Killers (KISS album)
Encyclopedia
Killers is the second compilation album
by American
hard rock group Kiss
. The album was released only outside the United States, but quickly became available as an import. Of the twelve songs on Killers, four were new compositions recorded specifically for the album. These new songs were recorded at the behest of Phonogram Records
, in response to the commercial failure of 1981's Music from "The Elder".
certification, and the band toured exclusively outside the United States for the first time in their career that year. 1981's Music from "The Elder" fared even worse—it failed to gain any certification and the band did not tour behind it at all. The album, released in November 1981, was off the charts by February 1982.
That month, Phonogram Records (the parent company of Kiss's label, Casablanca Records
) requested that Kiss record four new songs, to be included in an upcoming greatest hits album. Phonogram requested hard rock
songs specifically, in contrast to the progressive rock
style of Music from "The Elder". The album cover, however, featured the same streamlined look the band had adopted during the "Elder" period.
Numerous outside songwriters and session musician
s were employed for the writing and recording of the four new songs on Killers. Songwriter and musician Mikel Japp
, who co-wrote three songs on Paul Stanley
's 1978 solo album
, co-wrote "Down on Your Knees" with Stanley and Bryan Adams
. Adam Mitchell, another outside songwriter, was brought in by producer
Michael James Jackson.
Despite being pictured on the album's cover art (from the photo-session for "Music From The Elder"), lead guitarist and co-founder Ace Frehley
did not participate at all in the production of Killers. He had essentially ended his active involvement with Kiss in late 1981, although he would not officially leave the group until the end of 1982, after the release of this compilation. His replacement for the Killers sessions was Bob Kulick
, who had previously subbed for Frehley on a handful of studio tracks on 1977's Alive II
. However, whereas Kulick had been asked to mimic Frehley's playing style when recording for Alive II
, he was permitted to employ his own techniques for Killers.
Due to the large volume of Kiss live albums and greatest hits albums already available domestically, Phonogram decided to issue the album outside the United States. The album sold in moderate numbers, reaching its highest chart position of #6 in Norway
. Elsewhere, Killers peaked at #21 and #27 in Australia
and Japan
, respectively. In Sweden
and the United Kingdom
, it reached #41 and #42, respectively. None of the singles released from the album, however, charted in any country.
The release in Japan featured two additional tracks not found on the album as released in all other countries: "Escape from the Island" (Frehley, Eric Carr
, Ezrin) and "Shandi
" (Stanley, Poncia). Additionally, the version released in Australia consisted of the 12 tracks listed above, and also included "Talk to Me" (Frehley), and "Shandi
" (Stanley, Poncia). The version of "Shout It Out Loud" found on this release features the single mix that has all the vocals in the center channel, whereas the original Destroyer version features Paul Stanley on the right channel, and Gene Simmons on the left. It also fades about 10 seconds earlier than the album version.
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
by American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
hard rock group Kiss
KISS (band)
Kiss is an American rock band formed in New York City in January 1973. Well-known for its members' face paint and flamboyant stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid to late 1970s on the basis of their elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing, blood spitting,...
. The album was released only outside the United States, but quickly became available as an import. Of the twelve songs on Killers, four were new compositions recorded specifically for the album. These new songs were recorded at the behest of Phonogram Records
Phonogram Records
Phonogram Records was started in 1962 as a joint venture between Philips Records and Deutsche Grammophon. In 1972, Phonogram was merged with Polydor Records into PolyGram....
, in response to the commercial failure of 1981's Music from "The Elder".
Album history
By 1982, Kiss's commercial popularity was at its nadir. 1980's Unmasked barely achieved goldMusic recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
certification, and the band toured exclusively outside the United States for the first time in their career that year. 1981's Music from "The Elder" fared even worse—it failed to gain any certification and the band did not tour behind it at all. The album, released in November 1981, was off the charts by February 1982.
That month, Phonogram Records (the parent company of Kiss's label, Casablanca Records
Casablanca Records
Casablanca Records was an American record label started by Neil Bogart, who partnered with Cecil Holmes, Larry Harris, and Buck Reingold in 1973, and based in Los Angeles. The label was formed after all of them had left Buddah Records and secured financing by Warner Bros. Records to start the venture...
) requested that Kiss record four new songs, to be included in an upcoming greatest hits album. Phonogram requested hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
songs specifically, in contrast to the progressive rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
style of Music from "The Elder". The album cover, however, featured the same streamlined look the band had adopted during the "Elder" period.
Numerous outside songwriters and session musician
Session musician
Session musicians are instrumental and vocal performers, musicians, who are available to work with others at live performances or recording sessions. Usually such musicians are not permanent members of a musical ensemble and often do not achieve fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders...
s were employed for the writing and recording of the four new songs on Killers. Songwriter and musician Mikel Japp
Mikel Japp
Mikel Japp is a musician and songwriter.Japp joined May Fisher, a Llanelli-based band, just before it was taken up by a London rock and pop music agency - through a friend who went on to establish 3PR - and sent on an extended and successful tour of Yugoslavia under a new name: Thank You...
, who co-wrote three songs on Paul Stanley
Paul Stanley
Stanley Harvey Eisen , better known by his stage name Paul Stanley, is an American hard rock guitarist, singer, musician, painter and songwriter best known for being the rhythm guitarist and primary lead vocalist of the rock band Kiss. He is the writer or co-writer of many of the band's...
's 1978 solo album
Paul Stanley (album)
Paul Stanley is a 1978 album from the rhythm guitarist and lead vocalist of American hard rock band Kiss. It was one of four solo albums released by the band members on September 18, 1978. The other albums were released by Gene Simmons, Peter Criss and Ace Frehley.The album reached #40 on the US...
, co-wrote "Down on Your Knees" with Stanley and Bryan Adams
Bryan Adams
Bryan Adams, is a Canadian rock singer-songwriter, guitarist, bassist, producer, actor and photographer. Adams has won dozens of awards and nominations, including 20 Juno Awards among 56 nominations. He has also received 15 Grammy Award nominations including a win for Best Song Written...
. Adam Mitchell, another outside songwriter, was brought in by producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
Michael James Jackson.
Despite being pictured on the album's cover art (from the photo-session for "Music From The Elder"), lead guitarist and co-founder Ace Frehley
Ace Frehley
Paul Daniel "Ace" Frehley is an American musician best known as the lead guitarist of the rock band Kiss. He took on the persona of the "Spaceman" or "Space Ace" when the band adopted costumes and theatrics...
did not participate at all in the production of Killers. He had essentially ended his active involvement with Kiss in late 1981, although he would not officially leave the group until the end of 1982, after the release of this compilation. His replacement for the Killers sessions was Bob Kulick
Bob Kulick
Bob Kulick is an American guitarist and Grammy Award-winning record producer, best known for his studio work with Kiss. He was born in Brooklyn, New York, and is the older brother of former Kiss lead guitarist Bruce Kulick, whom he suggested Kiss hire....
, who had previously subbed for Frehley on a handful of studio tracks on 1977's Alive II
Alive II
Alive II is a 1977 live album from Kiss. It is the group's eighth album and second live album.-The songs:The origins of Alive II go back to early 1977 when the band's manager, Bill Aucoin, had the idea to have Eddie Kramer record a live album during the evening show at Budokan Hall in Tokyo on...
. However, whereas Kulick had been asked to mimic Frehley's playing style when recording for Alive II
Alive II
Alive II is a 1977 live album from Kiss. It is the group's eighth album and second live album.-The songs:The origins of Alive II go back to early 1977 when the band's manager, Bill Aucoin, had the idea to have Eddie Kramer record a live album during the evening show at Budokan Hall in Tokyo on...
, he was permitted to employ his own techniques for Killers.
Due to the large volume of Kiss live albums and greatest hits albums already available domestically, Phonogram decided to issue the album outside the United States. The album sold in moderate numbers, reaching its highest chart position of #6 in Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
. Elsewhere, Killers peaked at #21 and #27 in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, respectively. In Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
and the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, it reached #41 and #42, respectively. None of the singles released from the album, however, charted in any country.
Side one
- "I'm a Legend Tonight" (Paul StanleyPaul StanleyStanley Harvey Eisen , better known by his stage name Paul Stanley, is an American hard rock guitarist, singer, musician, painter and songwriter best known for being the rhythm guitarist and primary lead vocalist of the rock band Kiss. He is the writer or co-writer of many of the band's...
, Adam Mitchell) – 3:59 - "Down on Your Knees" (Stanley, Mikel JappMikel JappMikel Japp is a musician and songwriter.Japp joined May Fisher, a Llanelli-based band, just before it was taken up by a London rock and pop music agency - through a friend who went on to establish 3PR - and sent on an extended and successful tour of Yugoslavia under a new name: Thank You...
, Bryan AdamsBryan AdamsBryan Adams, is a Canadian rock singer-songwriter, guitarist, bassist, producer, actor and photographer. Adams has won dozens of awards and nominations, including 20 Juno Awards among 56 nominations. He has also received 15 Grammy Award nominations including a win for Best Song Written...
) – 3:31 - "Cold GinCold Gin (song)Cold Gin is a song by the American hard rock group Kiss. The song was written by the bands' lead guitarist Ace Frehley and is featured on the band's eponymous debut album. The song has gained a status of a Kiss classic song, and is featured on many compilations released by the band...
" (Ace FrehleyAce FrehleyPaul Daniel "Ace" Frehley is an American musician best known as the lead guitarist of the rock band Kiss. He took on the persona of the "Spaceman" or "Space Ace" when the band adopted costumes and theatrics...
) – 4:20 - "Love GunLove Gun (song)"Love Gun" is a song by the American hard rock band KISS released on their 1977 album of the same name. The B-side is the album track "Hooligan", a song written by drummer Peter Criss.The secret to the musical longevity of Kiss is its ability to marry the sonic muscle of hard rock to songs full of...
" (Stanley) – 3:17 - "Shout It Out LoudShout It Out Loud (KISS song)"Shout It Out Loud" is a song by the American hard rock group Kiss originally released on their 1976 album, Destroyer.-Overview:Released as a single in 1976, the band and their record company, Casablanca Records, were trying to cash in on the success of their previous single, the live version of...
(7" mix)" (Stanley, Gene SimmonsGene SimmonsGene Simmons is an Israeli-American entrepreneur, singer-songwriter, actor, and rock bassist. Known as "The Demon", he is the bassist/vocalist of Kiss, a hard rock band he co-founded in the early 1970s.-Early life:...
, Bob EzrinBob EzrinRobert Alan "Bob" Ezrin is a Canadian music producer and keyboardist, known for his work with artists including Alice Cooper, Kiss and Pink Floyd. He was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 2004.-Biography:...
) – 2:40 - "Sure Know SomethingSure Know Something"Sure Know Something" is a song by American hard rock band Kiss, released on their 1979 album Dynasty. The B-side is "Dirty Livin'", another album track featured on the Dynasty album which was written and sung by drummer Peter Criss....
" (Stanley, Vini PonciaVini PonciaVini Poncia is an American musician, songwriter and record producer.In the 1960s, Poncia formed a songwriting team with Peter Anders. An album of songs co-written by these childhood friends The Anders & Poncia Album, was produced by Richard Perry and released in 1969...
) – 3:59
Side two
- "Nowhere to Run" (Stanley) – 4:32
- "Partners in Crime" (Stanley, Mitchell) – 3:45
- "Detroit Rock CityDetroit Rock City"Detroit Rock City" is a song by the American hard rock group Kiss featured on their 1976 album, Destroyer. The song was written by Paul Stanley and Bob Ezrin and is about a real Kiss fan who was killed in a car accident on his way to a Kiss concert...
(Edit)" (Stanley, Ezrin) – 3:53 - "God of ThunderGod of Thunder (song)"God of Thunder" is a heavy metal song by the group Kiss from their album Destroyer. The song has also been featured on many of Kiss's live albums, including an up-tempo version on Alive II. Many various sound effects were used to make the song including explosions, clapping, zippers, overdubbed...
" (Stanley) – 4:11 - "I Was Made for Lovin' YouI Was Made For Lovin' YouI Was Made for Lovin' You" is a song by American hard rock band Kiss, originally released on their 1979 album Dynasty. It was released as the A-side of their first single from the album. It was the band's second Gold single, selling over 1 million copies. The single was certified Platinum in the...
(Edit)" (Stanley, Poncia, Desmond ChildDesmond ChildDesmond Child is an American musician, songwriter, and producer. He is a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame.-Career:...
) – 4:18 - "Rock and Roll All NiteRock and Roll All Nite"Rock and Roll All Nite" is a song by Kiss, originally released on their 1975 album Dressed to Kill. It was released as the A-side of their fifth single, with the album track "Getaway." The studio version of the song peaked at No. 57 on the Billboard singles chart, besting the band's previous...
(Live)" (Stanley, Simmons) – 3:58
The release in Japan featured two additional tracks not found on the album as released in all other countries: "Escape from the Island" (Frehley, Eric Carr
Eric Carr
Paul Charles Caravello , also known as Eric Carr, was an American musician, best known as drummer for the rock band Kiss. Caravello was selected as the new Kiss drummer after Peter Criss left in 1980...
, Ezrin) and "Shandi
Shandi (song)
"Shandi" is a hit single by American hard rock band Kiss. Released on their 1980 album, Unmasked, the song was popular in Australia, where it reached number five on the Australian charts...
" (Stanley, Poncia). Additionally, the version released in Australia consisted of the 12 tracks listed above, and also included "Talk to Me" (Frehley), and "Shandi
Shandi (song)
"Shandi" is a hit single by American hard rock band Kiss. Released on their 1980 album, Unmasked, the song was popular in Australia, where it reached number five on the Australian charts...
" (Stanley, Poncia). The version of "Shout It Out Loud" found on this release features the single mix that has all the vocals in the center channel, whereas the original Destroyer version features Paul Stanley on the right channel, and Gene Simmons on the left. It also fades about 10 seconds earlier than the album version.
Personnel
- Paul StanleyPaul StanleyStanley Harvey Eisen , better known by his stage name Paul Stanley, is an American hard rock guitarist, singer, musician, painter and songwriter best known for being the rhythm guitarist and primary lead vocalist of the rock band Kiss. He is the writer or co-writer of many of the band's...
– rhythm guitarRhythm guitarRhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
, lead vocals - Gene SimmonsGene SimmonsGene Simmons is an Israeli-American entrepreneur, singer-songwriter, actor, and rock bassist. Known as "The Demon", he is the bassist/vocalist of Kiss, a hard rock band he co-founded in the early 1970s.-Early life:...
– bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
; lead vocals - Ace FrehleyAce FrehleyPaul Daniel "Ace" Frehley is an American musician best known as the lead guitarist of the rock band Kiss. He took on the persona of the "Spaceman" or "Space Ace" when the band adopted costumes and theatrics...
– lead guitarLead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
; backing vocals - Eric CarrEric CarrPaul Charles Caravello , also known as Eric Carr, was an American musician, best known as drummer for the rock band Kiss. Caravello was selected as the new Kiss drummer after Peter Criss left in 1980...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person .... - Peter CrissPeter CrissGeorge Peter John Criscuola , better known as Peter Criss, is an American drummer and singer, best known as the original drummer for the rock band Kiss...
- drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person .... - Bob KulickBob KulickBob Kulick is an American guitarist and Grammy Award-winning record producer, best known for his studio work with Kiss. He was born in Brooklyn, New York, and is the older brother of former Kiss lead guitarist Bruce Kulick, whom he suggested Kiss hire....
– lead guitarLead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
on all new (1982) songs. - Anton FigAnton FigAnton Fig , known as "The Thunder from Down Under" is a session drummer, noted for his work in David Letterman's house band, the CBS Orchestra. Letterman often refers to Fig as "Anton Zip"or "Buddy Rich Jr."...
- drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
on "I Was Made For Lovin' You" and "Sure Know Something"