Dressed to Kill | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by Kiss | ||||||||||
Released | March 19, 1975 | |||||||||
Recorded | February 1975 | |||||||||
Studio | Electric Lady Studios, New York City | |||||||||
Genre | Hard rock | |||||||||
Length | 30:07 | |||||||||
Language | English | |||||||||
Label | Casablanca | |||||||||
Producer | Neil Bogart, Kiss | |||||||||
Kiss chronology | ||||||||||
|
Professional ratings | |
---|---|
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | |
Blender | |
Robert Christgau | B |
Pitchfork | (9.5/10) |
Rolling Stone |
Dressed to Kill is the third studio album by American hard rock band Kiss, released on March 19, 1975. It was produced by Casablanca Records president Neil Bogart, as the label's financial situation at the time did not permit the hiring of a professional producer.
Dressed to Kill was re-released in 1997 in a remastered version. Possibly due to the short length of the album, original vinyl versions had long pauses between each track to create the illusion that the sides were longer than they were. 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.
While the album cover depicts Kiss in business suits, the only member of the band who actually owned one was Peter Criss. The suits worn on the cover by the rest of the band were owned by manager Bill Aucoin. 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 23rd Street and 8th Avenue looking north in New York City.
Dressed to Kill peaked at No. 32 on the Billboard 200 album chart in the US and was certified gold by the RIAA on February 28, 1977. "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.
"Hopefully the coming and going trendiness of Kiss won't leave them high and dry," noted Hi-Fi for Pleasure. "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."