Artist: KISS
Album: DYNASTY REMASTERED (CD)

Release date: 1979/ 1997
EAN/UPS: 0731453238824
Media type: CD

Dynasty is a studio album by the American hard rock band Kiss. It was released less than a year after the four solo albums, which were commercial disappointments. The album, and its subsequent tour, were billed as the "Return of Kiss." The band (as a unit) had not released a studio album since 1977 and had not toured since the Spring of 1978.The album would restore the band to commercial prominence, reaching #9 on the US Billboard album chart.

Kiss enlisted Vini Poncia, who produced Peter Criss's solo album, to produce Dynasty. After pre-production and rehearsals were completed, Poncia decided to exclude Criss from most of the recording, judging him unable to drum well enough. Criss, by this time, had fallen deep into substance abuse and was also recovering from an automobile accident. He performed on only one song, "Dirty Livin'." The rest of the drums were recorded by Anton Fig, who played drums on Ace Frehley's 1978 solo album.

The first single from the album, "I Was Made For Lovin' You," marked a rather drastic stylistic departure for Kiss. It had a pronounced disco beat, and was a success at a time when disco was at its peak popularity. The song, however, alienated many longtime Kiss fans. It should be noted that while many fans consider Dynasty to be a disco album, it was only "I Was Made For Lovin' You" that employed the style.

After waiting nearly three years to record lead vocals for a Kiss song (1977's "Shock Me"), Ace Frehley contributed three to Dynasty - "2,000 Man," "Hard Times" and "Save Your Love." "2,000 Man," a cover of the 1967 Rolling Stones song, would become a concert staple for Kiss and one of Frehley's signature songs. "Hard Times" and "Save Your Love" were recorded in the same hard rock style as Frehley's solo album. This was the only Kiss album where Frehley sang as many songs as Paul Stanley and more than Gene Simmons. Simmons, one of the band's primary songwriters, sings only two.

It was certified Platinum on July 10, 1979, when it sold 1,000,000 copies

TRACKLIST:

"I Was Made for Lovin' You" (Paul Stanley, Vini Poncia, Desmond Child) – 4:29
Lead vocals - Paul Stanley
"2,000 Man" (Mick Jagger, Keith Richards) – 4:53
Lead vocals - Ace Frehley
"Sure Know Something" (Stanley, Poncia) – 3:59
Lead vocals - Paul Stanley
"Dirty Livin'" (Peter Criss, Poncia, Stan Penridge) – 4:16
Lead vocals - Peter Criss
"Charisma" (Gene Simmons, Howard Marks) – 4:26
Lead vocals - Gene Simmons
"Magic Touch" (Stanley) – 4:40
Lead vocals - Paul Stanley
"Hard Times" (Ace Frehley) – 3:29
Lead vocals - Ace Frehley
"X-Ray Eyes" (Simmons) – 3:42
Lead vocals - Gene Simmons
"Save Your Love" (Frehley) – 4:39
Lead vocals - Ace Frehley

LINE-UP:

Gene Simmons – bass guitar, vocals
Paul Stanley – rhythm guitar, vocals, guitar solo on "Sure Know Something," bass guitar on "Magic Touch"
Ace Frehley – lead guitar, vocals, bass guitar on "2,000 Man," "Hard Times," and "Save Your Love"
Peter Criss – drums, lead vocals on "Dirty Livin'"

Anton Fig – drums (1-3, 5-9)
Vini Poncia – producer, keyboards and backing vocals on "I Was Made For Lovin' You," backing vocals on "Sure Know Something