Kiss Music:

Editorial Review:
2006 Japanese limited edition issue of the album classic in a deluxe, miniaturized LP sleeve replica of the original vinyl album artwork.

Alive II Reviews:
Alive and Kissing!
2009-12-16 - It's a good live album, buy it. Goodnight. Ha! Seriously though, this CD features some great live versions of some of KISS's best songs off of their 4th, 5th and 6th studio albums, including Detroit Rock City, Calling Dr Love, and Love Gun. Most of the songs are pretty much accurate to their studio versions except Track 8 Shock Me which features an extra Ace guitar solo at it's end, and Track 13 God of Thunder which has a drum solo by Peter Criss added to it. The 5 additional studio tracks at the end are icing on the cake, especially All American Man, Larger Than Life, and of course the mighty Rocket Ride by Space Ace Frehley. We all know now that Ace did not play lead guitar on 4 of the 5 studio tracks here, and lead guitar duty was performed by Bob Kulick, who I want to give props to because I think he did an excellent job here, especially on the song Larger Than Life.

Standout tracks are Rocket Ride, Larger Than Life, All American Man, Shock Me, and God of Thunder.

God gave Halloween to you
2009-10-23 - I'm writing these words totally upset. Unhinged. My girlfriend just left me tonight. Well, she denies that ~ words words words ~ but when I saw her and that other guy, illuminated under 4th of July sparklers and an October moon, I knew. Stabbed and abandoned. Yet I felt it coming on, too, so I was ready. Suspicions validated. Righteous and wronged. Relieved, too. Done with being hurt. BECAUSE I'm hurt. Raw and OVER it. Such a vitality, this particular feeling alive. A uniquely teenage sensation, lonely and insolent. Pure rock and roll. This is why we need cabaret clowns like Paul Stanley to wear circus earrings and smash hard a raw guitar into smithereens. Only those of us utterly bereft and vulnerable in the world need such macho postures belched foolishly to 11. My fellow losers, we have been given a gift. Halloween is all about hiding the hurt. What if Halloween was forever? Like heaven. If you're downright down and out tonight, this way to the egress.



A worth owning sequel to one of rock's greatest live albums
2009-10-08 - KISS' eighth album Alive II was released in November of 1977 in time for the Christmas sale that year.
The album was recorded over three nights at the LA Forum in Los Angeles in August of 1977.
The songs that were live were pretty much most of the album (save "Hard Luck Woman" and "Tomorrow and Tonight" which were recorded in the studio with crowd noises and there were some edits on the live tracks and overdubs). They attempted those aforementioned songs live but didn't work during rehearsals. However, "Detroit Rock City", "King of the Night Time World" (the former are rumored from the KISS live shows in Japan from 1977), "Ladies Room", "Makin Love", "Love Gun", "Calling Dr Love", "Christine Sixteen", "Shock Me (with a slightly edited Ace Frehley guitar solo)", "I Stole Your Love", "Beth" (rumored to be from Japan 1977), "God of Thunder" (with edited Peter Criss drum solo), "I Want You" and "Shout it Out Loud" surpass their studio counterparts.
KISS felt that repeating songs from 1975's Alive! album would have been useless (though I do like later live versions from the 1977 tour of "Firehouse", "Black Diamond" and "Rock and Roll All Night") so the band decided to record five new tracks at a theater with a mobile truck without an audience. With Ace Frehley gone AWOL (he does play guitar and bass and sing on his composition, the killer rocker "Rocket Ride"), rhythm guitarist/singer Paul Stanley, bass player/singer Gene Simmons and drummer Peter Criss went and recorded four new tracks (with Bob Kulick doing lead guitar to mimic Ace's playing on the first of the three new tracks) which were Paul's rocker "All American Man" and two Gene rockers out of "Rockin in the USA" and "Larger Than Life". There's also a cover of Dave Clark Five's "Any Way You Want It" recorded as a five piece.
When the album was released, it went Double Platinum and hit #6 on the Billboard Top 200 and was the second Top 10 album for KISS in 1977, the year they were kings of American rock. I first got this cassette in June of 1988 when my older sister gave it to me. Then, eventually got on CD then bought the digitally remastered edition which comes with the book and tattoos that were on the original album and the sound is superb 30 years on!
Highly recommended!

Brings back memories
2009-09-11 - KISS was the band back in the days! This cd is a reminder of my days in H.S., love it.... Thank you.

KISS ALIVE AGAIN
2009-06-20 - always will be compared to KISS ALIVE, but ALIVE 2 stands on it's on as a great cd. like said in other reviews the single disk in the KISS ALIVE boxset sounds better