Paul Stanley (album)

Summary

Paul Stanley is the first solo album from American musician Paul Stanley, the singer-songwriter best known for serving as the rhythm guitarist and lead vocalist of hard rock band Kiss. It was one of four solo albums released by the members of Kiss on September 18, 1978, yet still under the Kiss label, and coming out alongside Peter Criss, Ace Frehley, and Gene Simmons. It is the only release out of the four Kiss solo albums to feature all original songs, as Simmons, Criss and Frehley each recorded one cover song on their albums.

Paul Stanley
A painting of the artist over a black background, with his signature white face makeup and black star over his right eye, and a purple glow highlighting his long black hair.
Cover painting by Eraldo Carugati
Studio album by
ReleasedSeptember 18, 1978 (1978-09-18)
RecordedFebruary–July 1978
StudioElectric Lady and The Record Plant, New York City
The Village Recorder, Los Angeles
GenreHard rock
Length35:10
LabelCasablanca
ProducerPaul Stanley, Jeff Glixman
Paul Stanley chronology
Paul Stanley
(1978)
Live to Win
(2006)
Singles from Paul Stanley

Reception edit

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [1]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal6/10[2]
Pitchfork2.0/10[3]
Spin Alternative Record Guide1/10[4]

The album reached No. 40 on the US Billboard album chart.[5] AllMusic gave the album 3 stars out of 5 and said that it is the most "Kiss-like" out of all the Kiss solo albums.[1]

Track listing edit

All credits adapted from the original release.[6] All songs written by Paul Stanley, except tracks 2, 3 and 5, co-written by Mikel Japp.

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Tonight You Belong to Me"4:41
2."Move On"3:12
3."Ain't Quite Right"3:34
4."Wouldn’t You Like to Know Me"3:16
5."Take Me Away (Together as One)"5:26
Side two
No.TitleLength
6."It's Alright"3:38
7."Hold Me, Touch Me (Think of Me When We're Apart)"3:40
8."Love in Chains"3:34
9."Goodbye"4:09
Total length:35:10

Personnel edit

  • Paul Stanley – lead and backing vocals, rhythm guitar, lead guitar, acoustic guitar, EBow, all guitars on track 7, producer, mixing
Additional personnel
  • Bob Kulick – lead guitar, acoustic guitar
  • Steve Buslowe – bass guitar on tracks 1–5
  • Eric Nelson – bass guitar on tracks 6–9
  • Richie Fontana – drums on tracks 1–4
  • Carmine Appice – drums on track 5
  • Craig Krampf – drums on tracks 6–9
  • Diana Grasselli – backing vocals on track 2
  • Miriam Naomi Valle – backing vocals on track 2
  • Maria Vidal – backing vocals on track 2
  • Peppy Castro – backing vocals on tracks 3 and 7
  • Doug Katsaros – piano, Omni string ensemble and backing vocals on track 7
  • Steve Lacey – electric guitar on track 8
Production

Charts edit

Chart (1978-1979) Peak
position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[7] 58
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[8] 43
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[9] 18
US Billboard 200[10] 40

Certification edit

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[11] Gold 50,000^
United States (RIAA)[12] Platinum 1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References edit

  1. ^ a b Prato, Greg. "Kiss / Paul Stanley - Paul Stanley review". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
  2. ^ Popoff, Martin (October 2003). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 1: The Seventies. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 164. ISBN 978-1894959025.
  3. ^ Josephes, Jason. "Kiss - Paul Stanley". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on June 26, 2003. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
  4. ^ Cohen, Jason (1995). "Kiss". In Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig (eds.). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. p. 212. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
  5. ^ "Paul Stanley Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
  6. ^ Kiss (1978). Paul Stanley (LP Sleeve). Los Angeles, California: Casablanca Records. NBLP 7123.
  7. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 19. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  8. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 0097a". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  9. ^ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005 (in Japanese). Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  10. ^ "Paul Stanley Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  11. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Paul Stanley – Kiss". Music Canada.
  12. ^ "American album certifications – Paul Stanley – Kiss – Paul Stanley". Recording Industry Association of America.

External links edit

  • Paul Stanley at Discogs (list of releases)
  • KISSONLINE.COM Discography – Paul Stanley, accessed on March 30, 2016