The Evolution of KISS Part 1: 1974 - The First KISS Album.

[playinguitarful]

ACE RULES!

[LeeB9999]

Notice the second picture of Peter Cris that he is standing next to Jerry Nolan of New York Dolls fame.

[darksorcerermusic]

far out....Gene looks like a young version of Andre the Giant...check it yourself 0:52 and onward

[acdckisszeppelin]

dudes, KISS is awesome, nuff said.

[leifpaul]

@bluesinduluth lol

[MrSeventhplague]

Stanley Eisen,Eugene Kline,Peter Criscoula,Paul Frehley!\m/

[ltwon7]

@MrSeventhplague Actually Simmons REAL name is Chaim Witz. If you want exact for the rest, Stanley Harvey Eisen

Paul Daniel Frehley

George Peter John Criscuola

[9funn]

GREATEST BUBBLEGUM POP BAND EVER!!!!

[MultiShampain]

@9funn The original line up were a great rock n roll band but the Jew in Gene came out and tried to market them to children making kiss dollies etc no wonder the real rock members of the band left and they became even more jewish and utter shit. Gene is a total cock but Kiss still rank my fave band all time as lets be honest they have loads of AAA songs with only beatles or stones in same league

[Vortigern99]

@MultiShampain What does Jewishness have to do with any of this? KISS became "even more jewish" with Creatures of the Night and Lick It Up? Please explain how Eric Carr and Bruce Kulick made the band "more jewish".

[BoogerGuts1]

@bluesinduluth overmarketed yes, terrible lyrics yes, worst band in the world no. Some pretty awesome rock material in there, especially from the early days. Kiss Alive is consistently voted one of the best live albums of all time. Do your own search.

[BoogerGuts1]

@bluesinduluth overmarketed yes, terrible lyrics yes, worst ban in the world no. Some pretty awesome rock material in there, especially from the early days. Kiss Alive is consistently voted one of the best live albums of all time.

[sjdss]

KISS never released ACROBAT the best song they ever did! I blame simmons/stanley for licking casablancas ass! 1975 WAS the first time ACE wanted to say fuck it and leave! after 75 KISS became a pop band! the glam street blues sound was gone!

[71sleek]

@bluesinduluth So true, but they are like a train wreck you can't help but watch. They were just an act that was way ahead of their time, and so strange that people watched which worked in their favor. The band now is so pathetic that even Paul walks around pissed off at the world, time to hang it up!!

[steve85918]

the best KISS .

[SotR59]

Jeez, Paul Stanley has looked the same since the day he was born.

[SotR59]

Jeez, Paul Stanley has looked the same since the day he was born.

[tyeedwrds]

4 guys with high energy, dreams and an iron will. It made a brand that has lasted until this very day. Why trash them? Page and Clapton inspired them. They inspired Dime, Sabo, and many others. Just like Rhoads and Eddie inspired many who followed. Isn't the differences between the bands what makes them unique and appealing to their individual fans? I like Zep, Clapton, Ozzy, Sabbath and Priest. But KISS is where it all started for me. It doesn't mean I like the others less, just differently.

[odinstreet]

Amateur Jewish musicians with a dream. Persevere. Never give up. Write songs that suck but will sell and well, they obviously had a recipe for success. I admire that!

[Head318Hunter]

@odinstreet BINGO

[ValJeanSmith]

These Evolution videos are so well done. I've been a KISS fan for MANY years but after recently reading Ace's autobiography, it renewed my interest and I started looking around Youtube to see more. I really enjoyed the photos and songs; I appreciate the hard work you put into them. :)

[mickeyrose100]

looks like they have been wearing wigs for decades!!

[Lisarata]

I think I've finally caught up to KISS of 1974. I dug it!

[wagtec]

They created something unique, and did a great job at it.

[MDC01FLY]

I noticed you didn't leave the pic at 2:40 up as long as the others.. But I can see why

[23Henrich]

use to love this band as a kid.Thanks.

[blingblingpappa]

They played so fast and heavy at the time, HOT STUFF!!

[ravner1976]

I read Aces new book over the past week at a bookstore here in Austin. I've never laughed out loud over a book so much.

[Arnie1973]

@ravner1976 Man! Where can i get it?????

Thanks Arnie

[rubbersole79]

For me, the last KISS albums were "Destroyer" and "Alive II"

Love Gun wasn't bad either, but nothing measured up after that IMHO.

[sjdss]

its easy to see why ACE! hated the destroyer album! great expectations?! seriously?! and gene claimed he didnt care what critics thought! best album ever by "KISS" is ACES solo record in 78!

[MadGino1]

HouseofDracula, thank you for this. KISS was my favorite band growing up. My first concert was at the age of 9, Cheap Trick opened for them, and it was incredible, even for a 9 year old. Thank you for doing the research and putting this up for all of us REAL fans!!!!

[AngelofAnguish]

@ColdHeartedMan1980 Are you SERIOUS?! THAT'S why (the original) KISS AREN'T in the Rn'R Hall of Fame...because Ace, Peter, Gene, and Paul, are STILL ALIVE?! ALL THIS TIME I thought it was SOMETHING ELSE!

[Princesss1225]

This is great video! Love it!

[maryquant1967]

@ColdHeartedMan1980 REASON; Jan Wenner has a personal grudge against someone in the KISS camp.

[Mraodom1966]

@ColdHeartedMan1980 Aerosmith 2001, Black Sabbath 2006, etc. No dead original members of either of these bands and I'm sure it would be easy to find other examples.

[stephenjones102]

Holy buh - jeebers. I've been a fan of these guys for......over 30 years and I've never seen these photos before. The first ones in the clip show that these guys were just regular, kick arse rock and rollers.

[earinsound]

recall my mom painting my face like peter criss and my brother's face like ace frehley (like on the 1st album)...just for kicks, not even halloween.

[ILoveCurves88]

@HouseOfDracula You are correct sir. The link to the full clip is on this page in the related stories section...,,,

[bakersfieldmusicnow]

this is just awesome !!!

[23Henrich]

notice the New York Dolls 'look' at 2:38... they made ugly chicks...but Kiss Live is still a classic in my books. Awesome footage...brings back memories. Thanks!



[barcodescreamer]

This is a Don Kirschner stage, not Mike Douglas. Hate to admit it, but I saw it when it was new....AH!

[IABOY4444]

I remember being the first KIZZ Freak in high school. I was 15. I bought every mag and caught every TV appearance (there were few) and of course bought every album or 8 track. Finally, I saw them Live in Minneapolis when I was 18. They did not disappoint! I had been to many concerts but theirs was the BEST!!!

[cuerpoeperra]

0:39 Paul Stanley= CHE GUEVARA.

[dmreeoogdaq]

Um....Rock & Roll Hall of Fame? Hello? Hello? Is anyone there?

Oh, you've inducted U2 and R.E.M. and Madonna? What about KISS? Yeah, KISS. You know, at one time for about 6 years they were the biggest band in the world? The inspired millions of people to get into Rock & Roll and pick up a guitar or a pair of drumsticks. Yeah, that KISS. No? You say you'd rather induct The Cure, huh?

Never mind. Just keep patting yourselves on the back for being so "cool", mmmkay?

[AngelofAnguish]

@dmreeoogdaq What's MADONNA got to do with rock n' roll?! Like A Virgin? Borderline? Crazy For You? THAT'S ROCK N' ROLL?! Oh yeah, while you're at it, Rn'Roll Hall of Fame, please induct Eazy-E and Dr. Dre! Nothing like seeing rap/hip hop artists alongside "rockers" to show how "liberal" you are!

[MrKrime]

@AngelofAnguish NWA may not be there but Run DMC is and Eric B and Rakim are being induced this year. So much for your "conservativeness" smdh

[MrKrime]

@AngelofAnguish NWA may not be there but Run DMC is and Eric B and Rakim are being induced this year. So much for your "conservativeness" smdh

oh and the Beastie Boys too

[deserteagle19702011]

Paul is ugly as fuk

[nkmcfrln]

That's Jerry Nolan with Peter at 1:09 the drummer from The New York Dolls. What a cool picture.

[TheAlexa57]

genne was so ugly when he was a baby

[egyptianminor]

OMG, Paul looks like a Indian hipster @ 0:40

[cuerpoeperra]

@egyptianminor No, looks like CHE GUEVARA

[WWFinurhouse]

Gene is much more cooler when he was thin!

[kevykev38]

I remember being a kid in the 70's and being a fan of Kiss and still am today.. but back in the 70's it was really hard to find any clips of Kiss on tv. So the imagination ran wild of how they would be onstage. Until they started showing up on tv once in a great while like the Paul Lind Halloween special and Several other shows. It was great when the cheesy movie Kiss meets the phantom came out. I was a happy kid.

[Keyo717]

@kevykev38 That was a really cool time to be a KISS fan.... I remember it well.

[lamecasuelas2]

is that KISS playing at the CAL JAM FESTIVAL??

[billybadassguitar]

the kiss them song it been a long time

[argiemerc]

Young Peter at 1:14 looks just like Lionel Messi

[baburjabal]

Gene Simmons says "we survived the punk era". Huh? After 1978 nobody over 6 years old paid attention to Kiss, so if that's surviving, hey, Gene, what a manly-man. Man, look at what a good guitarist Paul Stanley is! He blows Jimmy Page away! NOT! hahahahahahahaha, what a friggin' lame performance of a friggin lame song. Amazing how a band this shitty ever made it as far as they did, but that says more about their audience than it does about them.

[ossiesixtysix]

@baburjabal You couldn't get a bigger Zep fan than me, but why compare Paul Stanley, a rhythm guitarist with Pagey? Both Paul & Ace as Zep fans themselves would admit they aren't in the Page class, but who cares? It's rock & roll and what Kiss did in these days was sensational. Comparing them to Zep is comparing apples & oranges. Why the need to dump shit on a band you don't like anyway? If you're not up for it, move on. Too much aggro in the world now without BS between music fans.

[aflsteve90]

@ossiesixtysix Why compare? Because he's another one of these brave heroes hiding behind his keyboard safely posting rubbish he wouldn't have the guts to say face to face.

[justsupersteve]

@ossiesixtysix don't know why do people always have to talk shit about the others and come with such stupid arguments like that. all i know is that the ones with the billions and fame are Kiss and here we have this @baburjabal loser who to talks crap about them. well done sir, do you have your own tv show like the "manly-man" Gene does? or doy you even have a memorable "friggin' lame performance of a friggin lame song" posted on youtube? what are we going to do with all this frustrated losers..

[WatchVenusSpa]

@ossiesixtysix Paul always said he modelled his style as a front man to Robert Plant oddly enough.

[PETESEYESBLUE]

@ossiesixtysix Absolute you cannot compare Stanley to Page not even close,But Paul Stanley is a concept of hard showclass rock where as Jimmy Page is the personna of blues as well as classical guitaring in depth and soul I will take PAGE any time and yes i still love them both as we all should remember where we found our rock integrity

[SuperJneel]

@ossiesixtysix You couldn't be more right. I'm a huge fan of bands like Yes, Rush and Dream Theater. But Kiss was my first love and I still love them. Great show! Whole different thing. Might as well compare Mozart with Tom T. Hall.

[coltsrule5150]

@ossiesixtysix kiss dont have anything that compares to stairway to heaven alone

[GetStuffed04]

@ossiesixtysix Led Zep was a hard rock band with blues influences. KISS was hard rock during 70's, but after that, as the music evolved, they became a heavy metal/glam metal band, (except for the '96 reunion where they only played their 70's stuff). I get that a lot of people like Led Zep (I'm only 20 so they were waaaay before my time), but you are right: you can't compare a hard rock/blues rock band with a hard rock/heavy metal/glam metal band. It's like comparing Metallica and Slipknot.

[SuRihtanil]

@ossiesixtysix What is a aggro?

[oconnormichael]

@SuRihtanil Aggro is an Aussie slang word taken from the word aggravate. What's with the aggro = Why so angry. Hope that makes sense.

[justsupersteve]

@baburjabal don't know why do people always have to talk shit about the others and come with such stupid arguments like that. all i know is that the ones with the billions and fame are Kiss and here you are, the one loser who to talks crap about them. well done sir, do you have your own tv show like the "manly-man" Gene does? or do you even have a memorable "friggin' lame performance of a friggin lame song" posted on youtube? what are we going to do with all this frustrated losers..

[lamecasuelas2]

@baburjabal so under your logic,anythig that is not Stravinsky would be shit

[MrSomename89]

0:40 it is just me or does paul look like a young che guevara in that photo?

[gabrosillo]

un arcoiris en el stage de kiss?

[juicysuit]

HA! Ace blowing Gene a kiss at 6:25!

[kalimaganeshshivan]

Man, I miss those days back in the 70's! I love Kiss and their sound!

[johnny10301968]

Is that Stephen Stills with Paul Stanley at 0:39?

[pconj67]

Anyone else think Paul Stanly and Prince look a bit simila ?

[TheMusicman1971]

@pconj67 Um, NO!!!!!!

[beautifulsarah100]

This should be required watching for all people under 30 who are interested in rock and roll. People need to get their shit straight and understand what KISS really was!

[AngelofAnguish]

@beautifulsarah100 I agree! If it WASN'T for KISS, I WOULDN'T be a fan of rock/metal! In my opinion, KISS were like, ex-pro-wrestlers, the Road Warriors. How? In my opinion, they EPITOMIZED what SUCCESS IS in the entertainment business because they "DARED TO BE DIFFERENT." 

[atomicplayboy4u]

@ObscurityBurger haha Yeah love gun and I stole your love is boring and chessy ? LOL Nah... you are describing the so called mono tone shit rockbands of today ! LOL They sound as though they have been playing for 3 months, cant tune their instruments , and all the do is moan and cry like a moaning dying cow ! BORING !

[troutmask1970]

@ObscurityBurger no one put a gun to your head to watch this now did they. There is always one in the crowd.

[thegroupharmonyalley]

Fantastic video. Not a moment wasted. All great footage and movement of stills!

Christine Vitale

The Group Harmony Alley on WFDU-FM - Teaneck, NJ

Sundays, 7pm to 10pm EASTERN

And streaming live on the web at wfdu .fm

[marko0430]

Genes' voice cuts like a knife when he sings" nothing to lose". What a kick ass band. 4 great talents. 

[1967JesusFreak]

Loved this thanks so much for posting. Anything KISS always brings a smile to my face!

[Blackdragon52k]

Whenever I hear them sing the chorus to firehouse in their early days or on Alive! theres always this microsecond where I think that theyre going to say "GET THE FUCK OUT!". Idk why its like that lol

[denimdemon89]

@1:11 is that JERRY NOLAN with Peter Criss?

[sweetXpeachX]

dudes i played in a hardcore band when i was 14-15 in 1984 it went around the world the whole jumping around the stage in my band was from KISS look at Hogans heroes 1990 city gardens at least from my guitar .........just to be able to let go in the early mid eighties when all those KISS bootlegs came out , before KISSvision even, but the same shows you couldnt watch tose show all the time and be happy with a bootleg of anyone else KISS made just about everyone boring...still does most of times.

[wwerulestna]

@sweetXpeachX What? Speak English man.

[MichaelHansenFUN]

@sweetXpeachX huh?

[whitecloud1980]

Evolution of Kiss is like this. 4 hungry young musicians who had fun, and a kick ass stage show to 2 remaining not so hungry older musicians which equals half a tribute band that plays the same fu(ken setlist since 1996. however will still always be my number one band on the planet. go figure lol

[Dabuss98]

Haha those pictures of Ace in the beginning are sweet!

[01po01po]

Its interesting to note that they played this on the Mike Douglas show , and slowed it down to the studio version speed. Probebly the only time they did this. Their live shows are always a faster tempo than the studio versions in the early days. I think thats why KISS Alive was so successfull, it captured the songs the way they were meant to be played. I've always wondered why or who's idea was it to play the songs at a slower tempo for the studio versions.

[angel6craw]

i love the old kiss. kiss is the best band ever. im 21 years old and i have 19 kiss cds and 13 dvds and over 85 kiss items in my bad ass collection.

[AngelofAnguish]

@angel6craw In your opinion, what would music be like IF THERE WASN'T a Kiss? Who do you feel would be the "starting point" of Kiss IF Gene and Paul HADN'T met? I wonder what Kiss would've been like if ACE and PETER were the "starting point" and Gene and Paul had been recruited later?

[thechucker44]

Interesting...I don't think their costumes always lined up in the early years with the album.

[franjulientikaa]

cool les photos de KISS jeunes!!!

[xXHelena87Xx]

what's the name of the song at 1:55 , does anyone know? it sounds good^^

[36hcupsizeandgrowing]

@xXHelena87Xx yes its THE LOVE THEME FROM KISS, origanaly called acrobat

[argiemerc]

@xXHelena87Xx

It's an instrumental song from their first album.

[ShakeDownRocks]

There is video of them doing Acrobat (which sort of became Love Theme From Kiss) from 1974 if you wanted to add it. But great video!

[Coldgin94]

@houseofdracula : Congratulations from a French KISS fan !

Real Awesome !

Rock On !

[rbrgager]

the video of Firehose is actually from the hotter than hell era

[houseofdracula]

@rbrgager NO! This was from the Mike Douglas TV talk show and if you've ever seen the entire thing, you'll see that Mike holds up thier first album and calls it thier NEW album. Yes, they are indeed wearing the costumes from the "Hotter Than Hell" Tour but that was because they were ready before the album came out.

[CusterFlux]

@houseofdracula it sounded like it was on a small stage, I couldn't figure out where the hell they where playing - so that makes sense; a TV stage - no wonder Zeppelin gave up on the tube, in the 70s, TV sound was terrible.

[onceonlyaz]

@houseofdracula yeah its not hotter than hell there outfits are different

[MrGod1973]

@rbrgager Lol "fire-Hose !!!

[marjar1985]

Wow - cool!

[vanhalen515084]

stanley eisen, gene klein, paul frehley, peter crisscole

[rbrgager]

@vanhalen515084------peter's real name is actually george crisscola

[demon312003]

@vanhalen515084 genes real name is chiam whitz when he was in isereal but when him and his mom came to the u.s.a he changed it to gene klein,and then gene simmons

[TheMusicman1971]

@vanhalen515084 Chris Cole? The guy who replaced Bobby Beers in RockStar? HAHAHAHA. 

[HillTopp100]

nice work -

[HillTopp100]

nice work -

[Coldgin94]

This video is really awesome !

KISS is one the world's greatest Rock'N'Roll group !

KISS RULES !

If you want to yo contact me send me an e-mail ,i'll be glad to talk with you !

See you soon !

RockOn !

[TheBigHase]

Nice! Rock History Ladies and Gentlemen! Nuff said... KISS!

[dimebagdave77]

this is great!never seen alot of those pics!

[Nikophobia]

Awesome vid-I live in astoria,NY where kiss performed their first time at a place called coventry-Still trying to find it's original location.