Double Platinum (album)

Double Platinum
Greatest hits album by Kiss
Released	April 2, 1978
Recorded	1973-1978
Genre	Hard rock
Length	69:45
Language	English
Label	Casablanca
Producer	Jimmy Ienner (Executive Producer, album and "Strutter '78"), Kiss and Sean Delaney (Producers, album and "Strutter '78"), Kenny Kerner, Richie Wise, Neil Bogart, Eddie Kramer, and Bob Ezrin
Kiss chronology
Alive II (1977) Double Platinum (1978) Killers (1982)
Singles from Double Platinum
"Strutter '78" Released: April 2, 1978

Double Platinum is the first greatest hits album by the American hard rock band Kiss, released in 1978. Many of the songs on Double Platinum were remixed and differ from their original versions: in the case of "Strutter," it was re-recorded with a slight disco beat and dubbed as "Strutter '78." Other songs ("Hard Luck Woman," "Detroit Rock City") had sections completely removed, while the beginning of "Black Diamond" was repeated at the end, fading out at the start of the first verse and giving the song a "wrap around" feel. The overall sound of the album is slightly flat and compressed, to give a similar sound to the varying productions of each track which are taken from the albums between the years 1974 up to 1977.

The Japanese single release of "Strutter '78" includes a different version to that on the album: faster and shorter, with an altered guitar solo, plus a more prominent hi-hat (cymbal) sound throughout.

Release and reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Pitchfork	(6.0/10)[2]
Rolling Stone	[3]

The original vinyl release, in a gatefold-sleeve, had an embossed, silver-foiled sleeve, with the band members in bas-relief inside. The album was packaged with a printed "Platinum Award" thanking the Kiss Army for making the band a "Double Platinum Success". Later reissues would retain the gatefold-sleeve but replaced the logo with a printed, red-type version and the band members were now represented inside by photos rather than the bas illustrations. When the album was remastered for CD in the US in 1997, it mimicked the original vinyl^[4] .

The album was certified Platinum on May 16, 1978 by the RIAA.^[5] In Canada it was certified Gold on June 1, 1978 after shipping 50,000 copies.^[6]

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic writes: "If "Strutter" was represented by the original version, instead of a pointless 1978 remake—which was recorded only to entice collectors into buying an album of music they already owned -- Double Platinum would have been a definitive collection, but as it stands, it's simply a very, very good overview."

Rolling Stone writes "Kiss's greatest-hits collections have all been conspicuously incomplete, as if it hates the idea of anyone buying just one Kiss album, but Double Platinum is the most solid, though not as much fun as Alive!.^[7]

Track listing

Side one
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Strutter '78"	Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons	3:43
2.	"Do You Love Me?"	Stanley, Bob Ezrin, Kim Fowley	3:32
3.	"Hard Luck Woman" (Remix)	Stanley	3:23
4.	"Calling Dr. Love" (Remix)	Simmons	3:20
5.	"Let Me Go, Rock 'n' Roll" (Remix)	Stanley, Simmons	2:15

Side two
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
6.	"Love Gun"	Stanley	3:17
7.	"God of Thunder"	Stanley	4:14
8.	"Firehouse" (Remix)	Stanley	3:20
9.	"Hotter Than Hell"	Stanley	3:30
10.	"I Want You"	Stanley	3:02

Side three
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
11.	"Deuce" (Remix)	Simmons	3:02
12.	"100,000 Years" (Remix)	Stanley, Simmons	3:24
13.	"Detroit Rock City" (Remix)	Stanley, Ezrin	3:35
14.	"Rock Bottom (Intro)/She" (Remix)	Ace Frehley, Stanley/Simmons, Stephen Coronel	5:27
15.	"Rock and Roll All Nite"	Stanley, Simmons	2:48

Side four
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
16.	"Beth"	Peter Criss, Stan Penridge, Ezrin	2:45
17.	"Makin' Love"	Stanley, Sean Delaney	3:12
18.	"C'mon and Love Me" (Remix)	Stanley	2:54
19.	"Cold Gin"	Frehley	4:22
20.	"Black Diamond" (Remix)	Stanley	4:14

Personnel

Kiss

• Paul Stanley – rhythm guitar, lead vocals
• Gene Simmons – bass guitar, lead vocals
• Ace Frehley – lead guitar, backing vocals
• Peter Criss – drums, lead vocals

Production

All tracks remixed by Sean Delaney and Mike Stone at Trident Studios, London, England

Charts

Chart performance Album chart (1978) Peak position Canadian RPM Albums Chart[8] 15 Japan(?) 19 New Zealand [9] 19 Billboard 200 [10] 22 Single Chart (1978) Position "Strutter 78" Billboard Hot 100 89

Certifications Region Certification Sales/shipments Canada (Music Canada)[6] Gold 50,000^^ United States (RIAA)[5] Platinum 1,000,000^^ ^^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

1. Double Platinum (album) at AllMusic
2. "Kiss: Double Platinum: Pitchfork Review". pitchforkmedia.com. Archived from the original on 2003-06-26. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
3. "Kiss | Rolling Stone Music". rollingstone.com. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
4. 1997 Remaster at KISS FAQ
5. "American album certifications – Kiss – Double Platinum". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
6. "Canadian album certifications – Kiss – Double Platinum". Music Canada.
7. Rolling Stone review
8. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 2012-09-18
9. NEW ZEALAND CHARTS Retrieved 2012-09-18
10. "AllMusic Billboard albums". Retrieved 2-3-2009. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)