Paul Stanley Releases Soul Station R&B Collection Today

Out today is Now And Then — Paul Stanley's long awaited R&B set by his side band, Soul Station. The group has played sold-out club dates in the U.S. and Japan, with the debut album featuring 14 tracks — five originals and nine classic covers.

Among the covers included are the debut single of the Five Stairsteps' “O-o-h Child,” the Temptations' “Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me),” the Delfonics' “La-La (Means I Love You),” and a pair of Smokey Robinson & The Miracles evergreens — “Tracks Of My Tears” and “Ooh Baby Baby.” Last week, Stanley dropped the new video for the album's original track, “I, Oh I.”

Paul Stanley explained in the press release for the new set: “Long before I ever heard the great British bands, I grew up listening to Philly Soul, Motown and so much more. I was lucky to see Otis Redding and Solomon Burke among others. That music and its storytelling gave me strength and hope even in some tough days. The great classics of that era are magical medicine for most and I felt myself drawn back to that era for some sorcery I think we could all use.”

Paul Stanley told us that people shouldn't be surprised that his tastes run the gamut of all types of music — not just hard rock: “It kinda goes back to the idea that I like pasta — but it doesn’t mean I want to eat it three times a day; and music should be the same way. I think that people miss out, not only in terms of enjoyment — but in terms of creativity if they limit what they listen to. To me, there’s two kinds of music — and that’s good and bad. And I’d rather listen to some great opera, than listen to some bad rock.”