Artist: KISS
Album: HOTTER THAN HELL REMASTERED (CD)

Release date: 1974/ 1997
EAN/UPS: 0731453237520
Media type: CD

Hotter Than Hell (1974) is the second album from the rock group Kiss. It was certified Gold on June 23, 1977, having sold 500,000 copies. The album was re-released in 1997 (along with most of Kiss' earlier albums) in a remastered version. The album peaked on the charts at number 100 without the benefit of a hit single.

The production team of Kenny Kerner and Richie Wise, who had produced the group's first album, was chosen for the follow up. Since the pair had relocated to Los Angeles, Kiss flew there to work with them. The band, all native New Yorkers, immediately developed a dislike for their new surroundings. Paul Stanley's guitar was stolen his first day in Los Angeles.

Musically, Hotter Than Hell is darker than the band's first album. This is partly due to the murkier production values, but also to the lyrical content of some of the songs. "Goin' Blind," which details a doomed romance with a 93-year-old and an underage girl, was a song written by Gene Simmons and Stephen Coronel during Wicked Lester's existence. The original title was "Little Lady."

Hotter Than Hell featured far more overdubs than the first album. While Kerner and Wise wanted to produce a record that captured Kiss as a live act, they decided to take advantage of the experience the band had gained as recording artists.

Although the album featured two songs penned solely by Frehley, he did not sing on either one of them. His lack of confidence in his singing abilities at the time led to lead vocal duties for "Parasite" and "Strange Ways" going to Gene Simmons and Peter Criss, respectively. Frehley's guitar solos in "Strange Ways" has been called one of his best.

TRACKLIST:

1. "Got to Choose" Paul Stanley Stanley 3:52
2. "Parasite" Ace Frehley Gene Simmons 3:03
3. "Goin' Blind" Simmons, Stephen Coronel Simmons 3:34
4. "Hotter Than Hell" Stanley Stanley 3:30
5. "Let Me Go, Rock 'n' Roll" Stanley, Simmons Simmons 2:16
6. "All the Way" Simmons Simmons 3:17
7. "Watchin' You" Simmons Simmons 3:45
8. "Mainline" Stanley Peter Criss 3:50
9. "Comin' Home" Frehley, Stanley Stanley 2:37
10. "Strange Ways" Frehley Criss 3:20

LINE-UP:

Paul Stanley – rhythm guitar, lead vocals
Gene Simmons – bass guitar, lead vocals
Ace Frehley – lead guitar
Peter Criss – drums, percussion, vocals