Category Archives: Ace Frehley
SPACEWALK: A Salute to Ace Frehley
Various Artists – Spacewalk: A Salute to Ace Frehley (1996, Shrapnel Records/Triage Records)
1. “Deuce” – Marty Friedman … 3:47
2. “Shock Me” – Gilby Clarke … 3:23
3. “Rip It Out” – Scott Ian … 3:47
4. “Hard Luck Woman” – Ron Young & Jeff Watson … 3:11
5. “Snowblind” – Snake Sabo … 4:01
6. “Rock Bottom” – Sebastian Bach … 3:07
7. “Parasite” – Tracii Guns … 3:16
8. “Cold Gin” – John Norum … 4:10
9. “New York Groove” – Bruce Bouillet … 4:52
10. “Fractured Mirror” – Dimebag Darrell … 6:35
Pretty good tribute to Ace although some of these songs choices make me scratch my head. “Deuce”? “Hard Luck Woman”? Ace didn’t sing lead on these songs and he didn’t write them either so what’s the connection? “Deuce” is a Gene signature song and “Hard Luck Woman” belongs to Peter. They could’ve easily left those songs out and included “Strange Ways”, “Rocket Ride”, “Hard Times”, “Talk To Me” or even something from his solo days.
The songs are pretty faithful to the originals but it’s fun to hear other artists’ slight interpretations especially when you’ve got artists like Mary Friedman, Tracii Guns, Scott Ian, Sebastian Bash, etc. The artists listed aren’t necessarily the vocalists but I guess they were considered the “biggest” names to be playing on the tracks so they get their names front and center. In fact, Scott Ian (who is on vocals) has Anthrax bandmates Frankie Bello and Charlie Benante backing him up on “Rip It Out” while Dimebag Darrell and his brother/Pantera bandmate Vinnie Paul performed all of “Fractured Mirror”. Judas Priest drummer Scott Travis plays on a number of these songs.
I don’t know who Bruce Bouillet is but his version of “New York Groove” sucks. I guess he took it back to the original version that was done by Hello. Ace’s take have never been a favorite of mine and I like the original version even less.
For the few bucks I was able to snag this online for, it was well worth the purchase. It’s a good novelty disc for hardcore KISS fans and Dimebag Darrell’s “Fractured Mirror” needs to be heard.
Highlights: “Hard Luck Woman”, “Snowblind”, “Rock Bottom”, “Parasite”, “Fractured Mirror”
ACE FREHLEY – Anomaly
Ace Frehley – Anomaly (2009, Bronx Born Records)
1. “Foxy & Free” … 3:43
2. “Outer Space” … 3:48
3. “Pain In The Neck” … 4:18
4. “Fox on the Run” … 3:34
5. “Genghis Khan” … 6:08
6. “Too Many Faces” … 4:22
7. “Change the World” … 4:11
8. “Space Bear” … 5:24
9. “A Little Below The Angels” … 4:17
10. “Sister” … 4:48
11. “It’s a Great Life” … 4:00
12. “Fractured Quantum” … 6:19
Musicians:
Ace Frehley – Vocals, Lead Guitar, Bass
Derrek Hawkins – Rhythm Guitar
Anthony Esposito – Bass
Anton Fig – Drums, Percussion
Scot Coogan – Drums, Percussion
Marti Frederiksen – Keyboards, Bass, Rhythm Guitar
Producer: Ace Frehley, Marti Frederiksen (“Fox on the Run”)
Great release! I wasn’t sure if Ace was up to the task of delivering anything resembling a solid hard rock release, but he did it. Ace has always been a bit out there beyond the stars, so while I was looking forward to this one, I figured it was either going to be really good or really bad, no in-between.
Luckily, it’s really good. I own Ace’s first two albums, and this basically sounds like his self-titled debut and a bit of Frehley’s Comet. Some of these songs would’ve fit in perfectly on either album.
It’s one thing for me to listen to a song and say “yeah, that’s good”, but when the song is stuck in my head– that’s an entirely different story. “Outer Space” is incredibly catchy, heavy but catchy. “Sister” (which apparently is a reworking of a mid-90s demo Ace had) and “Pain In The Neck” are the same way.
There’s a number of instrumentals here as well. I already knew about “Fractured Quantum” (the fourth and final in the “Fractured” series according to Ace), but when I heard “Space Bear” and “Genghis Khan” (are those classic Ace titles or what?) were instrumentals as well, I was slightly disappointed. I wanted full blown songs and felt the new “Fractured” should receive the only instrument spotlight. Again, I lucked out because the other two instrumentals are very well done and I actually prefer “Space Bear” and “Genghis Khan” over “Fractured Quantum”.
Basically, every track is enjoyable except for one. And that one song would be “A Little Below the Angels”. I find myself skipping that one, it’s just too corny and strange for me.
I had some trouble finding this album. I figured for sure Best Buy would have it, but they didn’t. Neither did FYE (which I wasn’t surprised by). Walmart didn’t have it either. I’ve heard that some Best Buy and Walmart stores do have the album in though. Either way, let’s just stay distribution wasn’t all that great for this one, but here’s the cool thing — the album still managed to land at #27 on the Billboard 200 for its first week. I definitely didn’t see that one coming.
One question for ya Ace: Why did it take TWENTY YEARS to give us this new solo album ?! C’mon, Ace — give us another one by 2011!
Highlights: “Foxy & Free”, “Outer Space”, “Pain In The Neck”, “Genghis Khan”, “Space Bear”, “Sister”, “Fractured Quantum”
KISS – Ace Frehley
KISS – Ace Frehley [Remastered] (1997, Mercury Records)
Original Release: 1978, Casablanca Records
1. “Rip It Out” … 3:40
2. “Speedin’ Back to My Baby” … 3:37
3. “Snowblind” … 3:55
4. “Ozone” … 4:40
5. “What’s on Your Mind?” … 3:27
6. “New York Groove” … 3:03
7. “I’m in Need of Love” … 4:37
8. “Wiped-Out” … 4:13
9. “Fractured Mirror” … 5:26
Credits:
Ace Frehley – Lead Vocals, Guitar, Bass, Backing Vocals
Anton Fig – Drums
Carl Tallarico – Drums
Will Lee – Bass
Susan Collins, Larry Kelly, David Lasley, Bill Scheinan – Backing Vocals
Produced by: Eddie Kramer
Years ago, I picked up all four of the KISS solo albums within the span of two or three months, but the Ace album was my first purchase, based on it getting the most positive reviews. I prefer Paul’s release over this one, but Ace’s offering for the 1978 solo stunt is very good and rocks the hardest out of all four. Paul’s album was the most KISS-like, Gene’s was typically all over the place musically (and had more cameos than a rap album) in an attempt to find a hit somewhere, Peter gave us a lounge act, but Ace? Ace just wanted to rock.
Ace scored the biggest only commercial hit of all for albums with “New York Groove”, but the standout track is the beautiful instrumental “Fractured Mirror”. In fact, “Fractured Mirror” is so good, that Ace has given us three sequel instrumentals over the years: “Fractured II” (from 1987′s Frehley’s Comet), “Fractured III” (from 1989′s Trouble Walkin’) and “Fractured Quantum” (from 2009′s upcoming Anomaly).
While I think Ace usually has the weakest song on KISS albums, this album is proof positive that he can write great rock songs and perhaps Gene & Paul should’ve allowed/encouraged him to do a bit more while a member of KISS.
Highlights: “Rip It Out”, “Speedin’ Back to My Baby”, “Snowblind”, “New York Groove”, “Wiped-Out”, “Fractured Mirror”
ACE FREHLEY – Frehley’s Comet
Ace Frehley – Frehley’s Comet (1987, Megaforce Records)
Track Listing:
1. “Rock Soldiers” … 5:05
2. “Breakout” … 3:38
3. “Into The Night” … 4:12
4. “Something Moved” … 4:02
5. “We Got Your Rock” … 4:12
6. “Love Me Right” … 3:54
7. “Calling To You” … 4:20
8. “Dolls” … 3:28
9. “Stranger In A Strange Land” … 4:02
10. “Fractured Too” [instrumental] … 4:14
Band:
Ace Frehley: Lead & Backing Vocals, Guitar
Tod Howarth: Lead & Backing Vocals, Guitar, Keyboard
John Regan: Bass, Backing Vocals
Anton Fig: Drums
Produced by: Eddie Kramer & Ace Frehley
“Ace is back and he told ya so!”
1980s melodic hard rock cheese was in full effect here, but this is still a fun album that I’ll dust off every now and then for “Rock Soldiers” and “Into the Night”. It’s more polished and mainstreamed than Ace’s solo debut was, but still a fun ride. Ace splits lead vocal duties with band member Tod Howarth, who has the standard voice for this kind of music.
“Breakout” was co-written by Eric Carr. “Calling to You” is a reworked version of “Megaforce” by Tod Howarth’s previous band, 707, which was a minor rock hit in ’82.
Highlights: “Rock Soldiers”, “Breakout”, “Into the Night”, “Love Me Right”, “Fractured Too”
