159 - KISS - Alive!
You wanted the best; you got the best! KISS Alive! is a great example and superb template on how to make a great live album.
1. Make it a double album to take advantage of the event-like feel of listening to the whole album.
2. Crank up the audience noise and applause. Provide the feeling of actually being at the concert, except...
3. Make it the best sounding the band could ever possibly be in concert. If that means overdubs or edits in the studio later, then so be it.
I kept comparing Alive! with The Who Live at Leeds. While The Who captured fairly well the energy and sound of the band live, Alive! is more immersive and polished. At a time before MTV and YouTube, the fact any kid in America could buy this album and look at the pictures while hearing this feels powerful to me even now.
On Alive!, Paul Stanley is the hottest man and coolest guy on the planet. Ace shreds and crunches on the guitar. Gene thumps, stomps, and roars through the concert. And Peter propels all of this along with the pounding of the drums. This is loud rock. This is fun rock. This is a party, not an art performance.
Songs I Knew I Liked: “Rock And Roll All Nite” was the only live version I had previously known.
Songs I Now Like (in which I was unaware of the studio version): "Parasite"
Songs I Don't Want to Ever Hear Again: Good God, the drum solo in "100,000 Years" is just...ARGH!