When Kiss were preparing to tour their album ‘Rock And Roll Over’, They rented some space at Camp Curtis Guild Armory in Reading, Massachusetts and rehearsed. They recorded one rehearsal on November 15, 1976 which is a very famous bootleg that has been going around for years. In fact, I recently reviewed this rehearsal on a vinyl bootleg I have called ‘Choppers ‘N Chicks’. This time around it is the CD from 2015 called ‘Return to Thunder: Winter Tour 1976/1977’. We get that whole show rehearsal as well as some bonus tracks not on that last release.
This package comes in a cardboard vinyl sleeve replica with some cool live shots as well as the Kiss logo from the Rock & Roll Over album. The disc is housed in a cardboard sleeve and if that wasn’t enough they included a 4-page booklet that has 4 pictures. One of each Kiss member including Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, the late, great Ace Frehley and Peter Cris…oops…they have a typo…it should be Peter Criss with two S’s.
This is another disc that was included in the John Humphrey Collection I bought last year at auction. where I got my hands on 38 Bootleg CDs from his personal collection. 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…which I did.
Track 1-19: Rehearsals Camp Curtis Guild Armory, Reading, Ma, U.S.A. November 15 1976:
The album opens with a fade in as the band is doing “Detroit Rock City”. It picks up right as Paul starts singing the lyrics. It all sounds a little hollow due to the type of recording, but you can hearing everything fairly well. Vocals are good as no one has blown their voice yet as this is only rehearsals. They aren’t half-assing anything as Peter sounds on point, and Ace’s solo is full on like you’d expect.
They then count in “Take Me” and totally rock it out. With “Let Me Go, Rock And Roll”, Gene lets out a howl and they are off to the races. The guitars on here are flashy and fast. Gene is as menacing as ever and sounds great. A fun track for sure. There was a pause on the vinyl at this point because it omitted the classic song “Strutter”. Since the CD has more space than vinyl, we get the song here. They play it as they’ve played it a million times. Solid, on point and no deviation from the album version.
Then we get more Gene with “Ladies Room”. Nothing fancy. The song is played as you’d expect. Short and Sweet and killer. After that, they go into “Firehouse”. Due to the recording, it sounds a little flat and muddied. But they are hitting every note and though Paul might not be giving it his all, Gene is for his parts. The sound, though, bothers me a little even though I was still singing along.
There is a weird cut and fade in as the band is already in the middle of “Hard Luck Woman”. Too bad we don’t get the whole thing. Peter sounds great and the tempo is a little faster. Guitars are softer and it is a gentler Kiss. Another strange cut and we are already at the chorus of “Do You Love Me”. Missed a whole verse or two there as we are towards the end of the song here. Really sucks as I love this song.
Next up is “Cold Gin”. Paul screams out Cold Gin, then Ace starts on the opening riff and the band explodes in to action. Finally, a fully rocking Kiss. Gene attacks the lyrics, Peter is slamming on the guitar and Ace is doing what Ace does best. His solo is pure fire. Then we get “Makin’ Love”. Again, another bad cut and we are already in the middle of the song. This type of thing really pisses me off. I’m greedy, give me the whole song.
Here is the weird part, they have “Cold Gin” listed again…and it is played again…well…sort of. It is Paul repeating saying “Cold Gin” and then Ace’s guitar intro. It is really cool as they keep trying it until they like what they get, then they play the song in full…again. Gene is up next with his eerie, creepy bass solo…if you want to call it that. It is the thumps that keep building until he spits the blood. A few notes, a gong and then it is “God of Thunder”. Sound is horrible here, I can barely hear Gene, the music is too loud. They are playing as they should, no fault of theirs, just the quality is bad.
Peter’s turn for a solo. He pounds away at a 100 mph, but again the sound quality is really bad. You can tell he is killing it though. At this time in the band, he was still holding his own. He was a great drummer in the day. He hits the gong and it is back to “God of Thunder” to wrap it all up. Then there is some talking and Paul says we are going to “Rock And Roll All Nite” and that is what they play. This song has been played a million times and I’ve written about it a million and one so nothing new to add. The only thing I’ll say is they sound like they are having fun during the rehearsal with this one.
The final two tracks kick off with “Deuce”. Before the song kicks in they are goofing off a little which is cool to hear. Gene is a beast on this one..okay, he sound like one because he is tough to hear at times. Sometimes I can’t really tell what he is saying because Paul’s guitar is so damn loud. Ugh!
Lastly, we get “Black Diamond” which I always say is a personal favorite to hear live…and still is. The solo is awesome and Gene’s scream during it is great, but that is it. Peter is giving some orders and some talking going on as the guitar is slowly playing. The guitars get loud for a second and I’m not sure what they are playing before Paul sings his part and then the band comes roaring in and the song takes off like a rocket. The songs goes like you’d expect and they really nail it.
Tracks 18 & 19 Rehearsals Are From A Different Source Tape:
Then we get two bonus tracks from the same day, but from a different audio source. The sound is a little louder, but still very rough around the edges. Very muddied and not the best quality at all. But we get a different track that was not on the other source tape and that is “I Want You”. Vocals are really bad as this source is a disaster. Not a good recording at all (Still cool though). The screams of “I Want You” by Paul at the end sound great though. And then one pop. Next up is “Hard Luck Woman”. On the original source tape, the song starts half way through. Here we get it in all it’s glory. Still muddied, in and out, and messy as hell, but at least it is the whole song.
Track 20-22: “Hangar E”, Stewart International Airport, Newburgh, NY, U.S.A. July 2 1976:
Next, we get three songs from Hanger E at Stewart International Airport. This was from a full dress rehearsal for the “Spirit of ’76” tour supporting the ‘Destroyer’ album. It starts off with “Detroit Rock City” with all the explosions and I am assuming fire. It is the full song minus the radio chatter we get in the studio version. Sound is hollow and it sounds like the guys are a mile away, but you can hear everything. There is a big explosion and they race into “King of the Night Time World”. It is not a smooth transition, but that isn’t Kiss’ fault. No, the tape wobbles and warps, but it rights itself and then we can hear the song. It is fast paced, high energy and exciting. These two songs should always be back-to-back.
The final track we get is “Let Me Go, Rock And Roll”. I love Gene’s wolf-type howl when he screams “Rock and Rooollllll”. Another high energy, electric performance with Peter destroying the skins and Ace smoking that fret. Wow, is this fast paced and I love it. Only a small taste of that performance, but I am sure it was a good one…to bad the tape messes up. Now, I want the full performance of this rehearsal.
Track 23: Earth News Radio, USA September 7 – 9, 1976:
This interview aired from September 7th to 9th, 1976 on Earth News Radio was with Kiss member, Gene Simmons. It took place mere days after the release of their new single and massive hit, “Beth”. This originally was the B-Side of “Detroit Rock City”, but it got so big they made it its own single. Gene talks about wanting to be real-life super heroes on stage. And do on stage what hasn’t been done before including explosions, levitating drum risers, etc… He talks about all the stage effects they will have for their current time.
Funny thing he talks about high ticket prices in 1976 and how they have to give so much more in a show so people get their money’s worth. They are more than music, they are a stage show and Gene is a stage artist not a musician. The interview calls them rock vaudeville. And Gene credits Alice Cooper for inspiring their stage shows. It is a short interview, but cool to hear Gene at that time. He wasn’t quite as pompous as he is now.
And there you have it. Another bootleg from the John Humphrey collection. I know I have the Vinyl Bootleg of the Armory rehearsal for the Rock And Roll Over Tour, but the CD is way better. Sound isn’t any better, but you get more of the show as the vinyl omitted a couple tracks and we get a couple songs that were missing from a different source. Plus, they throw in some tracks from another famous rehearsal at Hanger E from the Destroyer Tour. And to top it off, you get a Gene Simmons Interview from 1976. There is so much goodness here, how can you not enjoy it. My Overall Score is 3.5 out of 5.0 Stars. Where I gave the vinyl a 2.0, I bumped it up for all the extras that this one gives and better packaging. If you are stuck between picking between the vinyl and the CD, go CD all the way.
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)
- Kiss – Detroit 1984: Cobo Hall, Dec. 12, 1984 (John Humphrey Collection)
- Kiss – Snake Attack Budokan: Last Show Japan Tour 1977 (John Humphrey Collection)
- Kiss – Live in Maryland 1977 (John Humphrey Collection)
- Kiss – Feel Like Heaven (John Humphrey Collection)
- Kiss – Madison Square Garden 1977 (John Humphrey Collection)
- Kiss – The Lost Alive II Album (John Humphrey Collection)
- Kiss – Live Vol. 1 : Detroit, Michigan April 7, 1974 (John Humphrey Collection)
- Kiss – Boxx (Vol. 1): Live in USA 1975/’85 (John Humphrey Collection)
- Kiss – Boxx (Vol. 2): Live in Europe 1984 (John Humphrey Collection)
- Kiss – Kiss and Ace Demos (John Humphrey Collection)
- Kiss – The Rock ‘N Roots of Kiss (2025)
- Kiss – Choppers ‘N Chicks (Camp Curtis Guild Armory 11/15/1976 RARO Tour Rehearsal)
- Kiss – Watching Us (John Humphrey Collection)
- Kiss – Return to Thunder: Winter Tour 1976/1977 (John Humphrey Collection)
