Musings: KISS - Off the Soundboard – Live in Des Moines 1977

For their fourth Off the Soundboard release, KISS decided to give fans a show from their beloved Alive II tour in Des Moines, Iowa, recorded on November 29, 1977. This tour follows up the Love Gun tour from earlier the same year. This set features KISS at the absolute peak of their career with Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Ace Frehley, and Peter Criss. The original lineup shines on this single disc of 17 songs, running at a tight hour and sixteen minutes.

Here is the official tracklist:

1. I Stole Your Love

2. King of the Night Time World

3. Ladies Room

4. Firehouse

5. Love Gun

6. Let Me Go, Rock 'N Roll

7. Makin' Love

8. Christine Sixteen

9. Shock Me

10. I Want You

11. Calling Dr. Love

12. Shout It Out Loud

13. God of Thunder

14. Rock and Roll All Nite

15. Detroit Rock City

16. Beth

17. Black Diamond

This is a monumental show in KISS’s storied career and can finally replace the actual Alive II record which had been edited to only feature songs that weren’t included on the legendary Alive! record. I always felt Alive II was a bit of a letdown for that reason, not giving us a full show of what they actually played on tour in 1977. This release rectifies that and then some. The sound quality and the band’s energy are second to none here. This is KISS when they were on top of the world. The previous entry in the series, Live in Donington 1996, featured the band’s reunion and was a stellar show, but this one slightly edges it to become the very best of the four volumes in this celebrated series of “bootleg” releases. Now all we need is an actual Off the Soundboard from 1975 to replace the landmark Alive! record for a true full show, pure, without any studio tampering.

This is back when KISS played their songs slightly faster live, so it makes for a more frenetic experience. The song selection is fantastic and plays like a greatest hits from the makeup era. The show kicks off with the energetic “I Stole Your Love”; the sound quality for the first minute or so shows some of the weakness of its source from a tape recording, but it gets progressively better as the song moves along and the rest of the album sounds outstanding considering its age. It’s great to hear a terrific rendition of “Ladies Room”, a song that is seldom performed (if ever) nowadays. Some of the highlights include “Firehouse”, “Love Gun”, “Shock Me” complete with Ace’s lengthy guitar solo, “God of Thunder” featuring Gene’s blood-spitting, fire-breathing bass solo, and Peter’s thunderous drum solo, the always kick-ass “Detroit Rock City”, and Peter singing a heartfelt version of “Beth” just before the closer “Black Diamond”, a personal favorite of mine.

I’ve said this with two of the previous Off the Soundboard releases, but if you’re gonna buy only one KISS record, be it live or studio, THIS is the one to get. It’s a perfect snapshot of the band at the height of their powers at a time when music was truly special and not everything had been seen or heard before. If you’re already a die-hard KISS fan, then you probably already own this and if not, what the hell are you waiting for? It’s a great time to be a KISS fan. Who would have thought that almost fifty years in, KISS would still be releasing relevant material! This is the third soundboard release this year and I have a feeling there’s another one on the horizon. Please make it a 1975 show to come full circle with the original lineup. This is easily one of the best records I’ve heard all year—I might be biased as KISS is my all-time favorite band—but nonetheless, this is a phenomenal live album regardless of whether you like their music or not. If you enjoy rock ‘n’ roll/classic rock, you owe it to yourself to give Live in Des Moines at least a spin. It’ll remind you why KISS was once one of the best live bands in the world.

KISS – Off the Soundboard - Live in Des Moines at the KISS Shop