(Pophouse / UMG)
“I say fuck em’ because we’re not going away”
Truer words have never been spoken. Even 1985 Paul Stanley knew his band would be this unkillable monster. Our rock ‘n’ roll preacher riles up the Texas crowd early on in the show from the newest Off The Soundboard release. Live In San Antonio, Texas – December 3, 1985 at the HemisFair Arena catches KISS on the fourth show of the Asylum Tour.
There are some notable aspects to this OTS release – the most important being this finally being the first live album featuring the lineup of Paul Stanley-Gene Simmons-Eric Carr-Bruce Kulick. The presentation has also been upgraded. Rather than going for the simple cardboard, bootleg look like the previous releases, the cover art features live shots of the boys.
As for the show itself, it’s like a 90-minute sprint. This is KISS at their most “glammy”, bright colored outfits, adrenaline flowing, and our guys are horny bastards. Paul is the star of the show and his stage raps are one to behold. While some may call it “cringe”, it captures the moment, intensity, and energy of the time. His lead in to “Love Gun” describing his encounter with a geography teacher is an all-timer.
If this is the KISS you grew up on, you will undoubtedly enjoy this show. Paul is the ringmaster and is in control all night. Bruce is tight on lead guitar blending shred, speed, and melody, however his backing vocals are distracting and off-putting (“Fits Like A Glove” is rough). Gene sounds tired and exasperated, like he’s having a hard time keeping up and Eric is blazing away behind the kit.
For a soundboard recording; it’s impeccably clear and the feel, pulse of the show comes through. The performances and set choice comes down to a matter of taste. The makeup classics are put on the race track – “Cold Gin” nearly sounds like a different song, “Rock And Roll Nite” is warp speed, and the lumbering menace “War Machine” is more like a runaway rocket. That lose that essence of groove the originals possess.
The unmasked cuts come off the best, especially hearing Asylum tracks receiving their moment of glory like the unsubtle “Uh! All Night” and hit single “Tears Are Falling”. Shame album opener “King Of The Mountain” was already removed by the time this show rolled around.
The strongest moments come at the encore with a blistering bounce of “Heaven’s On Fire” (Paul sounds incredible) and the treat of “Oh! Susanana” before the excellently performed “Lick It Up” closes it out. The main offender and the song that never worked live (Unplugged being the exception) is “I Still Love You”. The heartbreak, yearning Paul ballad is radically out of place.
Keep an ear out for Eric using drum pads on his solo and being filtered in on the subsequent songs in the set. It gives the songs a different feel. The band is unfortunately solo crazy with each member receiving one. Paul wastes time noodling away and Gene sounds like he doesn’t know how to approach the crowd when not in Demon mode.
It’s not the perfect concert with the perfect set, but it’s satisfying to have the often overlooked Asylum period and tour officially documented. KISSonline is only offering it on vinyl – for those looking for the CD, check out CDJapan.
Rating: 7.0
Source: bravewords.com
