KISS - ALIVE II

Had my mother and I been walking through the aisles of Musicland on October 24, 1977 I’m positive I would have stopped dead in my tracks, mouth opened to the floor staring in amazement at the brand new double LP release from KISS. While my mother after taking one glance at the slick black album cover would begin dousing me clean with holy water as if she were Father Merrin herself. A classic tale-tale sign that you are on to something good.
No KISS album has packaged a greater sense of fun and ‘not of this worldliness’ on two pieces of cardboard like KISS ALIVE II. From the packaging, to the song selection, to the ‘extra’ surprise tucked neatly in the record sleeve…ALIVE II ranks a ‘10’ on the scale of all-time KISS must-haves.
Before you load up your slingshots and take aim at my freshly cleaned windows…please hear me out. Yes - KISS ALIVE! is ‘sonically’ a better album. The performance is tighter, the track listing is more mature, and will go down in history as one of the greatest ‘live’ albums of all time…but c’mon…where’s the fun? This is KISS were talking about! For my dollar ALIVE II delivers the goods…two-fold.
The photos used on the front cover are some of the coolest images I have ever seen of the band. Definitely something I would keep in mind is ever shopping the idea of getting a KISS tattoo.
The inner gatefold pic is also just as beautiful. It speaks in a very simple yet effective way. Lock up your daughters, cover your son’s ears and grab the Bible because KISS is coming to town and everything you have ever heard about this band is true. They are going to destroy you…convert you…and leave you wanting more. Classic KISS at it’s best.
It’s been rumored the Gene got the idea for the studio tracks on the album from a ZZ-Top ‘live’ album. Thank God…that is a handful of nuggets sent straight from the Heavens. "All American Man", "Larger Than Life", "Rocket Ride"…jeez! That is some of the best material they have done since ALIVE! I have always wondered what it would have been like if KISS would have saved the material from the 4th side of the record and actually done a ‘new’ KISS record. One can only imagine.
The last kick ass piece of this record is of course the tattoo’s. How freaking sweet is that? Imagine being a 9-year-old kid and being able to cover your arms and face with your heroes. Teachers everywhere must have been disgusted. I was pleasantly pleased when KISS re-issued their CD library including replica’s of the original album inserts. It was my first time I was ever able to come across the tattoo’s. I was young and broke so I purchased the CD, removed the tattoo’s and returned it. I know…it was a crappy thing to do…but I had to have them and I was a very poor college student. I must have been a good boy after that because lady luck tapped me on the shoulder when I purchased ALIVE II at a garage sale. Some little ol’ granny was selling her son’s old record collection and ALIVE II was among the loot. The kid must have taken care of his stuff because for $1.75, I walked away with the "Evolution of KISS" insert, order form, and the KISS tattoos-never put together and completely mint. In all honesty the kid probably wasn’t even a KISS fan. It was probably a forgotten Christmas gift that he could have cared less about. It probably sat in this ladies basement for 23 years.
The simple joys of being a KISS fan…when the wife says "Hey – look a garage sale…let’s stop"…you never know what might be waiting for you.