PAUL STANLEY – Live to Win

Paul Stanley – Live to Win (2006, Universal Music Group/New Door Records)

Track Listing:
1. “Live to Win” … 3:08
2. “Lift” … 4:01
3. “Wake up Screaming” … 3:00
4. “Everytime I See You Around” … 3:28
5. “Bulletproof” … 3:01
6. “All About You” … 3:16
7. “Second to None” … 3:35
8. “It’s Not Me” … 3:19
9. “Loving You Without You Now” … 3:16
10. “Where Angels Dare” … 3:22

Band:
Paul Stanley – Lead Vocals, Guitar, Percussion, Backing Vocals

Additional Musicians:
Bruce Kulick – Bass
John 5 – Guitar
Corky James – Guitar, Bass
Brad Fernquist – Guitar
Tommy Denander – Guitar
Andreas Carlsson – Guitar, Backing vocals
Sean Hurley – Bass
Victor Indrizzo – Drums
Greg Kurstin – Piano
Zac Rae – Piano
Harry Somerdahl – Keyboard
Russ Irwin – Keyboard
CC White – Backing vocals
John Shanks – Backing vocals

Produced by: Paul Stanley

28 years after his first solo effort (1978′s Paul Stanley, which was part of the ‘KISS Goes Solo’ stunt), Paul is back! And the results? Well, it’s not KISS, but it’s still good. The album is very slick with modern rock/pop sound. Essentially, it’s what I expected a solo Paul Stanley album to sound like in the new millennium. I like it and listened to it over and over when it was first released and Paul’s voice still sounds great.

It got knocked by a lot of people for being too soft, but it’s PAUL STANLEY. You know… Starchild? You were expecting a heavy metal album? This is just a modern take on all of the pop rock songs Paul has been writing in KISS for decades, though it does retain it’s own identity. This is not Paul trying his best to sound like KISS, it’s Paul being Paul and that’s good enough for me.

Hopefully, we won’t have to wait another three decades until his next solo release.

Highlights: “Live to Win”, “Lift”, “Wake Up Screaming”, “Bulletproof”, “All About You”, “Second to None”, “It’s Not Me”, “Where Angels Dare”

www.paulstanley.com