# -3 Paul StanleyLong considered the most KISSy of the four solo albums, Paul Stanley actually lives up to that moniker. Of course, since Stanley writes a) the most KISS songs and b) the songs most associated with KISS, this statement isn't particularly shocking.
What is shocking, at least for this reviewer, is that the Paul Stanley solo album has
some a couple of pretty good songs. The previously mentioned KISS mixtape I made had "Tonight You Belong to Me" on it - so I knew I at least liked that.
But not "Hold Me, Touch Me (Think of Me When We're Apart)." That song totally sucks. It's so bad that it would be the third worst song on Peter Criss. And that, my friends, is saying something.
I rank Paul’s solo album way behind Ace’s and just behind Gene’s, which is at least more absolutely insane. What the hell was Gene thinking when he… but you’ll have to wait for the rest of that.
“Tonight You Belong to Me” is the opener and it’s also the best track on the record. It’s extraordinarily overwrought, even for Paul. This level of indulgence is new for Paul Stanley on Paul Stanley, but it would be here to stay for the rest of the band’s career. Some control in Paul S. broke loose during the creation of this album (or maybe in the inclusion of “Then She Kissed Me” on Love Gun that same year) and never got reset.
It’s hard to say who was the KISSter most responsible for keeping the group as rocking as it was. Certainly it wasn’t Peter Criss – reread the last review if you need to be reminded, or just listen to “I Can’t Stop the Rain.” If you can. I can’t. Wow. It still gets me after all these months. (N.B. I am listening to it as I edit this review. Mein Gott.)
Anyway, it’s not hard to craft a story where Gene became steadily MORE obsessed with the money side of the business and gave up on the rocking. Of course, Gene is the one who did "Great Expectations," AND we haven’t even gotten to the Jiminy Cricket cover yet.
And certainly Ace got pissed by the unrockiness of The Elder. But whomever it was, they lost the power to stop Paul sometime between the decision to give him a whole album to do his own nonsense on and the garbagey tracks of Dynasty.
Whose idea were the damn solo albums in the first place? Sean Delaney? Lydia Criss? I asked this last time, but really, I want to know.
“Move On,” the second song on the album, isn’t terrible. It’s an imagined conversation between, a) Paul and his mother and b) Paul and his girlfriend, but NOT c) Paul's mother and Paul's girlfriend. In fact, it's implied that his mother is dead, but I think she wasn't. It gets pretty confusing. It also features female backing singers, as do many songs on the solo albums. Anyway, it’s about loving them and leaving them. Remember that KISS actually did a song with that as the title – it’s best (apparently) with hard rock fans not to play it too subtle.
Speaking of Paul and mothers... [youtube]0CY6fnyGY54[/youtube]
“Ain’t Quite Right” has sort of a Paul Rodgers/Lou Gramm type thing going on. It doesn’t play particularly well. Maybe Seals and Croft? Hell, I don’t know. It’s another song about a breakup, which begs the question: did KISS have long enough relationships to have what most people would consider breakups? It doesn’t count as a breakup if you yell through the door to the bathroom that yet another groupie has arrived.
The fourth song is “Wouldn’t You Like to Know Me?” For some reason, Paul was into sentence length song titles on his solo. This song is almost a subpar New Wave song – not that out of place as a Ben Orr filler track on an early Cars album. Although “wouldn’t you like to make me, whoa yeah” is a dumbass lyric. As is “you got the key but babe I locked the gate.” If she has the key, she can just unlock the gate again, dummy. Am I right, people?
Seriously, though, I kind of like this song. It’s a clear #2 on the record.
“Take Me Away (Together As One)” has a 60s quiet/soft vibe to it. Like a folk-rocker becoming a hard-rocker and having a coming out party about it. Only whispering too much in the first part of the song. This song could definitely have been on The Elder. Take that as you will. Somebody help me out with the more famous song this song sounds like. Meatloaf? I can’t remember, and I can’t be bothered.
This song is very long and repetitive. Apparently Paul really thought he had something here. Nope.
“It’s Alright” is clearly a grammatically/spellifictally incorrect title. This song sounds like it could have been on one of the Destroyer-Love Gun era albums (isn’t it cool how KISS can have eras, despite their relative lack of musical importance?) Paul wants you ladies to know that it’s all right if you a) want him, b) need him, c) want him to stay for the night, and d) want him to stay satisfied. Just as later he’ll want you to a) hold him, b) touch him, c) think of him when you’re apart. This one’s about a one-night stand and not a relationship (which is presumably a two-night stand).
“It’s Alright” is probably the prototype of the song that Paul can write in an afternoon. It’s not bad, but it has the feeling of Paul’s between-song banter set to a vanilla guitar lick.
"Hold Me, Touch Me (Think of Me When We're Apart)” is the worst song, ranked by talent of the songwriter, on the solo albums. Peter Criss’ songs on KISS albums were mostly awful. Now, I didn’t see the lightning effect in “I Can’t Stop the Rain” coming, but I’m not sure that’s Peter’s fault. Though it probably is.
There’s no excuse for “Hold Me, Touch Me.” I checked to see if it was co-written with Michael Martin Murphey, but no dice. (Two solo albums, two MMM mentions in these reviews - that's not a good trend).
“what is perhaps his masterpiece, "Wildfire", a sentimental song about the ghosts of a woman and her horse. As a boy, he first heard from his grandfather the story of a ghost horse rescuing people in the desert. Years later, Murphey had a dream about this ghost horse and wrote the words and music the same day with songwriter Larry Cansler.”
I am angry at this song.
“Love In Chains” sounds to me like Loverboy, only a little angrier. Does that sound good? Because it isn’t. The singing style is a little reminiscent of how he sings “Danger” and “Creatures of the Night” on Creatures of the Night, which is actually good. So he did do something good here. That's a lot of the word "good."
Closing a record with a song called “Goodbye” is a bit of an obvious move. It has a cool chord progression. Remember way back when I said I knew nothing about music structure and theory? I think I may have forgotten some of the things I did know since then.
Two to go!