While history may look at 1977 as the year punk exploded thanks to The Ramones' sophomore masterpiece, and the debut LPs from The Clash and The Sex Pistols, it was really the year of KISS.
The wild New York rockers with their costumes, make-up, and pyro were all the things Johnny Rotten was railing against.
But Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Peter Criss, and Ace Frehley were laughing all the way into the record books.
In the summer of '77, Kiss released Love Gun, their 6th studio album in their four years. In '76 they had dropped two records (Destroyer and Rock and Roll Over) that peaked at #11 on the album charts. Love Gun made it to #4.
These freaky hard rockers were no flash in the pan. It wasn't a phase, mom. The blood, the fire, the double entendres would never go away. Although the modesty plateaued with the title track.
I really love you, baby / I love what you've got
Let's get together / We can get hot
No more tomorrow, baby / Time is today
Girl, I can make you feel
Okay
Back in the '70s and early '80s, there was a huge market for live records. In 1976, Peter Fampton's Frampton Comes Alive! sold 11 million copies worldwide.
Some Kiss fans claim the British guitarist stole the name from the hard rocker's first live album, Alive! that dropped in '75. But Kiss' title was actually a nod to Slade Alive! which was released in '72.
Kiss were not the monsters of rock when their live record came out, in fact, they only had a trio of albums at the time - and hadn't sold many of them. But much like when Cheap Trick came out with at Budokan, the live versions of certain rockers just sounded so much more exciting.
"Sonically, I never felt the studio albums lived up to what we were doing live," Stanley told Louder Sound. "They just didn’t have the kick, the balls or the sonic enormity of what we did live. Alive II captured the experience of being at a Kiss show and what we stood for."
After the success of the '76 albums and Love Gun, they were more than ready for a followup to Alive! But since they didn't really have enough songs from those three records to make a double album, they instead chose to record three sides live and the fourth would be studio recordings which would include an Ace song and a Dave Clark cover.
It would become their first double platinum record and a milestone in live rock records.
Mostly recorded over three sold-out nights at the Los Angeles Forum, two of Alive II was also captured at the aforementioned Budokan in Japan. A half dozen tunes were recorded at the Capitol Theatre in New Jersey.
But it's the LA shows that brought the most meat to the party, starting with "Detroit Rock City," which in real life was the first song of their encore.
The setlist 47 years ago today might seem a bit jumbled when you compare it to the sets they have been doing the last few decades.
Who would ever put "Black Diamond" as the closer as opposed to "Rock and Roll All Nite"?
Likewise, why would you sandwich their slowest song, "Beth" between two anthems at the end of the show?
But it worked.
Pretty much everything they did worked in '77. The albums were hits, the tour was legendary, even the Marvel comic book they released - rumored to contain blood from the band - flew off the shelves and today remains a collectors item.
Kiss has hung up their costumes. Gene just finished his solo tour.
But speaking of "Beth," the singer of that surprising hit, drummer Peter Criss is doing a meet and greet in Pennsylvania in September.
Get tickets to that through Peter's website.
