Paul Stanley spoke to Rolling Stone Germany about KISS's new official live bootleg series "KISS - Off The Soundboard", which launched today (Friday, June 11) with "Tokyo 2001", recorded by the band at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan on March 13, 2001. This marks the first in a series of upcoming live releases through UMe and is available as a 3-LP standard black vinyl set, a 2-CD set, digital downloads and available to stream. "Off The Soundboard: Tokyo 2001" — which features co-founders Stanley and Gene Simmons, with Ace Frehley on guitar and Eric Singer on drums — is also available as an exclusive 3-LP set pressed on crystal clear vinyl with bone swirl via the official KISS online store.
Asked how Frehley's guitar playing compares to that of current KISS guitarist Tommy Thayer, Paul said: "Tommy is very, very consistent. Tommy always hits the bull's eye, and there's never any question about that. And with Ace, I have to say, there was a certain amount of erratic playing. You didn't really know, night to night, what you were going to get, I have to say. So the band, as it is now, is much, much, much more consistent. We're always in sync with each other and always on point."
He continued: "I'm the first to say that the band wouldn't exist today without having had Ace and Peter [Criss, original KISS drummer] in the beginning. And I can also say the band wouldn't exist today if Ace and Peter were still there. So, things move on, and certainly Ace, his playing is part of the foundation of what we do."
Stanley also addressed the fact that "Tokyo 2001" was recorded during a challenging period for KISS after Criss decided to step away from the band over a contract dispute. (He rejoined the group in late 2002 and stayed for another year and a half before exiting for the final time.)
"Well, thankfully, Eric is a phenomenal drummer and had played with the band for decades, I think," Paul said. "So he was very ready. It wasn't a spur-of-the-moment happening that brought Eric into the band; we saw that coming. That was very obvious because of some of the tensions or lack of quality in Peter's playing at some point, frankly. So Eric was always ready to come in, and Ace loved playing with Eric. So, it was great. It was transitional; it was a time of transition. But we had fun, I have to say. I remember being in Australia, and we were all out to dinner, which was not anything that had happened for years before, and the four of us were out to dinner, and Ace was going, 'I love playing with Eric.' So, this board recording is really good — it's really, really good."
KISS "Off The Soundboard: Tokyo 2001" (2CD) track listing:
CD1
01. Detroit Rock City
02. Deuce
03. Shout It Out Loud
04. Talk To Me
05. I Love It Loud
06. Firehouse
07. Do You Love Me
08. Calling Dr. Love
09. Heaven's On Fire
10. Let Me Go Rock & Roll
11. Shock Me / Guitar Solo
12. Psycho Circus
CD2
01. Lick It Up / Bass Solo
02. God Of Thunder / Drum Solo
03. Cold Gin
04. 100,000 Years
05. Love Gun
06. I Still Love You
07. Black Diamond
08. I Was Made For Lovin' You
09. Rock And Roll All Nite
3LP
LP1, Side A
01. Detroit Rock City
02. Deuce
03. Shout It Out Loud
04. Talk To Me
LP1, Side B
01. I Love It Loud
02. Firehouse
03. Do You Love Me
04. Calling Dr. Love
05. Heaven's On Fire
LP2, Side A
01. Let Me Go Rock & Roll
02. Shock Me / Guitar Solo
LP2, Side B
01. Psycho Circus
02. Lick It Up / Bass Solo
03. God Of Thunder / Drum Solo
LP3, Side A
01. Cold Gin
02. 100,000 Years
03. Love Gun
LP3, Side B
01. I Still Love You
02. Black Diamond
03. I Was Made For Lovin' You
04. Rock And Roll All Nite
Digital track listing
01. Detroit Rock City
02. Deuce
03. Shout It Out Loud
04. Talk To Me
05. I Love It Loud
06. Firehouse
07. Do You Love Me
08. Calling Dr. Love
09. Heaven's On Fire
10. Let Me Go Rock & Roll
11. Shock Me / Guitar Solo
12. Psycho Circus
13. Lick It Up / Bass Solo
14. God Of Thunder / Drum Solo
15. Cold Gin
16. 100,000 Years
17. Love Gun
18. I Still Love You
19. Black Diamond
20. I Was Made For Lovin' You
21. Rock And Roll All Nite
