Sunday Spins: 'KISS Off The Soundboard: Live In Poughkeepsie, NY 1984'

Back in February, I mentioned that KISS were adding to their "Off The Soundboard" vinyl series, this time featuring the apparently only known live recording with the band featuring Mark St. John. I immediately pre-ordered the album.

KISS Off The Soundboard: Live In Poughkeepsie, NY 1984 was officially released on 2-LP format earlier this month. My copy arrived a week ago.

The packaging is simple as all the "Soundboard" releases are, with the albums coming in two different brown inserts inside the larger LP container. The disc labels feature the Animalize tiger marks to note the timeframe of the recording. The albums are 180 gram vinyl.

The important thing to remember here is that this recording was released because of St. John's participation. There are songs that are not fully complete because of audio issues. Still, this is a collection worth having for KISS fans.

Of course I listened to "Heaven's On Fire" first because that is one of my favorite KISS songs. Paul Stanley does a pretty good job here, but even in 1984 it sounded like he was straining live at times. The crowd didn't seem to care and definitely participated when asked. The favorites "Detroit Rock City," "Gold Gin" and "Lick It Up" are included of course, plus a guitar solo for St. John. The finale, "Rock and Roll All Nite" is one of the incomplete songs, but that's okay. I would rather have a partial recording than not at all. There's something to be said for a band releasing official albums showing warts and all.

You can get the vinyl now everywhere you buy records. It's around $50 for the double set and remember Record Store Day is coming up on Saturday!