CHAPTER 35 - Animalize
(1984)
“Animalize” Album Notes:
Produced by Paul Stanley;
associate producer Gene Simmons. Drums produced by Michael James Jackson.
Recorded at Right Track Studios,
35.01. I’ve Had Enough (Into The Fire)
Written by Paul Stanley and
Desmond Child. Paul Stanley plays bass on the track. Because Gene was busy
filming his movie “Runaway,” he quickly completed his material on the album and
left Paul to finish the album. As a result Gene finds himself minimally
represented on the album, similar to the musical performances on “Dynasty.”
35.02. Heaven’s On Fire
During the 1980s KISS,
notably Paul Stanley, was searching for the simple anthem to compete with the
rest of the music scene. According to Paul, “I was going for simplicity and
sometimes that can be the hardest thing to do because your sense, as with ‘Lick
It Up,’ is that maybe there’s not enough there” (Box Set Liners). Paul has also
commented that he played all of the guitars on the track and is unclear whether
Gene played bass. The song was written by Paul and Desmond Child and the video
became popular on MTV. It would be a result of hearing this song that Jon Bon Jovi got in touch with Desmond Child to co-write with him
for the band’s new album, which would become “Slippery When Wet.” According to
Desmond, “they liked ‘Heaven’s On Fire’ which I co-wrote with Paul Stanley so
much that they copied it with their ‘In And Out Of Love.’ I really felt honored
even because they never denied the robbery” (Desmond-Child.com).
35.03. Burn Bitch Burn
With lyrics such as “Ooh
baby, wanna put my log in your fireplace” this Gene
Simmons’ song competes with the sort of content found in a popular movie which
had been released earlier in the year: “This Is Spinal Tap.” While Gene had
given his “So Many Girls, So Little Time” demo to Keel to record he would still
recycle some of the lyrics for use in this song. Eric Carr would love
performing this song, though it didn’t last in the band’s live set on the
“Animalize” tour very long.
35.04. Get All You Can Take
Written by Paul Stanley and
Mitch Weissman, this song would be described on the
Box Set liners as being one of Paul Stanley’s favorite songs from the
“Animalize” album due to its “Zeppelin kind of groove.” Sadly, those same
liners would omit Mitch’s co-writing credit for the song. According to Paul,
“the song also contained a chorus line that most people don’t quite hear and
the line is, ‘What fuckin’ difference does it make?’”
Paul would also play part of the guitar solo to get the feel he was looking for
that he felt Mark wasn’t providing.
35.05. Lonely Is The Hunter
On this Gene Simmons song
it was felt that Mark St. John was not able to provide a suitable guitar solo
for the piece. As a result Paul made a call to Bruce Kulick and asked him to
come in and do a solo. Bruce recalled, “recording a guitar solo for the
‘Animalize’ album which was before I actually joined the band was a real cool
experience. The whole thing went really well, and after it was over I remember
Paul saying to me ‘don’t cut your hair’ and as soon as he said that I figured I
might one day be asked to join KISS” (Firehouse #75).
Bruce also recalled the
situation which led to his appearing on “Animalize”: “Paul called me in the
summer of ‘84. My brother had always told him that he should call me, and
somebody else that was close to Paul said the same, and out of the blue I got
the call. I think at that point
35.06. Under The Gun
According to Eric, “I had
nothing to do with the song after the initial rhythm thing. What happened was
Paul and I, I think at rehearsal or on a day off, went in the studio. I just
started playing a double-bass beat, I heard some accents in my head. I said:
‘Paul, why don’t you play these three chords....’ I think it’s like D – A – D –
A – D – A.... We started fooling around with that and we liked it. And then we
didn’t go anywhere else with it. Paul remembered that part and wrote ‘Under The
Gun’” (KISS Neon Glow #1, 1992). Eric would get some of his most noticeable
backing vocals on this recording, hollering out “Fire!” during the bridge. Jean
Beauvoir plays the machine-gun bass on the recording.
35.07. Thrills In The Night
Written by Paul Stanley and
Jean Beauvoir. Jean Beauvoir
appears on the track on bass and backing vocals. Jean had become involved in
the KISS camp during the “Creatures Of The Night” tour when his then band,
fronted by the outrageous Wendy O. Williams, the Plasmatics,
opened for KISS. As a musician Jean was much more than many might have expected
from being tall and dark with a blond mohawk! When
released as a single, in early 1985, backed with “Burn Bitch Burn,” the single
would not chart. A video would be made for the track, which was originally
intended a concept piece, with segments being filmed in
35.08. While The City Sleeps
Written by Gene Simmons and
Mitch Weissman. Possibly the KISS song most guilty of
mixing its metaphors lyrically. This song had originally been offered to Heavy Pettin’ in 1983.
35.09. Murder In High Heels
Written by Gene Simmons and
Mitch Weissman. This is the second track on which
Bruce Kulick would play some guitars. According to Bruce his additions to the
song would be minimal, “just a couple of riffs at the end of the song” (Scream
#46).
35.10. Thrills In The Night (Single Edit)
Released as the second
single from “Animalize,” in the
35.11. Keep Your Tail Between Your Legs
Written by Gene Simmons and
Howard Rice, this
35.12. Thrills In The Night (Instrumental)
This instrumental runs
35.13. Get All You Can Take (Instrumental)
Running
35.14. Under The Gun (Demo)
The alleged demo runs 25
seconds shorter than the album version this is a result of it being speeded up.
Once slowed back down to the album track’s length the recording is simply a
very poor quality copy of that track.
35.15. Sooner Said Than Done
Written by Gene Simmons and
Mitch Weissman, this demo was written in the period
prior to the “Animalize” album, and while not used on the album it would become
“Easier Said Than Done” on the Gene produced Keel album. Two versions are known
to exist, but do not circulate.
35.16.
A completed instrumental
recorded by Eric Carr that was not developed for the album.
35.17. Thrills In The Night (Rehearsal 2)
While the “Lick It Up” tour
concluded on March 17, 1984, it is clear that the band were already in the
studios by late-April/early-May, rather than the generally accepted June date.
Most of Paul’s songs were in forms nearly identical to the album versions by
the end of the month. An early S.I.R. rehearsal of “Thrills In The Night”
starts off with a bit of guitar and drum warm-up. Following a false start, the
band performs a
Following the attempt, Paul
comments, “I have to live with it overnight, ‘cause I’m not sure. I can’t quite
sing and play at the same time.” Regardless, the arrangement was essentially
nailed even though the timing would indicate that the arrangement was somewhat
fluid at this point. The full track runs
35.18. Under The Gun (Instrumental)
A full
35.19. Get All You Can Take (Instrumental)
Running
35.20. Heaven’s On Fire (Rough Mix 1)
In essence, this song had
been “done” since the middle of May, with this rough mix of the song dating
from
35.21. Heaven’s On Fire (Rough Mix 2)
This rough mix dates from
35.22. Under The Gun (Lead Dubs)
By the last week of May the
basic music tracks for Paul’s songs had essentially reached the point of
completion. A 21 second clip with Mark’s raw solo overdub on the end of “Under
The Gun” is nearly identical to the final version, though “raw” is a compliment
to how this attempt sounds. It’s followed be 6 additional repetitions of the
end of the song without any guitar overdubs. These have a different drum
pattern to the album version of the song, with metronome-like timekeeping being
present in the space where the ending guitar solo would be placed...
35.23. Thrills In The Night (Instrumental)
“Thrills In The Night” also
underwent shrinkage in arrangement during May. An early mix of the basic track
from
35.24. Thrills In The Night (Rough Mix 2)
This late-May mix of the
song saw the tempo increased resulting in a
35.25. Get All You Can Take (Instrumental)
This later mix sees Paul
scatting the vocals. The
35.26. (I’ve Had Enough) Into The Fire
(Instrumental)
Continuing the efforts to
flesh out the lyrical application this late-May instrumental version of “(I’ve
Had Enough) Into The Fire” is similar to entry 35.35. Paul again scats the
song’s verses though the “I’ve had enough” parts on the choruses are present.
Melodically, Paul seems unsure about where the song is going at this point.
This song runs
35.27. Thrills In The Night (Lead Dubs)
By the end of May work was
being done on lead guitar overdubs. Mark St. John was working on the overdub at
the start of “Thrills In The Night.” Lasting only 30 seconds, the attempt is
slightly off in terms of timing prior to Paul’s vocals beginning. The attempt
fades out during the first verse...
35.28. Get All You Can Take (Lead Dubs)
This 35 second piece is a
rather raw attempt at “Get All You Can Take.” The attempt seems awkward, though
there are similarities (in parts) to the final version. Four additional basic
tracks follow where
35.29. (I’ve Had Enough) Into The Fire (Lead
Dubs)
Mark makes a 45 second
attempt at the solo for “(I’ve Had Enough) Into The Fire.” This solo attempt
has elements that display his musical style better than what was used on the
album. There are some similarities between parts of this and “Baghad,” an instrumental he’d release on his solo EP...