Maps of Music

Alive II (1977)

Where the lyrics of Alive II take you, and where it was really made.

Despite its live billing, Alive II was built from shows in Los Angeles, Passaic and Tokyo, with overdubs and mixing done in New York.

Key places

Most live tracks recorded at the Forum (1977)

Recording site Los Angeles Forum — Most live tracks on Alive II were recorded at the Forum during the August 26–28, 1977 shows on the Love Gun Tour. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Side four recorded without an audience (1977)

Recording site Capitol Theatre — Side four songs were recorded live without an audience at the Capitol Theatre in Passaic, New Jersey, in September 1977. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Overdubs and mix in New York (1977)

Recording site Electric Lady Studios — The Capitol Theatre recordings were overdubbed and mixed at Electric Lady Studios in New York City in mid-September 1977. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Japanese live recordings from Budokan Hall (1977)

Recording site Nippon Budokan — Two tracks on Alive II were recorded at Budokan Hall in Tokyo on April 2, 1977, the origin of the album plan. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Alive II: second live album by American hard rock band Kiss
• Released October 24, 1977 by Casablanca Records, produced by Eddie Kramer
• The three live sides draw on the three preceding studio albums: Destroyer, Rock and Roll Over, Love Gun
• Side four holds new songs recorded live without an audience at Capitol Theatre, Passaic, then overdubbed and mixed at Electric Lady Studios, New York
• The band's first double platinum certification came in February 1996

Background

• Origins go back to early 1977, when manager Bill Aucoin suggested Eddie Kramer record a live album at Budokan Hall, Tokyo, on April 2, 1977
• The plan was to give Kiss time off before recording Love Gun
• Kramer finished the album, but Casablanca and Kiss deemed it unusable
• The band forged ahead with the Love Gun sessions
• The band did not want to duplicate songs from Alive!, the 1975 live release, so the live sides use only songs from the three preceding studio albums

Recording

• Most live tracks were recorded at the Forum during the band's August 26–28 shows on the Love Gun Tour
• The 3 p.m. soundchecks of August 26 and 27 were recorded and later used on the album, with crowd noise dubbed in later for "Tomorrow and Tonight"
• "Beth" and "I Want You" were taken from the unused Japanese live recordings
• Bob Kulick played lead guitar on "All American Man", "Rockin' in the U.S.A.", and "Larger Than Life"
• Eddie Kramer served as producer, engineer and mixer; Corky Stasiak was co-engineer

Cover

• Several early copies of the cover carried a rare misprint of three extra songs in an altered order
• The misprinted extras were "Take Me", "Hooligan" and "Do You Love Me?"
• None of these extra songs appeared on the LP

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Disc 1

Disc 2

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Kiss was formed in New York City in 1973 by Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss.
• The band traces its roots to Wicked Lester, a New York rock band led by Simmons and Stanley.
• Their first performance took place on January 30, 1973, at the Popcorn Club (later Coventry) in Queens.
• Casablanca Records signed the band on November 1, 1973, as the label's first act.

Members

• The four original members were Stanley (Starchild), Simmons (Demon), Frehley (Spaceman) and Criss (Catman).
• Eric Carr replaced Criss in 1980; Vinnie Vincent, Mark St. John and Bruce Kulick later held lead guitar.
• Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer formed the final lineup.

Career

• Kiss became one of America's most successful rock bands in the late 1970s, with a 1977 Gallup poll naming them the most popular band in America.
• The band unmasked in 1983 and reunited the original lineup for the 1996 reunion tour.
• The band announced its retirement after its final show at Madison Square Garden on December 2, 2023.
• Kiss was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on April 10, 2014.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• In a contemporary review, Rolling Stone's John Swenson criticized Kiss for copying the live performances of the Rolling Stones and the Who
• The same review acknowledged the band's improved instrumental technique and attitude
• Swenson concluded that the album captures the essence of live rock and roll very well

Reappraisal

• AllMusic's Greg Prato noted an adrenaline-charged vibe on "Detroit Rock City", "Shock Me" and "Shout It Out Loud"
• Prato praised the album for showing the group in its element as an exciting live band
• Pitchfork's Jason Josephes called the album "not a bad album, but definitely not essential"
• Martin Popoff called it a loud-and-proud document of what would be the most exciting year for the band and its fans

Records

• Third album by the band to ship platinum, and fifth certified platinum
• Reached No. 7 on the Billboard 200 and stayed on the charts for 33 weeks
• Certified double platinum in February 1996, the band's first double platinum album
• Double platinum certification signifies sales of over 1,000,000 for a double album
• Sold over 300,000 copies in the US from 1991 to March 2012 in the Soundscan era

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · fr.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Early cover copies misprinted three extra songs that never appeared on the LP
• In the misprint, "Take Me" was placed after "Detroit Rock City"
• The album was packaged with a full-color booklet titled "The Evolution of Kiss" and temporary transfer tattoos
• The 3 p.m. soundchecks of August 26 and 27 were used on the album
• A 2006 single-disc re-release as part of Kiss Alive! 1975-2000 added "Rock and Roll All Nite" as a bonus track

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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