Killers (Kiss album)
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| Compilation album by Kiss | ||||
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Publication |
May 1982 |
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| Label (s) | Phonogram | |||
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Title (number) |
12 |
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running time |
46:35 |
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Killers is the second compilation album of the US hard rock band Kiss and was released in 1982. In addition to eight best of songs, it also contains four new tracks. This LP represents a turning point in the group's music history.
History of origin
Classification in the musical background
With the album Dynasty in 1979 Kiss deviated from their original line for the first time. Because this and the 1980 follow-up album Unmasked were shaped by the strong disco wave at the end of the 1970s , which largely dominated the music sector. This intermediate phase lasted about two years and was replaced in 1981 by a one-year phase, which is considered a musical disaster. That year the group released the concept album Music from the Elder , which was a kind of fantasy rock and featured fanfares and symphony orchestral music . While the album received good reviews, the music had strayed so far from the original Kiss sound that the album was considered a rock bottom and a commercial failure.
These two intermediate phases were followed in 1982 by a musically radical and radical change of direction towards the original hard rock. The mix of compilation and studio album Killers , released in 1982, already indicated this. The material used there for the four new songs had been written by band members Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons at the same time as the material for the follow-up album Creatures of the Night , which was released in the same year and with which Kiss reported back with loud, rhythmic, bass- and guitar-dominated hard rock . The album Killers was only officially released outside of the United States, but came back to the United States as an import.
Origin and result
Singer and rhythm guitarist Paul Stanley comments on the creation and the result: “We tried to find our balance and reason again after 'The Elder'. We had come to an interesting point. We got ready for 'Creatures'. We saw the material from 'Killers' as a warm-up because we decided that we wanted to find our way back to our true strengths and become what we used to be. […] The album came out after 'The Elder' and its failure made it feel like Mike Tyson had knocked us out personally. So it took a while before we cleared the cobwebs in our heads and started writing new songs. As we were writing the first new songs, we felt how we were slowly gaining ground again. […] Everything on 'Killers' sounded confused, but at least it was a good attempt to leave 'The Elder' behind and to put an end to the excesses of the lethargic and arrogant rock stars. "
Studio guitarist Bob Kulick , brother of the later Kiss lead guitarist Bruce Kulick , analyzes the result: “Michael (James Jackson) was something of a referee on the album because Paul and Gene didn't seem to agree on which direction the band should take should. That was nothing new for them, but when you're producing an album at some point it becomes stressful. [...] 'Killers' and 'Creatures' came about more or less at the same time. [...] I would have liked it to have had the same sound as 'Creatures'. "
Producer Michael James Jackson describes the creation and outcome of the production as follows: “We met after 'The Elder'. At the time, it felt like they were pretty confused about the music. Kiss had been so successful in the past that they, and Gene in particular, must have been very disappointed when 'The Elder' was suddenly no longer as well received as the previous albums. It also felt like her career had stalled. At that time, most of the big rock 'n' roll bands were more oriented towards melodic songs. I wanted to help them solve the problem and tried to get them to shed old habits, that is, to focus more on the melody and the songs instead of the attitude and performance. While no one had managed to copy the amazing, live theatrical performance of Kiss, it became clear that it was time to record a completely different album. [...] I think they really wanted to try other alternatives, because they knew that Kiss' tried and tested recipe for success no longer worked. […] We all tried to build something up and were determined to help the band regain their own identity and capture their true spirit. While we were recording 'Killers', we also started working on the 'Creatures' LP. [...] For my part, I really wanted to help them get back to where they were before. The beginning was made with 'Killers', but I think they only really made it with 'Creatures'. "
Track list
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Chart positions Explanation of the data |
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- 3:59 I'm a Legend Tonight (vocals: Paul Stanley; lyrics and music: Paul Stanley and Adam Mitchell)
- 3:31 Down on Your Knees (vocals: Paul Stanley; text and music: Paul Stanley, Mikel Japp, Bryan Adams)
- 4:20 Cold Gin (vocals: Gene Simmons; text and music: Ace Frehley)
- 3:17 Love Gun (vocals: Paul Stanley; text and music: Paul Stanley)
- 2:40 Shout It Out Loud (vocals: Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons; text and music: Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Bob Ezrin)
- 3:59 Sure Know Something (vocals: Paul Stanley; text and music: Paul Stanley, Vini Poncia)
- 4:32 Nowhere to Run (vocals: Paul Stanley; text and music: Paul Stanley)
- 3:45 Partners in Crime (vocals: Paul Stanley; text and music: Paul Stanley, Adam Mitchell)
- 3:35 Detroit Rock City (vocals: Paul Stanley; music: Paul Stanley, Bob Ezrin)
- 4:11 God of Thunder (vocals: Gene Simmons; text and music: Paul Stanley)
- 4:18 I Was Made for Lovin 'You (vocals: Paul Stanley; lyrics and music: Paul Stanley, Desmond Child)
- 3:58 Rock and Roll All Night (vocals: Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley; music: Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons)
Chart successes
In Norway, the album reached the top ten at number 6 . It was in 14th place in Austria. The LP reached 21st place in Australia and 28th place in Germany. The album was comparatively lagging behind in Sweden at number 41 and in Great Britain at number 42. In the USA it did not make it into the charts at all.
Decoupling was not planned. None of the four new songs I'm a Legend Tonight , Down on Your Knees , Nowhere to Run and Partners In Crime made it into the charts nationally or internationally.
Reviews
- Bravo said in 1982: “Before Gene, Paul, Ace and Eric actually come up with the second part of their […] boring 'The Elder', they seem, perhaps unsettled by the reaction of many of their old fans, to have paused for thought. The album break is filled with a collection of great hits, which has the pleasant side effect of bringing the great old Kiss times back to life. [...] Commendably, the rock monsters have also mixed a few more recent snatches, which have not yet been released, with their old heroic deeds. "
Individual evidence
- ↑ Kiss - The Story . In: Rock Power , June 1992, pp. 20/21
- ↑ Old iron does not rust . In: Rock Hard , July 1992, p. 40
- ↑ swr.de
- ↑ 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. 286, 287, 289
- ↑ 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. 286, 287
- ↑ 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. 287, 288
- ↑ Charts DE Charts AT Charts UK
- ↑ kissfaq.com
- ↑ kissfaq.com
- ↑ kissfanshop.de
