Listen while you read! Click here for a playlist of all five new songs written by Paul Stanley for Soul Station.

At first glance, Paul Stanley’s new side project, Soul Station, looked like a disaster on par with Steven Tyler’s horrific “country” record We’re All Somebody From Somewhere. (Click here to read a story I wrote about that Southern-fried mess)

And I must admit that the advance single, a cover of “O-o-h Child” originally performed by The Five Stairsteps, did little to assuage my fears of potential humiliation among my hipster music friends. Life in the KISS Army has its ups and downs. On one hand you have got “Strutter,” and on the other, “Let’s Put the X in Sex.” I can still picture Def Leppard-loving jocks tossing my books all over the school bus while singing “All Hell’s Breaking Loose.” 

My first thought upon watching the video for “O-o-h Child” was, “This is ridiculous”. After I got over the shock and no awe of what I was experiencing, a little voice went off in my head: “More ridiculous than a 70 year old man wearing makeup and 7 inch leather heels singing “Lick It Up” to a New Year’s Eve crowd in Dubai?” (Yes, I purchased the KISS 2021 NYE concert and it was amazing.)

My point being, Paul Stanley has been the Starchild his entire life. After all the time he has put in dealing with bullshit from the likes of Gene, Ace, Peter and gulp, Vinnie Vincent, why can’t he try something different? All those other guys did other things. Putting on makeup every single night playing the same songs has got to get old no matter how big the crowd. And I could see the business angle too. Paul was going to move in on some of that sweet blue-hair money Rod Stewart has been hoarding since his American Songbook collection became a thing. And don’t get me started on Michael Bolton. If I was the agent for the Soul Station band, I would book a February residency at the Van Wezel Arts Hall in Sarasota, FLA and take some of grandma’s hard-earned Social Security cash (that she hasn’t already gambled away on the penny slots at the local casino) off her hands. The demon would be proud.

So, I was warming to the idea of Paul Stanley’s Soul Station. I didn’t love it, but I understood. Like I said in the previous Steven Tyler story, I am not a hater. I want to like things. 

When the full-length record Now and Then was finally released, I didn’t exactly rush right out to buy it, but I did eventually give it a listen on Spotify. And you know what? I kind of liked it. It wasn’t great, but it was fun. It made me smile. I’ll be honest, if I am going to hear “Tracks of My Tears” one more time, it might as well be sung by Paul Stanley. I’m smiling just typing this. 

I Buried The Lead! 

But you know what makes Now and Then a really special accomplishment? Unlike Steven or Rod, Paul was hands-on all over this record. HE alone produced and arranged the songs and the strings (!). He was the lead in a major production of Phantom of the Opera, so it stands to reason his musical palette stretches beyond quality material such as “Bang Bang You.” 

I Buried The Lead Again!

But seriously… the most impressive feat was Paul wrote five new songs for the record. Hence the “now” part of Now and Then. And when I say “wrote,” I mean in the traditional sense. Written by Paul Stanley. NO CO-WRITERS. 

And what’s even crazier, those songs are excellent. I had to have Scott Carr send me the credits because I literally couldn’t tell which songs were written by Paul and which were classic covers (the ones I didn’t already know). That is a compliment. 

Think about the balls it takes to do this. At one point on the record the running order is a Paul original, “Just My Imagination,” a Paul song, and “The Tracks of My Tears.” And they all sound completely normal following one another.

Or put another way, it would be like Watershed doing a British Invasion cover record and just sliding some of our own songs in the mix. You know, all the classics... “I Can’t Explain,” “Can’t Be Myself,” “Satisfaction,” “Small Doses,” “Lola,” “Hard Day’s Night,” and “5th of July.” Just the hits. (editor’s note: This Watershed/British Invasion crossover is not a bad idea.)

It doesn’t hurt that Paul the person has aged like the fine wine he sips in moderation. Throughout the pandemic he has been a voice of reason and compassion. Follow him on Instagram and you can skip one therapy session per month. Hard to imagine that 40 years after first playing KISS ALIVE in my bedroom, I would suddenly say aloud to no one, “This country would be in much better shape if Paul Stanley was President.”

Aging rock stars should take a lesson from Paul Stanley’s Soul Station. Go on and do a side project, but do something you truly love and let the chips fall where they may. You have already made it. There is no reason to fake it. Have fun and we will have fun with you. And remember, that whatever you do, don’t name your band The Loving Mary Band. It makes no fucking sense. 

Colin Gawel plays solo and with band Watershed. He founded Pencilstorm and wrote this while working at Colin’s Coffee.

Hidden Bonus Track! I do not recommend watching the videos before listening to the tunes because I think Paul can be a little, how shall we say, uh…distracting? But here is a taste anyway. Got a full blown Paul Stanley TV party planned for the near w future. Once again, this song was written, arranged and produced by Paul. And yes, that is KISS drummer and Cleveland native Eric Singer on the drums.