10 Best Hard Rock Albums Of The 1970s
7. Alive! - KISS
As KISS were making their way into the mid-70's, the band was looking a bit world-weary. Their first few records had done fair but nothing really blew up on the charts. In addition, the band's shock rock live shows were draining most of the money from their bank accounts, leaving the band with little money to tour and even less to survive.
The band then hit upon an idea: why don't we capture the hysteria of our live shows onto a record? The idea of a double-live record that would sell was looked at as ludicrous by critics, but turned into solid gold when put through the shock-rock world of KISS.
The set list for the concerts spans through the greatest-hits from the band's first records and injects them with the perfect amount of hard rock gravitas. Suddenly, the album became not just a memento from a KISS concert, but also an encapsulation of the rock and roll lifestyle that kids could bang their heads to for days on end. The band went on to great success and remained hard rock juggernauts throughout the decade, with this record showing the power of a KISS concert in full force.