The rhythm guitarist Paul Stanley claimed was so good it was “downright insane”
Being blessed with exceptionally talented bandmates doesn’t always equate to you thinking that they’re the greatest of all time, and despite the plethora of talented individuals who graced the many lineups of Kiss, Paul Stanley looks elsewhere when discussing his favourite players.
The classic and longest-running lineup of the band boasted lead guitarist Ace Frehley, bassist and songwriter Gene Simmons and drummer Peter Criss; the sort of ensemble that many other bands of the same ilk would have done anything to have possessed the same calibre of. Each of them contributed towards the initial success of the group with their own individual input, and there was plenty for them to all see in each other as shining examples of talented musicians.
However, various members would find themselves falling out at various points, and this meant that other musicians ended up stepping in to fill their respective roles. While getting rid of members who have lost passion or no longer share the same vision for the project is all well and good, this is where band dynamics have an increased propensity for collapsing, and this is where tensions began to arise in the ranks of Kiss.
This disruption can lead to there being a further gulf in values between members, and you have to rethink what matters most to you as a group when new faces are constantly being brought in. If you’re sacrificing the original vision just to appease the newcomers in a project, then that’s highly likely to upset those who have been there since the beginning and who have a specific outline for what they believe the project should be.
Despite this, one thing that always remained a significant part of the band’s identity was their love of pop music, and rather than taking cues from other metal bands, they were always looking towards more melodic artists as a source of inspiration. This remained part of their ethos regardless of who was in the band, and while it didn’t go to plan at times, it was something that Stanley himself was confident in bringing to the band.
Given that, it would make sense for Stanley’s idols to be those who were shining examples of producing this melodic pop style of music, and those whom he looked up to most were those whom he would have witnessed in his adolescence.
His personal favourite, which certainly tracks given how he was a vocalist and occasional rhythm guitarist, was Richie Havens, a guitarist best known for opening Woodstock Festival in 1969 and being an extremely talented songwriter in a multitude of styles.
“I mentioned him earlier as someone I took notice of, and it’s with good reason,” Stanley said of Havens in a 2023 interview with Guitar World. “If you want to be a great rhythm player, I urge you to watch Richie Havens. But you really have to listen closely and understand what he’s doing because it’s just so incredible. What Richie Havens was capable of doing with his right hand was downright insane.”
While there are plenty of technically gifted players who operated within the same field as Stanley, he claims to have never been interested in the flashy styles of the likes of Eddie Van Halen or Randy Rhoads, and was more interested in what people like Havens could do without feeling the need to showboat. An immensely underrated player and songwriter, his effortlessly solid style was something that enamoured Stanley, and while they were stylistically worlds apart, he couldn’t help but be floored by his talents.
