoria a little bit. Then 16 years passed before Kiss released their sparkling "Alive III", beside some classics of the 70s concentrating on the songs of their 'undisguised era'. Alone seven songs come from the two most successful records of that time, "Creatures of the night" (1982) and "Revenge" (1992). Furthermore you get some 1b-hits, such as "Heaven's on fire", "Lick it up" and the pathetic "Forever". On CD 4 of this worthy compilation you find the show on New Year's Eve 1999 in Toronto, originally intended to be released as part IV of the "Alive"-series, but instead released together with the recording of the symphonic concert in Melbourne. So, after all, this supposed "Alive IV" makes really sense in this combination together with "Alive I - III". Finally one comment of Paul Stanley about the future of Kiss that should make us think: "what makes a solo album simply more interesting for a musician is the fact that you have to make no compromises", he explained well knowing that on stage he never had to make any compromises. This "Alive-Boxset" is proof of that!
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