Before KISS, Paul Stanley was in a local band, Rainbow (not to be confused with Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow) and Uncle Joe. Through a mutual friend of Gene Simmons', Stanley joined Simmons' band Wicked Lester in the early 1970s. The band recorded an album in 1972, but as of 2008 it has never been officially released (although songs from the album appeared on Kiss's 2001 box set). Wicked Lester soon fell apart and Stanley and Simmons placed ads for a drummer and a guitarist in various New York papers. This resulted in Peter Criss and Ace Frehley joining the group, and they named themselves Kiss. Kiss released their self-titled debut in February 1974.
Stanley's persona in Kiss is "The Starchild", "The Bandit" in the mid-1973 shows.
In his book Sex Money Kiss, Gene Simmons admits that Stanley was the driving force for Kiss during the makeup-free 1980s, while Simmons was feeling lost without his demon makeup and attempting to launch a film career.
In 2006, Stanley resumed his association with Washburn Guitars and using the Washburn PS2000. Previously, he has had four signature guitars made by Silvertone, and tweaked the Ibanez Iceman to his specifications, calling it the PS10.
Stanley's most recent performances with Kiss were a group of shows in July 2007, dubbed the Hit 'N Run Tour. Prior to the final show on July 27, Stanley was hospitalized with an extremely rapid heartbeat. In his absence, Kiss performed live as a trio for the first time in decades. Previously, Kiss performed as a trio at Studio 54 in New York City for an international satellite broadcast on January 28, 1982, lip-syncing the song "I" from Music from "The Elder" for the Italian Festival della canzone italiana, also known as the Sanremo Festival, when Ace Frehley failed to show for the performance due to what was described at the time as a "mystery illness". The July 27, 2007 concert is the first Kiss concert Stanley has missed during his 34-year tenure with the group. In September 2007, Stanley took part in Rock 'n Roll Fantasy Camp as a guest star for his second time in New York City.
Stanley has very rarely recorded or performed outside of Kiss. In 1989, he embarked on a brief club tour, performing only Kiss songs (with one cover, Led Zeppelin's "Communication Breakdown"). His touring band included guitarist Bob Kulick and future Kiss drummer Eric Singer.
Stanley wrote and recorded material for a solo album in 1987–88, which was shelved in favor of the Kiss compilation, Smashes, Thrashes & Hits. While never officially released, songs such as "Don't Let Go" and "When 2 Hearts Collide" have circulated as bootleg recordings. One song from the project, "Time Traveler", was released as part of the Kiss's 2001 box set.
In 1989, Stanley loaned his voice to the title track for the soundtrack of the Wes Craven horror flick "Shocker". The song was written by long time Stanley collaborator Desmond Child, along with Jean Beauvior and Guy Man-Dude. The song was performed by a group of well known artists calling themselves "The Dudes Of Wrath". The Dudes consisted of Stanley and Child on vocals, Guy Man-Dude and Vivian Campbell (Def Leppard and Dio) on guitars, Rudy Sarzo (Quiet Riot, Ozzy Ozbourne, Whitesnake and Dio) on bass and Tommy Lee (Mötley Crüe) on drums. Background vocals were provided by Desmond Child, Louis Merlino, Alice Cooper guitarist Kane Roberts and Michael Anthony of Van Halen.
In the past, Stanley has been asked to produce albums for Poison and Guns N' Roses, but he was never able to commit due to his work on Kiss projects.
In 2005, a bootleg CD began circulating entitled People, Let Me Get This Off My Chest: The Very Best of Paul Stanley's On Stage Banter. The fan-made disc compiled 70 tracks worth of Stanley's distinctive song introductions and on-stage banter.
28 years after releasing his first solo album (as part of the four simultaneously released Kiss solo albums), Stanley released a second album, Live to Win, on October 24, 2006. The title song of his solo album, "Live to Win", appeared on the South Park episode "Make Love, Not Warcraft"
In October and November 2006, Stanley embarked on a theater tour in support of Live to Win. His touring band was the house band from the CBS TV show, Rock Star. The band appeared on both seasons of the show - Rock Star: INXS and Rock Star: Supernova. The band was composed of Paul Mirkovich (keyboards), Jim McGorman (guitar), Rafael Moreira (lead guitar), Nate Morton (drums), and Sasha Krivtsov (bass). In April 2007, Stanley extended the tour to include Australia, playing in Coolangatta, Wollongong, Newcastle, Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Adelaide. Portions of the tour were filmed for an as-yet-unreleased documentary titled Paul Stanley: Live to Dream by the Chicago-based Film Foetus. The band's performance at the House of Blues in Chicago, IL, was captured on film and released in 2008 on DVD and digital audio download formats as One Live KISS.
In 2008, Stanley sang a duet with Sarah Brightman, "I Will Be with You", on her Symphony album.
In 1999, Stanley starred in a Toronto production of The Phantom of the Opera, in which he played the role of The Phantom. He appeared in the musical from May 25 to August 1, and again that year from September 30 to October 31.
Stanley made his debut as a painter in 2005, exhibiting and selling original works of art.
http://www.paulstanley.com/
Ain't Quite Right
Paul Stanley Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Of all the time that I spend hangin' around
Situation could only get better
I got closer to see what I've found
In the mornin', movin' easy
Everything seems so right
But when the night comes, I've been dreamin'
Girl, you gave me good love
But it ain't quite right
Mmm, no, I won't tell you
That you're the only one for me
And I'd be a liar if I promised
I could give you every single thing you ever need
You gave me good love
But it ain't quite right
Yeah, you gave me good love
But it ain't quite right, mmm
Lookin' back now seems so easy
You were the best thing ever happened to me
I can't complain
It was worth every minute we had
'Cause, you gave me good love
But it ain't quite right
Yeah, you gave me good love
But it ain't quite right
Paul Stanley's song "Ain't Quite Right" tells the story of a man who is in a relationship that is not quite right. The man is contemplating leaving his partner even though he knows that she has given him good love. The song starts with the man thinking about how much time he has spent with his partner and how the situation could only get better. However, as the night comes and he dreams about leaving her again, he realizes that he is not satisfied with the relationship.
The chorus repeats, "Girl, you gave me good love, but it ain't quite right," emphasizing that although her love is good, there is something missing. He then goes on to say that he won't promise her everything she needs or that she is the only one for him. He acknowledges that she has been the best thing that ever happened to him, but he still feels unsatisfied.
In the end, the man realizes that he can't complain because the relationship was worth every minute they had together, even though it didn't quite work out. The song is a tribute to the complexity of human relations and how sometimes even though someone gives us good love, it's not always enough.
Line by Line Meaning
You were standin' and I was thinkin'
I saw you and started pondering
Of all the time that I spend hangin' around
I thought about how much time we've been spending together
Situation could only get better
I thought things could improve between us
I got closer to see what I found
I approached you to see if there was more to us
In the mornin', movin' easy
Things were good in the morning
Everything seems so right
Everything was perfect
But when the night comes, I've been dreamin'
At night, I dream about leaving you
Dreamin' 'bout leavin' you one more time
I can't stop thinking about leaving you
Girl, you gave me good love
You loved me well
But it ain't quite right
But something doesn't feel quite right
Mmm, no, I won't tell you
I can't tell you
That you're the only one for me
That you're the only one I love
And I'd be a liar if I promised
And I'd be lying if I promised
I could give you every single thing you ever need
That I could provide everything you need
Lookin' back now seems so easy
Looking back now, it all seems so easy
You were the best thing ever happened to me
You were the best thing that ever happened to me
I can't complain
I have nothing to complain about
It was worth every minute we had
Our time together was worth it
Yeah, you gave me good love
You loved me well
But it ain't quite right
But something doesn't feel quite right
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: MIKEL JAPP, PAUL STANLEY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Steve Donahue
Paul Stanley solo album is the best of all of them. Great songs, lyrics and melodies.
Deric Duncan
Aces album blows Paul’s away.... Paul sings better..that’s all
JJRJ 85
@Marky Mark Ace's album was the best by a long margin; Paul's was solid, 3.5/5, but I still prefer Ace's, rockier and weirder and funnier
DeicideDave
@WestalSage we are here for the song who cares
Marky Mark
Ace is the man ,its cool if you like Paul better he is better at singing technically speaking ,i havent heard anu of this in awhile ,enjoy !
rockdude5150
yep agree
Kim Larsson
Damn, this album hasn't aged in 42 years... It's a perfect crossover album, avoiding every trap.
It's pop, rock, and some metal sprinkled on the top...
It does EXCACTLY what it's supposed to do, without loose ends or hesitation.
KI SS
guitar in this song is so amazing
rich tuition
Say what we will... Paul gave it his all with every album.
Glen Bellefonte
Only thing I say is best voice of 1970s. Maybe for all time in rock n roll. And definitely the best of the solo albums.