In 1987, Glam Metal was reaching fever pitch with bands like Bon Jovi and Whitesnake hitting extreme highs that would define their careers. Paul wanted his "Slippery When Wet" moment with the bands next record badly. He finally pulled Gene back in so his half assed writing would stop hindering the quality of their albums. They even pulled producer Ron Nevison who worled with many bands to get this album sounding as big as ever. While this album was not their biggest seller nor as big as those mentioned before, it is my favorite of the non makeup year albums and one of my favorite KISS albums period!
Track List
1.Crazy Nights-The most well known song on the album and it its 80's pop metal excellence. Its got a simple main riff but its definitely top tier arena rock with a simple shout along chorus and a good time feeling to it.
2.I'll Fight Hell To Hold You-This is the first song to show that keyboards are definitely creeping into this album but they fill the sound out great. This is a great mid tempo rocker with another ear worm of a chorus. Bruce also nails the soloing here. This album is is and Eric Carrs for the abundance of wild yet tight and precise solos and Eric playing his heart out.
3.Bang Bang You-Another mid tempo more sleazy rocker. I love the pre chorus here it gets you in the mood for the simple yet fun chorus. Another great tune meant for the arenas of the 80s.
4.No, No, No-The most energetic track and definitely Bruces centerpiece he is all over the place here. Gene even sounds great and the bass sounds a bit grittier in the mix as well.
5.Hell Or High Water-One of my favorites and another absolute ear worm. Its got a great build to it as well. You can't not sing to this one its so catchy.
6.My Way-The most keyboard driven song on the album that it almost rivals Van Hagar at the time. Its a great up beat track though. The production is great with some very rich keyboard sounds giving the band an over the top melodic edge that no album had to this point.
7.When Your Walls Come Down- Another harder rocker that I would love to hear live. It isn't as over the top but its a fun simple rocker.
8.Reason To Live-My favorite track on the album. Pure made for radio melodic rock at its finest. The chorus is so up beat and its honestly a great uplifting song. Its also one of my favorite KISS songs. Bruce's solo has some great emotion to it as well as the softer verses it works so well.
9.Good Girl Gone Bad-This is probably my least favorite track on the album. Its still not bad at all the chorus just doesn't have as much power as some of the others. I still enjoy it quite a bit it just doesn't hit the same as the rest of the album.
10.Turn On the Night-Paul brings a bit of power back. I know I sound like a broken record but this record is just that good to me. I love the heavier emphasis on the poo rock feeling. It captures an era thats long gone today when bands sounded alot more fun and were cheesy as hell and everyone loved it.
11.Theif In the Night-This is a great closer it reallt nails the hook in the chorus. Its another super simple mid tempo rocker but Genes voice sounds great and the build to chorus is great too.
Overall, this album is a 9.5 for me easily out of 10. The band really hit a high point of their 80s career I think with this album. It toally fit in with what everyone else was doing at the time. The band did a huge world tour throughout 1988 and even played the Monsters of Rock festival as well showing just how big they managed to still be. They still would have one more album to pull out of their perhaps second most famous line up very soon ending the 80s on a high, yet bittersweet note.
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