10 Live Albums That Are Better Than Studio Albums

For all of the spectacle that came with every KISS record, they could barely get arrested on the album charts. Even after garnering the reputation as one of the greatest live acts in New York, there was no way of translating that into record sales, with most people coming for the show and never really paying attention past that. When they went into cut Alive!, they realized that one important instrument was missing: the audience.

Compared to the thin sounds of their studio records, Alive! is the first time where you feel like you're listening to the authentic version of the band, as Paul Stanley practically holds court over the crowd like some rock and roll preacher throughout every single song. While all of these songs had already turned up on past KISS records, there's a certain shot of adrenaline that comes with these versions, as the band play as if their life depends on it.

It also helps that half of these songs were taken from gigs at Cobo Hall in Detroit, with the residents of Detroit Rock City coming correct and feeding off the band as Gene Simmons breathes fire and Peter Criss' drums levitate during his solo. Live albums may have been considered a throwaway thing at the time, but Alive! was the first time where you actually felt like you were in the middle of the crowd when you put your headphones on.