Taken from Pivotal Rage:
Paul Stanley-Live To Win - added - September 28th, 2006
Reviewer: Ruben Mosqueda
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[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]5/5[/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]"This album is purely a labor of love," says Stanley of Live to Win in a press release. He goes on to say "It is a labor of passion, and something where I was concerned with turning out the album I heard in my head, without regard for having glitz and star power from other sources. It was purely about making the album I wanted to make." Truth be told I wasnt thinking this album would do much for me, more so after hearing the solo release from KISS other half. Paul has released a solid effort with brilliant songwriting and as he stated there is a "passion" present that you cant deny and also an urgency that you might not hear from rock musicians that have been in business for 30 plus years, you certainly dont hear it in The Rolling Stones, or KISS for that matter.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Paul does call on a friend or two on this album, but its not about who plays what but about what these guests bring to the song. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]It should also be noted that star killer Desmond Childs co-penned songs are featured on this album, as are Holly Knight who has worked with the likes of Tina Turner and Pat Benatar and the addition of a new collaborators in Andreas Carlsson who has recently worked with Bon Jovi, Marti Frederiksen of who has worked on the last three Aerosmith albums. The band on Live to Win consists of Corky James on guitar, Victor Indizzo on drums and percussion and on keyboards Harry Sommerdahl, as I mentioned there are couple special appearances; KISS alumni Bruce Kulick and John5 of the Rob Zombie band both lay down some memorable fretwork to this Stanley produced project.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Live to Win is a current sounding album, its modern rock meets Adult Oriented Rock without alienating any of the KISS Army. [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]I would liken it to perhaps listening to Paul fronting Fuel or a band in that vein. I think the strongest tracks on this album are; Wake Up Screaming, love the catchy chorus and guitar playing is outstanding, Every time I See Around, is a great ballad that I think would have made a great KISS song, in fact I think this one if marketed correctly could be as huge as KISS Forever, All About You, pure Paul Stanley merging pop and hard rock with an exceptional result, I think this might have been a song idea that surely must have been around since the Asylum era, and the closing number Where Eagles Dare, great way to round out the album. At ten tracks, it leaves no room for filler, just the ten strongest tracks from the writing sessions for the album. I like it. I also like the fact that Paul stayed old school and kept the album at thirty three and a half minutes, if you cant make your statement in thirty minutes, just give up. Live to Win you will find is KISS Army approved and sure to earn Paul a fan or two when he takes this show on the road. [/FONT]
Paul Stanley-Live To Win - added - September 28th, 2006
Reviewer: Ruben Mosqueda
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]5/5[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]"This album is purely a labor of love," says Stanley of Live to Win in a press release. He goes on to say "It is a labor of passion, and something where I was concerned with turning out the album I heard in my head, without regard for having glitz and star power from other sources. It was purely about making the album I wanted to make." Truth be told I wasnt thinking this album would do much for me, more so after hearing the solo release from KISS other half. Paul has released a solid effort with brilliant songwriting and as he stated there is a "passion" present that you cant deny and also an urgency that you might not hear from rock musicians that have been in business for 30 plus years, you certainly dont hear it in The Rolling Stones, or KISS for that matter.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Paul does call on a friend or two on this album, but its not about who plays what but about what these guests bring to the song. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]It should also be noted that star killer Desmond Childs co-penned songs are featured on this album, as are Holly Knight who has worked with the likes of Tina Turner and Pat Benatar and the addition of a new collaborators in Andreas Carlsson who has recently worked with Bon Jovi, Marti Frederiksen of who has worked on the last three Aerosmith albums. The band on Live to Win consists of Corky James on guitar, Victor Indizzo on drums and percussion and on keyboards Harry Sommerdahl, as I mentioned there are couple special appearances; KISS alumni Bruce Kulick and John5 of the Rob Zombie band both lay down some memorable fretwork to this Stanley produced project.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Live to Win is a current sounding album, its modern rock meets Adult Oriented Rock without alienating any of the KISS Army. [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]I would liken it to perhaps listening to Paul fronting Fuel or a band in that vein. I think the strongest tracks on this album are; Wake Up Screaming, love the catchy chorus and guitar playing is outstanding, Every time I See Around, is a great ballad that I think would have made a great KISS song, in fact I think this one if marketed correctly could be as huge as KISS Forever, All About You, pure Paul Stanley merging pop and hard rock with an exceptional result, I think this might have been a song idea that surely must have been around since the Asylum era, and the closing number Where Eagles Dare, great way to round out the album. At ten tracks, it leaves no room for filler, just the ten strongest tracks from the writing sessions for the album. I like it. I also like the fact that Paul stayed old school and kept the album at thirty three and a half minutes, if you cant make your statement in thirty minutes, just give up. Live to Win you will find is KISS Army approved and sure to earn Paul a fan or two when he takes this show on the road. [/FONT]
