‘Alive!’, released in 1975, is the first live album by legendary American rock band, KISS. It’s often cited as their best album, period, and is the definitive summary of their music and legacy on one recording. So why do I feel like it’s a bit overrated?
Barely two years into their career, it’s impressive that this is the bands fourth release, and with three albums to draw material from, there’s a wealth of songs for their live shows. The problem is I’m just not really into those first few albums.
Don’t get me wrong, I love KISS. But my love of KISS pretty much starts from what would be their next studio album and onwards (that album being the fantastic ‘Destroyer’). Yeah, the live versions of those original songs sound better, and “how KISS are meant to be heard”, but mostly, those songs still don’t really do much for me.
That’s not to say that I don’t like this album, because I do. Despite the cheesy dubbed crowd noises, there’re still some great performances on here. Songs like ‘Deuce’, ‘Strutter’, ‘Hotter Than Hell’, ‘Cold Gin’ and ‘Rock and Roll All Nite’ probably sound better here than they would on their studio recordings, but then, that might also be because I rarely, if ever, listen to the studio recordings.
‘Alive!’ is no doubt regarded as a classic album, and sometimes considered one of the greatest live albums of all time, and that hyperbole may be the very reason why I feel it isn’t. I think it’s good, maybe even very good, but one of the all-time greatest? Sorry, to any KISS fans reading this, but no. Not for me. Just a “good” live album, but one that I’m not likely to listen to that often.
