Hot in the Shade

Hot in the Shade is the 15th studio album by American hard rock band Kiss, released in 1989. It is the first Kiss full 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 to feature Carr in its entirety before his death in November 1991. Just like its predecessor album, Crazy Nights, Hot in the Shade also features keyboards and synthesizers.

Hot in the Shade
Studio album by Kiss
Released	October 17, 1989
Recorded	July–August 1989
Studio	The Fortress, Hollywood, California
Genre	Hard rock glam metal
Length	58:39
Label	Mercury Vertigo (Europe)
Producer	Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley
Kiss chronology
Crazy Nights (1987) Hot in the Shade (1989) Revenge (1992)
Singles from Hot in the Shade
"Hide Your Heart" Released: October 17, 1989 "Forever" Released: January 5, 1990 "Rise to It" Released: April 1, 1990

Album information

Hot in the Shade contains the most songs of any Kiss studio album with 15. The album is one of the band's longest, with a running time of nearly an hour (58:39). Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley appeared in Kiss make-up for the first time since their 1983 unmasking for the video for "Rise to It". Although the scene with Simmons and Stanley in make-up took place in 1975, the costumes they used were historically inaccurate; Simmons' was from the Unmasked (1980) era while Stanley's was from Love Gun (1977). The album showcases a more straight ahead hard rock sound after the keyboard-centered pop metal in Crazy Nights and even flirts with speed metal in "Boomerang". "Little Caesar" was Eric Carr's first lead vocal on an original song, although he had previously sung lead on a re-recorded version of "Beth" on the compilation album Smashes, Thrashes & Hits.[1]

The album was recorded during the summer of 1989 at The Fortress in Hollywood. Aiming for a more stripped down sound, Gene Simmons and Eric Carr reportedly decided to record the album there after checking out 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 song over again.[2] Some portions of Hot in the Shade, such as "Love's A Slap In The Face" were recorded using a drum machine to further reduce recording costs. For the parts that Eric Carr and Kevin Valentine played drums on, electronic drum pads that triggered samples were used rather than a true drum kit, as The Fortress did not have one on hand.

Tommy Thayer, who co-wrote "Betrayed" and "The Street Giveth And The Street Taketh Away", became Kiss' permanent lead guitarist in 2002, replacing Ace Frehley as "The Spaceman". Of the 15 tracks on the album, only five were performed live. "Forever", co-written by Michael Bolton, 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

Three music videos were made for the promotion of this album. The first was "Hide Your Heart" directed by Marty Callner for Cream Cheese Productions, the second one shot was "Rise to It" directed by Mark Rezyka for Mark Freedman Productions shot a few days before Thanksgiving, November 1989 and the third "Forever" also directed by Mark Rezyka for Mark Freedman Productions shot on December 16, 1989 in a building in downtown Los Angeles. Both videos were held to be released in January and April 1990 to MTV. Even though "Rise to It" was shot and edited before "Forever", "Forever" was release 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 #1 on Dial MTV and reached #47 on MTVs top 100 videos for 1990. The "Rise to It" music video featured Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons in their past KISS makeup and variation of costumes. A long-form video was scheduled to be shot and edited together with behind the scenes footage shot on video during sound checks, rehearsals and first show for the tour in Galveston, Texas. The long-form video was rumored to be titled "KISS Exposed Part II" also to be directed by Mark Rezyka with a full concert to be filmed on 35mm film in Long Beach California on September 9, 1990 but was cancelled by the record label just a little more than a week before.

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[3]
Sputnikmusic	[4]
Rolling Stone	[5]
Vista Records	[6]
Metal Nightfall	[7]

Hot in the Shade was certified Gold on December 20, 1989 by the RIAA[8].

Its most successful single, "Forever", reached #8 on the Billboard charts, the band's highest charting single in the US since "Beth", 13 years earlier.[9]

Track listing

Side one

No.	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 two

No.	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

Personnel

Kiss

• Paul Stanley – rhythm guitar, vocals, slide guitar on "Rise to It", acoustic guitar on "Forever"
• Gene Simmons – bass guitar, vocals, rhythm guitar on "Cadillac Dreams"
• Eric Carr – drums, percussion, backing vocals, lead vocals and bass guitar on "Little Caesar”
• Bruce Kulick – lead guitar, backing vocals, all guitars on "Little Caesar", bass guitar and acoustic guitar on "Forever"[10]

Additional musicians

• Phil Ashley – keyboards on "Hide Your Heart" and "Forever"
• Pat Regan – brass on "Cadillac Dreams"
• Charlotte Crossley, Valerie Pinkston, Kim Edwards-Brown – backing vocals on "Silver Spoon"
• Kevin Valentine – drums on "You Love Me to Hate You" and "King of Hearts"
• Mitchell Kanner – album cover art director, designer
• Tommy Thayer - electroacoustic guitar on "Betrayed" & "The Street Giveth And The Street Taketh Away"

Charts

Album

Chart (1989) Peak position Australian Albums Chart[11] 36 Canadian Albums Chart[12] 46 European Albums Chart[13] 84 German Albums Chart[14] 46 Japanese Albums Chart[15] 48 Norwegian Albums Chart[14] 8 Swedish Albums Chart[14] 29 Swiss Albums Chart[14] 23 UK Albums Chart[16] 35 US Billboard Pop Albums[17] 29

Singles Single Chart (1989) Peak position "Hide Your Heart" US Mainstream Rock Tracks[18] 22 The Billboard Hot 100[18] 66 Single Chart (1990) Peak position "Forever" Mainstream Rock Tracks[18] 17 The Billboard Hot 100[18] 8 "Rise To It" Mainstream Rock Tracks[18] 40 The Billboard Hot 100[18] 81

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[19]	Platinum	100,000^^
United States (RIAA)[8]	Gold	500,000^^
^^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

1. "AllMusic overview Smashes, Thrashes & Hits". Retrieved February 11, 2009.
2. "Bruce Kulick Celebrates the 25th Anniversary of Hot In The Shade | KULICK.net – The Official Bruce Kulick Website". kulick.net. Retrieved 2017-09-20.
3. Hot in the Shade at AllMusic
4. "KISS – Hot In The Shade (album review)". Sputnikmusic. 2010-01-31. Retrieved 2011-08-22.
5. "Kiss: Album Guide | Rolling Stone Music". Rollingstone.com. Retrieved 2011-08-22.
6. "VISTA RECORDS – KISS – Hot In The Shade (1989)". Vistarecords.proboards.com. 2010-04-17. Retrieved 2011-08-22.
7. "KISS : HOT IN THE SHADE (1989)" (in French). Metal.nightfall.fr. Retrieved 2011-08-22.
8. "American album certifications – Kiss – Hot in the Shade". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 
9. "Singles Chart Action". The Kiss FAQ. Retrieved July 30, 2006.
10. Saulnier, Jason (14 March 2011). "Bruce Kulick Interview". Music Legends. Retrieved 8 May 2013.
11. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
12. "Search - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 9 August 2011.
13. Billboard – Google Books
14. KISS – Hot In The Shade – swisscharts.com
15. KISSのアルバム売上ランキング | ORICON STYLE
16. KISS | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company
17. "Kiss Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums" at AllMusic. Retrieved February 11, 2010.
18. "Billboard chart history-Kiss singles". Retrieved February 11, 2009.
19. "Canadian album certifications – Kiss – Hot in the Shade". Music Canada.