10 Great Songs On Otherwise Terrible Albums

Most KISS fans tend to be a lot more forgiving of the makeup-less era of the group in the '80s. Compared to the other hair metal acts coming out around the same time, these legends of shock rock found themselves playing catch up with some fairly decent riffs on albums like Lick It Up and Animalize. That goodwill can only take you so far though, and it started to dry up real quick on Hot in the Shade.

Since grunge was right around the corner and the hair metal scene was breathing its dying breath, this elongated mess of a record feels much more like an effort to keep the band alive than anything. While something like Forever may have been a different look for this band at the time, it shines as one of the greatest moments of their later period, being the only song on the record that feels fully written.

Considering the co-writer on this tune was Michael Bolton, the cheese is dialed all the way up, but this is one of the few instances where that melodrama goes so far the other way that it ends up sounding a bit charming coming out of Paul Stanley's mouth. KISS were never really a serious band to begin with anyway, so what's the harm with one last ballad before shedding their glam rock skin once again?