Smashes, Thrashes & Hits is a compilation album by the American hard rock band Kiss. It was the fourth hits album overall but the second hits album released by the band in the United States (Killers and Chikara were not released there originally). Of the 15 songs on the album, two were new compositions, and three were released after the band's unmasking in 1983. The remaining 10 were all released during the band's years in make-up.
| Smashes, Thrashes & Hits | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greatest hits album by | ||||
| Released | November 15, 1988 | |||
| Recorded | 1973–1988 | |||
| Genre | Hard rock, glam metal | |||
| Length | 51:54 | |||
| Label | Mercury Vertigo (UK) | |||
| Producer | Various | |||
| Kiss chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Smashes, Trashes & Hits | ||||
| ||||
The two new songs on Smashes, Thrashes & Hits were "Let's Put the X in Sex" and "(You Make Me) Rock Hard," which featured a similar polished production style as 1987's Crazy Nights. They were both produced and co-written by guitarist/vocalist Paul Stanley and were accompanied by videos that received moderate airplay on MTV. Unusual for Kiss videos, Paul Stanley never plays the guitar in either video for the new songs.
Nearly all of the songs recorded by the band's original lineup were altered in one way or another, and the Axeology website has made a detailed walkthrough of the alterations, which include a different bass line, recorded by Gene Simmons in 1975, for the song "Rock and Roll All Night" [sic].[1] "Beth" was re-recorded with lead vocals by drummer Eric Carr,[2] who had replaced the original drummer Peter Criss in 1980. It was Carr's first lead vocal on a Kiss album. The cover art was done by Amy Guip and directed by Mitchell Kanner.
Reception
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | |
| Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal | 6/10[3] |
| Encyclopedia of Popular Music | |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | |
Smashes, Thrashes & Hits was certified 2× Platinum by the RIAA on February 26, 1996.
In the United States Smashes, Thrashes & Hits is the best-selling Kiss album since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking record sales in 1991 with 830,000 copies sold until March 4, 2012.[6][7]
Track listing
editAll credits adapted from the original releases.[8][9]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Original album | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Let's Put the X in Sex" | Paul Stanley, Desmond Child | previously unreleased | 3:48 |
| 2. | "(You Make Me) Rock Hard" | Stanley, Child, Diane Warren | previously unreleased | 3:26 |
| 3. | "Love Gun" (remix) | Stanley | Love Gun | 3:31 |
| 4. | "Detroit Rock City" (remix) | Stanley, Bob Ezrin | Destroyer | 3:45 |
| 5. | "I Love It Loud" (remix) | Gene Simmons, Vinnie Vincent | Creatures of the Night | 3:48 |
| 6. | "Deuce" (remix) | Simmons | KISS | 3:20 |
| 7. | "Lick It Up" | Vincent, Stanley | Lick It Up | 3:53 |
| 8. | "Heaven's on Fire" | Stanley, Child | Animalize | 3:19 |
| 9. | "Calling Dr. Love" (remix) | Simmons | Rock and Roll Over | 3:38 |
| 10. | "Strutter" (remix) | Stanley, Simmons | KISS | 3:38 |
| 11. | "Beth" (Eric Carr vocal) | Peter Criss, Stan Penridge, Ezrin | 1988 re-recording originally from Destroyer | 2:46 |
| 12. | "Tears Are Falling" | Stanley | Asylum | 3:54 |
| 13. | "I Was Made for Lovin' You" | Stanley, Child, Vini Poncia | Dynasty | 4:29 |
| 14. | "Rock and Roll All Nite" (remix) | Stanley, Simmons | Dressed To Kill | 2:56 |
| 15. | "Shout It Out Loud" (remix) | Stanley, Simmons, Ezrin | Destroyer | 3:07 |
| Total length: | 51:54 | |||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Original album | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Let's Put the X in Sex" | Stanley, Child | previously unreleased | 3:48 |
| 2. | "Crazy Crazy Nights" | Stanley, Adam Mitchell | Crazy Nights | 3:45 |
| 3. | "(You Make Me) Rock Hard" | Stanley, Child, Warren | previously unreleased | 3:26 |
| 4. | "Love Gun" (remix) | Stanley | Love Gun | 3:31 |
| 5. | "Detroit Rock City" (remix) | Stanley, Ezrin | Destroyer | 3:45 |
| 6. | "I Love It Loud" (remix) | Simmons, Vincent | Creatures of the Night | 3:48 |
| 7. | "Reason to Live" | Stanley, Child | Crazy Nights | 3:59 |
| 8. | "Lick It Up" | Vincent, Stanley | Lick It Up | 3:53 |
| 9. | "Heaven's on Fire" | Stanley, Child | Animalize | 3:19 |
| 10. | "Calling Dr. Love" (remix) | Simmons | Rock and Roll Over | 3:38 |
| 11. | "Strutter" (remix) | Stanley, Simmons | KISS | 3:38 |
| 12. | "Beth" (Eric Carr vocal) | Criss, Penridge, Ezrin | Destroyer | 2:46 |
| 13. | "Tears Are Falling" | Stanley | Asylum | 3:54 |
| 14. | "I Was Made for Lovin' You" | Stanley, Child, Poncia | Dynasty | 4:29 |
| 15. | "Rock and Roll All Night" (remix) | Stanley, Simmons | Dressed To Kill | 2:56 |
| 16. | "Shout It Out Loud" (remix) | Stanley, Simmons, Ezrin | Destroyer | 3:07 |
| Total length: | 56:18 | |||
Personnel
edit- Kiss
- Paul Stanley – vocals, rhythm guitar; lead guitar on "I Love It Loud"; bass on "Let's Put the X in Sex", "(You Make Me) Rock Hard", "Love Gun", "Tears Are Falling" and "I Was Made for Lovin' You", drum programming (bass drum and hi-hat) on "Let's Put the X in Sex"
- Gene Simmons – vocals, bass
- Eric Carr – drums and background vocals on "Let's Put the X in Sex", "Crazy Crazy Nights", "(You Make Me) Rock Hard", "I Love It Loud", "Reason to Live", "Lick It Up", "Heaven's on Fire" and "Tears Are Falling", lead vocals on "Beth"
- Bruce Kulick − lead guitar on "Let's Put the X in Sex", "Crazy Crazy Nights", "(You Make Me) Rock Hard", "Reason to Live" and "Tears Are Falling"
- Peter Criss – drums on "Love Gun", "Detroit Rock City", "Deuce", "Calling Dr. Love", "Strutter", "Rock and Roll All Nite" and "Shout It Out Loud"
- Ace Frehley – lead guitar on "Love Gun", "Detroit Rock City", "Deuce", "Calling Dr. Love", "Strutter", "I Was Made for Lovin' You", "Rock and Roll All Nite" and "Shout It Out Loud"
- Vinnie Vincent – lead guitar on "Lick It Up"
- Mark St. John – lead guitar on "Heaven's on Fire"
- Additional musicians
- Phil Ashley – keyboards on "Let's Put the X in Sex" and "(You Make Me) Rock Hard"
- Anton Fig – drums on "I Was Made for Lovin' You"
- Vini Poncia – keyboards on "I Was Made for Lovin' You"
- Dick Wagner – acoustic guitar on "Beth"
- Bob Ezrin – piano on "Beth"
- Eddie Kramer – keyboards on "Love Gun"
Charts
edit| Chart (1988–1989) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA)[10] | 38 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[11] | 88 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[12] | 65 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon)[13] | 51 |
| Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[14] | 13 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[15] | 30 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[16] | 29 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[17] | 62 |
| US Billboard 200[18] | 21 |
Certifications
edit| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Canada (Music Canada)[19] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
| United States (RIAA)[20] | 2× Platinum | 2,000,000^ |
|
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
References
edit- ^ "GET UP! and get your remix OUTTA here! – Axeology Extended". November 6, 2019.
- ^ a b Weber, Barry. "Kiss - Smashes, Thrashes & Hits review". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved July 29, 2022.
- ^ Popoff, Martin (November 1, 2005). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 2: The Eighties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 188. ISBN 978-1-89-495931-5.
- ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 4 (4 ed.). Muze. p. 875. ISBN 978-0-19-531373-4.
- ^ "Kiss: Album Guide". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on June 27, 2011. Retrieved September 4, 2011.
- ^ "KISS Concert History Online - Interviews - Paul Grein". www.kissconcerthistory.com. Retrieved October 1, 2022.
- ^ Barnes, Ken (February 9, 2007). "The Kiss sales report". USA Today. Archived from the original on March 3, 2007. Retrieved July 29, 2022.
- ^ Kiss (1988). Smashes, Thrashes & Hits (LP Sleeve). New York City, New York: Mercury Records. 836 427-1.
- ^ Kiss (1988). Smashes, Thrashes & Hits (LP Sleeve). London, UK: Vertigo Records. 836 759-2.
- ^ "Australiancharts.com – Kiss – Smashes, Thrashes & Hits". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
- ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Kiss – Smashes, Thrashes & Hits" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
- ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Kiss – Smashes, Thrashes & Hits" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
- ^ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005 (in Japanese). Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
- ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Kiss – Smashes, Thrashes & Hits". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
- ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Kiss – Smashes, Thrashes & Hits". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
- ^ "Swisscharts.com – Kiss – Smashes, Thrashes & Hits". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
- ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
- ^ "Kiss Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
- ^ "Canadian album certifications – Kiss – Smashes, Thrashes and Hits". Music Canada.
- ^ "American album certifications – Kiss – Smashes, Thrashes & Hits". Recording Industry Association of America.