Released 1982 (US) Genre Heavy metal | Format 7" Length 4:15 | |
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Recorded Record Plant Studios,
Los Angeles, 1982 Label Casablanca NB-2365 (US) | ||
"I Love It Loud" is a heavy metal song by the American rock band Kiss. It was released on their 1982 album Creatures of the Night. It has proven to be a staple of the band's live show, being performed on almost every tour the band has done aside from the Reunion and Psycho Circus tours.
Contents
Background
The track was written by bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons and guitarist Vincent Cusano, although some versions of the album mistakenly credit Paul Stanley and Cusano. Cusano had been working with songwriter Adam Mitchell when he discovered that Mitchell had connections to Kiss, and Cusano made it a point to meet Simmons through Mitchell. After meeting and exchanging phone numbers with Simmons, the two got together and wrote "I Love It Loud" in addition to another song called "Killer", which appeared on the Creatures album during the same writing session.
The song fades out, only to come back even louder, and then fades out a second time. This idea was taken from The Beatles' songs "Helter Skelter" and "Strawberry Fields Forever."
Released as a single in 1982, it was only the second Kiss single to feature a picture sleeve and marked the final Kiss single released on the Casablanca label. As a single, the song did not fare particularly well, failing to crack the Billboard Hot 100, although it did "bubble under" at #102. The song hit #45 on the RPM Singles Chart in Canada in March 1983.
A video was filmed which featured the band, then officially consisting of Simmons, guitarist/vocalist Paul Stanley, drummer Eric Carr and guitarist Ace Frehley, on stage performing the song while teenagers, watching them perform on television, are being hypnotized (or inspired) by their performance. Howard Marks, KISS's business manager from 1976 to 1988, stars as the father in the video.
The video was directed by Paul Davey and produced by John Weaver for Keefco. It also marked the final video for which Kiss wore their famous make-up before unmasking in 1983 (see 1983 in music) and also the last Kiss video to feature Ace Frehley (excluding various television appearances Frehley did with the group in support for Creatures of the Night) before his departure later that year.
"I Love It Loud" was the last Kiss single to feature Simmons on lead vocals until "God Gave Rock 'N' Roll to You II" in 1991, and the last to feature Simmons as the sole lead vocalist until "Unholy" in 1992. However, he was the lead singer of every Kiss B-side until 1988.
Alternative versions and covers
This song also appears on other releases such as 1993's Alive III and on Kiss' The Box Set in 2001. The single of the live version reached number 22 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks. A remixed version of the track appears on Kiss's 1988 greatest hits album, Smashes, Thrashes & Hits, that features a notably different drum sound and is missing the fade out in the middle of the song.
The Phunk Junkeez reworked the song and covered it on their 1995 Injected album, retitled "I Love It Loud" (Injected Mix). The song was later included in the soundtrack for the 1995 comedy film, Tommy Boy (starring Chris Farley and David Spade); a music video for the song was made that featured Farley and Spade (in their film character roles) come upon and take part in a concert held by the Phunk Junkeez while clips from the film were interspersed.
For many years, when the band performs the song in concert the second verse is shortened.
Personnel
Cover versions
In 1999, Snow recorded a dancehall reggae cover of I Love it Loud, entitled simply Loud, on his Cooler Conditions album.