Maps of Music

Asylum (1985)

Where the lyrics of Asylum take you, and where it was really made.

Its lead guitarist first played on the previous album only as a stand-in, and this record made him an official member.

Key places

Recorded at Electric Lady Studios (1985)

Recording site Electric Lady Studios — Kiss recorded Asylum at Electric Lady Studios in New York in June and July 1985. The Discogs release data lists the same studio as the recording and mixing site. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Asylum: thirteenth studio album by American rock band Kiss
• Released 16 September 1985 through Mercury Records
• Continues the glam metal sound of the preceding album Animalize
• First album to feature Bruce Kulick as an official band member
• Recorded at Electric Lady Studios in New York in June and July 1985
• Produced by Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley

Background

• Kulick had played on two tracks of Animalize (1984) while Mark St. John was absent
• St. John's absence came from personality clashes with other members and purported reactive arthritis
• Kulick filled St. John's spot on most segments of the Animalize tour
• The lineup of Stanley, Simmons, Eric Carr and Kulick lasted until Carr's death in November 1991
• Kulick stayed until the reunion of the original lineup in 1996

Recording

• Stanley made most of the creative decisions, as he had on Animalize
• Electric Lady was the studio where the band had made its first demo twelve years earlier
• Mastering by George Marino at Sterling Sound, New York
• Jean Beauvoir played bass on Who Wants to Be Lonely and Uh! All Night
• Allan Schwartzberg added drum overdubs on several tracks

Cover

• Four band members with colored lips, mirroring the 1978 solo releases
• Red for Simmons, purple for Stanley, blue for Kulick, green for Carr
• Placement of the faces mirrors the 1979 Dynasty cover

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Kiss was formed in New York City in 1973 by Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss.
• The band traces its roots to Wicked Lester, a New York rock band led by Simmons and Stanley.
• Their first performance took place on January 30, 1973, at the Popcorn Club (later Coventry) in Queens.
• Casablanca Records signed the band on November 1, 1973, as the label's first act.

Members

• The four original members were Stanley (Starchild), Simmons (Demon), Frehley (Spaceman) and Criss (Catman).
• Eric Carr replaced Criss in 1980; Vinnie Vincent, Mark St. John and Bruce Kulick later held lead guitar.
• Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer formed the final lineup.

Career

• Kiss became one of America's most successful rock bands in the late 1970s, with a 1977 Gallup poll naming them the most popular band in America.
• The band unmasked in 1983 and reunited the original lineup for the 1996 reunion tour.
• The band announced its retirement after its final show at Madison Square Garden on December 2, 2023.
• Kiss was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on April 10, 2014.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Record Journal (Jim Zebora): called it nothing new, with the same furious guitars and simplistic drums the band always used
• AllMusic (Greg Prato): said its sound was too similar to other pop metal bands of the time and that much of it was bland
• Classic Rock (Paul Elliott): called it as trashy and vulgar as anything from the Sunset Strip scene, citing the closing track Uh! All Night
• Evening Times (Russell Kyle): said it was Kiss at their relentless best, with breathless rhythm throughout
• Cashbox: noted its solid composition and characteristic vocals made it a favorite among headbangers
• The album drew little critical interest, as most Kiss records had

Records

• Billboard 200: number 20, the same position as Animalize
• UK Albums Chart: number 12
• Top 15 in Sweden, Norway, the United Kingdom and Switzerland
• Finland: number 1
• The single Tears Are Falling reached number 51 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 57 on the UK Singles Chart
• RIAA certified it Gold in November 1985, the first Kiss album since Creatures of the Night (1982) without Platinum
• Stanley claimed Platinum certification in 1987, but the RIAA database lists Gold

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org · fr.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Three music videos for the album were filmed on set in London, England, for Who Wants to Be Lonely, Uh! All Night and Tears Are Falling
• The band recorded in the studio Jimi Hendrix built; Bruce Kulick called working there a real dream
• Tears Are Falling began after Stanley saw Eurythmics' video on MTV and tried to copy its riff
• Love's a Deadly Weapon borrows heavily from the Plasmatics song Party, and Plasmatics members Rod Swenson and Wes Beech are credited
• Kulick wrote Trial By Fire, which first had a sound similar to AC/DC before he played it for Simmons

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org

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