Dynasty (Kiss album)

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Dynasty
Dynasty (album) cover.jpg
Studio album by Kiss
Released May 23, 1979
Recorded January - February 1979 at Electric Lady Studios, Record Plant Studios, New York City
Genre Hard rock, disco
Length 39:19
Label Casablanca
Producer Vini Poncia
Kiss chronology
Love Gun
(1977)Love Gun1977		 Dynasty
(1979)		 Unmasked
(1980)Unmasked1980
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
Source Rating
Allmusic 3/5 stars[1]
iTunes [2]
Pitchfork Media (2.0/10)[3]
Rolling Stone (negative)[4]
[5]
Vista Records 4/5 stars[6]
TrueMetal (70/100)[7]
Metal Nightfall 3/5 stars[8]

Dynasty is the seventh studio album by American rock band Kiss, produced by Vini Poncia and released on Casablanca Records on May 23, 1979. It marked the first time that the original four members of Kiss did not all appear together for the entire album. In later interviews, the band admitted that they started to listen to outsiders about what direction the music should go around the time of Dynasty.

Album information

The album and the following tour were billed as the "Return of Kiss". Kiss had not released a studio album since 1977's Love Gun. Instead, the band released their second live album 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 by this time was hindered by injuries suffered to his hands in a 1978 car accident. Kiss hired 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."[9] With the exception of his song, "Dirty Livin'", Criss does not appear on the album, and he would not perform on another Kiss album until 1998's Psycho Circus, on which he would again only play 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 tour for the album began.

Frehley, who himself would depart the band about eighteen months later, sings three songs on Dynasty: "Hard Times", "Save Your Love" and a cover 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 debuted as a lead singer on his song "Shock Me" on Love Gun as he lacked confidence in his ability as a lead singer.

Stanley's "I Was Made for Lovin' You" was an attempt to cash in on the popularity of disco music. It was one of their biggest singles ever, 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" and "X-Ray Eyes". Giorgio Moroder was originally scheduled to produce Dynasty. .[citation needed] Escape from Hell was the subtitle of Dynasty's Japanese release.

The album includes a colorful jacket cover. The album cover 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.

Poster versions

The album was originally intended to include a poster of the band members in straitjackets. However, Casablanca did not feel that this was appropriate for Kiss' younger fans, and had the poster altered, so that the band appears to simply be wearing black shirts.

Reception

Dynasty would restore the band to commercial prominence, reaching #9 on the US Billboard album chart. It was certified platinum by the RIAA, and would be the last high-charting album by Kiss for several years. "I Was Made for Lovin' You" was Kiss' first songwriting collaboration with Desmond Child, who would show up later on Animalize, Asylum, Crazy Nights, Smashes, Thrashes & Hits, and Hot in the Shade. The Kiss remaster states it at double platinum.

Tour

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Main article: Dynasty Tour

The Dynasty Tour spanned the entire second half of 1979 and was Kiss' most ambitious and expensive. It was their first tour since the Alive II tour ended on April 2, 1978 in Japan. Kiss sported new costumes featuring colors which coincided with the colors of their respective solo albums: purple (Stanley), red (Simmons), blue (Frehley) and green (Criss). The new production featured Simmons being hoisted to a small stage atop the scaffolding during his bass solo (typically played before "God of Thunder"). The harness malfunctioned on several occasions.

Frehley was similarly elevated for his smoking guitar solo. Stanley conceived of a headset which projected a laser from his right eye, but the idea was scrapped when it was determined that it could potentially cause eye damage to him and fans. Several shows were cancelled due to poor ticket sales. 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 would become the final tour featuring the original band until the 1996 Reunion Tour seventeen years later.

The Dynasty Tour, also known as "The Return of Kiss", was the first tour to feature the infamous flying stunt by Simmons. This was the first tour to feature Frehley's "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 left eye (to mock the effect seen in Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park a year prior). After several run-throughs both Stanley and Bill Aucoin nixed the idea, citing the danger involved. The tour saw a decline in audience. Additional dates at Madison Square Garden and the Pontiac Silverdome were cancelled, while an additional night at the Los Angeles Forum was moved to the 10,000-capacity Anaheim Convention Center.

The tour is famous for being the only tour to feature songs from all four members solo albums. Simmons performed "Radioactive", Criss performed "Tossin' and Turnin'", Frehley performed "New York Groove" and Stanley performed "Move On". The two former songs were replaced early in the tour by more familiar songs. "Dirty Livin'" was reportedly rehearsed, but never performed. Frehley stated in various interviews that Kiss was becoming a youth-oriented band with kids attending their concerts with parents in tow.

Track listing

No. Title Writer(s) Lead vocals Length
1. "I Was Made for Lovin' You"   Paul Stanley, Vini Poncia, Desmond Child Stanley 4:30
2. "2,000 Man"   Mick Jagger, Keith Richards Ace Frehley 4:54
3. "Sure Know Something"   Stanley, Poncia Stanley 4:00
4. "Dirty Livin'"   Peter Criss, Stan Penridge, Poncia Criss 4:19
5. "Charisma"   Gene Simmons, Howard Marks Simmons 4:25
6. "Magic Touch"   Stanley Stanley 4:41
7. "Hard Times"   Frehley Frehley 3:30
8. "X-Ray Eyes"   Simmons Simmons 3:46
9. "Save Your Love"   Frehley Frehley 4:41

Personnel

Additional Musicians

Production

Charts

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

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Canada (Music Canada)[25] 2× Platinum 200,000
United States (RIAA)[26] Platinum 1,000,000

^shipments figures based on certification alone

Notes and references

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Dynasty at AllMusic Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "allmusic" defined multiple times with different content
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  9. ↑ Kitts, Jeff: 'Back in black (and white)', Guitar World, September 1996, p68
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.5 11.6 http://swisscharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=KISS&titel=Dynasty&cat=a
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ http://www.infodisc.fr/Albums_Detail.php
  15. ↑ http://www.hitparadeitalia.it/hp_yenda/lpe1979.htm
  16. ↑ http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/_/kiss/
  17. ↑ "Kiss Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums" at AllMusic. Retrieved February 11, 2010.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 18.4 18.5 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.[dead link]
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
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