Dynasty (Kiss album)

The album and the following tour were billed as the "Return of Kiss". Kiss had not released a studio album since Love Gun in 1977. Instead, the band released their second live album, Alive II, and each member had recorded eponymous solo albums, which were simultaneously released on September 18, 1978.

Prior to recording the album, the Kiss members were working separately on various demos:[9] - Peter Criss recorded and submitted a four track demo with the songs "Out of Control", "Rumble", "Dirty Livin'" and "There's Nothing Better". "Dirty Livin'" made it to "Dynasty", "Rumble" remains unreleased and the other two songs ended up on his solo album "Out of Control". - Ace Frehley recorded and submitted a five track demo with "Hard Times", "Save Your Love", a cover of "2000 Man", "Backstage Pass" and "Insufficient Data". 3 of the songs are on Dynasty, and the last 2 remain unreleased. - Gene Simmons wrote and recorded a large number of demos including some with the members of the band Virgin. - Paul Stanley wrote songs with Desmond Child, one called "The Fight" which was released on a Desmond Child & Rouge album and one called "Tonight", which formed the verses of "I Was Made For Lovin' You" and was combined with a chorus written by Stanley and Vini Poncia.

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 was hindered by injuries to his hands that he had suffered in a 1978 car accident. Kiss hired the 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 through drugs and alcohol, and he was not being nice to most people. I wouldn't point to it as a classic Kiss album."[10] With the exception of his song "Dirty Livin' ", a rewrite of a song of the same title demoed during his pre-Kiss days in Lips, Criss does not play drums on the album, and he did not perform on another Kiss album until Psycho Circus in 1998, on which he again only played 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 Unmasked Tour began.

Frehley, who himself left the band three years later, sings three songs on Dynasty: "Hard Times", "Save Your Love" and a cover version of the Rolling Stones' song "2000 Man". Frehley is the only Kiss member to appear on those three songs except for occasional backing vocals by Paul. Although Frehley had frequently sung backing vocals and had written the Kiss classics "Cold Gin" and "Parasite", he had only previously been lead singer on his songs "Shock Me" on Love Gun, and "Rocket Ride" on the studio side of Alive II, as he lacked confidence in his ability as a lead singer.

Stanley's "I Was Made for Lovin' You" was one of the band's most successful singles, peaking at #11 on the American singles chart. In eleven countries around the world it reached the #1 spot or 2nd position. It was the first Kiss single to have a disco remix, as a 7 min 54 sec version was released on 12" single. He also sang on "Sure Know Something" and "Magic Touch". In contrast, Simmons sings lead vocals on only two songs, "Charisma" (which became a minor hit in Mexico) and "X-Ray Eyes".

The album includes a colorful jacket cover which 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.

The Dynasty Tour ran in the second half of 1979 and was Kiss' most expensive. It was their first tour since the Alive II tour ended on April 2, 1978, in Japan. Kiss sported new costumes with colors that coincided with the colors of their respective solo albums: purple (Stanley), red (Simmons), blue (Frehley) and green (Criss).

The new production had Simmons being hoisted to a small stage atop the scaffolding during his bass guitar solo (typically played before "God of Thunder"). The harness malfunctioned on several occasions. Frehley was similarly elevated for his guitar solo and the tour was the first to feature his "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 right eye (to mimic the effect seen in Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park a year before). After several run-throughs both Stanley and Bill Aucoin nixed the idea, citing the danger involved to both him and the fans.

The tour saw a decline in audience. Shows at Madison Square Garden and the Pontiac Silverdome were canceled, while an additional night at the The Forum in Los Angeles was moved to the 10,000-capacity Anaheim Convention Center. The tour was considered a financial failure. The last concert took place at the Toledo Sports Arena, in Toledo, Ohio, on December 16, 1979. The original band didn’t get back together until the 1996 Reunion Tour sixteen years later.

Kiss

• Paul Stanley – vocals, rhythm guitar; bass on "I Was Made for Lovin' You"; lead guitar on "Sure Know Something" and "Magic Touch"
• Gene Simmons – vocals, bass; rhythm guitar on "X-Ray Eyes"
• Ace Frehley – vocals, lead guitar; all guitars and bass on "2,000 Man", "Hard Times" and "Save Your Love"
• Peter Criss – vocals and drums on "Dirty Livin' "

Additional musicians

• Anton Fig – drums (except "Dirty Livin' ")
• Vini Poncia – keyboards, percussion, backing vocals

Production

• Vini Poncia – producer
• Jon Mathias – engineer
• Jim Galante – engineer
• Jay Messina – mixing
• George Marino – mastering engineer

Singles