Double Platinum (Kiss album)

Last updated

Double Platinum
Double platinum album cover.jpg
Greatest hits album by
ReleasedApril 1978
Recorded1973-1978
Genre
Length69:45
Label Casablanca
Producer Kiss and Sean Delaney (album and "Strutter '78"), Kenny Kerner, Richie Wise, Neil Bogart, Eddie Kramer, and Bob Ezrin (original recordings)
Kiss chronology
Alive II
(1977)
Double Platinum
(1978)
Dynasty
(1979)
Singles from Double Platinum
  1. "Strutter '78"
    Released: April 1978

Double Platinum is the first greatest hits album by the American hard rock band Kiss, released in 1978. Many of the songs on Double Platinum were remixed and differed from their original versions: in the case of "Strutter," it was re-recorded with a slight disco beat and dubbed "Strutter '78." Other songs ("Hard Luck Woman," "Detroit Rock City") had sections completely removed, while the beginning of "Black Diamond" was repeated at the end, fading out at the start of the first verse and giving the song a "wrap around" feel. [3]

Contents

The Japanese single release of "Strutter '78" includes a different version to that on the album: faster and shorter, with an altered guitar solo, plus a more prominent hi-hat (cymbal) sound throughout.

Release and reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [4]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal 5/10 [5]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [6]
Pitchfork 6.0/10 [7]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [8]
Spin Alternative Record Guide 8/10 [9]

The original vinyl release, in a gatefold sleeve, had an embossed, silver-foiled sleeve, with the band members in bas-relief inside. The album was packaged with a printed "Platinum Award" thanking the Kiss Army for making the band a "Double Platinum Success". Later reissues would retain the gatefold sleeve but replaced the logo with a printed, red-type version and the band members were now represented inside by photos rather than the base illustrations. When the album was remastered for CD in the US in 1997, it mimicked the original vinyl. [10]

The album was certified Platinum on May 16, 1978, by the RIAA. [11] In Canada, it was certified Gold on June 1, 1978, after shipping 50,000 copies. [12] The album is one of the band's best catalog sellers, with 522,000 copies sold from 1991 to March 2012 only. It has been speculated that US sales have reached double platinum level (with at least 478,000 sold between 1978 and 1991), however it has not been re-certified since 1978.

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic writes: "If 'Strutter' was represented by the original version, instead of a pointless 1978 remake—which was recorded only to entice collectors into buying an album of music they already owned—Double Platinum would have been a definitive collection, but as it stands, it's simply a very, very good overview." [4]

Rolling Stone writes "Kiss's greatest-hits collections have all been conspicuously incomplete as if it hates the idea of anyone buying just one Kiss album, but Double Platinum is the most solid, though not as much fun as Alive! " [13]

Track listing

All credits adapted from the original release. [14]

Side A
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Strutter '78" Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons 3:43
2."Do You Love Me?"Stanley, Bob Ezrin, Kim Fowley 3:32
3."Hard Luck Woman" (remix)Stanley3:23
4."Calling Dr. Love" (remix)Simmons3:20
5."Let Me Go, Rock 'n' Roll"Stanley, Simmons2:15
Side B
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
6."Love Gun"Stanley3:17
7."God of Thunder"Stanley4:14
8."Firehouse" (remix)Stanley3:20
9."Hotter Than Hell"Stanley3:30
10."I Want You"Stanley3:02
Side C
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
11."Deuce" (remix)Simmons3:02
12."100,000 Years" (remix)Stanley, Simmons3:24
13."Detroit Rock City" (remix)Stanley, Ezrin3:35
14."Rock Bottom" (intro)/"She" (remix) Ace Frehley, Stanley/Simmons, Stephen Coronel 5:27
15."Rock and Roll All Nite"Stanley, Simmons2:48
Side D
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
16."Beth" Peter Criss, Stan Penridge, Ezrin2:45
17."Makin' Love"Stanley, Sean Delaney 3:12
18."C'mon and Love Me" (remix)Stanley2:54
19."Cold Gin"Frehley4:22
20."Black Diamond" (remix)Stanley4:14

Personnel

Kiss
Additional personnel
Production

Charts

Album

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA) [15] Gold20,000^
Canada (Music Canada) [12] Gold50,000^
United States (RIAA) [11] Platinum1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

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