I have been doing a Kiss Bootleg Series for years. You get a review every time I add a new one to the collection. Well, after buying 38 Bootleg CDs from John Humphrey’s personal collection, I figured let’s jump right back in and do a whole lot of reviews on the Bootlegs. Oh, if you don’t know who John Humphrey is, you need to know he is a massive Kiss collector. And he is the drummer of the band Seether. John decided to sell off his entire collection…sort of…he kept all the vinyl (like 4,000 of them). He did it through an auction at Backstage Auctions and I had to have a piece of it…and I did wind up with some things.
The bootleg we have for you this time around is called ‘Electric Magic’ and it was recorded live from The Brewery in East Lansing, Michigan on October 21, 1974 about a week before ‘Hotter Than Hell’ was released. This particular one is a soundtrack recording which means the sound is pretty good. A little more focused on the instruments as they are louder than the vocals. Also, it means the crowd noise is pretty limited as they weren’t mic’d up. This one is from Godfatherecords and is on a tri-fold cardboard sleev. It was released on May 15, 2008 so it isn’t that old. But the show is.
The show opens with a classic opening line of “Put Your Two Lips Together and KISS” screamed from the announcer. The opening riff comes on and you know it is “Deuce”. A killer opening track and to be followed by “Strutter” is a brutal opening. Before the song starts, you hear a lot of noodling around on the instruments and it is a pretty long pause before the song kicks in. The bass is real heavy on this one, but it is still killer. Paul announces the next song is off their new album that will be out this week and it is “Got to Choose”. One of the coolest songs on that album and cool they heard it before the album dropped.
There is some more tuning and noodling and a long pause, no dialogue from Paul and then “Firehouse” kicks in. The best part is the siren at the end. So loud and such a classic bit in the show. Gene’s bass is heavy again and Ace & Peter both sound exceptionally well. Paul’s vocals go in and out a little as he moves around and gets closer to or further away from the mic. Still great song. Then the band goes in to an old Wicked Lester song, “She”. This one doesn’t come out until the next record “Dressed to Kill”. It is pretty close to what that version is than the old Wicked Lester one. The only problem with it is how slow they play it. It makes it very sludgy and a little boring. It is missing some umph!! But again, cool they get a preview long before its release.
Things pick right back up with “Nothin’ to Lose” after a brief speech from Paul to get the crowd riled up. Now, I mentioned earlier, the crowd is barely there and that does hurt some of the energy of the show. If the crowd sounds like they are into it, that really plays off the band’s energy and you can get caught up listening to it. That doesn’t mean the band doesn’t sound great as Peter kills on this one. If that isn’t good enough, they play “Parasite” from the new album at the time. Ace’s riff is freaking brutal and so loud in the mix, it is awesome. Such a heavy song and so metal. One of my favorite tracks.
At the end of “Parasite”, we get a little bass solo (or whatever Gene is doing), then he goes in to the riff for “100,000 Years”. Paul is a little off on this one or he just isn’t loud enough in the mix. The music is loud…at least the guitar and bass are. But they jam this one out and you get a solid 6 minutes of it which is great. More noodling between songs before the go into “Black Diamond”. An odd transition to the song. Paul sings softly on the opening verse and then “HIT IT!!!”…BAM!!!…the band kicks in and all hell breaks loose.
The band says goodnight and leaves…but do you fret…they come back and play a couple encore songs. Of course more noodling and tuning and feedback on the instruments between songs. Very strange. Their transitions between songs here is sloppy at times. First up on the encore songs is “Let Me Go, Rock ‘N Roll” the rowdy, rock roller anthem. They end it up with “Cold Gin“, but not before Paul does his normal spiel about the different alcohols. Classic!! Then with a fast, frenzied guitar riff from Ace we get that truly famous, most recognizable riff of “Cold Gin”. The band cranks it out and goes out with a bang. Always love hearing this song live…even at an Ace solo show.
And that is the end of another Kiss bootleg. I don’t think I enough…and I’m just getting started. This one does have some great sound. My only complaints are the instruments are up louder than the vocals for most of the time, but all still sounds great. Heck, if you love guitar and bass…you got it here for sure. The other issue is I wish the crowd noise was there as that makes a live album that is good, even better. This is early Kiss so a solid parade of classic Kiss songs and Kiss are still hungry and killing it. And to top it off, since this the “Hotter Than Hell Tour”, there is no “Rock And Roll All Nite” to end the show…thank god. My Overall Score is a 4.0 out of 5.0 Stars. The sound is great, just a couple things that need work. Definitely worth grabbing if you see it.
The Kiss Bootleg Series:
- Kiss – ‘Accept No Imitations’ (Bootleg Series) – Album Review (ASYLUM TOUR)
- Kiss – Look Wot You Dun to Me (Bootleg Series) – Album Review (CRAZY NIGHTS TOUR)
- Kiss – The Summer of Satan: The Devils Ride Out! (Bootleg Series) – Album Review (DESTROYER TOUR)
- Kiss – Return to Capital Center (Bootleg Series) – Album Review (DYNASTY TOUR)
- Kiss – With Fire & Thunder (Bootleg Series) – Album Review (HOTTER THAN HELL TOUR)
- Kiss – Northhampton PA March 19th, 1975 (Bootleg Series) – Album Review (DRESSED TO KILL TOUR)
- Kiss – The Hottest Show On Earth (Bootleg Series) – Album Review (THE HOTTEST SHOW ON EARTH TOUR 2010)
- Kiss – All the Way to the Ball Room (Bootleg Series) – Album Review (Australian Tour 1995)
- Kiss – Kiss of Thunder (Bootleg Series) – Album Review (The Rising Sun Tour 2006)
- Kiss – Agora Ballroom 1974: The Cleveland Broadcast plus Bonus Cuts (Bootleg Series) – Album Review (THE KISS TOUR)
- Kiss – Hotter Than Hell: Radio Broadcast 1976 (Bootleg Series) – Album Review (ROCK & ROLL OVER TOUR)
- Kiss – The Tickler (Bootleg Series) – Album Review (LICK IT UP TOUR 1983)
- Kiss – Barbarize (Bootleg Series) – Album Review (ANIMALIZE WORLD TOUR 1984 – North American Tour)
- Kiss – They Only Come Out At Night (Bootleg Series) – Album Review (ANIMALIZE WORLD TOUR 1984 – EUROPEAN TOUR)
- Wicked Lester and the Progeny Demo Sessions (Bootleg)
- Kiss – Black Diamond: Lafayette Music Room, Memphis, TN April 18th, 1974 – FM Broadcast
- Kiss – End of the Road: In Allentown 2020 (PPL Center, Allentown, PA, 4th February 2020) (End of the Road Tour) – Blu-Ray
- Kiss – ‘Monster Tour: Simpsonville 2013’ (Charter Amphitheatre at Heritage Park, Simpsonville, C – 13th August 2013) – Blu-Ray
- Wicked Lester – The Original Wicked Lester Sessions (Bootleg)
- Kiss – The Ritz on Fire (August 12, 1988, The Ritz, New York City. A radio broadcast – Crazy Nights Tour)
- Kiss – Kiss My Axe 1978: Live from the Los Angeles Forum in California, August 25, 1977 (Love Gun Tour)
- Kiss – Gods of Thunder: The Legendary Concert Broadcast – Sao Paulo, August 27, 1994′
- Kiss – Black Diamond: Lafayette Music Room, Memphis, TN April 18th, 1974 – FM Broadcast (Alternate Cover)
- Kiss -Alive! in Amityville: June 1973 – (2021)
- Kiss – Set the World On Fire: Live (10 CD Box Set – Radio Broadcasts 1974-1994)
- Kiss – Diamonds in the Dust (2022)
- Kiss – Wicked Lester (John Humphrey Collection)
- Kiss – Unplugged (John Humphrey Collection)
- Kiss – Kabuki Beasts: Kyoto 1977 (John Humphrey Collection)
- Kiss – Live in Australia 1980 (John Humphrey Collection)
- Kiss – Electric Magic: Live East Lansing, MI October 21, 1974 (John Humphrey Collection)
