Kiss - Alive II - 1977
I had this record. I got it from the Columbia House Record Club in 1978. I don't know who in their right mind would allow a 13 year to join that ridiculous club but I did and this was one of the records I ordered with my initial "free" package.
I never listened to it.
I think it frightened me. I mean, look at Gene's face. That's blood, right? Scary.
I also only wanted "Beth". I wasn't much interested in rawk. In 1978 I was still listening to The Bay City Rollers. And the soundtrack for Animal House. This was...too much for me.
Now I'm older, wiser, more jaded and, well, I think I'm able to take it.
The first thing you notice from the opening strains of Detroit Rock City is that this is one rushed show. Maybe it's coke. Maybe it's adrenaline. But the groove that was so important to the first Alive record is missing. At least from the start.
The good news is that by the 4th song the band finds its groove and is definitely able to react to the (non-existent) fans. Makin' Love really roars and showcases Ace Frehley so well that I have come to believe that, without him, no amount of merchandising or marketing could have raised Kiss above cult status.
Alive II is mostly a collection of "live" versions of songs from the Rock and Roll Over/Love Gun era. With a 4th side of original material included. The reason for this is that the band didn't want to overlap live versions of songs that were previously included on Alive. And songs like "Shock Me", which were banal in their studio version, are no less banal but have a certain amount of energy and electricity (pun intended) which was missing on the original.
It is kind of fun to hear the crowd go ape shit for "Beth", the song that will forever be tied to the band, although the two geniuses behind the KissMachine, Paul and Gene never liked the song, didn't want it on Destroyer and had to deal with it being tied for Favorite Song People's Choice Award with Disco Duck.
The "Live" part of Alive II is just fine. Not groundbreaking but a fitting capper to a remarkable 4 years.
The studio stuff...
All American Man is...not bad. Actually, if this had been on Love Gun I might have liked that album a bit more and Rockin in the USA is another attempt an anthem. I don't know why the guys can't come up with one, but you'd think they'd be satisfied with the ones they wrote. After all, they're integral to the fabric of stadium rock. And Larger than Life is, god help us, another song extolling the virtues of Gene's phallus. It should be noted that Ace Frehley only appears on one song on these studio tracks. His own. While the guitar work on Larger than Life is flashy, it doesn't have the soul that Ace brought to his work.
Ace's track, Rocket Ride, is a terrific riff-tastic groove machine and worth downloading. It's another penis song but his guitar, the catchy chorus and the lack of Simmons vocals really make it great. Any Way You Want It is a cover of a Dave Clark Five tune. See Love Gun's "And then she Kissed Me" to find out how I feel about this track.
Grade B+ for the live record
Grade C+ for the EP
ASide: All American Man
BlindSide: Rocket Ride
DownSide: Larger then Life
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