Dynasty (album)
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Publication |
May 23, 1979 |
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| Label (s) | Casablanca Records | |||
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Title (number) |
9 |
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Dynasty is the seventh studio album by the US hard rock band Kiss . It was released in 1979 and musically marked a short intermediate phase in the history of the rock group, which was caused by the disco wave of the time . The album reached high chart positions . The number 1 hit I Was Made for Lovin 'You at the time became very well known and popular internationally .
History of origin
Classification in the musical background
The musical history of the band has several clearly separated phases. Kiss recorded six studio albums from 1974 to 1977 with Kiss , Hotter Than Hell , Dressed to Kill , Destroyer , Rock and Roll Over and Love Gun , which showed their typical hard rock comparatively consistently and without major deviations. At the end of this first phase, the four solo projects brought out simultaneously by all four band members in 1978 can be counted, each of which appeared under the band name. With the album Dynasty in 1979 Kiss deviated from their original line for the first time. The record was the first of two albums that were influenced by the then strong disco wave, which largely dominated the music sector, at the end of the 1970s. The music was therefore correspondingly trendy in places. Dynasty was the first album to be released two years after the previous studio album.
Origin and result
| Cover of the album |
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| 1979 |
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Link to the picture |
Singer and rhythm guitarist Paul Stanley commented on the creation of the album as follows: “I am fully behind Dynasty , only I don't really agree with the production of some songs, it just sounds too sterile sometimes. As a result, we lost the sharpness a little, it sounded just like unmasked for fabric softener music. Peter was struggling with all sorts of problems at Dynasty and the band was under a lot of pressure and indulged in all sorts of vices and distractions. From this whole chaos the album was created. The production doesn't do most of the songs justice, but that wasn't a problem for us back then. We tried desperately to give the band a little more stability and the album seemed safer that way. Bill [Aucoin, manager, note] felt we should appeal to a wider audience. We wondered why, of course, but we should never get an answer to that. The best remedy for music that is too aggressive is to turn down the guitars and use a synthesizer [...]. Songs like 'Magic Touch' or 'Sure Know Something' actually had a lot more flair than can be seen on the album. Still, we landed our biggest international hit [I was Made for Lovin 'You] with just one song from this album. The album marked a change of direction, it more or less reflected our situation at the time. "
Singer and bassist Gene Simmons commented on the genesis as follows: “We went through a phase in which we tried different material and felt that we couldn't repeat ourselves over and over again. We wanted to bring a breath of fresh air into the band and see if we could take it a step further. At that time we were the market-leading group in merchandise year after year, the most popular band in the Gallup Poll, and so on. We played in huge arenas. So we thought it wasn't enough just to be a rock 'n' roll band, which of course was our biggest mistake. [...] I think that both 'Dynasty' and 'Unmasked' were not a successful move by us, because we lost our spirit. At the time, we were filling ball parks and never expected anything to go wrong. Not to forget, of course, all of our merchandise. I think we took off then and lost the sense of who we were. At first we were a band that mostly focused on loud guitars, but suddenly synthesizers came to our music. That might be an interesting change, and I think small changes of direction are also very good, but you shouldn't overdo something like that and certainly not let it become a habit. I think we made a mistake with the albums. I still liked one or two songs a lot, but I couldn't approve of the other songs. We were really brave. I mean, 'I Was Made for Lovin' You 'was a smash hit all over the world, but it didn't go with Kiss because it didn't represent our real identity. "
Track list
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Chart positions Explanation of the data |
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- I Was Made for Lovin 'You - 4:30 (vocals: Paul Stanley; text and music: Paul Stanley, Desmond Child, Vini Poncia)
- 2,000 Man - 4:55 (vocals: Ace Frehley; text and music: Mick Jagger, Keith Richards)
- Sure Know Something - 4:01 (vocals: Paul Stanley; text and music: Paul Stanley, Vini Poncia)
- Dirty Livin ' - 4:27 (vocals: Peter Criss; text and music: Peter Criss, Vini Poncia, Stan Penridge)
- Charisma - 4:25 (vocals: Gene Simmons; text and music: Gene Simmons, Howard Marks)
- Magic Touch - 4:42 (vocals: Paul Stanley; text and music: Paul Stanley)
- Hard Times - 3:31 (vocals: Ace Frehley; text and music: Ace Frehley)
- X-Ray Eyes - 3:46 (vocals: Gene Simmons; text and music: Gene Simmons)
- Save Your Love - 4:40 (vocals: Ace Frehley; text and music: Ace Frehley)
Chart successes
album
The album reached high chart positions and was represented in the top ten in some countries . In Australia and New Zealand the LP reached place 2, in Canada place 7, in Germany place 8, in the USA place 9, in Austria place 13, in Sweden place 17, in Japan place 21, in Norway place 34 and only place in Great Britain 50.
The album reached gold status in the USA on June 6, 1979, just a few weeks after its release, with 500,000 copies sold. On July 10, 1979, there were already 1,000,000 copies and thus received platinum status . In Canada, the LP reached double platinum in November 1979 with 200,000 copies sold.
Outcouplings
There were three single releases in total: I Was Made for Lovin 'You , Sure Know Something and Dirty Livin'.
The song I Was Made for Lovin 'You was a hit and due to its catchy melody to the catchy tune . The song was significantly influenced by the disco music, even more than most of the other pieces on the album. Paul Stanley, who wrote the song, stated that he could write such material "in his sleep". In Germany, the title was in the top ten for a total of 16 weeks from July 28, 1979 to November 16, 1979. From September 8, 1979, the highest ranking was second for four weeks. This kind of success has not been repeated for Kiss in Germany so far. The song became a number 1 hit in Canada, the Netherlands and New Zealand. He reached 2nd place in Australia, France and Switzerland. In Austria the song reached number 6. In the Norwegian charts it was enough for the top ten with number 10. Not so in the USA: There the piece was successful at number 11. Tapped off at number 50, the song was not a hit in Great Britain.
Sure Know Something was the second hit: it reached number 3 in the Netherlands, number 5 in Australia, number 11 in New Zealand, number 28 in Germany, number 47 in the USA and number 48 in Canada.
Dirty Livin made it to 25th place in Germany.
Maxisingles
The songs I Was Made for Lovin 'You and Dirty Livin were remixed for publication as a maxi single by Jim Burgess and each appeared in a longer version than the singles.
Reviews (selection)
- Pop said in 1979: After their solo albums with various influences, the four individual musicians can also be heard more clearly on this joint LP than was the case on earlier Kiss LPs. In addition to the usual rough rock'n'rollers, the kissers are now also flirting with the disco train (unmistakably in the title "I Was Made for Lovin 'You"), whereby one has to congratulate on the successful balancing act even as a despiser of the "standardized dance music". There is also only one possible comment on the idiosyncratic and independent revival of a relatively unknown Stones title (“2,000 Man”): great thing, well done!
- Popfoto said in 1979: The Schleck-Schocker - after their solo excursions for the first time together on one record again - this time it is a little less heated. They have apparently discovered the attraction of beautiful melodies and catchy choruses and are now trying to refine their hard rock with them. Even a surprisingly good hit single fell off: "I Was Made for Lovin 'You"
- Rocky said in 1979: The 15th LP by the American rock demons is also their hardest. The insane sound goes through the bone and pounds on nerves. For the first time now with “disco whips”.
- Hammer said in 2003: Kiss cleared away in the seventies: With Hotter Than Hell (1974), Dressed to Kill and Alive (both 1975) or Destroyer (1976) they established themselves as one of the most successful American rock bands with countless gold and silver bands Platinum awards and sales in the tens of millions. Dynasty not only marked the end of a hugely successful decade, but was also the last album with drummer Peter Criss for the time being. The smash hit “I Was Made for Lovin 'You” became a disco hit and is still one of the classics in rock history.
Individual evidence
- ↑ David Leaf, Ken Sharp: Kiss unmasked: The official biography , translated by Franziska Schöttner. 1st edition. IP Verlag, Berlin 2005, ISBN 3-931624-28-5 , p. 269
- ↑ David Leaf, Ken Sharp: Kiss unmasked: The official biography , translated by Franziska Schöttner. 1st edition. IP Verlag, Berlin 2005, ISBN 3-931624-28-5 , pp. 269-270
- ↑ Charts DE Charts AT Charts CH Charts UK Charts US
- ↑ www.kissfaq.com album charts
- ↑ www.riaa.com
- ↑ www.cria.ca
- ↑ single charts kissfaq.com
- ^ Pop , 1979
- ↑ Popfoto , August 1979
- ↑ Rocky , 1979
- ^ Hammer , March 2003