Post by Erik Rupp on Aug 29, 2009 13:22:19 GMT -5
KISS - ALIVE! (1975)
"You wanted the best and you got it! The hottest band in the land - KISS!"
And with that the band tears explosively (literally) into, "Deuce," to open what may be KISS' most important album of their career.
KISS was the first band signed to Neil Bogart's Casablanca label, but three albums into their career they had yet to achieve a breakout hit. Their third album, Dressed To Kill, sold significantly better than the two previous albums (KISS and Hotter Than Hell) with a peak Billboard chart position of #32, but it's sales were still not enough to turn a profit on the band. Their contract for a fourth album was in question, as was the very survival of Casablanca Records.
The one thing that everyone involved knew was that live KISS was taking no prisoners and winning over audiences left and right. But somehow that was not translating into the huge album sales that Bogart, KISS manager Bill Aucoin, and the band themselves had expected. That's when the idea came up.
If KISS is doing so well live then why not do a live album? It would almost be another souvenir of the KISS concert experience.
Bogart greenlighted the project and legendary Producer/Engineer Eddie Kramer (who produced the very first KISS demo tape that helped get them their record contract in the first place) was brought in to produce and engineer the album. Several shows were recorded, and the band went in to the studio to clean up the missed notes and polish up the performances. The result was just what they wanted. It had the fire and energy of their live performances, and most of the songs were given new life in the live environment.
"Deuce," has a faster pace and a more immeidate performance than it's studio counterpart, and the production fits the song well as the guitars are crunchier and more up front in the live mix, and Gene Simmons' bass rumbles like the monster his character was supposed to be. "Strutter," likewise has more oomph than the studio version, and both Paul Stanley's vocals and the solo have a greater sense of urgency.
On Hotter Than Hell, "Got To Choose," was a good opening track, with some excellent harmony vocals. On ALIVE the chords for the guitar part are clearer and cut through better, and the pace is quicker giving the song more energy.
ALIVE never lets up. "Hotter Than Hell," melts into, "Firehouse," as this is one of the best two-fer's in the band's catalog (songs that run together live or in the studio). Both of these songs are, like their predecessors, more fiery and energetic than their studio counterparts, and both are standout songs in the KISS catalog. The solo on, "Firehouse," is extended, giving Ace Frehley a chance to really shine. Where the solo almost seems truncated on the studio version, it gets a change to breathe and grow on ALIVE, and is one of Frehley's best moments on the album.
"Nothin' To Lose," and, "C'Mon and Love Me," both benefit greatly from the live setting. "Nothin," adds a really cool, jazzy drum part to the solo section of the song (courtesy of Peter Criss), and "C'Mon," adds more electric guitar (in place of the studio version's acoustic guitar) and comes across as a powerhouse rather than the studio version's more laid back feel.
"Parasite," is extended at the end, and the song, like almost everything else on the album, has more energy and impact here than the studio version. The band's performances on this song are much stronger on ALIVE than on the studio album as well.
The band closed out what was side two (of record #1 of the two record set) with, "She." On Dressed To Kill it was the darkest, most menacing song on the album. Here, it isn't quite as dark, but it does march along with a power and purpose and leads nicely into the coda from the studio version of, "Let Me Know," which is one of the coolest riffs KISS ever wrote. That, in turn, leads to Ace Frehley's guitar solo. The solo isn't anything terribly special, but it has Ace Frehley written all over it. Short, centering around a single lick that builds in speed, it is itself something of a crescendo for the coda the band just played.
For side three of the set they opened with, "Watchin' You," one of the standout tracks from Hotter Than Hell. While the groove and overall performances are stronger here than the studio version, the guitars are a little too low in the mix to really make this the definitive version of the song.
From there the band moves into Paul Stanley's, "100,000 Years," a song centered around a funky groove and a wicked bass riff. This is another case of the studio version trumping the live version in one way or another. For one thing the guitar tones on the studio version seem to fit the song better. For another the live version features an (overly) extended drum solo from Peter Criss. If Peter's drum solo had followed the lead of Ace Frehley's guitar solo and been a short burst it might have worked better. The problem is that it's a fairly simple solo that is very repetitive. It becomes tedious. At half the length it would have worked really well, but at the length on the album it tends to feel like it's dragging on too long. That solo leads into a stage rap from Paul that is more effective, but still a little too long. This kind of thing worked better in the early and mid 70's, and is the one spot on the album where the album really seems dated.
Fortunately KISS comes back to what they do best on, "Black Diamond," which improves significantly on the studio version. The guitars are more up front in the mix, and the band's performance is stronger. Peter's vocals also have an edge that the studio version didn't have. "Black Diamond," is arguably one of KISS' absolute best songs, and it definitely does not disappoint here.
The album closed out with side four, which features, "Rock Bottom," (longer, but not stronger than the studio version due to an overly clean rhythm guitar tone for Paul), "Cold Gin," (which sounds excellent here as Gene's vocals are strong and his bass part sounds amazingly full and well played), "Rock and Roll All Nite," (which is lightyears ahead of the studio version, and features a really nice guitar solo from Ace - something completely missing from the studio version), before ending with a raucous version of, "Let Me Go; Rock and Roll," which features the closest thing to a live, "Jam," that KISS has ever recorded.
On ALIVE KISS sounds like a freight train roaring down the tracks at top speed. The songs (for the most part) sound better than on the previous studio versions, and the album captured that, "Magic," that KISS had in the concert setting during that period.
And it paid off for them. The band, their managment, and the record company. ALIVE was a huge hit and saved both the band and their record company. It is an iconic album, and with good reason. ALIVE is one of the best live albums of all time. Even if it was heavily polished up in the studio...
5/5
"You wanted the best and you got it! The hottest band in the land - KISS!"
And with that the band tears explosively (literally) into, "Deuce," to open what may be KISS' most important album of their career.
KISS was the first band signed to Neil Bogart's Casablanca label, but three albums into their career they had yet to achieve a breakout hit. Their third album, Dressed To Kill, sold significantly better than the two previous albums (KISS and Hotter Than Hell) with a peak Billboard chart position of #32, but it's sales were still not enough to turn a profit on the band. Their contract for a fourth album was in question, as was the very survival of Casablanca Records.
The one thing that everyone involved knew was that live KISS was taking no prisoners and winning over audiences left and right. But somehow that was not translating into the huge album sales that Bogart, KISS manager Bill Aucoin, and the band themselves had expected. That's when the idea came up.
If KISS is doing so well live then why not do a live album? It would almost be another souvenir of the KISS concert experience.
Bogart greenlighted the project and legendary Producer/Engineer Eddie Kramer (who produced the very first KISS demo tape that helped get them their record contract in the first place) was brought in to produce and engineer the album. Several shows were recorded, and the band went in to the studio to clean up the missed notes and polish up the performances. The result was just what they wanted. It had the fire and energy of their live performances, and most of the songs were given new life in the live environment.
"Deuce," has a faster pace and a more immeidate performance than it's studio counterpart, and the production fits the song well as the guitars are crunchier and more up front in the live mix, and Gene Simmons' bass rumbles like the monster his character was supposed to be. "Strutter," likewise has more oomph than the studio version, and both Paul Stanley's vocals and the solo have a greater sense of urgency.
On Hotter Than Hell, "Got To Choose," was a good opening track, with some excellent harmony vocals. On ALIVE the chords for the guitar part are clearer and cut through better, and the pace is quicker giving the song more energy.
ALIVE never lets up. "Hotter Than Hell," melts into, "Firehouse," as this is one of the best two-fer's in the band's catalog (songs that run together live or in the studio). Both of these songs are, like their predecessors, more fiery and energetic than their studio counterparts, and both are standout songs in the KISS catalog. The solo on, "Firehouse," is extended, giving Ace Frehley a chance to really shine. Where the solo almost seems truncated on the studio version, it gets a change to breathe and grow on ALIVE, and is one of Frehley's best moments on the album.
"Nothin' To Lose," and, "C'Mon and Love Me," both benefit greatly from the live setting. "Nothin," adds a really cool, jazzy drum part to the solo section of the song (courtesy of Peter Criss), and "C'Mon," adds more electric guitar (in place of the studio version's acoustic guitar) and comes across as a powerhouse rather than the studio version's more laid back feel.
"Parasite," is extended at the end, and the song, like almost everything else on the album, has more energy and impact here than the studio version. The band's performances on this song are much stronger on ALIVE than on the studio album as well.
The band closed out what was side two (of record #1 of the two record set) with, "She." On Dressed To Kill it was the darkest, most menacing song on the album. Here, it isn't quite as dark, but it does march along with a power and purpose and leads nicely into the coda from the studio version of, "Let Me Know," which is one of the coolest riffs KISS ever wrote. That, in turn, leads to Ace Frehley's guitar solo. The solo isn't anything terribly special, but it has Ace Frehley written all over it. Short, centering around a single lick that builds in speed, it is itself something of a crescendo for the coda the band just played.
For side three of the set they opened with, "Watchin' You," one of the standout tracks from Hotter Than Hell. While the groove and overall performances are stronger here than the studio version, the guitars are a little too low in the mix to really make this the definitive version of the song.
From there the band moves into Paul Stanley's, "100,000 Years," a song centered around a funky groove and a wicked bass riff. This is another case of the studio version trumping the live version in one way or another. For one thing the guitar tones on the studio version seem to fit the song better. For another the live version features an (overly) extended drum solo from Peter Criss. If Peter's drum solo had followed the lead of Ace Frehley's guitar solo and been a short burst it might have worked better. The problem is that it's a fairly simple solo that is very repetitive. It becomes tedious. At half the length it would have worked really well, but at the length on the album it tends to feel like it's dragging on too long. That solo leads into a stage rap from Paul that is more effective, but still a little too long. This kind of thing worked better in the early and mid 70's, and is the one spot on the album where the album really seems dated.
Fortunately KISS comes back to what they do best on, "Black Diamond," which improves significantly on the studio version. The guitars are more up front in the mix, and the band's performance is stronger. Peter's vocals also have an edge that the studio version didn't have. "Black Diamond," is arguably one of KISS' absolute best songs, and it definitely does not disappoint here.
The album closed out with side four, which features, "Rock Bottom," (longer, but not stronger than the studio version due to an overly clean rhythm guitar tone for Paul), "Cold Gin," (which sounds excellent here as Gene's vocals are strong and his bass part sounds amazingly full and well played), "Rock and Roll All Nite," (which is lightyears ahead of the studio version, and features a really nice guitar solo from Ace - something completely missing from the studio version), before ending with a raucous version of, "Let Me Go; Rock and Roll," which features the closest thing to a live, "Jam," that KISS has ever recorded.
On ALIVE KISS sounds like a freight train roaring down the tracks at top speed. The songs (for the most part) sound better than on the previous studio versions, and the album captured that, "Magic," that KISS had in the concert setting during that period.
And it paid off for them. The band, their managment, and the record company. ALIVE was a huge hit and saved both the band and their record company. It is an iconic album, and with good reason. ALIVE is one of the best live albums of all time. Even if it was heavily polished up in the studio...
5/5