Description

Double album with 8 page booklet and bonus live material from Ace Frehleys solo period.

In typical Kiss fashion, the band’s 40th anniversary tour would stretch far beyond that and now we celebrate their 41st anniversary. The tour would start in June 2014 with a summer shed (amphitheater) tour with Def Leppard followed by their first Las Vegas residency to finish the year. 2015 would see the band play Asia, South America, Europe, and recently Australia, for this release a recording from Italy during the said European tour have been chosen. While I love and grew up on Kiss, I find myself not listening to the newer recordings as much, what is intriguing about this release is that it has a full Kiss set as well as bonus tracks from an Ace Frehely concert just a few days prior that make for a most interesting release. The Kiss recording is well balanced and clear and while there is some audience interference that is to be expected, it does not interfere with ones enjoyment. It has a nice range of frequencies and for being an outdoor venue the bottom end is perfect with just enough bass without being over powering. The set list is an interesting mix from the band’s career, Detroit Rock City is always a great opener and when coupled with Deuce makes for a killer one two punch. What I found particularly enjoyable is the return of Creatures Of The Night, the current line up of the band is playing wise equal to the Vincent / Carr line up and make for metallic versions of the classics while retaining their original vibe, just listen to Eric Singers drumming, he has certainly endeared himself to me as he is an incredible drummer. Paul promises a night they will never forget when introducing I Love It Loud, the crowd knows just what to do and they do a great job in handling the chorus. The Creatures material is so good the band plow right into War Machine that grinds the audience, and listener, into the ground in its metallic heaviness, curious it has the Firehouse siren at the end, Gene must breathe fire at its conclusion. Nice to see Do You Love Me back in the set list and the band keep a singular newer song from Monster in the set list. Hell Or Hallelujah in prime Paul Stanley hard rock, great riff and chorus from the real man who has steadfastly been the man to lead Kiss for 40 years. Tommy plays a great solo and one listen to this version shows why it is in the set, I wish they would have kept something from Sonic Boom as well. The band pays homage to The Who during Lick It Up with a bit of Won’t Get Fooled Again in the middle, Paul and Tommy recreate the pulsing keyboards and Eric does his best Keith Moon impersonation that has the audience on its feet clapping along. Cold Gin makes its return to the set, having replaced Parasite a few dates prior and the main set ends the way it should, with a killer version of Black Diamond. The bonus tracks come from an Ace Frehley concert at the famous Milkweg Oude Zaal in Amsterdam, Holland on the 9th of June 2015, the source is a very good near excellent recording. The recording is clear with the guitars and drums being nicely in the mix and there is some upper end distortion yet has that small venue in your face sound to it. This is the middle and latter part of the show and many of the newer songs from Anomaly and Space Invader are not present. What we get is a nice selection of vintage Kiss and early solo classics. Parasite features Ace on vocals and is similar in feel to the original, tight but loose. His solo band is great, Richie Scarlet on guitar, Chris Wyse from The Cult on bass, and Scot Coogan on drums make for a power backdrop for the Spaceman. Snow Blind from his 1978 solo record and Rock Soldiers from the first Frehelys Comet record are early highlights. One of the most interesting songs in the set is the Hotter Than Hell deep track Strange Ways, originally sung by Peter Criss on this tour Chris Wyse gets vocal duties and is three minutes of total bad assness. Shock Me features Ace’s solo spot and the audience cheer him on as he goes through all the moves as he tells the audience Still f*ckin smoking. Rip It Out from his first solo record and the Kiss classic Deuce are the final two bonus songs, I love solo Ace and this recording is not only a testament to his solo career but is on direct compromise to what Stanley and Simmons try and force down our throats by minimizing his talents…it just can’t be done. The packaging is beautifully adorned with pictures from the concert, the one on the back cover gives you an idea of the crowds the band is still able to draw. There is a nice shot of Ace and his band on the cd 2 sleeve and we get an 8 page booklet that has brief liner notes and more photos including ones of the ticket stubs. 40 years on and releases like this show that Kiss is still a force to be reckoned with.

Track list:
1. Detroit Rock City
2. Deuce
3. Psycho Circus
4. Creatures Of The Night
5. I Love It Loud
6. War Machine
7. Do You Love Me
8. Hell Or Hallelujah
9. Calling Dr. Love
10. Lick It Up / Wont Get Fooled Again
11. Bass Solo-Gene Simmons
12. God Of Thunder
13. Cold Gin
14. Love Gun
15. Black Diamond
16. Shout It Out Loud
17. I Was Made For Lovin You
18. Rock And Roll All Nite
19. Ace Frehley -Parasite
20. Ace Frehley -2000 Man
21. Ace Frehley -Snow Blind
22. Ace Frehley -Rock Soldiers
23. Ace Frehley -Strange Ways
24. Ace Frehley -New York Groove
25. Ace Frehley -Shock Me
26. Ace Frehley -Ace Solo
27. Ace Frehley -Cold Gin
28. Ace Frehley -Rip It Out
29. Ace Frehley -Deuce