17. KISS - "Black Diamond" (Alright, Largo! Alive in Maryland 1977 franKENstein Redux)
This is the first in a series of classic multi-cam KISS concerts from the '70s that I have been upscaling and re-creating the audio for. My goal is to give these shows near-album-quality audio while maintaining all the nuances of the actual performances. Rather than simply syncing the official live albums to these shows, I have re-created the basic tracks using various isolated tracks from those albums along with other sources, blending them with actual guitar solos, vocals, drum arrangements and other variations that match the original performance.
This show is from Largo, MD and was taped at Capital Center 12/20/1977 on the ALIVE II Tour.
Vocals: Some vocals bits come from the original Largo recording, but since those vocals are very boxy and distorted (even after "clean-up") they are the vast minority used here. Instead, I used Alive II for the majority of the vocals. They have been altered/edited to perfectly match the Largo video so the feel of the original show is more or less maintained. A few songs use other vocal sources like Houston '76, Detroit '76 & Detroit '77 and NYC '77.
Drums: The drum tracks were done using remixed versions of isolated tracks from Alive!, ALIVEII and Lost Alive II. The original Alive II tracks are blended with samples I created of Peter's actual Alive II and Love Gun drums. Many of the cymbals are also augmented with Peter's actual crash cymbals sampled from ALIVE II. By creating these custom samples I was also able to create versions of the non-A2 songs with the "ALIVE II sound". "Firehouse", "Let Me Go, Rock 'n' Roll", "Rock and Roll All Nite" and "Black Diamond" were done using Peter's actual drumming; sometimes from Alive! with alterations made to match the '77 tour versions and sometimes with pieces of other songs on Alive II, edited and rearranged to piece together the song. "Black Diamond", "Let Me Go, Rock 'n' Roll" & and "Firehouse" were done this way. "RARAN" comes mostly from the Lost ALIVE II recording with the arrangement altered to match the Largo version. Peter's drum solo comes from the actual show, with samples blended to better match the sound of the rest of the show.
Bass: A bit of distortion was added to Gene's bass tracks to better simulate his live bass tone. Most of his parts come from either Alive! or ALIVE II with a few exceptions where other (mainly studio) sources were used. His solo before "God of Thunder" is taken directly from the Largo show.
Guitars: Most of the guitars come from Alive II or Lost Alive II. Some of Ace's solos were taken right from the Largo '77 show where he plays different things than on those recordings. His "Shock Me" solo spot comes directly from the Largo show. Some of Paul's guitar tracks come from Alive! and other sources. "Firehouse", "Let Me Go, Rock 'n' Roll" and "Black Diamond" are taken from Alive! (mostly), but with some distortion added.
The video has been upscaled to 1080p using AI software and is a combination of the original video and extra footage from the alternate-angle version so there are lots of new edits and footage not seen in the original. I have adjusted the entire show, shot by shot to my liking. Everyone has a different opinion on what looks best. I have made the best effort not to completely lose all detail in the darker areas and have tried to maintain a good balance between a darker overall look and the original lighting. This show has quite a bit of video noise and horizontal banding in places that can’t be removed without over-darkening.
I have made the pacing between songs closer to what you'd see and hear on an official release, but only dead space removed. I also slowed down "Firehouse" by about 5% because the original performance is ridiculously fast. It isn't really noticeable in context and still gives the song a similar "pep" compared to early, much slower performances.
Again, my goal was to create a version of this great concert that can be better enjoyed with great audio accompanying it. For those who don't know, these old concerts were recorded with direct-from-soundboard audio. The PA mix would be compensating more for something like a voice than for a relatively loud guitar amp or drum set. Thus, we often get a very uneven sound when ONLY the soundboard mix is heard. This also means there is zero room ambience and the only crowd noise heard was the bleed coming through the stage mics creating a very dead-sounding atmosphere. While a video like this is NOT for the purist, a strong argument can be made that what is captured on those videotapes is far from what someone in the audience would have actually heard.
This version is not an attempt to erase or replace the original, but rather to (hopefully) bring new life to it. You have definitely never seen or heard this show quite like this before. It was many months in the making, so I truly hope other fans enjoy it.
Watch the full concert here…
vimeo.com/8800...
Пікірлер: 65
This is why from 73-78. No other BAND could touch them
@stacyusselmann8428
Күн бұрын
I TOTALLY AGREE WITH YOU!
2024, reliving my youth. Peter is why I started playing drums
@pauldunlea3669
2 ай бұрын
Peters Raspy Voice ! Best In The Band
@erikhora9321
17 күн бұрын
Ace frehley influenced me to play guitar
When KISS was in their prime. And kicking some serious ass. ❤
The glory of Kiss at their absolute best, so different to what was served up at the end
I was at the concert the week before this at Madison Square Garden. I was 11 years old and I'll NEVER forget it. I can't believe it was 47 years ago!
@ChloeUnknown-ul2ym
Ай бұрын
That is AMAZING!!!
@chilledmonkeebrains
9 күн бұрын
I was at the Garden as well 77
My God !! This IS KISS !!!!!
Peter is one of rocks most underrated singers. What a voice
Loved seeing that massive crowd at the end as they were leaving.
You did an amazing job with this show! So cool seeing classic KISS with such amazing audio quality! Thanks for your hard work and for uploading it!
I cant get enough of this.! Your work is by far top notch to anyone elses out there.! I respect any others but this is just mind blowing.! I want to personally say Thank You for how happy youve made this still 60yr old kid feel again.! Fan since 75 11yrs old to 60 now.! Fan 4 Life.!
@franKENstein620
3 ай бұрын
Thanks!
Wow.. this is awesome
Yeah, I can't applaud you enough for doing this. This hasn't looked and sounded this good for me since I saw the show live in '77. Thanks for bringing this to us!!
Tempos magicos, os cara em bons vei!
The pinnacle. Thanks for all your hard work.
In Largo, MD on December 20, 1977, Peter Criss turned 32. Today he's 78. On December 20, 2024, Mr. Criscuola turns 79. Time flies! Sigh! The horizon comes closer & closer. For ALL of us!🙄
@mr.blackwell5423
8 күн бұрын
Oh, I forgot to say THANK YOU!...for the SUPER QUALITY UPLOAD!❤ Best I've EVER SEEN! Keep up the GREAT work! MUCH APPRECIATED! I'm, very much, looking forward to the Largo, MD July 8, 1979 upload!
All four members had a magic together but I don't care what people say Eric Carr and Bruce kulick brought a different kind of magic crazy nights is one of my favorite albums
You did a great job remastering the audio. I love how you can hear Paul switch pickups on the intro. Very nice work my friend ❤
@franKENstein620
4 ай бұрын
I made sure to keep that. ;-)
keep up the great work with these
I saw this tour.. This took me right back..
I miss Rock🎸🎸🎸
Thank you for this! Now I can sleep like a baby. Wow!
Legendary Upload. Thank You.
''Real Kiss '' Amazing quality shot !
Thanks your work is amazing!
I am speechless.. They were my world .. these were the perfect years .. fantastic video .. ty 😢
Remember opening up alive 2 for the first time and seeing that picture
PETER CRISS!!!!
how in tf are people still sitting down? damn!
🔥 wow 🔥
Mind Blown
I really admire the work put into this, amazing! Well done sir!
@franKENstein620
Ай бұрын
@@billshank6266 thanks!
Great work!!
Amazing
awesome!
Awesome
You've done a great job with these Largo videos.
Leyends... Peter amazing...
These live shows give me more perception to who is solinng and backup singing
la verdad flaco me la hiciste pasar de perlangas. hasta casi se me vuelan los cerebros
@ 1:35 and 4:40, YEAH! In my opinion, THAT'S WHAT MISSING IN TODAY'S ROCK/METAL CONCERTS-"THEATRICS!"
'' There was NOTHING Like It '' And there NEVER Will be
I was so pissed that night-you could Peter was in a “mood” or something. He would play some songs as if he had to catch the last train to somewhere. You can hear it in this performance of Black Diamond.
@ChloeUnknown-ul2ym
Ай бұрын
It is very sped up...I guess this was what Paul Stanley was always talking about...
@billymartin6824
19 күн бұрын
All bands tend to play too fast live. Listen to Whole Lotta Love live.
My favorite,but remastered.
still waiting for a video where Peter is screwing up. he sounds incredibly tight so far.
@franKENstein620
3 ай бұрын
Peter didn’t start to get really sloppy until the Dynasty tour and even that is pretty exaggerated mainly because many people only really have the train wreck that is Largo ‘79 to go by. Other bootleg recordings are generally better.
Can't believe that the people in the front row are sitting down
Peter fucking rules
Looks like Peter's white makeup is incomplete on his left side.
Little did those people know... that supergroup was almost over... unfortunately
Three black guitars for this song
Wonder if Paul got this title from Black Diamond guitar strings? Dynamite!🧨💥🙌🏻👏🏽🫶🏼👍🏼👊🏽🤘🏼 This intro sounds the best, the way Paul☆plays it. Some versions he'll do, don't sound as good imo
G'day Mr.franKENstein..how have you been mate..I'm still watcgin all your vid's with me mates having a beer getting into them..but we were wondering are you still going to upload any more cool KISS concerts in the near future, cause mate we are all hangin..you rock!
@franKENstein620
Ай бұрын
Largo ‘79 is coming VERY soon and then I plan to finish Houston ‘77, Tokyo ‘77 and Sydney ‘80 all with the same treatment as the others. Glad you are enjoying them!
@adamanderson2950
Ай бұрын
@@franKENstein620 YOU LITTLE BEAUTY!