Kiss - 2021 - Shogun Assassins

Kiss

2021

Shogun Assassins

Golden Eggs ‎– Egg 145

01. Detroit Rock City
02. Take Me
03. Let Me Go, Rock And Roll
04. Ladies Room
05. Firehouse
06. Makin´ Love
07. I Want You
08. Cold Gin
09. Ace Solo
10. Do You Love Me?
11. Nothin´ To Lose
12. Gene Solo
13. God Of Thunder
14. Peter Solo
15. Rock And Roll All Nite
16. Shout It Out Loud
17. Beth
18. Black Diamond

Recorded Live at theNippon Budokan, Tokyo (Japan)
April 2, 1977, Evening Show

This is the complete soundboard of the evening show released for the first time ever in stunning quality.

The April 2 1977 concert from the Budokan in Japan, made famous to us in America as the source for the HBO concert special from the late 70’s. The concert has also been released as part of the KISSOLOGY series, debuting on the first volume of the series. The band played two shows that day with the idea of recording both on audio and video for a Japanese broadcast on the Young Music Show, the band were also looking at the possibility of recording a live album using famous engineer Eddie Kramer but that project never came to fruition.

The audience seems a little more restrained than the early show, less of the girls screaming. The band again takes the stage with the opening salvo of Detroit Rock City and Take Me. The audience seems to really enjoy Ladies Room tonight, they clap throughout the song, and the band delivers a great version of the song. Again one can refer to the KISSOLOGY video, the audience sounds crazy but they do so within the confines of the individual seats. Firehouse gets a huge cheer from the crowd, its great to hear the older songs as the band play them with such confidence and the audience clap throughout, they love the music too. Gene’s bass can be clearly heard and really gives the song its groove. Makin Love is spectacular, with its Led Zep riff the song really works well live, Ace rips a great solo to boot and the ending of the song featuring the band locked in to the riff just hammers the audience to great effect. I Want You follows, the opening track on Rock And Roll Over and arguably the strongest song on the record, the guitar riff is wicked and Paul also interjects the call and response portion based upon the Chorus much to the delight of the audience. Speaking of the audience, while not as loud screaming wise they are certainly into the show, the are more into the clapping and singing along, Paul does a great job getting his point across as he is a master showman.

Peter’s drum intro to Do You Love Me? has the audience clapping along, I have stated it many times that this is one of my favorite KISS songs, even though he did not write it, Paul sings it as if he did and seems as if it was coming from his perspective. The harmony guitar section is great, Paul and Ace locked in tight and for an arena the size of the Budokan the recording sound way more intimate. Gene’s bass solo that starts the second disc sounds massive in this capture, as if some larger monster was moaning from the depths, the crowd roar their approval as the Demon devours the stage amid smoke and blood. God Of Thunder is played at Marshall tempo thanks to the wonderful drumming of Peter Criss, there does sound like there was a musical miscommunication just before Gene breaks into the first lines of the song. The audience is enamored with the song, they make their presence felt with some cheers and a lot of clapping. Peter plays another excellent drum solo clocking in at over 4 minutes, again the crowd cheer him on in fine fashion.

Rock And Roll All Nite is the culmination of the main set, it is the KISS anthem and the audience is part of the party for sure. Shout It Out Loud is the first encore, the audience’s enthusiasm is at a high point and they clap along with the band to great effect. The band leave the stage and the crowd wants more, they cheer and clap for another solid three minutes before the opening stains of Beth bring the house down. What can be said about Beth, simply a beautiful song and how fitting that the band’s first massive hit was from Peter. The audience respectfully claps almost quietly during the song making for an emotional rendition, Peter gives a heartfelt “Thank you” at its conclusion. The final encore is the classic Black Diamond, Beth ignited the flames that could only be quenched by the song. They audience quiets as Paul plays the opening chords of the song, Paul says “Hit It” and the band (and audience) erupt in celebration. Peter’s vocals are spot on, while there have been three drummers who have sang the song, it is Peter who does it the best, his raspy and soulful vocals really make it special. Ace lays down the leads and the ending is quite dramatic, again it is Ace’s expressive leads that wring the last bit of energy from you.