Dressed to Kill is the third studio album by American hard rock band Kiss, released on March 19, 1975.[2] It was produced by Casablanca Records president Neil Bogart and the band itself as the label's financial situation at the time did not permit the hiring of a professional producer.[3]
Clocking in at 30 minutes and 7 seconds, Dressed to Kill has the shortest runtime of any Kiss studio album.
Album information
Possibly due to the short length of the album, original vinyl versions had long pauses between each track to make the sides longer than they would be based on the material they had. Each side ran just 15 minutes, and some of the song times were listed incorrectly on the vinyl versions. For example, "Two Timer" was listed at 2:59 and "Ladies in Waiting" was listed at 2:47.
The album cover was photographed on October 26, 1974 by Bob Gruen.[4] While the cover depicts Kiss in business suits, the only member of the band who owned one was Peter Criss. The suits worn on the cover by the rest of the band were owned by manager Bill Aucoin.[3] The original vinyl release of the album also had the Kiss logo embossed around the picture. The photograph of the band on the album cover was taken on the southwest corner of W23rd Street and 8th Avenue looking North in New York City. A remastered edition of Dressed to Kill was released in 1997.[5]
Recording
Recorded in 10 days at Electric Lady in Studio B during February of 1975 with the working title "Kiss at Midnight".[6] According to Peter Criss, Neil Bogart's first decision as a producer was to bring in a pound of weed.[7]Paul Stanley stated that Neil didn't do much except say “that's a good take.” "He wasn't trying to keep it fresh, but save money. I remember doing a sloppy take and his saying “Well that should do it.” And I said, no....”.[8]Ace Frehley recorded his guitar parts using a speaker with a cardboard box for the shell.[8]Paul Stanley played the lead on the intro to "C'mon and Love Me". Gene Simmons played guitar on “Ladies in Waiting.” Simmons said, “Ladies in Waiting” was written in the studio, in one afternoon and taught to the band that night. It was all done very quickly with little thought.”[8] Paul mentions adding acoustic guitars to "Anything for My Baby “…because BTO was doing it.”[8] Roadie Paul Chavarria said all of the roadies are on the chorus of “Rock and Roll All Nite” pulling their zippers on their leather jackets up and down to the rhythm of the song.[8]
Dressed to Kill peaked at No. 32 on the Billboard 200 album chart in the US[18] and was certified gold by the RIAA on February 28, 1977.[19] "C'mon and Love Me" and "Rock and Roll All Nite" were released as singles, but failed to rise up the charts. A live version of "Rock and Roll All Nite" from Alive!, issued as a single later that year, reached No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100.[18]
Hi-Fi for Pleasure said of the album:
Hopefully, the coming and going trendiness of Kiss won't leave them high and dry. We're so desperately short of showman crutch [sic] rock that albums like these feel like fresh air and just as rare. But the signs are there that they've been pronounced a bit too proficient to be really heavy.[20]
"Rock and Roll All Nite" is one of Kiss' most well-known songs – and has remained a staple in the band's concerts since 1975 – along with "Rock Bottom", "C'mon and Love Me", and "She".
Track listing
All credits adapted from the original release.[21]
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