LIVE TO WIN
After 25 years, KISS co-frontman Paul Stanley has released his second solo effort, and fans like myself couldn't be happier. More than musicianship, I am a fan of songwriting, and that is why I remained a KISS fan for so many years. Paul and Gene knew how to write powerful hooks, and kept their audience massive with consistently catchy songwriting (well, that and stage shows that consisted of blowing a lot of shit up). The tracks on
Live To Win are exactly what you'd expect from a rock veteran like Paul Stanley; simple, well-produced, and catchy as hell. Of course, he's had 25 years to release his follow up solo record, but he's been kind of busy... fronting KISS...so I'll cut him some slack.
The title track and first single "Live To Win" is an anthemic, beat-the-odds, fall-down-and-get-back-up-again rocker, that sticks in your head like crazy glue after one listen. While many of the tracks on
Live To Win have a familiar KISS sound to them (especially since Paul has one of the most distinct voices in rock), there's a very modern feel on songs like "Lift", "Wake Up Screaming", and "All About You" due to certain production values and instrumentation that give them a very 2006 feel.
With "Bulletproof", you get a big fat crunchy chords and an ear candy chorus that brings to mind so many arena rock anthems that Paul is responsible for. Songs like "Every Time I See You Around" and "Second To None" prove that Paul still knows how to take it down a few notches and compose killer ballads, which will have even the older fans tossing their
Depends undergarments on stage.
Vocally, Paul is as strong as ever. Sure, he's not hitting the higher notes as often as he used to, but he's still pushing a tremendous amount of air with that signature scream of his, and every note reminds you that you're listening to one of the most recognizable voices in rock music.
As a 25 year fan of his songs, I can safely say
Live To Win contains some of the greatest music Paul Stanley has ever attached his name to. If you're as much of a songwriting nerd as I am, you'll agree.
