Hot in the Shade

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)Crazy Nights1987 Hot in the Shade (1989) Revenge (1992)Revenge1992
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

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.

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

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]However, the album has sold over 800,000 copies since its release.

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

Personnel

Kiss

• Paul Stanley – rhythm guitar, vocals, slide guitar on "Rise to It", acoustic guitar on "Forever"
• Gene Simmons – bass guitar, vocals
• 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 (solo only) on "Forever")^[10]

Charts

Album

Certifications

References