Hot in the Shade

Hot in the Shade is the fifteenth studio album by American rock band Kiss, released in 1989. It is the first Kiss studio album since 1981's Music From "The Elder" to feature lead vocals from someone other than Paul Stanley or Gene Simmons, with drummer Eric Carr singing lead on "Little Caesar". It is also the final Kiss album in its entirety to feature Carr before his death in November 1991 during production of the band’s next album Revenge. Unlike its predecessor album, 1987's Crazy Nights, Hot in the Shade does not heavily feature keyboards.[3]

Hot in the Shade
A sphinx wearing sunglasses
Studio album by
Kiss
ReleasedOctober 17, 1989 (1989-10-17)
RecordedJuly–August 1989
StudioThe Fortress, Hollywood, California
Genre
Length58:39
LabelMercury
ProducerGene Simmons, Paul Stanley
Kiss chronology
Smashes, Thrashes & Hits
(1988)		 Hot in the Shade
(1989)		 Revenge
(1992)
Singles from Hot in the Shade
  1. "Hide Your Heart"
    Released: October 17, 1989
  2. "Forever"
    Released: January 5, 1990
  3. "Rise to It"
    Released: April 1, 1990

The album includes the biggest hit of the band's non-makeup era, the power ballad "Forever",[4] which was co-written by Stanley and Michael Bolton.[2] The single reached No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 in April 1990.[5]

Composition

Hot in the Shade showcases a more straight-ahead sound, following the keyboard-centered pop-metal of Crazy Nights. It contains 15 songs, the most of any Kiss studio album, and is one of the band's longest, with a running time of nearly an hour (58:39). Future band member Tommy Thayer co-wrote two songs: "Betrayed" and "The Street Giveth and the Street Taketh Away".

Recording

The album was recorded during the summer of 1989 at the Fortress in Hollywood. Aiming for a more stripped-down sound, Simmons and Carr reportedly decided to record the album there after considering several different studios. To further give the album a more raw feel, along with being able to produce the album with a lower budget, the band elected to use the demos they recorded and polish them up via overdubs instead of re-recording the songs.[6]

"Little Caesar" was Eric Carr's only lead vocal on an original song, although he previously sang lead on a re-recorded version of "Beth" for the compilation album Smashes, Thrashes & Hits.[7]

Artwork and packaging

The album liner notes thanked a dozen Kiss fan-published magazines that helped Kiss fans connect with the band and keep up to date with each member's activities. The liner notes concluded with a warning to fans about the HIV/AIDS epidemic, asking fans to use condoms to reduce the risk of catching and spreading it, adding, "AIDS is no party".[8]

Promotion

Three music videos were made for the promotion of the album.

The first was "Hide Your Heart", a concept video filmed on a rooftop in Los Angeles.[6]

The second video, "Rise to It", shows Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley appearing in Kiss makeup for the first time since their 1983 unmasking. Although the fictional scene with Simmons and Stanley in makeup was supposedly set in 1975.[6] Both videos were held to be released in January and April 1990 to MTV.

The final video, "Forever," depicts the band in sepia tone monochrome, with yellow highlights from the sunlight.[6] Even though "Rise to It" was shot and edited before "Forever", "Forever" was released as the second music video from the album to take advantage of the radio airplay the ballad was receiving. The "Forever" music video also reached No. 1 on Dial MTV and reached No. 47 on MTV's top 100 videos for 1990.

Of the 15 tracks on the album, only five were performed live. "Forever" was a pop hit and became a semi-regular part of the live setlist. "Hide Your Heart" was played in 2014 on the Kiss 40th Anniversary World Tour.

Forever was also played with the Melbourne Symphony Ensemble during the KISS Symphony concert in Melbourne, Australia in 2003

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[9]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal5/10[10]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[11]
Rock Hard7.0/10[12]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[13]

Hot in the Shade was certified Gold status on December 20, 1989, by the RIAA[14].

Its most successful single, "Forever", reached No. 8 on the Billboard charts, the band's highest-charting single in the US since "Beth" 13 years earlier.[15]

Despite the top 10 success of "Forever", Hot in the Shade was the first KISS album since 1987's Crazy Nights not to be certified Platinum status.

Track listing
Side A
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
1."Rise to It"Paul Stanley, Bob Halligan Jr.Stanley4:08
2."Betrayed"Gene Simmons, Tommy ThayerSimmons3:38
3."Hide Your Heart"Stanley, Desmond Child, Holly KnightStanley4:25
4."Prisoner of Love"Simmons, Bruce KulickSimmons3:52
5."Read My Body"Stanley, HalliganStanley3:50
6."Love's a Slap in the Face"Simmons, Vini PonciaSimmons4:04
7."Forever"Stanley, Michael BoltonStanley3:52
8."Silver Spoon"Stanley, PonciaStanley4:38
Side B
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
9."Cadillac Dreams"Simmons, PonciaSimmons3:44
10."King of Hearts"Stanley, PonciaStanley4:26
11."The Street Giveth and the Street Taketh Away"Simmons, ThayerSimmons3:34
12."You Love Me to Hate You"Stanley, ChildStanley4:00
13."Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell"Simmons, PonciaSimmons3:52
14."Little Caesar"Eric Carr, Simmons, Adam MitchellCarr3:12
15."Boomerang"Simmons, KulickSimmons3:30
Total length:58:39

Personnel
Kiss
  • Paul Stanley – vocals, rhythm guitar, slide guitar on "Rise to It", acoustic guitar on "Forever", brass arrangements on "Cadillac Dreams", producer
  • Gene Simmons – vocals, bass; rhythm guitar on "Cadillac Dreams", producer
  • Eric Carr – drums, percussion, vocals, bass on "Little Caesar"
  • Bruce Kulick – lead guitar, backing vocals, all guitars on "Little Caesar", bass and acoustic guitar solo on "Forever"[16]
Additional musicians
  • Phil Ashley – keyboards on "Hide Your Heart" and "Forever"
  • The Sisters of No Mercy (Charlotte Crossley, Valerie Pinkston, Kim Edwards-Brown) – backing vocals on "Silver Spoon"
  • Pat Regan – saxes on "Cadillac Dreams"
  • All Star Cadillac Brass – end horns on "Cadillac Dreams"
  • Kevin Valentine – drums on "King of Hearts" and "You Love Me to Hate You"[17]
  • Tommy Thayer – electroacoustic guitar on "Betrayed" and "The Street Giveth and the Street Taketh Away"
Production
  • Pat Regan – engineer
  • Mikey Davis – additional engineering
  • Dave Wittman – mixing at the Cherokee Studios, Los Angeles
  • Greg Fulginiti – mastering at Artisan Sound Recorders, Hollywood
  • Michael Bays – art direction
  • Mitchell Kanner – art direction, cover design
  • Scott Townsend – cover design

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[32] Platinum 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[14] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. September 2020, Dave Everley23 (September 23, 2020). "Kiss: how their long-awaited reunion turned into a catastrophe". Classic Rock. Retrieved April 10, 2021. Their two most recent albums, 1987's Crazy Nights and 1989's Hot in the Shade, were pallid pop-metal affairs
  2. Bienstock, Richard (October 14, 2019). "Kiss' Top 10 Albums Ranked". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 10, 2021.
  3. "Best Kiss 'Hot in the Shade' Song – Readers' Poll". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
  4. Inc, Nielsen Business Media (August 9, 2003). Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, inc. p. 38. {{cite book}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  5. "Billboard chart history-Kiss singles". Retrieved February 11, 2009.
  6. "Bruce Kulick Celebrates the 25th Anniversary of Hot in the Shade". kulick.net. Archived from the original on September 20, 2017. Retrieved September 20, 2017.
  7. Weber, Barry. "Kiss - Smashes, Thrashes & Hits review". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved July 29, 2022.
  8. Hot in the Shade (CD liner notes). Mercury Records. 1990. Retrieved June 27, 2021.
  9. Prato, Greg. "Kiss- Hot in the Shade review". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved July 30, 2022.
  10. Popoff, Martin (November 1, 2005). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 2: The Eighties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 188. ISBN 978-1-89-495931-5.
  11. Larkin, Colin (2006). Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 4 (4 ed.). Muze. p. 875. ISBN 978-0-19-531373-4.
  12. Kupfer, Thomas (1989). "Review Album : Kiss - Hot in the Shade". Rock Hard (in German). No. 32. Retrieved July 30, 2022.
  13. "Kiss: Album Guide". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on June 27, 2011. Retrieved September 4, 2011.
  14. "American album certifications – Kiss – Hot in the Shade". Recording Industry Association of America.
  15. "Singles Chart Action". The Kiss FAQ. Retrieved July 30, 2006.
  16. Saulnier, Jason (March 14, 2011). "Bruce Kulick Interview". Music Legends. Retrieved May 8, 2013.
  17. Brandvold, Michael (February 5, 2013). Kevin Valentine Talks About the Three KISS Albums He Played Drums On In The Studio (Podcast). YouTube. Event occurs at 3:25. Retrieved August 22, 2022.
  18. "Australiancharts.com – Kiss – Hot in the Shade". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 27, 2021.
  19. "Search - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved August 9, 2011.
  20. Billboard – Google Books
  21. "Offiziellecharts.de – Kiss – Hot in the Shade" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved July 27, 2021.
  22. KISSのアルバム売上ランキング | ORICON STYLE
  23. "Norwegiancharts.com – Kiss – Hot in the Shade". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 27, 2021.
  24. "Swedishcharts.com – Kiss – Hot in the Shade". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 27, 2021.
  25. "Swisscharts.com – Kiss – Hot in the Shade". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 27, 2021.
  26. "Kiss | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved July 27, 2021.
  27. "Kiss Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved July 27, 2021.
  28. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1990". Billboard. Retrieved July 27, 2021.
  29. "Kiss Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 5, 2022.
  30. "Top Singles - Volume 51, No. 8, December 23, 1989". Library and Archives Canada. December 23, 1989. Retrieved August 5, 2022.
  31. "Top Singles - Volume 51, No. 24, April 28, 1990". Library and Archives Canada. April 28, 1990. Retrieved August 5, 2022.
  32. "Canadian album certifications – Kiss – Hot in the Shade". Music Canada.
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