KISS - Nine Lives (1987)

In 1983, after nearly a decade of performing in their trademark make-up, KISS decided that it was time for a change,and they made the decision to abandon their make-up and costumes. The band officially appeared in public without make-up for the first time since its very early days on 18 September 1983, on an appearance on MTV, which coincided with the release of their 'Lick It Up' album. The tour to promote the new album and the unmasked band members began in Portugal, and it paid off as 'Lick It Up' became their first Gold record in three years, even though the tour was actually more sparsely attended than the previous one. Guitarist Vinnie Vincent had not got on with Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley for a while, and so he left the band at the conclusion of the tour in March 1984, and was replaced by Mark St. John, a session player and guitar tutor. With St. John on board, KISS released the album 'Animalize' in 1984, resulting in their best-selling record in America during the decade, with over two million copies sold. However, St. John came down with reactive arthritis during rehearsals for the 'Animalize' tour, and only performed at a handful of shows before being dismissed from the band in December 1984, and being replaced by Bruce Kulick, the band's fourth lead guitarist in less than three years. With their most stable line-up for a while, the band released a series of Platinum albums, including 1985's 'Asylum', and 1987's 'Crazy Nights', with the latter being one of the band's most successful albums overseas. The single 'Crazy Crazy Nights' reached No. 4 on the UK singles chart, and was the band's highest-charting single in that country. While preparing songs for 'Crazy Nights', Simmons, Stanley and the band recorded demos of a number of songs which were eventually turned down for inclusion on the finished album, but these have subsequently leaked online, with there being enough of them from around 1987 to compile a companion album to 'Crazy Nights', which could have been issued the same year.  

Track listing

01 Sword And Stone ('Crazy Nights' out-take 1987)
02 Suspicious (demo 1987)
03 Time Traveler (demo 1987)
04 Dial L For Love (demo 1987)
05 Best Man For You (Paul Stanley demo 1987)
06 Promise The Moon (demo 1986)
07 Hunger For Love (Gene Simmons demo 1987)
08 Don't Let Go (Paul Stanley demo 1987)
09 Have Mercy  (demo 1987)
10 When Two Hearts Collide (Paul Stanley demo 1987)
11 Nine Lives (demo 1987)
12 Are You Always This Hot ('Crazy Nights' out-take 1987)