Alive II (Remastered)by KISS

The sequel to 1975's earth-shattering Alive!, pretty much the gold standard for live rock albums in the '70s, Kiss's Alive II was another huge commercial success for the band. Recorded (mostly) during the band's Love Gun Tour, Kiss is at the peak of their powers on this album. They may not sound quite as hungry and restless as they were two years prior, but the overblown performances prove that they were still one of the best live acts of their time. Even though the production values of each of Kiss's studio albums following Alive! were better than their initial three, the renditions here blow every single one of their studio counterparts out of the water. Like the first live album, the songs are generally sped up and given a much harder edge; Frehley's solos sound so much better here (there's even some pre-Van Halen pick tapping during his extended solo on "Shock Me"), and each member's vocals crackle with an adrenaline-charged urgency that the studio setting just can't capture. Songs like the quintessential concert-opener "Detroit Rock City", the immortal "Love Gun", the vitriolic "God of Thunder", and the rocket-powered "Shout It Out Loud" helped to define the term "arena rock".

Since the band had another three albums from which to draw material for Alive II, there are thankfully no repeats from Alive!. That said, while Alive! closely replicated what a Kiss show was like at the time of its release, the cracks were beginning to show on Alive II. In spite of the controversy regarding overdubbing of tracks on Alive!, there weren't any obvious giveaways to confirm these rumors. On Alive II, you can hear Paul Stanley singing different backup harmonies simultaneously on many occasions. In addition, the song order does not reflect the typical setlist of the band on this tour very well (e.g. the first song should be "I Stole Your Love"). Truth be told, "Beth" and "I Want You" were recorded on the Rock and Roll Over Tour, and "Hard Luck Woman" and "Tomorrow and Tonight" were not performed in 1977 at all and were actually recorded during sound checks.

Speaking of which, the fourth side of Alive II is comprised entirely of exclusive studio tracks. Apart from Frehley's "Rocket Ride", none are particularly good. It's unfortunate since live versions of "Do You Love Me?", "Take Me", and "Hooligan" were originally intended to be on the album and easily could've replaced these tracks. What's most unsettling is that Frehley does not play on any of the other four tracks, with Bob Kulick being brought in to fill the void. Unfortunately, studio fill-ins would be the norm on the next two Kiss studio albums before the splintering of the original lineup.

Between blatant studio doctoring, lame bonus songs, and a slightly lacking tracklist, Alive II is not quite up to par with its predecessor. Even so, it represents the end of an era for Kiss before they would descend into personal paranoia and musical mediocrity, and there’s something to be said for that alone. In fact, as a sonic experience and a nostalgic document, Alive II most closely resembles what a lot of people associate with Kiss in general more than any of their other albums, as this was released at the height of their popularity. (It's no coincidence that the band wore the same costumes from the Love Gun Tour during their Reunion Tour.) All in all, absolutely indispensable for those enlisted in the Kiss Army as well as anyone who enjoyed Alive!.