Unmasked
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Publication |
May 20, 1980 |
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| Label (s) | Casablanca Records | |||
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Title (number) |
11 |
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Unmasked is the eighth studio album by the US hard rock band Kiss . It was released in 1980 and musically belongs to a short interim phase in the history of the rock group, which was caused by the disco wave of that time. The album reached high chart positions . The song Shandi became internationally known and achieved good placements in some countries.
History of origin
Classification in the musical background
→ Main article: Kiss / discography
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. Unmasked was the second album that was influenced by the then strong, large parts of the music business dominating disco wave at the end of the 1970s. Most of the music on the record was poppy and had disco sound. The drummer Peter Criss was officially still part of the band, but he no longer played on this album.
Origin and result
Singer and rhythm guitarist Paul Stanley said: “'Tomorrow' is a great song, but apart from that, I think 'Unmasked' is a shitty album full of fabric softener songs. Many of them were actually harder in the beginning and sounded more like rock 'n' roll. Unfortunately, it somehow got lost on the way to vinyl. [...] It just didn't work out with us as a band. Peter played neither on 'Dynasty' nor on 'Unmasked', and at the latest with 'Unmasked' we realized that it couldn't go on like this. Of course you kept up the nice appearance for the fans, but sometimes you get revenge, because people think we're the comic version of the Beatles, in which all four live together or sleep in the same bed and do everything together. But that was never the case with us. [...] We wanted to give the fans a positive image of us that met their expectations and covered up the weaknesses of each individual. But with 'Unmasked' it was clear that […] none of the tires were really fully inflated, and one of them was completely out of air. "
Singer and bassist Gene Simmons said: “I think a band and an album is still about more than just the songs, it's about the direction you take and the attitude. [...] At that time, Peter was in the Twilight Zone. He had problems early on. At the time of 'Unmasked' it got so bad that we had to let Anton Fig play the entire album because Peter was far from reality. Peter didn't play a single song on the album. "
Singer and lead guitarist Ace Frehley saw it like this: “I thought my songs were good. I don't think Gene and Paul could say that or that they were happy with the production of the album. You have to know that the band was in a phase of upheaval at the time. Peter would have to leave the band and everyone would do their own thing. [...] We had reached the point where we really needed a break from each other. "
The producer Vini Poncia said: “The 'Unmasked' album didn't have as special a feeling as 'Dynasty', nor did it come across as sincere and credible. Rather, it was a copy of it. I think the problem with 'Unmasked' was that it was hastily cobbled together. 'Dynasty' was planned and worked out down to the last detail because it was an exciting experience for the band. They were taking a new direction. I think we should have spent more time on 'Unmasked' just because of the success of 'Dynasty'. "
Kiss manager Bill Aucoin recalls how it was made: “There are a few good songs on these albums. I think the only problem was that the band was getting tired. [...] I thought they really wanted to unmask themselves on the album because Paul and Gene in particular had talked about leaving the make-up off for a while. But we dissuaded them from this idea. "
Track list
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- Is that you? - 3:55 (vocals: Paul Stanley; text and music: Gerard McMahon)
- Shandi - 3:33 (vocals: Paul Stanley; text and music: Paul Stanley, Vini Poncia)
- Talk To Me - 4:00 (vocals: Ace Frehley; text and music: Ace Frehley)
- Naked City - 3:49 (vocals: Gene Simmons; text and music: Gene Simmons, Bob Kulick, Vini Poncia, Peppi Castro)
- What Makes the World Go 'Round - 4:14 (vocals: Paul Stanley; text and music: Paul Stanley, Vini Poncia)
- Tomorrow - 3:16 (vocals: Paul Stanley; text and music: Paul Stanley, Vini Poncia)
- Two Sides of the Coin - 3:15 (vocals: Ace Frehley; text and music: Ace Frehley)
- She's So European - 3:30 (vocals: Gene Simmons; text and music: Gene Simmons, Vini Poncia)
- Easy As It Seems - 3:24 (vocals: Paul Stanley; text and music: Paul Stanley, Vini Poncia)
- Torpedo Girl - 3:31 (vocals: Ace Frehley; text and music: Ace Frehley, Vini Poncia)
- You're All That I Want - 3:04 (vocals: Gene Simmons; text and music: Gene Simmons, Vini Poncia)
Chart successes
album
The album reached high chart positions and was not only represented in the top ten in some countries , but even at number 1, for example in New Zealand and Norway. In Australia and Austria the album reached number 3, in Germany it was still number 4. Although it wasn't music with the “typical” Kiss sound, this Kiss album was the highest-ranked ever in Germany. In Canada the LP came in at number 12, in Japan at number 15 and in Sweden at number 17. In the USA the record only came in at number 35 and in Great Britain only at number 48.
In the USA there was gold status for 500,000 copies sold after two months . The album also went gold in Canada.
Outcouplings
The disco single Shandi was a top ten hit in some countries and reached the following places: in Norway place 4, in Australia place 5, in New Zealand place 6, in Austria place 10, in the Netherlands place 24, in Germany place 28, 47th in the US and 70th in Canada. The song was not placed in the UK.
The release Talk To Me reached 10th place in Switzerland and 32nd place in Germany. The song was not placed in the USA, Canada, Australia and Great Britain. The extraction Tomorrow reached only in Germany and was 70th place internationally otherwise unknown.
Reviews
- Bravo said in 1980: “Kiss are ten tracks of rock hard rock. Only the soft 'Shandi' on page 1 is out of the ordinary. "
- In 1980, Hit said: “A typical Kiss product: loud, groovy. The beat thunders out of every groove. "
- Pop Rocky said in 1980: “The super-heavies run their heavy metal with full force, 11 brand new Kiss original compositions, obviously very carefully selected, because they sometimes seem so strong that several single hits could result from the album. A real listening pleasure that many non-hard rockers are sure to join. "
- Musik Express said in 1980: “In the past, Kiss were an aggressive heavy rock band who wore unusual horror clothes as a special image and only appeared in public with painted faces. Today Kiss are four made-up show stars who waste most of their energy fending off annoying photographers in order not to be photographed 'unmasked'. […] In any case, the four seasoned heavy rockers are no longer able to make reasonable hard rock. And that's not only sad, but also stupid. A considerable part of the predominantly 10-14 year old music consumers were sworn Kiss fans. 'Dynasty' was still tolerated by many, but 'Unmasked' will probably put the old fans off for good. [...] The present record contains eleven pop songs that range roughly between disco and teen rock. A real catchy tune from the format 'I Was Made for Lovin' You 'is not among them. In general, there is not a particularly noteworthy title on this LP. Everything sounds very smooth, perfectly produced, sometimes quite lively, but somehow meaningless. As soon as some power seems to come through in some places, the often primitive clapping chorus ensures that the matter sinks back into insignificance. […] There isn't even a song of this quality on 'Unmasked', and that's why this LP is the biggest mistake that Kiss have ever made, both musically and strategically. "
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d 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. 276
- ↑ 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. 277
- ↑ Charts DE Charts AT Charts CH Charts UK Charts US
- ↑ album charts ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ Canada cria Kiss Unmasked
- ↑ single charts ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Bravo , 1980
- ↑ Hit , 1980
- ↑ Pop Rocky , 1980
- ↑ Musik Express , 1980
