KISS

This collection of live songs went quadruple platinum for good reason. It is perhaps one of few live rock albums that truly transcend the aural experience of a gigantic rock show. Rumors of the band overdubbing studio parts to this album should be thought of as innovative, rather than deceptive. It made for a better listen.

Kiss onstage could possibly be mildly entertaining for about ten minutes, but on record,
minus the impact of gaudy painted faces and stage theatrics, the band must be judged
solely for its music. It's awful. Criminally repetitive, thuddingly monotonous. And like the
legions of equally talentless bands across the country, Kiss attempts to get by on volume
and tired riffing. Unlike these other bands, however, they came up with the ide... More >

There are those who regard this concert double as a de facto best-of that rescues such unacknowledged hard rock classics as "Deuce" and "Strutter" from the sludge. There are also those who regard it as the sludge. I fall into neither category--regret the drum solo, applaud "Rock and Roll All Nite," and absorb the thunderousness of it all with bemused curiosity. The multimillion kids who are buying it don't fall into either category either. (Grade - B-)