Dynasty (Kiss album)

Dynasty is the seventh studio album by the American rock band Kiss, produced by Vini Poncia and released by Casablanca Records on May 23, 1979. It was the first time that the four original members of Kiss did not all appear together for the entire album.

Dynasty
Studio album by
Kiss
ReleasedMay 23, 1979
RecordedJanuary–February 1979
StudioElectric Lady Studios and Record Plant Studios, New York City
Genre
Length39:19
LabelCasablanca
ProducerVini Poncia
Kiss chronology
Love Gun
(1977)		 Dynasty
(1979)		 Unmasked
(1980)
Singles from Dynasty
  1. "I Was Made for Lovin' You"
    Released: May 20, 1979
  2. "Sure Know Something"
    Released: September 30, 1979
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
iTunes[2]
Pitchfork Media(2.0/10)[3]
Rolling Stone(negative)[4]
Vista Records[5]
TrueMetal(70/100)[6]
Metal Nightfall[7]

Album information

The album and the following tour were billed as the "Return of Kiss". Kiss had not released a studio album since Love Gun in 1977. Instead, the band released their second live album, Alive II, and each member had recorded eponymous solo albums, which were simultaneously released on September 18, 1978.

After pre-production and rehearsals were completed, Vini Poncia (who had produced Peter Criss), decided that Criss' drumming was substandard, an opinion shared by Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons. Criss was hindered by injuries to his hands that he had suffered in a 1978 car accident. Kiss hired the South African-born studio drummer Anton Fig, who played on Ace Frehley, to play on the Dynasty sessions. "On Dynasty, Peter was pretty much out of commission," reflected Stanley, "so I wouldn't point to it as a classic Kiss album."[8] With the exception of his song "Dirty Livin'", a rewrite of a song of the same title demoed during his pre-Kiss days in Lips, Criss does not appear on the album, and he did not perform on another Kiss album until Psycho Circus in 1998, on which he again only played on one song. Fig was again hired to replace Criss during recording sessions for the following album, Unmasked. Eric Carr was hired as Criss' permanent replacement before the Unmasked Tour began.

Frehley, who himself left the band three years later, sings three songs on Dynasty: "Hard Times", "Save Your Love" and a cover version of the Rolling Stones' song "2000 Man". Although he had frequently sung backing vocals and had written the Kiss classics "Cold Gin" and "Parasite", Frehley had only previously been lead singer on his songs "Shock Me" on Love Gun, and "Rocket Ride" on the studio side of Alive II, as he lacked confidence in his ability as a lead singer.

Stanley's "I Was Made for Lovin' You" was one of the band's most successful singles, peaking at #11 on the American singles chart. He also sang on "Sure Know Something" and "Magic Touch". In contrast, Simmons sings lead vocals on only two songs, "Charisma" (which became a minor hit in Mexico) and "X-Ray Eyes".

The album includes a colorful jacket cover which is actually a collage of photos taken from the photo session and not a group shot as it appears. The label shows a portrait of all four members instead of the usual Casablanca label. Inserts included a merchandise order form and a full-color poster.

Tour
Main article: Dynasty Tour

The Dynasty Tour ran in the second half of 1979 and was Kiss' most expensive. It was their first tour since the Alive II tour ended on April 2, 1978, in Japan. Kiss sported new costumes with colors that coincided with the colors of their respective solo albums: purple (Stanley), red (Simmons), blue (Frehley) and green (Criss).

The new production had Simmons being hoisted to a small stage atop the scaffolding during his bass guitar solo (typically played before "God of Thunder"). The harness malfunctioned on several occasions. Frehley was similarly elevated for his guitar solo and the tour was the first to feature his "light-guitar" and his rocket-shooting stunt. A trick was designed for Stanley that involved him putting on a headset and shooting a laser out of his right eye (to mimic the effect seen in Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park a year before). After several run-throughs both Stanley and Bill Aucoin canceled the idea, citing the danger involved to both him and the fans.

The tour saw a decline in audience. Shows at Madison Square Garden and the Pontiac Silverdome were canceled, while an additional night at the Los Angeles Forum was moved to the 10,000-capacity Anaheim Convention Center. The last concert with all the original members took place at the Toledo Sports Arena, in Toledo, Ohio, on December 16, 1979. The tour was considered a financial failure, and it became the final tour with the original band until the 1996 Reunion Tour sixteen years later.

Track listing
Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
1."I Was Made for Lovin' You"Paul Stanley, Vini Poncia, Desmond ChildStanley4:30
2."2,000 Man" (The Rolling Stones cover)Mick Jagger, Keith RichardsAce Frehley4:54
3."Sure Know Something"Stanley, PonciaStanley4:00
4."Dirty Livin'"Peter Criss, Stan Penridge, PonciaCriss4:27
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
5."Charisma"Gene Simmons, Howard MarksSimmons4:25
6."Magic Touch"StanleyStanley4:41
7."Hard Times"FrehleyFrehley3:30
8."X-Ray Eyes"SimmonsSimmons3:46
9."Save Your Love"FrehleyFrehley4:41

Personnel
Additional musicians
Production

Charts
Chart (1979) Peak
position
Australian Albums Chart[9] 2
Austrian Albums Chart[10] 13
Canadian Albums Chart[11] 6
Dutch Albums Chart[10] 1
Finnish Albums Chart[12] 27
French Albums Chart[13] 2
German Albums Chart[10] 8
Italian Albums Chart[14] 16
Japanese Albums Chart[15] 21
New Zealand Albums Chart[10] 2
Norwegian Albums Chart[10] 34
Swedish Albums Chart[10] 17
Swiss Albums Chart[10] 13
UK Albums Chart[16] 50
US Billboard Pop Albums[17] 9
Singles
Year Country Single Chart Position
1979 United States "I Was Made for Lovin' You" Billboard Pop Singles 11[18]
"Sure Know Something" Billboard Pop Singles 47[18]
Australia "I Was Made for Lovin' You" Pop Singles 2[9]
"Sure Know Something" Pop Singles 5[9]
Austria "I Was Made for Lovin' You" Pop Singles 6[19]
Canada "I Was Made for Lovin' You" Pop Singles 1[20]
"Sure Know Something" Pop Singles 48[21]
France "I Was Made for Lovin' You" Pop Singles 2[22]
Germany Pop Singles 2[23]
The Netherlands "I Was Made for Lovin' You" Pop Singles 1[19]
"Sure Know Something" Pop Singles 3[24]
Norway "I Was Made for Lovin' You" Pop Singles 10[19]
New Zealand "I Was Made for Lovin' You" Pop Singles 1[19]
"Sure Know Something" Pop Singles 11[25]
Sweden "I Was Made for Lovin' You" Pop Singles 19[19]
Switzerland Pop Singles 2[19]
United Kingdom Pop Singles 50[26]

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[27] 2× Platinum 200,000^
Netherlands (NVPI)[28] Platinum 100,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[29] Platinum 15,000^
United States (RIAA)[30] Platinum 1,000,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone

References
  1. Dynasty at AllMusic
  2. "iTunes – Music – Dynasty (Remastered) by KISS". Itunes.apple.com. Archived from the original on November 11, 2012. Retrieved October 12, 2011.
  3. "Kiss: Dynasty". Pitchfork Media. June 26, 2003. Archived from the original on May 8, 2006. Retrieved October 12, 2011.
  4. "Dynasty by Kiss". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 26 August 2011.
    - "Dynasty by Kiss". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 26, 2011.
  5. "KISS – Dynasty (1979)". Vistarecords.proboards.com. November 12, 2009. Retrieved October 12, 2011.
  6. "Recensione: Kiss, Dynasty". TrueMetal. April 30, 2004. Retrieved October 12, 2011.
  7. "KISS : DYNASTY (1979)". Metal Nightfall. Retrieved October 12, 2011.
  8. Kitts, Jeff: "Back in black (and white)", Guitar World, September 1996, p68
  9. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  10. KISS - Dynasty - swisscharts.com Archived December 13, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
  11. "Search – RPM – Library and Archives Canada". collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved August 9, 2011.
  12. Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 263. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  13. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on July 15, 2015. Retrieved January 15, 2012.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  14. Hit Parade Italia – ALBUM 1979
  15. Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  16. KISS | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company
  17. "Kiss Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums" at AllMusic. Retrieved February 11, 2010.
  18. "AllMusic Billboard singles". Retrieved February 9, 2009.
  19. "Lescharts.com". Retrieved May 17, 2010.
  20. "RPM chart archives at Collections Canada". Archived from the original on October 15, 2012. Retrieved May 23, 2010.
  21. "RPM chart archives at Collections Canada". Archived from the original on October 15, 2012. Retrieved May 23, 2010.
  22. "InfoDisc archives". Archived from the original on June 14, 2012. Retrieved May 23, 2010.
  23. "Media Control Charts-History". Retrieved May 23, 2010.
  24. "Radio Veronica Top 40 chart archives". Retrieved November 12, 2018.
  25. "Lescharts.com". Retrieved May 22, 2010.
  26. "The Official Charts". Retrieved May 23, 2010.
  27. "Canadian album certifications – Kiss – Dynasty". Music Canada.
  28. "Dutch album certifications – Kiss – Dynasty" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved 24 August 2018. Enter Dynasty in the "Artiest of titel" box.
  29. "New Zealand album certifications – Kiss – Dynasty". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  30. "American album certifications – Kiss – Dynasty". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 
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