Hot in the Shade is the fifteenth studio album by Kiss, released on 17 October 1989 through Vertigo. It follows 1987's Crazy Nights, but the keyboards that shaped that record are pushed well back here, giving the band a more straightforward hard rock sound.

The album is best remembered for "Forever", a power ballad Paul Stanley co-wrote with Michael Bolton. It reached No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 in April 1990, the highest US chart placing of the band's non-makeup era. There is also a curiosity in the tracklist: drummer Eric Carr takes lead vocals on "Little Caesar", the first time since Music From "The Elder" in 1981 that anyone other than Stanley or Gene Simmons had sung lead. It was also the last Kiss album to feature Carr throughout, before his death in November 1991 during the making of Revenge.

Hot in the Shade: tracklist, credits and charts

15 tracks · 58:50

Tracklist

  1. 1Rise to ItBob Halligan and Paul Stanley4:04
  2. 2BetrayedGene Simmons and Tommy Thayer3:40
  3. 3Hide Your HeartChild, Knight, Stanley4:26
  4. 4Prisoner of LoveBruce Kulick and Gene Simmons3:45
  5. 5Read My BodyBob Halligan and Paul Stanley3:49
  6. 6Love’s a Slap in the FaceVini Poncia and Gene Simmons4:05
  7. 7ForeverMichael Bolton and Paul Stanley3:53
  8. 8Silver SpoonVini Poncia and Paul Stanley4:43
  9. 9Cadillac DreamsVini Poncia and Gene Simmons3:48
  10. 10King of HeartsVini Poncia and Paul Stanley4:27
  11. 11The Street Giveth and the Street Taketh AwayGene Simmons and Tommy Thayer3:32
  12. 12You Love Me to Hate YouDesmond Child and Paul Stanley4:04
  13. 13Somewhere Between Heaven and HellVini Poncia and Gene Simmons3:49
  14. 14Little CaesarCarr, Mitchell, Simmons3:12
  15. 15BoomerangBruce Kulick and Gene Simmons3:32
Produced by
Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley
Recorded at
The Fortress (Hollywood, California)
Recorded
July–August 1989
Mixed by
Dave Wittman
Mixed at
Cherokee Studios
Engineered by
Mikey Davis, Pat Regan
Labels
Vertigo, Mercury
Length
58:50

Line-up

  • Eric Carr · drums (drum set), bass guitar, lead vocals
  • Gene Simmons · bass guitar, lead vocals, electric bass guitar
  • Paul Stanley · slide guitar, lead vocals, electric guitar
  • Tommy Thayer · acoustic guitar, electric guitar · guest
  • Phil Ashley · keyboard · guest
  • Jesse Damon · background vocals · guest
  • Bruce Kulick · bass guitar, background vocals, guitar · guest
  • Charlotte Crossley · background vocals · guest
  • Kim Edwards-Brown · background vocals · guest
  • Valerie Pinkston · background vocals · guest
  • All Star Cadillac Brass · brass · guest
  • Pat Regan · saxophone · guest

Singles

  • “Hide Your Heart” · 17 October 1989
  • “Forever” · 5 January 1990
  • “Rise to It” · 1 April 1990

Peak chart positions

ChartPeak
US Billboard 200 · 1989–199029
UK Albums Chart · 1989–199035
Norwegian Albums · 1989–19908
Swiss Albums · 1989–199023
Swedish Albums · 1989–199029
Australian Albums (ARIA) · 1989–199030
German Albums · 1989–199046
Canadian Albums (RPM) · 1989–199048
Japanese Albums (Oricon) · 1989–199048
European Albums (Billboard) · 1989–199084

Certifications

RegionCertification
Canada · 1990Platinum
United StatesGold

From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.

75.6
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
3.8k
ListenBrainz listeners
89k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
6.7k
Deezer fans (all editions)

Released the same week

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Releases and pressings

How we know the release date wikipedia + musicbrainz + wikidata
SourceDateNote
MusicBrainz17 October 1989
Wikipedia infobox17 October 1989
Wikidata17 October 1989
US release17 October 1989earliest US date
UK / Europe release17 October 1989earliest UK or European date
21 editions
DateCountryLabelBarcodeKind
1989DEVertigo042284210720other
1989CAMercury Records042283891326other
17 October 1989USMercury Records042283891319original
17 October 1989USMercury Records042283891326original
17 October 1989XEVertigo042283891326original
17 October 1989USMercury Records042283891326original
17 October 1989USMercury Records042283891340original
25 October 1989JPMercury Records4988011318863other
26 May 1993JPMercury Records4988011336355other
9 June 2005JPMercury Records4988005390981other
18 October 2006JPMercury Records4988005442901other
18 January 2012JPMercury Records4988005688668other
29 October 2013FRMercury Records042283891326other
2014DEMercury Records602537885473other
19 February 2014DEMercury Recordsother
26 May 2014DEMercury Records0602537850693other
26 May 2014XEMercury Records602537779475other
27 May 2014USMercury Records602537779475other
3 June 2014AOMercury Records00602537856008other
27 October 2014—Mercury Records00602547062239other
20 October 2015DZMercury Records00602547062222other
Cover art sources

coverartarchive · native: native 2817x2817

SourceSizeVerdict
coverartarchive ✓2817×2817native: native 2817x2817
deezer1200×1200upscaled
fanarttv1000×1000upscaled