Maps of Music

Crazy Nights (1987)

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

Crazy Nights reached No. 18 on the Billboard 200 and became Kiss's highest-charting album of the 1980s in the US, even though its keyboard-heavy sound drew sharp criticism.

Key places

Sessions continue at Rumbo Recorders (1987)

Recording site Rumbo Recorders — Recording began in March 1987 at One on One Recording Studios in Canoga Park. Sessions later moved to Rumbo Recorders, also in Canoga Park. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album mixed at Can-Am Recorders (1987)

Recording site Can-Am Studios — The album was completed in June 1987 and mixed at Can-Am Recorders in Tarzana by Ron Nevison before it was handed to PolyGram in July. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Crazy Nights is the fourteenth studio album by American rock band Kiss
• Recorded March to June 1987 and released 21 September 1987
• Issued by Mercury worldwide, with Vertigo handling the UK
• Second album by the line-up of Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Bruce Kulick and Eric Carr
• Pop-metal sound built on keyboards and synthesizers, in step with commercial rock trends of the time
• Reissued in 1998 as part of the Kiss Remasters series; the last Kiss album to be remastered

Background

• Followed Asylum after the band's success had declined
• Band was under new management representation, with Larry Mazur as consultant
• Simmons pursued acting and producing during a hiatus after the Asylum Tour, which made the band feel like his side job
• Stanley said he grew tired of Simmons's lack of commitment
• The band's previous two albums were self-produced, so it wanted an outside producer to help achieve more commercial success
• Ron Nevison was hired to produce, but had to wait for his schedule to clear
• Nevison was chosen partly for his recent success producing platinum albums for Heart and Ozzy Osbourne
• The album was first titled Who Dares Wins, an idea from Eric Carr, before the band moved on

Recording

• Sessions began in March at One on One Recording Studios in Canoga Park, California
• Sessions later continued at Rumbo Recorders in Canoga Park and Can-Am Recorders in Tarzana, California
• Album was completed in June and mixed at Can-Am Recorders by Nevison
• Master tapes were turned over to PolyGram in July
• Simmons gave Nevison 20 to 25 song ideas, though he was often absent from the studio

Cover

• Cover was made by Walter Wick
• Shows individual photos of the four members with a broken-glass effect

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

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

• Q magazine's Emily Fraser gave the album three stars and said the riffs often had purpose and force
• Q singled out 'No No No' and 'Thief in the Night' for their keen, cutting edge
• Fred Dellar in Hi-Fi News & Record Review said the album was not aesthetically wonderful but wished he had shares in it
• Allmusic's Greg Prato said keyboards had no right to be on a Kiss record, and called 'My Way' the worst song the band ever recorded

Records

• Peaked at No. 18 on the US Billboard 200, the highest-charting Kiss album of the 1980s in the US
• 'Crazy Crazy Nights' reached No. 65 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 4 on the UK chart
• Certified platinum in Canada on 18 November 1987 and in the US on 18 February 1988
• Certified platinum in France and reached 1,000,000 copies, per the RIAA certification noted in the French article

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

Trivia

• At a Polygram meeting where the album was played in full, the entire conference room reportedly stood and applauded for five minutes afterward.
• Simmons contributed a song that Wendy O. Williams had already recorded; 'Thief in the Night' was first recorded by her on her 1984 solo album WOW.
• Simmons gave Nevison 20 to 25 songs for the album, and one song, 'I'm Going to Put a Log in Your Fire Place', was never used on this or any later album.

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

Maps of Ages ↗ (mapsofages.com)

Privacy · Contact