"Hot in the Shade" is the 15th studio album released in 1989 by US hard rockers, Kiss. The line-up for the album was Paul Stanley (vocals/guitar), Bruce Kulick (guitar), Gene Simmons (bass/vocals) and Eric Carr (drums/vocals). Although released in 1989, this album has the feel of Kiss in the 70's. Fifteen tracks give it a running time of 58 minutes, 39 seconds, making it one of the band's longest albums. With vocals by Gene Simmons, Eric Carr and Paul Stanley, it is the first album since "The Elder" (1981) to feature three members on lead vocals. Written by Paul Stanley, Desmond Child and Holly Knight, "Hide Your Heart" ...  Read the complete review

Kiss. Famous for their OTT stage show, complete with exploding guitars, stack heels and various pyrotechnics. Be warned though. This is not the Kiss of their mid-70's prime. This version is the 1988 Los Angeles-rock-band-that-sounds-like-all-other-Los Angeles-rock-bands. We still have Gene Simmons on bass and Paul Stanley on guitars. Eric Carr and Bruce Kulick fill in on drums and guitar respectively. Let's face it, Kiss were never going to win any Worlds Greatest Rock Band awards, but they did have that bit of originality that set them apart, artistically if not musically. Here though, they may as well call themselves Bon Jovi or Great White or XYZ or any of  Read the complete review

This has to be one of KISS' longest albums with 15 tracks on it. H.I.T.S. (apt abbreviation) was released in 1989 and is a return to form for the boys in black! After a couple of dubious releases in the mid eighties, this album is a lot heavier than its predecessor (Crazy Nights). The album got critical acclaim on its release for just these reasons as critics were ready to sharpen the knives and accuse the hottest band in the world of selling out to the mediocre pop/rock of the '86/'87 period of rock music. Unfortunately, a tour wasn't forhtcoming in the UK for this album (we had to wait until 1992 for the Revenge tour), but ...  Read the complete review