KISS ALIVE II NBLP 7076 sealed LP STONE MINT 1st press INSERTS (9.2 out of 10)

$

130

KISS ALIVE II NBLP 7076 1st pressing 2 LP. sealed. hype sticker retail copy (price tag safely removed). some print chipping/wear on bottom from being stored upright. visual rating (on a scale of 1-10)...9.2! nicest copy of Alive II on Ebay right now 4/28.
about ALIVE II USA:
Alive II was a project conceived easily and obviously with the intention of selling millions of  another 2 record set at $12 each and repeating the success of Alive! the band claims they made side 4 a studio side because there was a shortage of live material that hadnt already been used on Alive, and they also mentioned that they were inspired by another recently successful live album that had a studio side. the real truth is, the album would have only needed one more live track to have the same amount of songs as Alive, and there were actually 3 more ready to go. what they really wanted to do was avoid using any tracks from the first 3 albums at all. "Take Me", "Hooligan", and "Do You Love Me" were recorded but omitted because they felt if they included a studio side theyd have a better chance at a hit single since none of the live material prepared for Alive II had any radio potential except "Beth" but the studio version was still getting a lot of airplay. also, the band had broken big by this point but unlike Alive!, this album wasnt going to serve the same purpose. 9 of the 15 live tracks had already either been singles or b-sides; none of which were big hits except "Beth". the actual radio singles from Rock and Roll Over and Love Gun did not perform nearly as well as reported, as Casablanca had spent a lot of "payola" (cash bribes to disc jockeys and retail reporters) to exaggerate their positive public reaction and these songs were given fake chart numbers (especially Christine Sixteen and Calling Dr. Love which were "top 40") to hype fans, promoters and retail. with some new studio songs, KISS would be able to release a new single to their new mainstream audience that may not be interested in live material, and also have a shot at a successful live single. "Hard Luck Woman" was recorded "live" as a possible single for the album but the original version was still a fresh failure and "live" it didnt come off as a ballad. as far as anyone can say for sure, the song was never even recorded live in concert at all, and neither was Tomorrow and Tonight. "Take Me" would surface 20 years later on the "you wanted the best..." compilation, but "Hooligan" wasnt a band or fan favorite and "Do You Love Me" didnt translate well. contrary to belief, side 4 didnt count as a studio album credit against the band's record contract, although they may have made an unorthodox agreement with neil bogart. Ace thought the idea of a studio side on a live album was ridiculous and used that opinion as an excuse to get a break from his bandmates. He contributed "Rocket Ride" on his own without the band's performances and its also rumored that Peter Criss was absent from all of the studio sessions as well. another nail was hammered into the dying band's relationship when Ace's "Rocket Ride" was chosen as the studio single and became a top 40 hit (perhaps with the help of payola), and the live single for "Shout it out Loud" went nowhere. album designer Dennis Woloch has gone on record as saying he was so rushed into the job of creating the cover art for Alive II that he had to settle for a close-up single band member shot format with the KISS logo and title taking up more than 75% of the album's cover. even though its hard to imagine the album having a different cover, looking at it now knowing that information may change your opinion of it slightly. the inside live gatefold shot was the saving grace, and all the album catalog advertising was moved to the innersleeves. the tattoos and booklet were thrown in to help entice the skeptical record buyer and a hype sticker was included to help raise the curiosity of the finicky consumer that wanted to know what that "1 more surprise" was. it was all very cleverly and carefully devised to hit the record buyer's subconscious hard. once the packaging was designed, a small run of test pressings were printed and someone noticed that they forgot to remove the 3 songs listed that were no longer a part of the album's tracklist. rather than trash them, Gene suggested they get them out there anyway; at least promotionally (shipping them to stores would have pissed off fans expecting to hear those tracks) and if anything it might cause some kind of publicity for the album. to avoid any of these test copies from hitting retail, they cut the corners and issued them as promotional items to friends and industry peeps. it is unclear if they ever made it to the shrinkwrap stage and they were not label stamped as promotional copies. real promo copies were goldstamped on the back cover and indicated on the label. the red hype sticker although abundant, was quickly discontinued when it became apparent that the tattoos were either missing or the wax protective sheet was coming off, ruining the tattoos  and in some cases damaging the vinyl. it was a headache for the label and very costly. to make matters worse, many copies were sealed before the adhesive used to bond the jacket dried. this caused many defects to the album including a cloudy, sticky front and back of the jacket and the gatefold was glued together. when the fan went to open it, it often tore the inside live photo. the album was not the success its reputation suggests. its listed in some places as triple platinum but certified only double platinum; and being that its 2 LP contents counted as 2 sales in the eyes of the RIAA, its possible that Alive II may have only sold a little over a million units. of course it was overpressed, and a second pressing was issued without hype stickers to replace the sold initial shipment copies at retail. both pressings quickly ended up in bargain bins.
There were 5 pressings of Alive II in the USA
1. the first and second pressings were very close together and pretty much identical. what's puzzling is the variety of different styles that exist of the album's filmworks labels. some had 2 big KISS logos, titling the album: "KISS Alive II" some had the logo and title on the center just above the vinyl's hole (the most common and the version issued with the error copies). some had different fonts and textures and a crappy KISS logo commonly seen on the spines of KISS cassettes. it may have had something to do with rushing to meet the deadline and utitilizing more than one factory.
2. the third and final Casablanca-only pressing was issued in 1981 and there doesnt seem to be any copies that show signs of the PolyGram take-over (3 digit numbers in one of the corners). the order form was deleted but the tattoos and booklet were usually included. the cover was glossier, darker and made of thinner paper.
3. Alive II is the only Casablanca KISS album known to have 2 PolyGram barcode pressings. the first was made with high quality white cardboard and lists the PolyGram address in the top tight corner where the Casablanca and Rock Steady logos used to be. it usually included the printed innersleeves and the booklets but no tattoos. i have only ever seen and owned one, and i sold it about six months ago. it had no signs of being a record club issue and it was made in the USA.
4. the final vinyl PolyGram pressing is much more common but still exists in a small quantities. it is made of cheaper, recycled brown cardboard which ripped very easily and instantly showed ringwear. most of them were nothing but the LPs with blank plastic innersleeves with the Aucoin and KISS Army information inside the gatefold poorly blacked out (it is still legible). a very few copies included the printed innersleeves and in rarer cases, the evolution booklet. here is more information you may want to read:

KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT FROM "NEW AND/OR FACTORY SEALED" LPS. since vinyl has had a large resurgence over the last couple years, many people have certain expectations when it comes to collecting LP records. if you go to any of the few remaining record stores and pick up an album that has just been released (like KISS' "Monster") you will open it and find that it is probably flawless. the problem and misconception about sealed LPs dating back some 40 years ago is that their shrinkwrap has protected them from aging at all. Not always the case. an LP is very capable of damaging its jacket, innersleeve and shrink without ever having been opened. EVERY LP has at least 1/4 inch room clockwise, counterclockwise, up down and all around to maneuver and therefore cause damage to itself and the jacket. the damage usually seen on sealed LPs are known as "sleeve scuffs", defined as the abrasive marks seen on an unused LP caused by 30-40 years worth of close confinement. some collectors mistake these blemishes as signs of use or handling by a previous owner. NOT TRUE. sleeve scuffs are usually congruent marks that go from the "dead wax" (the silent shiny end of an LP side), to the "start wax" (the silent 3-10 second beginning of an LP side. they can also be circular, and can simply be manufacturing blemishes. if you see a scratch that actually penetrates the surface of your LP, it has most likely been used. sleeve scuffs generally will not affect playback or sound quality even though they may look pretty nasty.
      FACTORY SEALED LPS MAY HAVE BEEN FACTORY SEALED TWICE!...especially in the case of KISS, Casablanca saved money by printing in large quantities even if the demand wasnt equivalent to the amount pressed. as a result, unsold LPs that sat on shelves for 3 months or more without selling began to look unappealing to the point where price tags have been affixed and removed multiple times, and even shrinkwrap torn. these LPs were often times returned to the label and the factory, where back in the 70's for two cents a unit would be resealed and shipped out to stores that had more orders for that particular title. human hands were used to remove the old wrap, and repair any visible flaws. sometimes new dust sleeves were given. in severe causes, new jackets were given. bottom line: dust, fingerprints and other MINOR signs of handling are quite possible, especially for records pressed in the early 70's, before it became the norm to simply cut the corner of an unsold LP and just press a new one. you CANNOT judge or date an album based on its shrinkwrap style. all styles began in the late 60's, (google sealed Beatles LPs for proof) all styles were utilized by all factories. a KISS LP seller should never claim an LP is "factory sealed" because A. there is no proof and B. some LPs have been sealed by the factory up to 3 times, and although 90% of LPs that are factory sealed are unplayed and beautiful it is not fair to the buyer to claim it has never been opened, even if it probably hasnt been.
      MISSING/INCORRECT PREMIUMS....most KISS collectors have been going by what they read in old KISS price guide books written by self proclaimed experts with no credentials. they have tried their best to state the facts about every single KISS LP ever issued. there are no facts, because YOU CANNOT CLAIM THAT ANYTHING PRINTED IN LARGE QUANTITIES WILL HAVE THE SAME CHARACTERISTICS OF A SINGLE SAMPLE!!!! there are errors, misprints and even audio mishaps. starting from the very first LP, KISS albums have been hastily thrown into production. there are copies of the first album that exclude the song Kissin' Time even though theres a sticker on the front promoting the track! in-between there have been numerous errors. Solo albums missing posters, order forms missing or deleted, incorrect picture sleeves paired with the wrong title...etc. Casablanca hated the Crackerjack prizes included with KISS albums...thousands of complaints came in about the exclusion of the extras, and the record company was forced to take action by fulfilling these requests by mail. Many copies of the final pressing of Rock And Roll Over were issued with Love Gun's "blood" logo sleeve....on thicker paper no less. one of MANY examples.
       HYPE STICKERS...very few make-up era KISS albums had hype stickers, or "featuring the hits...." stickers. if they did, they were ALL put onto the jackets and NOT the shrinkwrap. the only exceptions were "Alive II" and "Double Platinum". ALL hype stickers were discontinued when it became apparent that because Casablanca lacked major distribution companionship, the stickers were more of a hinderance as they promised "hit" songs that werent, or booklets that were missing. the only albums to have hype stickers were KISS NB 7001 (including Kissin time), Dressed to Kill, Alive, Alive II and Double Platinum. RIAA gold certification stickers on ALIVE and Destroyer were issued later, by the association itself. it was Gene Simmons who insisted on including posters, stickers, tattoos and booklets; and it cost the label a fortune. it was also Gene Simmons that insisted on pressing the infamous Alive II misprint LP, as a nod to the KISS collector. many more than 50 -100 copies were pressed, and they were pressed on purpose. The error was not his idea, but he cleverly authorized a short run after catching the error; and Casablanca cut the corners (so they wouldnt reach retail) and they were given out randomly to friends and people close to the organization. the misprint copy was never sold in stores.
      if you want to see great things about my customer service have a look at my feedback. if you have heard bad things about my products, i only have 2 words: SOUR GRAPES. not the 2 words i would like to use, but it has to be clean on Ebay. because i have had a negative affect on other sellers of KISS memorabilia and (LPs), great collaborative effort has been made to put me down and ruin my reputation. altered photos, false accusations and threats have come in from these sellers; some of which wanted to buy my entire collection, and others that lost their customers to me because my auctions start low rarely with a reserve and i do not list BUY IT NOW for $399.95 for a copy of Destroyer for example. the most interesting and puzzling part of this persecution, is the fact that sellers like NYvintage and MANY MORE are trying to get collectors to abandon my superior LPs in favor of their's...which are very often...KISS LPs they have bought from me!!!!
  oh well, its the internet and its ebay so what can you do. what i will do is offer my personal 100% guarantee. if you receive an LP from me that you believe is "fake", "counterfeit", "bootlegged", "resealed"...dont open it, keep it sealed, and return it within 14 days. thats that. if you open it and are dissapointed by scuff marks or missing inserts, i ask that you dont hold me responsible for age and/or Casablanca's 30 year old mistake. so thats what i have to say about rumors and detractors...go you-know-what yourselves!!!!
and despite the adversity, i am pleased and very touched to have supporters and repeat customers, that love the quality and look of these classic, rare KISS records. and i am happy to announce that i will be including bonus KISS albums with repeat buyers for your listening pleasure. quality copies...NEVER RECORD CLUB ISSUES.
THANK YOU!!!
wait for invoice USA shipping
rest of world also wait for invoice. sadly, international shipping has SKYROCKETED! i just spent $28 to send an LP to Switzerland!