305. Kiss, "Alive!"

 


This collection of deeply stupid songs was nonetheless a required feature in the record collection of myself and every other Gen X boy I knew in the late 70's.  Recorded semi-live in the American heartland, you can literally smell the shitty pot smoke and see the feathery moustaches in the crowd.  I say "semi-live" because there were, to put it mildly, considerable overdubs recorded because Kiss wasn't very good at playing their songs live at this point.  Even the cover, clearly shot in a studio and not at any concert, is a fake.

Although the songs are indisputably stupid as hell, this album does showcase what Kiss did so well, and that is fucking rock.  If you ever wonder about how influential Kiss was, this album will clear that up.  I hadn't really realized the extent to which all or most Southern rock is indebted to Kiss, and maybe even specifically this album, until I relistened.  Sure, it's dumb, but there is something so primal and so powerful about this music that it's no wonder a bunch of 11-year-old boys like me thought it held the key to manhood.

Kiss' gender politics are, shall we say, distinctly unmodern.  From the opener, "Deuce":

Honey
Don't push your man behind his years
And baby
Stop cryin' all your tears

Baby
Do the things he says to do (do it!)
Baby, if you're feeling good
Yes, baby, if you're feeling nice
You know your man is workin' hard
He's worth a deuce

These lyrics are Robert Penn Warren-esque, though, compared to "C'mon and Love Me":

I'm a man, I'm no baby
And you're lookin' every inch a lady
You're good lookin' and you're lookin' like you should be good

You were distant, now you're nearer
I can feel your face inside the mirror
The lights are out and I can feel you, baby, with my hand

I can feel you with my hand!  Sigh, romance.  As you can gather, Kiss' lyrical concerns are occupied generally with women, sexual congress with same, rocking out, and partying.  In fact, following the drum solo in "100,000 Years" (!), Paul Stanley asks "how many people over here LIKE TO PARTY?" (!!) Judging by its assent, the crowd does, in fact, like to party.  But wait!  "How many people over here LIKE TO GET HIGH?" (!!!)  Once again, the response is affirmative.  There is one final query.  Do you think Kiss' fans "BELIEVE IN ROCK AND ROLL?"  They do.  I did too, once.

Does this album deserve to be in the Top 500? I'm absolutely certain a Kiss album belongs in the Top 500.  Not sure if this should be the one; I was always more partial to Destroyer, but sure.

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