KISS Alive II 35

Just three years ago, KISS began celebrating the 35th anniversary of their most acclaimed album: Alive!. The band toured the world playing the majority of the album in order and KISS fans poured out of the woodwork to catch this very successful tour.

There's no doubt that Alive! is a great album. It has been said that it may be one of the best live albums ever recorded. However, some within the ranks of the KISS Army (including myself) feel that Alive! is not the best live record in the band's catalog.

I present to you, KISS' finest live album:


Alive II opens up with so much energy that it practically melts your ears! KISS proves they mean business from the opening riffs of "Detroit Rock City" and puts together a blistering audio assault that extends all the way though to the bombastic conclusion of "Shout it Out Loud".

If you were lucky enough to own the vinyl LP, you were treated to one of the coolest stage photos ever seen. As a kid, I can remember marveling at this epic shot and imaging what a KISS show was really like.


One of the main differences between Alive! and Alive II is that this album features many of KISS' biggest singles: "Detroit Rock City, "Love Gun", "Calling Dr. Love", "Beth", "Hard Luck Woman", "Christine Sixteen" and "Shout it Out Loud." Aside from "Rock and Roll all Nite", many of the songs on Alive! are fairly unknown the average Joe.

Hits aside, some of best songs on the album can be found are scattered in between including Paul Stanley's "I Stole Your Love", "Makin' Love" and "I Want You." Each one is a fiercer, superior version of their original studio counterpart.


No song in the KISS catalog benefits more from the live treatment than "God of Thunder." The version on Destroyer is a plodding track marred by echo and the strange voices of little kids. This version features a faster pace, a devastating riff and animalistic vocals by the world's most famous Demon.

One of the coolest things about Alive II is that it features a song by every band member. Fans were finally able to hear Ace Frehley take to the microphone and croon his debut KISS song, "Shock Me", which concludes with a brief, but scorching guitar solo. And while Alive II's version of "Beth" isn't nearly as polished as the studio version, hearing the crowd clapping in unison and screaming at the top of their lungs really helps give it a charm of its own.


When it comes down to it, the reason I believe that Alive II is superior to Alive! is simply because the live versions of these songs are almost all better (and many significantly better) than the studio tracks. While the performances of the songs on Alive! are admittedly great as well, the studio versions of those songs are as good or better.

So cheers to Alive II on its 35th Anniversary -- at least according to KISS' accelerated calendar -- and let's hope that there will be an Alive II 35 Tour in the near future!

Alive II:

1. Detroit Rock City
2. King of the Night Time World
3. Ladies Room
4. Makin' Love
5. Love Gun
6. Calling Dr. Love
7. Christine Sixteen
8. Shock Me
9. Hard Luck Woman
10. Tomorrow and Tonight
11. I Stole Your Love
12. Beth
13. God of Thunder
14. I Want You
15. Shout it Out Loud

KISS Finally To The Hall of Fame?

A great thing happened today -- KISS was finally nominated as a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame finalist!! After qualifying for the honor 10-years ago, this is the very first time they have been elevated to the ballot.

I'm really, REALLY happy that it finally happened! Unfortunately, this is only the first hurdle. Now it will be up to the snooty Hall of Fame voters to decide. When looking over the competition, KISS' chances look pretty darn good.

As a fan for 31 of their 35-year history, I feel that eight KISS members should be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame:

Paul Stanley (1974 to present)

Gene Simmons (1974 to present)

Ace Frehley (1974-1982, 1996-2002)

Peter Criss (1974-1980, 1996-2000, 2003)

Eric Carr (1980-1991)

Bruce Kulick (1984-1995)

Eric Singer (1991-1995, 2001-2002, 2004 to present)

Tommy Thayer (2002 to present)

Personally, I agree with Paul Stanley's stance on KISS' possible induction:

"There's been a lot of people who've been a part of this, some longer than others... and some who deserve recognition more than others. Even the non-makeup years produced some platinum and double-platinum albums, and we had some very healthy sales in terms of albums and concerts through the '80s and '90s. So if we should ever be asked to accept induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, it would be something to think about."

Over the band's career, the success and longevity of KISS is due to more than the just original four members. The drumkit in KISS has actually been manned by Eric Carr & Eric Singer for 23 of the band's 35 years. For 21 of KISS' 35 years, someone other than Ace Frehley has been playing the lead guitar.

On top of that, even those figures are quite generous -- especially to Criss. Peter essentially stopped playing on KISS' studio albums after 1977's Alive II. While his face graces the cover of Dynasty (1979), Unmasked (1980) and Psycho Circus (1998), he drummed on only two songs from those three albums combined.

Ace also had a few lean KISS years where he provided minimal contribution to Music From The Elder (1981) and zero participation on Creatures of the Night (1982) and the European-released Killers (1982). He also only had slightly more involvement than Criss on the Psycho Circus album.

The point is, KISS has pretty much functioned as a team and its collective members have helped get the band to the point they are today. ALL of them deserve acknowledgement for their effort, dedication and loyalty.


According to Billboard Magazine, only the names of Stanley, Simmons, Criss and Frehley are on the ballot, but seeing how Metallica managed to induct every band member who played on a Metallica album, it gives me hope that more than just the original band will receive the honor should KISS be inducted.

Don't get me wrong, KISS would be nowhere had those four members not formed KISS in the early 70s and accomplished all that they did. However, KISS would also be nowhere today had other members not stepped in and helped the band carry on beginning almost 30-years ago when Peter Criss first departed.

I've enjoyed every lineup, every tour and every album of KISS. KISS is an entity that has survived all these years mostly due to these eight members and I just hope if/when they finally get inducted into the Hall of Fame that these eight members will be sharing in the band's long-deserved honor.

Congratulations to KISS!!

KISS Fans Who Hate KISS

There are three kinds of people in this world:

1) KISS fans
2) People who aren't KISS fans
3) KISS fans who hate KISS

The latter group of people are easily the worst of all.

See, if you think KISS songs are the musical equivalent to buffalo farts -- that's perfectly fine. However, if you are going to be some whiny KISS fan who pitches continuous online fits over which 50-year old KISS member wears which clown makeup, you need to get a life or find a new hobby.

KISS has been through countless lineup changes over the years and the latest incarnation of the band is just one more in a long list. The current KISS lineup, while totally awesome, is really no different than any other lineup. It's still just KISS.

KISS' current drummer, Eric Singer, and lead guitarist, Tommy Thayer, now wear the Catman and Spaceman makeup because Peter Criss and Ace Frehley are no longer in the band. The decision concerning the makeup came as a result of Peter and Ace's discontentment with being in KISS.

In 2000, Peter Criss refused to honor his existing contract at the end of the Farewell Tour and demanded more money. Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley did not take kindly to these demands and brought back Eric Singer (the drummer who Criss replaced when KISS reunited) who finished the tour wearing the Catman persona.


In 2002, Ace Frehley refused to sign a new contract after Paul and Gene decided that KISS should continue. With Ace's decision being final, they replaced him with long-time KISS associate, Tommy Thayer.

So why can KISS still use the Catman and Spaceman makeup without Ace and Peter being in the band? Because Ace and Peter pawned off their rights to the designs for cold hard cash years ago. If those guys didn't see their own makeup designs as sacred, why should fans see it any differently?

Ever since 2001, KISS has had at least one non-original member sporting a makeup design that an original member once wore. Even though it's been 8-years, there are still people bellyaching over it like it happened yesterday.

The most amusing example of this childish behavior is this particular retard who wholely embodies the ridiculousness of it all...

I remember when I was a little kid and believed that Paul, Gene, Ace and Peter were really their characters. Because of that, the makeup mattered to little kids like me. In 1983, KISS took off the makeup and revealed themselves to really be four regular and somewhat ugly guys.


But today, it's not little kids who are crying about the makeup, but grown adults acting like little kids over this situation. They pick internet fights, post endless criticisms and even start little hate forums in protest. Let's just get one thing straight: A KISS fan who hates KISS isn't a KISS fan at all.

Anyhow, until puberty hits these 30 and 40-year olds, Eric Singer has an undergarment recommendation for all the cry-babies out there...

Friday Night Metal!

Radio where I grew up was the worst -- at least to me it was. Not a single station would play heavy metal in their normal rotation ever. The only shining moment came on Friday nights where one station would have an all-metal show for 2-hours starting around midnight.

Tonight, it dawned how awesome that show was way-back-when and without it, how I might not have gotten into the bands that I did. Traditional radio still blows today, but at least there are more ways to listen to and discover the kinds of music you want without having to depend on the FM dial.

So, in tribute to those Friday night metal shows (The Metal Shop and For Rockers Only), I'm posting some mother-f%#king metal tonight!!