Rare KISS Bootleg Surfaces On YouTube

Happy Monday. Today, a rare video clip of KISS during the Asylum tour back in December of 1985. The clip below was shot at the Glen Falls, New York stop of the tour.

Comments

[Him]

Gene, Liza Minnelli called. She wants her sequined red floor-length jacket back. I kid.

Thing is, KISS has always occupied a curious place in my heart. I like em. Love some of their stuff. Hate other songs. And I really enjoyed the whole _Asylum_ and _Animalize_ era. It came just after a rare return to, or rebirth of, form with _Lick It Up_. It came before _Crazy Nights_ and the god awful _Hot in the Shade_.

I only point this out to suggest a couple of things. _LIU_ was a band-focused album with nary a whisper of outside intervention. And it was a god slab of stuff, partially due to the insane talent of Vincent. _A_ and _A_ marked the introduction of outside influences like Child and others (yes, I know they used outside writers on albums prior to _LIU_). The result? Not bad. And some catchy stuff too.

But I see _CN_ as the point where Stanley had to start doing the heavy lifting and where the outside influences that helped him--an increasing amount of them--lift that load started to show. KISS was about songs like "Cold Gin," they became about songs like "Heaven's on Fire," and then they slid into "Rise to It." I wouldn't call that a de-evolution. But I wouldn't call it an upward path. Sure, there were places where they continued to mark their territory. But there was a long period of time (one could argue about when and if it ended) where they were marking less and less ground.

Like I said, can take KISS or leave them. True enough, I often leave them. But I still have fond memories of this era of the band. St. John, then Kulick, and Carr, were worthy additions to a band desperately searching for a hook, and a degree of relevance. I think too many chefs started to ruin the band. And I could do without the "jazz hands" of Mr. Folgers and the Day-Glo outfits that made them look like the Bulgarian Dance Team. But this wasn't a bad point in time, compared to what came before and what came after. I never joined the KISS Army. But I considered myself a supporter at this point in time.

[lucas]

I loved this era. I did not find Kiss until Animalize. Backed up to Lick it up and ran with them as my Favorite until now. Brings back many memories seeing this live video. They had a lot of energy and always put on a great show. As far as the outfits that they had on...it was a sign of the times and I would ever change that one bit. They transformed to fit the attitude of the time. I really liked the Revenge look, though.

[Darktown]

I always felt Bruce got screwed.

[Dj]

I'm not the biggest KISS fan in the world but this era is really cool to me. Nothing will beat the Revenge album music wise though. That's killer top to bottom!! Nothing against the cool 80s stuff or anything from the 70s, but everything they did in the 80s sounds completely cheesy when you compare it to revenge.

[Spyke]

As a fan since '76, this was the worse period..The horrendous get ups, tacky make up (ironic) that made them uglier..song writing was terrible..I feel even those guys want to forget this drag queen era.

[Rita]

I became a KISS fan in 1978 and I was totally hardcore for a very, very long time afterwards.

I idolized them. I liked everything they ever did, including KISS Meets The Phantom of the Park and Hot In The Shade. Heck, even Unmasked. Never had a bad thing to say about them. Ever.

But now that I look back, they did a lot of cheesy things in the 80's. Hair, Make up, music, all of it. Very cheesy.

And while my favourite era was the 70s, with make up and the original guys, I just lost interest over the last 8 years or so. I guess seeing the same show about 15 times will have that effect. Don't listen to them much anymore.

Oh well. The good thing is there is no shortage of awesome music. Lots of other bands and music out there to hold my interest.

[Gary]

The "jazz hands" of Mr Folgers. Now that's freaking funny. 😂😂

[Ace Steele]

Hardcore, Lifetime KISS fan... I caught on to them about a year before the rest of the world, just as Hotter Than Hell was released. I've worked w/ Gene, (not the most pleasant experience) & am thrilled that 2 of my longtime friends have found steady employment in their current lineup, but this era, (Animalize thru Hot In The Shade) is Kiss at it's most unlistenable. I find it ironically hysterical, that them at their glammiest, is the part that I of all people, can't stomach. I couldn't sit thru an entire song of this video.