“Let's Put the X in Sex” by Kiss

"Let's Put the X in Sex" opened Smashes, Thrashes & Hits, Kiss's 1988 greatest-hits roundup, and Mercury sent it out in the US that October as the collection's lead single. Paul Stanley wrote it with his regular partner in hooks, Desmond Child, and it was one of just two fresh tracks tacked onto the package, the other being "(You Make Me) Rock Hard". Stanley recorded both by himself that July at Right Track Studios in New York.

What came out was glam metal with its boots on the dance floor: keyboards piled high over a beat built for the clubs, a sound that had some of the faithful wondering where the band was headed. A promotional 12-inch carried a batch of remixes aimed squarely at radio, while reviewers at the time shrugged and called it typical Kiss.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.