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Rating: Love them or hate them, the Kiss have embodied a way of understanding rock, especially overseas, characterized by packed arenas, special effects, and songs as simple as they are effective.
“Alive II” hits stores in October 1977, just four months after their latest studio effort, “Love Gun”, and as the title suggests, it is the direct successor to the excellent “Alive!” from two years prior. To understand how Kiss had become a money-making machine, just take a quick glance at their discography of the time: eight LPs in just three years, something quite unusual even for that era. Originally, a new live album was planned to be released already after 1976's “Rock And Roll Over”: concerts were recorded, everything was ready, but in the end, the project was shelved, unconvinced by the final quality of the tapes. Naturally, the bootleg “The Lost Alive II” has been circulating for years, embodying what could have been and never was, a true treasure for collectors and die-hard fans; everyone else can “make do” with the album we all know.
The vinyl’s tracklist wisely features only material released after 1975, to avoid repeating tracks already seen on the original “Alive”. “Detroit Rock City”, a true anthem, opens side A in the best possible way, also thanks to a sound that highlights their power, often too subdued in the studio, while “King Of The Night Time World” combines energy and melody, and listening to it today seems to almost anticipate the disco turn of the late Seventies with “Dynasty”. “Ladies Room” and “Makin' Love” are relatively simple, harking back to the golden age of rock’n’roll but without leaving much of an impression; “Love Gun”, on the other hand, a proto-metal track enriched by a great solo, explains why there are so many Kiss patches on so many metalheads' jackets. The songs sung by Gene Simmons’ raucous voice have never matched those performed by Stanley, and they don’t seem to add much to what's been said so far, while “Shock Me” is a real surprise, finally with Space Ace on the mic. The track is memorable and seems to anticipate the great success of his solo debut the following year, all garnished with a great solo from the Spaceman. “Hard Luck Woman” is another battle horse, “the most beautiful song Rod Stewart never sang,” as someone called it, a testament to the significant weight Ace Frehley and Peter Criss had in the group’s economy.
The second part of the record continues, stringing together another series of hits: “I Stole Your Love” and “I Want You” are powerful and engaging, “Beth” seems written to be accompanied by lighter flames, and “God Of Thunder”, here in a decidedly faster and convincing version than the one appearing on “Destroyer”, is unembellished heavy metal. With “Shout It Out Loud” we're at the farewells, with the audience in a frenzy. The concert is over, but there's one more side, featuring unreleased studio tracks: expecting mere fillers from these kinds of operations would be reasonable, but instead, the tracks are solid and it's surprising they have been literally forgotten even by their own authors. “All American Man” would have worked wonderfully live, while “Rockin' In The USA”, with Demon Simmons at the mic, is a carefree and danceable rock'n'roll track. “Rocket Ride” is another forgotten gem: Ace plays virtually every instrument except the drums, and the track, listened to in hindsight, seems to anticipate the sound of his solo career, clear evidence that Frehley had his mind set elsewhere. “Any Way You Want It”, a tribute to the Dave Clark Five, sees the Americans once again handling what they do best, namely good old rock'n'roll. Sales success would have been resounding, but “Alive II” would nonetheless have put the word “end” on the golden period of the four.
The “Kiss toy” had run its course, and something was beginning to crack: setting aside the criticism of the album for its obvious tweaks, it should be noted that Frehley showed up very little in the studio, forcing the others to quickly enlist session musician Bob Kulick, who played on much of side D. To defuse an already sky-high tension, Casablanca Records played the solo albums card, so each member could take a “vacation” from Kiss, but the feeling that they were at their last resort was evident. The Americans' downward trajectory was now at the gates, and to return to levels worthy of their name, they would have to wait for the Eighties, with a completely different sound, look, and lineup. A decidedly different story.
Kiss:
- Paul Stanley, vocals and guitar
- Gene Simmons, vocals and bass
- Ace Frehley, vocals and guitar
- Peter Criss, vocals and drums
“Alive II”:
Vinyl 1:
- Detroit Rock City
- King Of The Night Time World
- Ladies Room
- Makin' Love
- Love Gun
- Calling Dr. Love
- Christine Sixteen
- Shock Me
- Hard Luck Woman
- Tomorrow And Tonight
Vinyl 2:
- I Stole Your Love
- Beth
- God Of Thunder
- I Want You
- Shout It Out Loud
- All American Man
- Rockin' In The USA
- Larger Than Life
- Rocket Ride
- Any Way You Want It
Tracklist and Lyrics
05 Love Gun (03:40)
I really love you baby
I love what you've got
Let's get together, we can
Get hot
No more tomorrow, baby
Time is today
Girl, I can make you feel
Okay
No place for hidin' baby
No place to run
You pull the trigger of my
Love gun, (love gun), love gun
Love gun, (love gun), love gun
You can't forget me baby
Don't try to lie
You'll never leave me, mama
So don't try
I'll be a gambler, baby
Lay down the bet
We get together, mama
You'll sweat
No place for hidin' baby
No place to run
You pull the trigger of my
Love gun, (love gun), love gun
Love gun, (love gun), love gun
Love gun, love gun
Love gun, (love gun), love gun
Love gun, (love gun)
Love gun, (love gun), love gun
Love gun, (love gun), love gun
Love gun, (love gun)
Love gun, (love gun)
Love gun, (love gun)
Love gun, (love)
07 Christine Sixteen (02:45)
She's got me dizzy, she sees me through to the end
She's got me in her hands and there's no use in pretending
Christine sixteen, Christine sixteen
She drives me crazy, I want to give her all I've got
And she's hot every day and night, there is no doubt about it
Christine sixteen, Christine sixteen
"I don't usually say things like this to girls your age, but when I saw you
coming out of the school that day, that day I knew, I knew, I've got to have
you, I've got to have you."
She's' been around, but she's young and clean
I've got to have her, can't live without her, whoo no
Christine sixteen, Christine sixteen
Christine, Christine, sixteen, sixteen
Christine, yeah, yeah
So clean, Christine, sixteen, sixteen
Christine, yeah, Christine, yeah, yeah
Christine, Christine, sixteen, sixteen
Christine, yeah, Christine, yeah, yeah
Christine, Christine, sixteen, sixteen
Christine, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Christine, Christine, sixteen, sixteen
Christine, yeah, yeah, yeah
Christine, Christine, sixteen, sixteen
Christine, yeah, yeah, yeah
Christine, Christine, sixteen, sixteen, Christine, yeah, yeah
Christine, Christine, sixteen, sixteen
Christine, yeah, yeah, yeah
08 Shock Me (05:51)
Your lightnin's all I need
My satisfaction grows
You make me feel at ease
You even make me glow
Don't cut the power on me
I'm feelin' low, so get me high
Shock me, make me feel better
Shock me, put on your black leather
Shock me, we can come together
And baby, if you do what you've been told
My insulation's gone, girl you make me overload
Don't pull the plug on me, no, no
Keep it in and keep me high
Shock me, make me feel better
Shock me, put on your black leather
Shock me, we can come together
Come on
Shock me, baby, shock me, oh yeah
Shock me, baby, shock me, oh yeah
Shock me, make me feel better, oh yeah
Come on and shock me, put on your black leather
Baby, I'm down to the bare wire
Shock me, we can come together
Oh yeah, I wanna feel your power
Shock me, make me feel better
Baby, I'm down to the bare wire
Shock me, put on your black leather
Baby, come on, come on, shock me
09 Hard Luck Woman (03:06)
If never I met you
I'd never have seen you cry
If not for our first "Hello"
We'd never have to say goodbye
If never I held you
My feelin's would never show
It's time I start walkin'
But there's so much you'll never know
I keep telling you hard luck woman
You ain't a hard luck woman
Rags, the sailor's only daughter
A child of the water
Too proud to be a queen
Rags, I really love you
I can't forget about you
You'll be a hard luck woman
Baby, till you find your man
Before I go let me kiss you
And wipe the tears from your eyes
I don't wanna hurt you, girl
You know I could never lie
I keep telling you hard luck woman
You ain't a hard luck woman
You'll be a hard luck woman
Baby, till you find your man
Rags, the sailor's only daughter
A child of the water
Too proud to be a queen
Rags, I really love you
I can't forget about you
You'll be a hard luck woman
Baby, till you find your man
You'll be a hard luck woman
Baby, till you find your man
Oh yeah, bye bye, so long, don't cry
I'm just packin' my bags, whoo, leavin' you
Bye bye, bye bye, bye bye, baby, don't cry
I gotta keep on movin', yeah movin'
Bye, bye my baby
Ooh, don't cry, lady, oh
10 Tomorrow and Tonight (03:26)
Ow
Everybody's high when the week is through
Every night they wish they could
Listenin' to the teacher, bosses and the preachers
Ain't never done nobody good
Are you happy, baby, I've been waitin'
Are you ready, it's quarter to ten
Are you comin', don't be hesitatin'
'Cause we're headed for the city again
Tomorrow and tonight, tomorrow and tonight
We can rock all day, we can roll all night
Tomorrow and tonight, tomorrow and tonight
Oh yeah, aha, alright
Workin' like a dog, baby all day long
Tell you what I'm gonna do
Take it in the cellar, let me be your fella
I'm gonna teach you somethin' new
Are you happy, baby, I've been waitin'
Are you ready, to do it again
Are you comin', now don't be hesitatin'
'Cause you know the night is never gonna end
Tomorrow and tonight, tomorrow and tonight
We can rock all day, we can roll all night
Tomorrow and tonight, tomorrow and tonight
Oh yeah, aha, alright, whoo
I love it
Tomorrow and tonight, tomorrow and tonight
We can rock all day, we can roll all night
Mmm, tomorrow and tonight, tomorrow and tonight
Oh yeah, aha, alright
Tomorrow and tonight, tomorrow and tonight
We can rock all day, we can roll all night
Tomorrow and tonight, tomorrow and tonight
We can rock all day, we can roll all night
Tomorrow, tomorrow, whoo, tonight
We can rock all day, we can roll all night
Tomorrow, (tonight), tomorrow, tonight
We can rock all day, we can roll all night
Tomorrow, (come on), tomorrow, tonight, whoo
We can rock all day, we can roll all night
Tomorrow, (come on), tomorrow, tonight, whoo
We can rock all day, we can roll all night
Tomorrow and tonight, tomorrow and tonight
We can rock all day, we can roll all night
Tomorrow and tonight, tomorrow and tonight
We can rock all day, we can roll all night
Tomorrow, whoo, tomorrow, tonight, yeah
We can rock all day, we can roll all night
Tomorrow, tomorrow, yeah, tonight, yeah
We can rock all day, we can roll all night
Tomorrow, tomorrow, tonight, aha
We can rock all day, we can roll all night
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By Valeriorivoli
Kiss is a band that is both loved and denigrated at the same time, demolished by certain critics.
The strength of Kiss is precisely in this simplicity of rock 'n' roll grooves.
