Lick It Up [Remaster] (CD - 1983)

Engineers: Frank Filipetti, Rob Freeman.

Producers: Gene Simmons, Michael James Jackson, Paul Stanley.

Recorded at Right Track Studio and The Record Plant, New York, New York. Includes liner notes by Robert V. Conte.

Digitally remastered by Joseph M. Palmaccio (Sterling Sound, New York, New York).

Due to the underachievement of their exceptional 1982 comeback album, Creatures of the Night, Kiss knew the time was right to drop the makeup, so in September 1983 the band shocked their fans by unmasking on MTV. Their first non-makeup album, Lick It Up, followed soon after and successfully re-established the band among the heavy metal masses worldwide. Kiss also reconnected with their stateside fans -- Lick It Up was the band's first record to achieve gold status since 1980's Kiss Unmasked. The album's success was spurred by MTV's repeated airing of the imaginative video for the album's strong title track, and songs such as "Exciter," "Not for the Innocent," "A Million to One," and the rap-rocker "All Hell's Breaking Loose" confirmed that the band was back on the right track. Vinnie Vincent again proved to be a worthy replacement to original guitarist Ace Frehley but would unfortunately leave the band after the completion of the Lick It Up worldwide tour (eventually resurfacing with the Vinnie Vincent Invasion in the late '80s). Lick It Up is undoubtedly Kiss' best non-makeup album. ~ Greg Prato

September 18, 1983 is a day that will go down in Kisstory. It was then that Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, and replacement members Vinnie Vincent and Eric Carr took off their signature makeup and revealed themselves on MTV. LICK IT UP was released, and a new chapter unfolded.

Using the same production team as CREATURES OF THE NIGHT, Michael James Jackson, Simmons and Stanley came up with the same bone crunching sound as CREATURES, but with a slightly more polished feel. "Exciter" kicks off the album with a machine gun riff, which leads into Gene Simmons proclaiming he's "Not For The Innocent". The title track was a modest hit in the U.S., faired better in the U.K. and made for quite an entertaining video. "All Hell's Breakin' Loose" is a gritty streetwise track where Paul Stanley actually raps! "And On The 8th Day" is a powerful anthem that closes an exciting album.

With Vinnie Vincent's expert guitar playing and songwriting abilities (he co-wrote 8 out of the 10 tracks) and Eric Carr's powerful backbeat, LICK IT UP proves that behind all the explosions and firebreathing, the band can deliver the goods musically. minimize