Description

With red Parrot labels From what I’ve seen, 1977 was a fantastic year to be a rebellious teenager in the Bay Area with a little bit of disposable income. There was no greater night than Aug. 16, when KISS, the greatest rock act of our generation, played the Cow Palace with Cheap Trick opening. It was just two months after the release of Love Gun, 10 days before the band recorded the bulk of Alive II in Los Angeles and one of the last tours with all of the founding members (before the original KISS reunited as a nostalgia in 1996). It was also the day that Elvis Presley died. The music critic Joel Selvin at news paper magazine Chronicle reviewed this show. He wrote his most scathing review during their first trip to the Bay Area in 1975. An excerpt from that piece: Kiss takes the cake. The ludicrous hard rock quartet that appeared Friday at Winterland may be the most crass, worthless rock band to run through town in years. … The entire performance was silly (but not funny) and barely worth dignifying by comment. His 1977 review was much more subdued, in a resigned/defeated kind of way. At the arena it was Seventy cents for a hot dog! I’m sure in 1977 this was considered highway robbery. A feature on the concert also made fun of the $6 T-shirts and $5 belt buckles. (The joke’s on you, Chronicle! KISS vintage belt buckles sell on eBay for upwards of $100.). Simmons Meteor came out in 1988 and have during the years become a much wanted album. The A-side features tracks from that magic night at Cow Palace in 1977 while the B-side features a mixed bag of rare live tracks performed mostly from the Animalize tour in 1984 but also a live track from 1986 and an early Gene Simmons demo track from 1973, its the latter that makes this album a real keeper Track listing: 1. I Stole Your Love 2. Take Me 3. Ladies Room 4. Firehouse 5. Love Gun 6. Calling Dr. Love 7. Shout It Out Loud 8. God Of Thunder 9. We Wont Get Fooled Again-Chicago Illinois 17th of January 1986 10. Sunshine Of Your Love-Dusseldorf 30th of October 1984 11. Hey Joe-Dusseldorf 30th of October 1984 12. La Bamba-Dusseldorf 30th of October 1984 13. Whole Lotta Love-London 14th of October 1984 14. Give To You Easy-Gene Simmons demo 1973 15. Burn Bitch Burn-Brighton England 30th of September 1984