The musician that Paul Stanley defines as the “Beethoven of the guitar”

Although he is typically remembered for his vocals, Paul Stanley He is also a good rhythm guitarist. Many of his compositions for the Kiss show an inherent ability to create engaging riffs. Live, you can notice that both he and the bass Gene Simmons provide “sustain” for the lead guitarist — whether Ace Frehley, Vinnie Vincent, Mark St. John, Bruce Kulick or Tommy Thayer — put the “icing on the cake”.

Naturally, Stanley has his idols on the instrument. And one of them, in his view, is like the “Ludwig van Beethoven of the guitar”.

The preference was shared in an interview with Guitar World (via website Igor Miranda). On that occasion, Paul made clear his enormous admiration for Jimmy Pageguitarist, producer and creative leader of Led Zeppelin.

“For me, Jimmy is the definition of a guitarist, the Beethoven of the instrument. He paints with music in a stellar way.”

In Stanley’s opinion, Page is the best British guitarist of all time. And look, the competition is strong, as the region has presented us with musicians of the stature of Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Brian May (queen), Pete Townshend (The Who), George Harrison (Beatles), David Gilmour (pink Floyd), Ritchie Blackmore (Deep Purple), Tony Iommi (black Sabbath), Paul Kossoff (Free), among many others.

“I know there are a lot of British guitarists we talk about and people say, ‘who’s better, this guy or that guy?’. Well, I’ll tell you one thing: there was only one that managed to spread and work outside of the idea as it was initially defined, and that’s Jimmy.”

Finally, the Kiss musician highlighted the main characteristics of the Led Zeppelin member.

“He’s not rock or metal; he is true all-encompassing world music. His love for music is palpable; he is an incredible showman and an accomplished soloist.”

Paul Stanley and Jimmy Page

This isn’t the first time Paul Stanley has praised Jimmy Page for his guitar talents. In 2022 Cruise Q&A Kiss Kruise transcribed by Blabbermouth, the Kiss musician was invited to share his great musical model. He replied:

“The guy I respect the most and has had the most impact on me is Jimmy Page. He’s my Beethoven. He is far beyond the others. Jimmy Page is like a director of photography, a brilliant arranger. He paints with sound. […] I was a 17-year-old kid seeing Led Zeppelin in 1969. It changed my life. I couldn’t believe how great they were.”