I Love It Loud

"I Love It Loud" is a song by 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.

Background

The track was written by bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons and guitarist Vinnie Vincent, although some versions of the album mistakenly credit Paul Stanley and Vincent. The latter had been working with songwriter Adam Mitchell when he discovered that Mitchell had connections to Kiss, and Vincent 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 No. 102. The song hit #45 on the RPM Singles Chart in Canada in March 1983. Musician and musicologist Julian Cope, calling it the "sole classic" from ''Creatures of the Night'', described its " J. Bonham-as-Thor drum fundament" as "one of thee most colossal pounded in many a year." He continued: "Even the video was damned fine for its time, but those drum stops still sound like Ragnarok to me every time."

''Cash Box'' said that "Eric Carr’s primitive drum throbs, the group's tribal cries and co-writer Gene Simmons’ fierce lead vocal set a scene where 'the Jungle is the only rule.'"

Music video

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. As the song progresses, the father's newspaper catches fire, the telephone melts, a teacup explodes, stuff pours out of the refrigerator behind the mother (who just stares at the mess) and a large crack appears in the wall near the television. Howard Marks, KISS' 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. Although the lead guitarist who recorded the song really was the unofficial member Vinnie Vincent, the music video features performing Ace Frehley due to contractual reasons, being the last Kiss video to include him (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.

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. The song reached number 88 on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart.

In 1999, Snow recorded a dancehall reggae cover of the song, entitled simply ''Loud'', on his ''Cooler Conditions'' album.See production notes in cd insert: ''Cooler Conditions'' (Tokyo: JVC Japan).

For many years, when the band performs the song in concert the second verse is shortened.

Personnel

*Gene Simmons – lead vocals, bass
*Eric Carr – drums, percussion, backing vocals
* Vincent Cusano – guitar
*Dave Wittman – backing vocals

References

{{authority control

Kiss (band) songs
1982 singles
Songs written by Gene Simmons
Casablanca Records singles
Live singles
Songs written by Vinnie Vincent
1982 songs