Been asked by many for my review of the new Ace Frehley album. I have been living with it for a while now and premiered the title track last night on my radio show. I have been hesitant to post a review because many will feel it will be bias because of my long time friendship with him. However anyone who TRULY follows me and what I do knows I give my honest view regardless of personal relationships on all things. So with that in mind here’s my take; this is a very solid hard rock album. Is it a masterpiece? No. Is it as good as the ’78 record? No, but in some ways pretty damn close. But it is not 1978 and Ace is not 30, and we haven’t had 35 years to live with this to see how it holds up. But it is an album better than many will expect and certainly delivers in many areas. It is pretty simple really. If you are an Ace fan, love his persona, attitude and playing, you will love the album. The album has a space theme running throughout. Maybe a statement of ownership from the original (and in my opinion only) spaceman? Production is solid. It sounds live, guitars loud, and it really jumps out at you (maybe at times a bit too much). Maybe the most amazing thing about the album is Ace’s voice. Obviously he was never Freddie Mercury, but in a Keith Richards sort of way he has an attitude and conviction in his voice that people love and more than makes up for any lack of range. People love when he sings and it clearly worked during the Kiss years with Shock Me, NY Groove and many others. Ace’s voice is strong and out front throughout. Really impressed how well he’s belting it out. And his playing is maybe better than it’s been in a very long time. My only complaint being that some songs fade on solos that I wish would stay up another 30 seconds or so. Always hated when my favorite albums and players have songs that fade while there is tasty guitar stuff happening. But everything has to end at some point I guess. As for the songs the best of them are the title track, the lead single “Gimme A Feelin” (best shot at real airplay as a single to me), “I Wanna Hold You” (another possible single), “Immortal Pleasures” (different vibe, great vocal and Ace singing about the good times.), “What Every Girl Wants” (another possible single), and “Past The Milky Way” (a classic space vibe that reminds me of something from the ’78 album, great solos, fades too soon though. Would love it to just keep going!). The space theme continues with the album closer, an instrumental titled “Starship” that does give a nod to Fractured Mirror and clocks in at around 8 minutes. Again some of Ace’s best soloing and guitar sounds in a very long time. The guy that influenced so many closing out with a sonic blend of guitars on top of guitars! The final thing heard is Ace asking if “anyone has seen George Jetson”, followed by his classic cackle! Again, classic Ace! The Steve Miller cover of “The Joker” is fine but I would have liked to see him make it more his own. The tracks I didn’t mention are far from throw aways, but material wise I like the above tracks best. It really is a fine album that is best served listened to as a complete experience. And here is what’s really great about it. It truly has the classic Kiss vibe running through it naturally. While that band continues to try and make records that sound like classic Kiss by making two fine musicians in Tommy and Eric play like the people they have to portray, Ace IS classic Kiss. It’s the genuine artifact! The album drips with the spirit of classic Kiss and classic Ace from top to bottom naturally. It is all Ace knows. And if you are a fan that’s a damn good thing! Regardless of the attempts at times from the current Kiss to diminish his contributions, when you listen to Space Invader it becomes incredibly obvious just how much Ace meant to Kiss in his sound, playing and attitude. And this album proves he still has it in spades, or Ace’s… As Gene Simmons said himself during his R&R Hall Of Fame speech, Ace has often been imitated but never duplicated. Now there’s something I can truly say I agree with from Gene! Again, if you are/were a Kiss/Ace fan, nothing not to love here. Clearly Ace’s years of sobriety have reinvigorated him to create an album far better than anyone might have expected at this point in his career. And Space Invader is sonic proof just how vital he truly was (as was Peter) to the sound and concept of Kiss. Welcome back to the one and only Space Ace!
PS: There is a deluxe version of the album with two bonus tracks. But those tracks are only radio edits of two songs on the album. So unless you are super hardcore or want the digipak and poster the regular version has essentially the same material.
198 Responses
Thanks for the great review, Eddie. Looking forward to hearing the album and hopefully seeing him on the road! I’ve seen Kiss a couple of times (after the first time with makeup and then the second time with makeup with both Peter and Ace) and Ace solo shows a couple of times. For me, there is no comparison to the shows. Ace rocks harder than musicians half his age. Love to see him again.
How would you measure this with Anomaly?
So far from what I’ve heard of the album…I’ve been disappointed in general. Especially with “The Joker”…as Eddie said, seems like Ace really could have put his stamp on this but it just fell flat.
As for classic Kiss? Regardless of what Gene and Paul do, try to do, try to have others do…they are and always will be classic Kiss. No way around that even if you do have a beef with them. Ace classic Kiss…absolutely, he was an essential part of the sound and writing but again, obviously so where Gene and Paul.
Here’s what I do like…Ace absolutely sounds invigorated. While never a “singer” per se, it’s really the best his voice has sounded since the solo album. I also like the attitude of the album…though I feel “what I’ve heard so far” mostly misses the mark, I like the fact that he’s giving it his best shot. As opposed to the almost forced process of the last two Kiss albums. This whole album just has a better feel than Anomaly. Sobriety has truly given Ace new life. I’d like to see the old guy knock out a tour and then get right back in the studio and release another album.
Funny, what I got out of the review was the hasty fade outs of the songs, and just a reminder that Ace was a big part of Kiss, which has been framed by two guys quite differently to the public in the recent past, by big part, I mean the magic, the vibe. My problem from what I’ve heard is that I can hear that goddamn vocal auto-tune on Ace’s voice.
staten…if the Ace fans will actually “read” what Paul and Gene say instead of jumping to conclusions…one thing they both have been consistent on is the importance of Ace during the first part of the bands existence. I’ve never heard them rip (nobody else has either) Ace for not delivering on the first 4 albums. Quite the opposite in fact. Paul has openly stated that he admired and enjoyed playing with Ace and that he leaned on him to basically hold it down live. And all…including Ace acknowledge they pushed him to do even more…liking singing on earlier albums.
This all started because success made two guys work harder and demand more and two guys work less and expect more. The divide started after Alive with Ace blowing off sessions…the rest we all know. My point…yeah, they’ve ripped on each other for years but even as bitter and nasty as it’s gotten at times…from all sides, they have never “framed” or slighted Ace in a negative light for his “musical” contributions and importance to the band in those early years.
You are absolutely right on that, and I appreciate the clarification. But I would say that Ace didn’t just completely lose his s-t until around 1981, he did a solid solo album and contributed alot to two Kiss records, what I’m saying is he contributed extensively beyond the first four albums. He didn’t play on some songs, but neither did Gene. Gene doesn’t play bass on alot of Paul’s or Ace’s songs because the writer took on that duty. Alan Schwartzberg plays drums on two songs from The Elder, he plays on Animalize, and Asylum. Dick Wagner took a solo on Revenge. This “too f-ed up to play” has been really exaggerated. Rick Derringer played on “Exciter.” The reason I infer that Ace didn’t play on some songs, that, I agree, he should have been on, and I count 4, one Destroyer and 3 on Alive II, is it was some power play with the other guys, notably Gene, sort of like “You don’t play on Kiss records, so why should I?” Not saying that’s the right way to go about handling business or anything.
Good points guys. 😉
Doug R, there’s too much traffic, I can’t pass..NO!!
…What used to take 2 hours, now takes all day, HUH,
it took me 16 hours, to get through all these posts today! LOL!
Rock on Clown! 🙂
Good points staten and I understand all that…I think what the fans that lean towards Ace’s view need to understand is that in the most simplistic terms possible is that Gene and Paul depended on Ace and he let them down. It goes deeper than not playing on albums or using un-credited players. It’s not just the fact that your not showing up, it’s that you could care less to do so. Another point that cannot be denied is that Ace was treated much differently than Peter who ultimately was kicked out. Ace wasn’t. That alone is proof of how Gene and especially Paul felt towards the guy. The one tidbit that seems to get lost in all this is Ace is the one that bailed both times. The sad fact of all this is had Ace simply not been a drunk…then none of this would have ever happened. He could have had his solo career and been in Kiss.
You are right, he lost his edge, but man, the guy who really lost his edge after Kiss made it big was Peter. He was so delusional: he gets fired/quits from Kiss (in other words, he got himself fired), and then sticks with Kiss’s management. This shift warranted total reinvention. He just blithely thought Kiss fans would get his new direction? He wakes up and does blow every day? People can say what they want about his talent, but I’m tellin’ ya, the guy had enough talent to have a very successful solo career, if he would’ve cleaned up, got new management, and presented himself to the public as a new artist, and then let the PUBLIC figure out for themselves that he was Kiss. If you look at his second solo record, there’s some Russ Ballard stuff on there that really works, you listen to the sophisticated bridges, this was for a totally different audience than Kiss’s. He could’ve gotten on a major movie soundtrack, shot some cool videos in Miami looking all dapper in some Don Johnson style threads, and he could have had hit records. But he completely lost his edge: Rocky III, that first fight when Rocky’s training with his head jammed up his ass, that was Peter! But we were talking about Ace, and back to Ace, that guy, well, he said it, he’s an anomaly, who the hell knows what’s going on with him. He is one of these guys who has an incredible upside creatively but is prone to a heavy downside, I think he’s a package deal. All I was trying to say is that I think Paul and Gene have enough legitimate complaints against them without out and out re-framing it. Ace and Peter couldn’t have been as messed up as they say and put out as much product, with the corresponding touring and promotion that they did in five years. Maybe that is why they cracked ?
Glad to have Ace back period. Would love to see him tour with Anton Fig and Richie Scarlet again. Enjoy Ace while you still can. All the comparisons are silly and inevitable at the same time. That’s why Ritchie Blackmore went in a totally different direction and we haven’t heard from Jimmy Page at all.
And none of them have anything to prove anyway. They are already legends!