Lick It Up
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Lick It Up | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | September 22, 1983[1] | |||
Recorded | July–August 1983 | |||
Studio | Right Track Recording, The Record Plant, Atlantic Studios and The Hit Factory, New York City | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 41:27 | |||
Label | Mercury | |||
Producer | ||||
Kiss chronology | ||||
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Singles from Lick It Up | ||||
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Alternative cover | ||||
Lick It Up is the eleventh studio album by American rock band
Recording and release
As soon as the Creatures of the Night Tour/10th Anniversary Tour wrapped up in June, the band immediately went back into the studio to begin work on their next album, which was recorded over the next two months. Lick It Up built upon the harder sound Kiss had displayed on 1982's Creatures of the Night. While Vinnie Vincent contributed lead guitar to six songs on Creatures of the Night as a session player, by the time Lick It Up was released and for all the public knew, he was officially the guitarist in Kiss and played all the lead guitar on the album. For the first time, Vincent appeared on the cover art for the album, whereas Ace Frehley had appeared on the Creatures of the Night cover, despite having already left the band and not being involved in the recording of the album. The opening track (co-written by Vincent) features a solo from Rick Derringer.
"Lick It Up" and "All Hell's Breakin' Loose" were released as singles from the album. They were accompanied by a pair of similarly themed, tongue-in-cheek videos featuring the band (along with many scantily clad women) in desolate, post-apocalyptic settings. "All Hell's Breakin' Loose" is one of three songs in the history of the band in which all four (current at the time) members share songwriting credit, the others being "Love Theme from Kiss" from their debut album and "Back to the Stone Age" from Monster.
Vincent membership
Vincent was not legally a member of the band. Due partly to disputes over what his role in the band and his pay would be (some reports indicated that he had asked for, and was flatly denied, a percentage of the band's gross profits), Vincent never signed any contract making his employment official. These disputes, along with a growing attitude by him that he was solely responsible for the resurgence of Kiss, would lead to him leaving the band (or being fired, depending on the source) after the European leg of the Lick It Up tour.[5]
With the band unable to secure a replacement guitarist on such short notice, Vincent was enticed to return for the American leg of the tour; however, his refusal to sign his contract continued to be a sore point. A major rift developed between him and the rest of the band over his guitar solos. What were supposed to be 5–8 minute solos, timed to finish on a cue so that Paul Stanley could introduce the next song, suddenly extended in some instances, leaving the rest of the band impatiently waiting on stage for Vincent to finish.[5]
During a performance in January 1984, at the
Reception and legacy
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [7] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [8] |
The album marked a turnaround from the band's flagging fortunes of the previous several years and successfully introduced them to a new generation of fans, as well as marking the beginning of the "unmasked" era that would last for the next decade. In an interview for
Lick It Up was certified
The video for "All Hell's Breakin' Loose" was nominated for Best Cinematography at the 1984 MTV Video Music Awards.
The song "Lick It Up" is a staple of the band's live performances. Due to its popularity among fans, Kiss has performed the song over 1,500 times as of December 2022, making it one of the group's top ten most played pieces.[12]
Track listing
All credits adapted from the original release.[13]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead vocals | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Exciter" | Paul Stanley, Vinnie Vincent | Stanley | 4:10 |
2. | "Not for the Innocent" | Gene Simmons, Vincent | Simmons | 4:22 |
3. | "Lick It Up" | Stanley, Vincent | Stanley | 3:56 |
4. | "Young and Wasted" | Simmons, Vincent | Simmons | 4:05 |
5. | "Gimme More" | Stanley, Vincent | Stanley | 3:43 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead vocals | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
6. | "All Hell's Breakin' Loose" | Eric Carr, Stanley, Simmons, Vincent | Stanley | 4:34 |
7. | "A Million to One" | Stanley, Vincent | Stanley | 4:17 |
8. | "Fits Like a Glove" | Simmons | Simmons | 4:04 |
9. | "Dance All Over Your Face" | Simmons | Simmons | 4:16 |
10. | "And on the 8th Day" | Simmons, Vincent | Simmons | 4:02 |
Personnel
- Kiss
- Paul Stanley – vocals, rhythm guitar, producer, bass on "Gimme More"[14]
- Gene Simmons – vocals, bass, producer
- Eric Carr – drums, percussion, backing vocals
- Vinnie Vincent – lead guitar, backing vocals
- Additional musician
- Rick Derringer – guitar solo on "Exciter"
- Production
- Michael James Jackson – producer
- Frank Filipetti – engineer, mixing
- Rob Freeman – basic tracks engineer on "Lick It Up", "Dance All Over Your Face", and "And on the 8th Day"
- Maria Marquis, Stephen Benben – assistant engineers
- Dave Wittman, Dave Caccavo – additional engineering
- Sterling Sound, New York
Charts
Chart (1983) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[15] | 36 |
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[16] | 13 |
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[17] | 46 |
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[18] | 14 |
Finnish Albums ( The Official Finnish Charts)[19]
|
7 |
French Albums ( SNEP)[20]
|
17 |
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[21] | 18 |
Icelandic Albums Chart[22] | 5 |
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[23] | 15 |
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[24] | 7 |
Spain (AFYVE)[25] | 24 |
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[26] | 3 |
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[27] | 10 |
UK Albums (OCC)[28] | 7 |
US Billboard 200[29] | 24 |
Certifications
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Canada (Music Canada)[30] | Gold | 50,000^ |
United States (RIAA)[9] | Platinum | 1,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
References
- ^ "RIAA certifications". Recording Industry Association of America.
- ^ "50 Greatest Hair Metal Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. October 13, 2015. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
- ISBN 0-7432-0227-9.
By and large, Lick It Up is a pretty good hard rock record and the catalyst for KISS' recovery as a platinum-selling artist.
- ^ AllMusic
- ^ a b Blau, Max (April 8, 2014). "The Long Kiss Goodbye: The Search for Vinnie Vincent". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on September 4, 2018. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
- ISBN 978-1-89-495931-5.
- ISBN 978-0-19-531373-4.
- ^ "Kiss: Album Guide". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on June 27, 2011. Retrieved September 4, 2011.
- ^ a b "American album certifications – Kiss – Lick It Up". Recording Industry Association of America.
- ^ "Kerrang!'s list of best hard rock albums in 1983". Retrieved April 10, 2011.
- ^ Guitar World Readers Poll of the Top 10 Guitar Albums of 1983. Retrieved August 24, 2011.
- ^ "Kiss Tour Statistics - Songs Played Total". Setlist.fm. Retrieved December 11, 2022.
- ^ Kiss (1983). Lick It Up (LP Sleeve). Los Angeles, California: Casablanca Records. 814 297-1.
- ^ "Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved March 9, 2023.
- ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ^ "Austriancharts.at – Kiss – Lick It Up" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
- ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 4437a". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved February 20, 20249.
- ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Kiss – Lick It Up" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
- ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
- ^ "Le Détail des Albums de chaque Artiste – K". Infodisc.fr (in French). Archived from the original on October 22, 2014. Retrieved February 20, 2024. Select Kiss from the menu, then press OK.
- GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
- ^ "Tonlist Top 40". DV. Retrieved February 20, 2024.[dead link]
- ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
- ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Kiss – Lick It Up". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
- ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
- ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Kiss – Lick It Up". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
- ^ "Swisscharts.com – Kiss – Lick It Up". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
- ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
- ^ "Kiss Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
- ^ "Canadian album certifications – Kiss – Lick It Up". Music Canada.
External links
- Lick It Up at Discogs (list of releases)