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Rating: In 1975, Kiss had just released "Dressed To Kill", a very beautiful album that, however, did not achieve spectacular success, so they were about to leave Casablanca, the label they had worked with up until then. They released this live album in hopes of achieving enough success to stay in the game. Success they got indeed, such that this album remained on the charts even after the release of "Destroyer", "Rock And Roll Over", and "Love Gun", also highly successful albums.
The album opens with the announcer yelling: "You want the best and you've got it, the hottest band in the world: Kiss!!!" and then "Deuce" starts. This version is better than the studio one because the band is full of energy (especially Simmons' voice) and the crowd's roar is incredible. Ace embellishes the performance with a more powerful solo than the original. The second track, "Strutter", is a mix between the more melodic version found on the debut album and the more powerful one on Double Platinum. The Starchild's voice is perfectly in tune, and all the members do a good job. I’ll skip the next three tracks, namely "Got To Choose", "Hotter Than Hell", and "Firehouse", since they are played similarly to their album versions, to talk about "Nothin' To Lose", where Gene Simmons' voice alternates in the chorus with Peter Criss's. The latter also adds small touches of class, like rolls or pedal hits which, although they might seem insignificant to some, I really appreciate. I’ll also skip "C'mon And Love Me" and "Parasite" for the same reasons mentioned earlier, to talk about "She", which in this version lasts about 7 minutes with improvisations, especially by Ace Frehley, who plays solos that, if they lengthen the piece, certainly do not make the listening experience burdensome, which, at least for me, is very relaxing.
The next track is "Watchin' You", a song which, truth be told, I've never appreciated much in its original version. Indeed, it is live that this track truly shines 100%, thanks to Gene's warm voice. At a certain point, bass notes echo: it is obviously "100,000 Years", which around the third minute, stops to make way for Criss's drums, giving us a good solo. Stanley returns to the microphone to talk to the audience and make them shout a bit, asking them to repeat what he says. After that, Ace comes back with short guitar riffs, and when Paul sings the refrain, the piece resumes only to conclude at 12 minutes. A clean guitar now starts along with Stanley's voice. Then the clean guitar is interrupted to become distorted, and Peter Criss's voice comes in. You've probably already guessed which song I'm talking about: "Black Diamond". This version is intense, and Ace does one of those solos "even if he tries a thousand times to redo it, he won't get it right even once." The Catman, despite not being a proper singer, sings adequately. At the end of this track, the crowd calls for an encore, and so "Rock Bottom" begins, with the clean guitar intro reduced by more than half. Paul is still energetic and always in tune. But now his voice needs a little rest, so he starts talking to the crowd again before announcing "Cold Gin", which, as usual, is sung by Simmons. This version contains the usual great performances from Frehley and Criss. After this, the crowd goes completely wild thanks to "Rock And Roll All Nite", which, as usual, in the chorus, is sung by all the band members and Frehley fits in one of his usual solos. At this point, Kiss understands that they need to do something else before sending the audience "to bed," so they play "Let Me Go, Rock and Roll", where at the beginning Simmons shouts convincingly: "Rock And Rooooooooooooll!!!!!!!!!!" The song is well-played and contains an instrumental break that precedes the song's end.
At this point, the album is over, so it's time to make some considerations: all the members do a good job, but a special applause must be given to Stanley, who with his rhythm and voice never disappoints throughout the live performance; and also to Frehley, who with his improvisations, adorns the tracks with an energy not present on the studio albums.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Deuce (03:56)
Get up
And get your grandma outta here
Pick up
Old Jim is workin' hard this year
And baby
Do the things he says to do
Baby, if you're feeling good
And baby if you're feeling nice
You know your man is workin' hard
He's worth a deuce
Honey
Don't put your man behind his years
And baby
Stop cryin' all your tears
Baby
Do the things he says to do
Do it
Baby, if you're feeling good
And baby if you're feeling nice
You know your man is workin' hard
He's worth a deuce
And baby, if you're feeling good
Yes baby if you're feeling nice
You know your man is workin' hard
Yeah
02 Strutter (03:22)
I know a thing or two about her
I know she'll only make you cry
She'll let you walk the street beside her
But when she wants she'll pass you by
Ev'rybody said she's lookin' good
And the lady knows it's understood
Strutter!
She wears her satins like a lady
She gets her way just like a child
You take her home and she says "Maybe, baby"
She takes you down and drives you wild
Ev'rybody said she's lookin' good
And the lady knows it's understood
Strutter!
(Solo)
I know a thing or two about her
I know she'll only make you cry
She lets you walk the street beside her
But when she wants, she'll pass you by
Everybody said she's lookin' good
And the lady knows it's understood
Strutter- I know she'll just make you cry
Strutter- Look out, that girl just pass you by
Strutter- Whoa oh! She gets her way like a child
Strutter- Mama!, That girl will just drive you wild
Strutter! (repeats out)
03 Got to Choose (03:40)
Baby, you know I heard the neighbours say
Baby, you might be leavin' me today
Oh yeah, mmm, someone's come along and shared your time
Don't care, no I don't, no
But you can't be his and still be mine, so
Ooh, got to choose who's your baby
Ooh, got to choose
Sometimes, oh sometimes, I know you need a change of pace
Oh yeah, but I ain't gonna run no race
Baby, you've got to tell me yes or no
Alright, alright, come on and tell me
Tell me if you're gonna go, come on
Ooh, got to choose who's your baby
Ooh, got to choose who's your baby
Ooh, got to choose who's your baby
Ooh, got to choose, got to choose
Who's your baby, who's your baby
Who's your baby, who's your baby
04 Hotter Than Hell (03:30)
Come on
She looked good
She looked hotter than hell
All dressed in satins and lace
I looked at her and it was just too clear
I had to get on the case
I said "Lady, oh lady, can I take you home
There's just so much we could do
I'll take you all around the whole wide world
Before the evening is through"
Hot, hot, hotter than hell
You know she's gonna leave you well done
Hot, hot, hotter than hell
Burn you like the midday sun
I asked her why she couldn't make up her mind
She said "You don't understand
I'd love to go, but there's something you should know"
She showed me her wedding band
Hot, hot, hotter than hell
You know she's gonna leave you well done
Hot, hot, hotter than hell
She'll burn you like the midday sun
Hot, hot, hotter than hell
You know she's gonna leave you well done
Hot, hot, hotter than hell
She'll burn you like the midday sun
05 Firehouse (03:50)
Whoo, hoo, yeah
Whoo, hoo, yeah
She'll adore you and she'll floor you
With her wisdom and her vision
And you'll love it and think of it
Till you lose all intuition
Come on
She can move you and improve you
With her love and her devotion
And she'll thrill you and she'll chill you
But you're headed for commotion
And you'll need her so you'll feed her
With your endless dedication
And the quicker you get sicker
She'll remove your medication
Get the firehouse
'Cause she sets my soul afire
Get the firehouse
And the flames keep gettin' higher
She's like bad weather but it seems so good
You'd never leave her but you know you should
She's like bad weather but it seems so good
You'd never leave her but you know you should
Ooh
Get the firehouse
'Cause she sets my soul afire
Get the firehouse
Whoo, hoo, yeah
Get the firehouse
Whoo, hoo, yeah
06 Nothin' to Lose (03:33)
Before I had a baby
I didn't care anyway
I thought about the back door
I didn't know what to say, yeah, yeah
But once I got a baby
I tried every way
She didn't wanna do it
But she did anyway, yeah, yeah
So baby please don't refuse
You know you got nothin' to lose
You got nothin' to lose
You got, got nothin' to lose, oh nothin'
You got, got nothin' to lose, ooh, baby
You got, got nothin' to lose, ow, come on mama
You got, got nothin' to lose, you really, really, got nothin'
You got, got nothin' to lose, ah, sing with the catman
You got, got nothin' to lose, yeah, yeah, yeah
You got
You got, you got, you got nothin' to lose
So now I got a baby
And I tried every way, I tried any way
You know she wants to do it, know she wants to do it
And she does anyway, yeah, yeah
But baby please don't refuse
You know you got nothin' to lose
You got nothin' to lose
You got, got nothin' to lose, oh, nothin'
You got, got nothin' to lose, ha, ha, oh, baby
You got, got nothin' to lose, ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-yeah
You got, got nothin' to lose, ah, sing one time with Pete
You got, got nothin' to lose, don't you know baby
You got, got nothin' to lose, yeah, yeah, yeah
You got
You got, you got, you got nothin' to lose
You got, got nothin' to lose, I can't hear you
You got, got nothin' to lose, come on baby
You got, got nothin' to lose, yeah, yeah, yeah
You got, got nothin' to lose, ow
You got, got nothin' to lose, you got nothin'
You got, got nothin' to lose, oh, New York
You got, got nothin' to lose, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
You got, got nothin' to lose, all right
Yeah
08 Parasite (03:34)
She'll always be there trying to grab a hold
She thought she knew me, but she didn't know
That I was sad and wanted her to go
Parasite lady
Parasite eyes
Parasite lady
No need to cry
I didn't wanna have to get away
I told her things I didn't want to say
I need her and I hope she'll understand
Parasite lady
Parasite eyes
Parasite lady
No need to cry
09 She (06:56)
She walks by moonlight
noone really knows
encanted starlight
never goin home
i know shes goin down knowin
everybody knows
shes so good
doin well for others
she dosent really know
the powers are within her
as she takes off her cothes
i know shes goin down knowin
everybody knows
shes so good
doin well for others
she dosent really know
the powers are within her
as she takes off her cothes
i know shes goin down knowin
everybody knows
shes so good
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Other reviews
By Miki Page
"It’s them, it’s them and they’re here, right here... the long black manes, the boots with 30 cm high heels, those glam and sparkling clothes, the raw rock emanating from their enticing, diamond-studded guitars..."
"Simmons spits blood while shaking his head, then looks at the crowd with an evil, satisfied grin."
By sarced
The thunderous album, recorded at the Cobo Arena in Detroit, kicks off with their self-introduction: "You Wanted The Best..." and flows into the initial riff of "Deuce," which is much more beautiful than that monotonous studio version.
For a band like the Kiss, I consider it a spectacular album, even though it still lacks that refined rock that will come with the subsequent albums!
