Hot in the Shade

1989 studio album by Kiss

Hot in the Shade

Studio album by

Kiss

Released| October 17, 1989 (1989-10-17)
Recorded| July–August 1989
Studio| The Fortress, Hollywood, California
Genre|

* Pop metal[1]
* hard rock[2]

Length| 58:39
Label| Mercury
Producer| Gene 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

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]

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

## Composition

[edit]

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

[edit]

The album was recorded during the summer of 1989 at the Fortress in Hollywood. Aiming for a more stripped-down sound, Simmons and Stanley 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

[edit]

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

[edit]

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|

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

[edit]

Professional ratingsReview scores

Source| Rating
AllMusic| [9]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal| 5/10[10]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music| [11]
Rock Hard| 7.0/10[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 1982's Creatures of the Night not to be certified Platinum status.

## Track listing

[edit]

Side ANo.| Title| Writer(s)| Lead vocals| Length

|
|
|
|

1.| "Rise to It"| Paul Stanley, Bob Halligan Jr.| Stanley| 4:08
2.| "Betrayed"| Gene Simmons, Tommy Thayer| Simmons| 3:38
3.| "Hide Your Heart"| Stanley, Desmond Child, Holly Knight| Stanley| 4:25
4.| "Prisoner of Love"| Simmons, Bruce Kulick| Simmons| 3:52
5.| "Read My Body"| Stanley, Halligan| Stanley| 3:50
6.| "Love's a Slap in the Face"| Simmons, Vini Poncia| Simmons| 4:04
7.| "Forever"| Stanley, Michael Bolton| Stanley| 3:52
8.| "Silver Spoon"| Stanley, Poncia| Stanley| 4:38

Side BNo.| Title| Writer(s)| Lead vocals| Length

|
|
|
|

9.| "Cadillac Dreams"| Simmons, Poncia| Simmons| 3:44
10.| "King of Hearts"| Stanley, Poncia| Stanley| 4:26
11.| "The Street Giveth and the Street Taketh Away"| Simmons, Thayer| Simmons| 3:34
12.| "You Love Me to Hate You"| Stanley, Child| Stanley| 4:00
13.| "Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell"| Simmons, Poncia| Simmons| 3:52
14.| "Little Caesar"| Eric Carr, Simmons, Adam Mitchell| Carr| 3:12
15.| "Boomerang"| Simmons, Kulick| Simmons| 3:30
Total length:| 58:39

## Personnel

[edit]

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"[citation needed]

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

[edit]

### Weekly charts

[edit]

| Chart (1989-1990)  | Peak
position

|

Australian Albums (ARIA)[18] | 30
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[19] | 48
European Albums (Billboard)[20] | 84
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[21] | 46
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[22] | 48
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[23] | 8
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[24] | 29
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[25] | 23
UK Albums (OCC)[26] | 35
US Billboard 200[27] | 29

### Year-end charts

[edit]

| Chart (1990)  | Position

|

US Billboard 200[28] | 90

## Certifications

[edit]

Region  | Certification | Certified units/sales

|
|

Canada (Music Canada)[29] | Platinum  | 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[14] | Gold  | 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

## References

[edit]

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"`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
2. ^ a b 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. ^ Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, inc. August 9, 2003. p. 38.
5. ^ "Billboard chart history-Kiss singles". Retrieved February 11, 2009.
6. ^ a b c d "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. ^ a b "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 February 20, 2024.
19. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 6687". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
20. ^ Billboard – Google Books
21. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Kiss – Hot in the Shade" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
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 February 20, 2024.
24. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Kiss – Hot in the Shade". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
25. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Kiss – Hot in the Shade". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
26. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
27. ^ "Kiss Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
28. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1990". Billboard. Retrieved July 27, 2021.
29. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Kiss – Hot in the Shade". Music Canada.

## External links

[edit]

* Hot in the Shade at Discogs (list of releases)

* v
* t
* e

Kiss

* Paul Stanley
* Gene Simmons
* Peter Criss
* Ace Frehley
* Eric Carr
* Vinnie Vincent
* Mark St. John
* Bruce Kulick
* Eric Singer
* Tommy Thayer

Studio albums|

* Kiss
* Hotter than Hell
* Dressed to Kill
* Destroyer
* Rock and Roll Over
* Love Gun
* Dynasty
* Unmasked
* Music from "The Elder"
* Creatures of the Night
* Lick It Up
* Animalize
* Asylum
* Crazy Nights
* Hot in the Shade
* Revenge
* Carnival of Souls: The Final Sessions
* Psycho Circus
* Sonic Boom
* Monster

1978 solo albums|

* Ace Frehley
* Gene Simmons
* Paul Stanley
* Peter Criss

Live albums|

* Alive!
* Alive II
* Alive III
* Kiss Unplugged
* You Wanted the Best, You Got the Best!!
* Kiss Symphony: Alive IV
* Kiss Instant Live
* Alive! The Millennium Concert
* Kiss Alive 35
* Kiss Sonic Boom Over Europe
* Kiss Rocks Vegas

Compilations|

* Double Platinum
* Killers
* Chikara
* Smashes, Thrashes & Hits
* Greatest Kiss
* The Very Best of Kiss
* The Millennium Collection: The Best of Kiss
* The Best of Kiss, Volume 2: The Millennium Collection
* Gold
* The Best of Kiss, Volume 3: The Millennium Collection
* Jigoku-Retsuden
* Kiss 40

Box sets|

* The Originals
* The Box Set
* Kiss Chronicles: 3 Classic Albums
* Kiss Alive! 1975–2000
* Ikons

Video albums|

* Animalize Live Uncensored
* Exposed
* Crazy Nights
* X-treme Close-Up
* Kiss Konfidential
* Kiss My Ass: The Video
* Kiss Unplugged
* Psycho Circus 3-D Video
* The Second Coming
* Kiss Symphony: The DVD
* Rock the Nation Live!
* Kissology Volume One: 1974–1977
* Kissology Volume Two: 1978–1991
* Kissology Volume Three: 1992–2000
* Kiss Rocks Vegas

Tribute albums|

* Hard to Believe: A Kiss Covers Compilation
* Kiss My Ass: Classic Kiss Regrooved
* A Tribute to the Creatures of the Night
* Kiss My Grass: A Hillbilly Tribute to Kiss
* Spin the Bottle: An All-Star Tribute to Kiss
* Gods of Thunder: A Norwegian Tribute to Kiss
* Lick It Up – A Millennium Tribute to Kiss
* Kiss My Ankh

Concert tours|

* Club Tour
* Kiss Tour
* Hotter than Hell Tour
* Dressed to Kill Tour
* Alive! Tour
* Destroyer Tour
* Rock & Roll Over Tour
* Love Gun Tour
* Alive II Tour
* Dynasty Tour
* Unmasked Tour
* Creatures of the Night Tour
* Lick It Up World Tour
* Animalize World Tour
* Asylum Tour
* Crazy Nights World Tour
* Hot in the Shade Tour
* Revenge Tour
* Kiss My Ass Tour
* Alive/Worldwide Tour
* Psycho Circus World Tour
* The Farewell Tour
* Alive 35 World Tour
* Sonic Boom Over Europe Tour
* The Hottest Show on Earth Tour
* The Tour
* Monster World Tour
* Kiss 40th Anniversary World Tour
* Freedom to Rock Tour
* Kissworld Tour
* End of the Road World Tour

Films|

* Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park
* Detroit Rock City
* Scooby-Doo! and Kiss: Rock and Roll Mystery

Merchandising|

* Action figures
* Comics
* Kiss: Psycho Circus
* Pinball
* Pinball video game
* Kiss: Psycho Circus: The Nightmare Child
* Kiss Kasket
* Kiss by Monster Mini-Golf
* Los Angeles Kiss
* Bibliography

Related|

| Articles|

* Discography
* Band members
* Songs
* Awards
* Kiss Army
* Operation Payback
* "Road to Europe"
* Rock School
* Gene Simmons Family Jewels
* The Elder

|

Bands|

* Black 'n Blue
* Chelsea
* Eric Singer Project
* Frehley's Comet
* Mini Kiss
* Union
* Vinnie Vincent Invasion
* White Tiger
* Wicked Lester

Albums|

* Anomaly
* Asshole
* Cat #1
* Gene Simmons Vault
* Let Me Rock You
* Live to Win
* One for All
* Out of Control
* The Original Wicked Lester Sessions
* Origins Vol. 1
* Origins Vol. 2
* Rockology
* Space Invader
* Spaceman
* Trouble Walkin'
* Unfinished Business

* Category

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz release group

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