KISS' PAUL STANLEY Working On Solo Album

KISS guitarist/vocalist Paul Stanley is working on his first solo album in 25 years, according to Billboard.com. Stanley is working with a crop of songwriters that includes Sweden's Andreas Carlsson, who has written songs with or for the likes of DEF LEPPARD, CELINE DION, BON JOVI, BACKSTREET BOYS, LEANN RIMES, BRITNEY SPEARS and 'N SYNC. "He's a great writer, and, actually, a big KISS fan," Stanley said.

The as-yet-untitled effort, which should be issued next year, will not feature any previously unreleased songs originally written for KISS. "I'm a big believer that, if a song doesn't make it on an album, there's a reason," Stanley said, "and to dig up something that's been sitting around for 10 or 15 years doesn't seem worth it, because at some point, sure, it can see the light of day, just by default. And that's not enough reason.

"I believe if something gets rejected time and time again, it probably doesn't belong on an album," he continued. "I also like to think that a song is like a fresh issue of a magazine or a newspaper. Ya know, the ink is still wet because it's current. Recycling old stuff, to me, is not of any interest, because as life goes on, there are new experiences to draw from."

Stanley's last solo album surfaced in 1978 when each original member of KISS simultaneously released such a project.

As previously reporteed, KISS will release "The Kiss Symphony: Alive IV" on July 22 through Sanctuary Records. The album was recorded February 28, 2003 when the band played with the 60-piece Melbourne Symphony Orchestra at the Telstar Dome in Melbourne, Australia. A DVD and pay-per-view broadcast of the show will come later this year. A summer co-headlining jaunt with AEROSMITH begins Aug. 2 in Hartford, Connecticut.