Rock legend and Kiss frontman Paul Stanley launched Soul Station toward the end of the 2010s to pay tribute to the classic R&B and soul sounds that shaped his early tastes. The expansive 15-piece ensemble soon embarked on international tours, delivering updated interpretations of vintage soul material; their first album, Now and Then, arrived in 2021 and incorporated several original compositions by Stanley that echoed that same retro sensibility.
Raised in Queens, New York, during the 1960s, Stanley gravitated toward Motown, Philly Soul, and the work of classic R&B figures such as Solomon Burke and Otis Redding, both of whom he witnessed in performance. Although his primary path led him to front one of rock’s most enduring and commercially dominant groups, his attachment to those earlier soul recordings persisted, prompting him in the late 2010s to assemble a new ensemble that highlighted the gentler aspects of his musical range. Recruiting an experienced collective of backing vocalists, horn players, and string musicians, he began performing under the name Paul Stanley’s Soul Station, focusing on longstanding Motown tracks alongside other soul and R&B standards from the decade. Following multiple well-received tours, the project entered the studio to document selections from its polished repertoire. Alongside such staples as Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together” and Smokey Robinson & the Miracles’ “The Tracks of My Tears,” the 2021 debut featured five new songs composed in a comparable style.
