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Kiss Symphony: Alive IV (2003)

Where the lyrics of Kiss Symphony: Alive IV take you, and where it was really made.

Kiss's original-lineup Alive IV, planned for 2000, was shelved; the 2003 album that replaced it was a symphonic show recorded in Melbourne with a 60-piece orchestra.

Key places

Recorded at Marvel Stadium, Melbourne (2003)

Recording site Marvel Stadium (known at the time as Telstra Dome) — All tracks were recorded at this stadium on 28 February 2003, during the concert that became the album. The venue was known at the time as Telstra Dome. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Kiss Symphony: Alive IV is the fifth live album by American rock band Kiss
• Performed with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO), released in 2003
• Fourth album in the Alive series and first release under Kiss Records and Sanctuary Records
• Arrangements by David Campbell, who also conducted the MSO
• Recorded at Marvel Stadium (known at the time as Telstra Dome) in Melbourne on 28 February 2003
• Songs appear in performance order, with the concert split into three acts
• Act One: six songs by Kiss alone
• Act Two: five-song acoustic set with the Melbourne Symphony Ensemble
• Act Three: the band and the full 60-piece orchestra on all tracks

Background

• Original members Peter Criss, Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons all appeared at the press conference announcing the show
• Stanley promised a symphonic sonic boom that would mix classic rock and classical music
• Ace Frehley left the band again before the show
• The show introduced Tommy Thayer as the Spaceman
• This album was Kiss's last to feature Peter Criss
• Criss officially left the band in 2004, and Eric Singer replaced him once again
• Singer had rejoined in 2001 to replace Criss after the band's first Farewell Tour
• In 2000, Kiss had planned to release the original Alive IV with the reunited original lineup
• That plan was blocked by label politics and contracts, and the album was shelved
• The band moved from Universal/Island to Sanctuary Music and issued Kiss Symphony: Alive IV instead
• The original Alive IV appeared belatedly as Alive! The Millennium Concert in the 2006 box set Kiss Alive! 1975–2000

Recording

• All tracks were recorded at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia on 28 February 2003
• Mark Opitz produced the album and Tony Wall engineered it
• Members of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra wore Kiss makeup and tuxedos during the performance

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com · www.discogs.com

Artist

Formation

• Kiss was formed in New York City in 1973 by Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss.
• The band traces its roots to Wicked Lester, a New York rock band led by Simmons and Stanley.
• Their first performance took place on January 30, 1973, at the Popcorn Club (later Coventry) in Queens.
• Casablanca Records signed the band on November 1, 1973, as the label's first act.

Members

• The four original members were Stanley (Starchild), Simmons (Demon), Frehley (Spaceman) and Criss (Catman).
• Eric Carr replaced Criss in 1980; Vinnie Vincent, Mark St. John and Bruce Kulick later held lead guitar.
• Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer formed the final lineup.

Career

• Kiss became one of America's most successful rock bands in the late 1970s, with a 1977 Gallup poll naming them the most popular band in America.
• The band unmasked in 1983 and reunited the original lineup for the 1996 reunion tour.
• The band announced its retirement after its final show at Madison Square Garden on December 2, 2023.
• Kiss was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on April 10, 2014.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• AllMusic reviewer David Jeffries called the addition of Tommy Thayer to the band one of several disappointments
• Jeffries described the album as dragged down by a muddy mix
• Jeffries also pointed to under-rehearsed interaction between the band and the orchestra
• Jeffries said a 60-piece orchestra could not make up for these problems
• Jeffries found Gene Simmons's voice an embarrassment, particularly in the song Goin' Blind
• Thayer was introduced as the Spaceman at this show, and the album became Kiss's last to feature Peter Criss
• The album was released in 2003 on Kiss Records and Sanctuary Records, the band's first releases under those labels
• Singer's earlier return in 2001 had already set up the later lineup change that followed Criss's 2004 departure

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The live versions of Rock and Roll All Nite, God of Thunder and Lick It Up appeared on the soundtrack of the 2003 video game Tony Hawk's Underground
• The game included a bonus level called Hotter Than Hell, set at the Melbourne location where the concert took place
• A God of Thunder performance was included as an extra feature in the game
• Gene Simmons could be unlocked in the game as a playable character with his own special move
• Unlike past Alive releases, the songs are ordered as they were performed rather than by sequence of the studio material

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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