KISS - CD
FIRST KISS FIRST LICKS

LABEL:
The Godfather Records
SOURCE:
Wabx Kite-In and Balloon Fly April 7 1974, Detroit, Mi, Michigan Palace & Allison Steel the Nightbird June 23 1974
FORMAT:
CD
RUNNING TIME:
80 Minutes approx.
SOUND/SOURCE:
Stereo FM Broadcast
PACKAGING:
Triple Gatefold
 

First Kiss, First Licks front

***image2***

SOUND 9.5 / PACKAGING 10 / PERFORMANCE 10

 
TRACK LIST:

NB9001 Warner Bros. Radio Spot for Kiss First Album/(Live at the Wabx Kite-In and Balloon Fly April 7 1974, Detroit, Mi, Michigan Palace) Deuce/Strutter/She/Firehouse/Nothin’ to lose/Cold gin/100,000 years/ Black Diamond/Baby, Let me go

(Allison Steel the Nightbird First Interview with Kiss June 23 1974)

Featuring: Strutter/Deuce/Watchin’ you/Cold gin/Black Diamond (Original Demo Recording)

 
REVIEW:

Not For The Innocent was one of The Godafther's finest releases and definitely the best KISS release since vinyl days (Egos At The Stake, anyone?). Now the Godfather returns with an all new vintage KISS release we get a master reel of a 1974 KISS concert. Back in those days KISS were frequent guests on live radio shows but so far only a truely excellent tape of this Detroit show has surfaced and we are in for a treat. This is KISS when they weren't a cover band of themselves and still had to earn the title THE HOTTEST BAND IN THE WORLD. Unfortunately once they earned this self proclaimed title things went downhill but that's another story. In ' 74 KISS was definitely the hottest band on the scene with Ace Frehley ripping like only Hendrix could, Peter Criss long before he released ballad cd's titled One For All and Gene and Paul still being two guys who wanted to make it BIG. In other words KISS is hungry here.

The tape used here is a copy of an analogue FM master that surfaced a while ago. Unfortunately that tape, aswell as many circulating versions, was recorded at the wrong speed. This version is corrected at the right pitch and combined with the great quality this makes another excellent KISS title by The Godfather. The sound is clear and full and has a great setlist of only klassics that to this very day still make up a big part of KISS's setlists with the exception of the "Baby, Let Me Go" song that would later evolve into "Let Me Go Rock And Roll" on the second album Hotter Than Hell from late '74.

The bonus is something special, besides the great radio spot for the first KISS album that opens the CD you get the very first radio interview the band did on Allison Steel's radioshow The Nightbird.. A great interview with an honest and open KISS who answer all questions politely but with the bravoure the band is still known for nowadays. As the original broadcast had album tracks in it the Godfather opted for a great alternative. They edited in the DEMO versions of the songs played off the first KISS demo from '73 produced by Eddie Kramer. These versions are remarkebly different and just as the interview and other material on this disc in GREAT quality!

To make this release another contender for the Hotwacks Top 10 over 2007 they threw in an excellent booklet as they did with Not For The Innocent! The booklet consists, just as the triple gatefold, of photos from the very first photosession KISS did in advance of the KISS album release aswell as a reprint of the original first album presskit!

First Kiss, First Licks is an excellent release so be sure to get one if you're into KISS or a collector of excellent bootlegs!


I had a vinyl version of this show lots of years ago (none of the bonus stuff on it, of course), when I was still in my twenties. The vinyl speed was inconsistent--frequently slower than normal speed. It would have required a lot of work to bring the sound up to snuff
Comment by Mark+Sanders wrote on 2007-07-18 21:31:09

Very curious which vinyl you had as I don't know of a vinyl version savailable of this show. Also so far all versions I heard were too FAST so you got a curiosity in your hands. Please let me know details and if possible photos of this release.
Comment by Balk wrote on 2007-07-19 07:29:53

I no longer have the lp. I lost all my collection--nearly 700 lps--during a real nasty and expensive divorce back in 1980. I got the lp at a Nebraska headshop, called Dirt Cheap around 1975 or 76; I remember that the inlay was a green, substandard print of the band (all the old boots had inserts like this, sitting atop a plain white jacket inside the shrink wrap). The show had the Dirty Harry intro, but everything was slow and almost unlistenable.
Comment by Mark+Sanders wrote on 2007-07-19 20:16:00

That's the Long Beach May 31 show titled either Fried Alive or 1st KISS at Long Island (Yep Long Island, long story but Idle Mind messed up matrix numbers of Long Beach and Long Island shows).
Comment by Balk wrote on 2007-07-27 19:36:07

The best toys are the ones that are both educational and multi-purposeful.
Great Toys For Tots

 

Don't miss our new Top Vinyl List of the Departed
you’ll find something to tickle your fancy and your ears

 


 

Jul 18, 2007 - 2:54:56 PM


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