Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame inductee and former KISS guitarist Ace Frehley has debuted The Joker, the second single from his highly anticipated solo LP Spacer Invader due out next week. The debut comes exclusively through Ultimate Classic Rock. Listen to it below.
https://soundcloud.com/eone-music/ace-frehley-the-joker
As previously reported, Frehley will perform on the Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon tonight (August 12th), sitting in with The Roots for the show’s entirety.
Additionally, a one time only in-store appearance and signing at the Best Buy in Union Square, NYC will take place Tuesday August 19th at 6PM. Fans will be able to get their own copy of Space Invader signed by the space man himself. Pre-order the album on iTunes here.
Watch a video clip in which Ace discusses his new album below.
Space Invader track list:
1. Space Invader
2. Gimme A Feelin’
3. I Wanna Hold You
4. Change
5. Toys
6. Immortal Pleasures
7. Inside The Vortex
8. What Every Girl Wants
9. Past The Milky Way
10. Reckless
11. The Joker
12. Starship
156 Responses
Bad idea, what a waste of cd space…always rootin’ for Ace, but no good reason to do a cover of this song. I saw a video where Ace said The Joker was the record companies idea…really? Maybe Ace thought it was a cute idea himself….not.
All things considered, I think it sounds pretty good. I love Ace, and with all due respect, it’s just a little weird/strange hearing ANYBODY else other than Steve Miller doing The Joker. It would be like Steve Miller doing Shock Me. When you’ve been listening to a song for 40 years like The Joker, by the same original artist, it’s just hard to listen to somebody else do that song, no matter who it is. IMO, there are some songs that should just be left alone and never remade. “Shock me”, “Rocket Ride”, are Ace Frehley/Kiss songs, and I wouldn’t want to hear anybody else do those songs. It’s like I always say, why mess with perfection? Not comparing songs, but could you imagine anybody else ever doing “Stairway to heaven”? Never! Live, well MAYBE, but studio, Never! 😉
Heart’s incredible and moving performance of Stairway to Heaven at the Kennedy Center is definitely worth checking out on YouTube! It was as if I was listening to the song for the first time…the same amazement I remember feeling then, three decades ago, experienced all over again.
Haven’t listened to Ace’s version of The Joker yet. Think I will wait until the album comes out. Can’t wait, I’ve heard lots of good things about it overall!
Sari, I love Heart. Few artists can do a Led Zeppelin song justice, and Heart is definitely one of them. But like I said, I can see an artist (depending on who it is) doing a cover of a song, live, but not re-recording it in the studio. If the people at Ace’s label wanted him to do this, IMO that’s their way of saying they don’t think any of Ace’s new original songs are good enough to make it on radio. But again, all due respect to Ace, how many people are going to want to hear Ace doing a cover of The Joker? The Joker IS Steve Miller, Does anybody want to hear Steve Miller doing Shock Me? I love all these artists, but I don’t want to hear them doing each others songs either! Anyway, I am looking forward to hearing what ACE has created on this album, not the “suits” at the record label. 🙂
I know this is a metal website, but the Mary J. Blige. STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN is also worth listening to
Who? No thanks.
Steve Vai on guitar.
Sorry Richman, Love Steve Vai, but still not interested.
Agreed Ace should have done a cover of a unknown song rather than a classic one. But Ace had success with New York Groove, 2000 man and Fox on the Run turned out pretty good too. So I can see his reluctance to question the Label.
Also Joan Jett made a career of doing covers and she is doing OK so it is nothing new.
But the difference is, EVERYBODY knows The Joker. New York Groove wasn’t already well known until Ace perfected it. 2,000 MAN was written by Jagger/Richards basically for Ace, but also never really heard before. Now, Fox On The Run, IMO even though Ace did a good job on it, should have been left alone, same as The Joker. Joan Jett has done a lot of covers, but mixed in with some of her own material. My opinion on covers/remakes has always been, what song, who did it, why they did it, and how they did it. Every once in a while, rarely, a cover actually turns out to be better than the original, case in point, “Cum On Feel The Noize” – Quiet Riot, now that was an exception! An artist like Ace doesn’t need to do covers, he just needs to be himself. 🙂
2000 Man came off of one of the Stones most famous LP Satanic Majesty’s Request. that was there answer to Sgt. Pepper.
Yes it was, but it wasn’t a “radio” hit, so unless you were a fan of the Stones, and had that album, most people never heard 2,000 man before Ace covered it. IMO it’s very risky to cover a very well known song like The Joker, for anybody. 😉
2000 Man was written for Ace? Maybe it was dedicated to him at some point but it came out in 67 before anyone knew about Ace.
It was not written for Ace. It was a Stones original he just covered
…”basically” for Ace, meaning until Ace did the song, like I said, not too many people heard it before, unless you were a Stones fan, just comparing “popularity” of covering a song like 2,000 MAN, and The Joker. The Joker was a #1 hit back on Jan. 12th, 1974, so there’s a lot more pressure on someone to cover a BIG hit, as opposed to a song, as good as it was by a great band like The Rolling Stones, that again, not to many people other than hardcore Stones fans heard of before, no matter how long ago it was.
Good points…The Joker is too well known…put on any classic rock channel and within 15 minutes you’ll hear it…2,000 man wasn’t known much before he did it and that isnt even a big Kiss tune unless you’re a hardcore Kiss fan. His version isn’t good of The Joker, plus it adds nothing really new to the song…bad choice Ace…
Sorry Ace, but it this cover version of this classic song, Sucked!!
Did anyone hear me debut the title track from the album last night? Kick ass song!
Yes I did….and it did kick ass. This is a great album aside from The Joker. Even my hardest friends to please really enjoy the album. Joe in The Cuse
Yes, I did Eddie, and it was great. Early comet feel and the solo blew me away. This song will fit in context of the album I’m sure. I like the chug of New York grove mixed in here. Haters are out in force again. Like I said on a post on blabbermouth, ACE is sounding better and better. When you listen to the solo on space invader followed by charisma when ACE was a god, there’s so much more here. Plus he does ALL the guitars again. Did Eddie Van Halen really ever get better than the first VH lp? Did Tom Scholz ever top the first boston album? Did Hendrix ever do anything die rent….that’s right, well never know….In that context ACE is doing just fine. I did mention somewhere (and I hope you pass it on to him Ed) I think a great cover song for him to do would be BTOs “ain’t seen nothin’ yet”. Give it a listen again and imagine ACEs take on it. I think it would be perfect. Maybe on his covers album. Looking forward to Fallon tonight, your show next Monday and of course next Tuesday. Thanks for still rockin’ Mr Frehley.
Yeah, I heard and I like it. I hope he can put out Past The Milky Way. Oh and Joker is #9 on the iTunes rock charts.
You mean number 9 on I Tunes Rock charts, which put about 400 on the over all charts.Pesky little facts.
Does anyone know if Ace actually played on any of this album? He may have been busy playing cards.
Haters will hate huh? Always amazes me how someone can call themselves a Kiss fan and take non stop shots at a founding member about things from 30-35 years ago. But I guess when you drink the Kool Aid that’s what you have to do..
Isn’t that the pot calling the kettle black. I don’t know how anyone can call themselves a Kiss fan and take shots at what 2 of the founding members have done in the past decade or so.
What THEY have done? You mean having people impersonate what others created? You mean non stop attempts to re write the history of the band? You mean non stop bashing of two guys sober for a decade but still calling them drug addicts? You mean doing live shows when the singer can’t sing most of the time (didn’t Paul say time to go when you can’t cut it)? You mean making average albums but telling you their the best, then not playing a song from them on their current tour? You mean by slamming the deceased Mark St John in Guitar World when THEY hired him (his family must have loved that!)? You mean by not taking any responsibility for anything that the band did badly in their history? You mean by blocking fans constantly on twitter who don’t fall in line? You mean by not giving their fans who fought for them to get into the Hall just one song with the band that was inducted? Is that what you mean???? God forbid the other side is presented huh? Only in some people minds is presenting a counter argument “taking shots”. So many issues with me but you can’t seem to get enough of me or this site?
I wouldn’t be surprised if the person who makes all these anti-Ace posts and keeps changing his name is actually Paul Stanley.
Me neither! Haha. I know for a fact he looks at the site. All the best Paul! Really! I respect all views as long as it’s done respectful and in some realm of reality. For a long time he was my favorite member. Love the debate and discussions.
Eddie,
Everything you said here can arguably be described differently, but you made it sound like facts. Impersonate? That’s how you choose to describe it, not how it is. Wearing the makeup does not make them “impersonators”. They don’t move or act like Ace and Peter.
Did you read Peter’s bio? Did you read what HE said about Mark St. John? How does Mark’s family feel about Peter’s bio? I’m curious, what did Paul or Gene say about him?
IMO you have made way too big of a deal out of Paul’s voice. Are there issues? Yes. Can he sing well enough? Yes. I think he sounds like he did during the Love Gun era. I bet you think I drink the KISS Kool Aid…
I could argue against most of your points Eddie, because you are uncompromising with your opinion about the current lineup and what they are doing. I can also agree with some of your points. Maybe they could have played together at the hall. But to Paul, it would be like having an affair with his ex wife.
Again, Sonic Boom was a good album, and I thought it was better than Psycho Circus. I have not always liked every Kiss album (Animalize, Unmasked, etc…) but Monster is IMO the best since Revenge. Revenges was the best since Creatures or Lick it up. Creatures was the best since Love Gun.
Its fine if you cant stand the current Kiss and everything they are doing. I miss having Ace in the band. I miss his stage presence. I miss Peter’s voice from the 70’s. But I am not going to take shots at Eric and Tommy because they wear the makeup. I am not going to close my ears to new albums just because Ace and Peter are not on them. Sonic Boom and Monster are not average albums–you just don’t like the lineup. I remember your review of Sonic Boom. You called Danger Us lame–LAME?? Would you use a word like that to describe other bands songs?
I know you’ve supported Kiss for their past and you have said many good things about them in the past, but I don’t hear it anymore. Everything you have to say about them now is bad. Every story you post about them–at least most of them–have shed a negative light on them or one of the members.
The person changing their name all the time could not be Paul Stanley–I would expect a better argument and less name changing.
Gene & Paul have spy’s all over the place, the man with a thousand names isn’t fooling anybody, he’s only 1 of them. 😉
Name changes or not, Trunk deleted my retort to his post. Typical.
Deleted your post? Final warning, either grow up and stop your endless hate bashing or you will be gone. Your act has grown tired. If there isn’t going to be intelligent debate you will be done and your posts really will be deleted. You are on MY site, you constantly try to deceive by having aliases, and you clearly have issues with me but can’t stop listening, watching, reading and posting on MY site. Grow up or move on, last chance. Up to you.
Name changer,
If Eddie was deleting posts, he would have deleted this foolish accusation of yours. You may be all for the current lineup, but you are not helping it any–you are actually working against it. Changing names all the time (perhaps to make it look like more people are responding for the current Kiss lineup/against Ace and Peter) is unethical. Everyone on this post sees through the deception. Please offer some good and ethically sound arguments or, like Eddie said, “move on”. You are not helping things here at all.
If you truly doubt Ace’s ability, go on YouTube and look up some of his RECENT live performances. Don’t do a search on his mistakes or something. Everyone makes mistakes. Ace sounds good, so give it a chance or give it up.
Or, take a trip to Jendell, maybe you’ll learn something, LOL! 🙂
For the record, some of my points HAVE been deleted. There is nothing hateful in them; only ideas that conflict with Trunk’s. As for my different names, I constantly change my name because I find it amusing. Not because I want it to seem like more people are taking this side or that side. All my names are damn clever, being that they are Kiss related in one way or another. The only problem I have with Trunk is that he is not honest. He claims he is not biased when it comes to Ace and Peter. That’s a bunch of BS. He just tweeted how it was going to be good to spend time with his old buddy, Ace at the release party. For that reason, Trunk will never say anything negative about Ace…. Never. Just read his new CD review. If anything even came close to criticism, it was watered down and euphemistic. If Ace released a recording of himself sitting on the can and dropping a deuce, Trunk would say, “it’s a real solid recording”. I would have more respect for Trunk if he just came out and said, “Hey, Ace is my friend and I really can’t knock him” because THAT would be the truth. Same with Peter. Listen to Peter’s last solo album – it is horrific. And I’m not talking about the style of music…. I’m talking about the vocals…It’s laughable. But Trunk will never criticize it. That’s being disingenuous. Especially when he claims that he just “tells it like it is” and that he’s “honest” about music and asks the “tough questions.” Hell, I’m sure you saw Peter on TMS. No tough questions there. And just so we’re clear about where I’m coming from…. I started liking Kiss in 1976, when I was 10 years old. I loved the original group. That’s what I grew up with. Key phrase is “grew up”. I’ve followed Kiss throughout that entire time. First saw them in 1979, Dynasty tour. Saw the Lick It Up tour, Animalize, missed Asylum because I was on a deployment, saw Revenge (met the band), Kiss convention in Phoenix. Reunion tour at MSG and in Phoenix, Psycho Circus, Farewell, and a few times since. Do I agree with everything Paul and Gene have done? No. Do I respect them for keeping the band alive for all these years? Yes. That’s where my loyalty lies. Do I wish the original band was together and everyone was in shape to be together? Of course. But in reality, those days are long gone. Everyone changes and gets older. Fans change as well, or at least I hope they do. I would hope people don’t look at things the same way they did when they were 10 years old. It’s called maturing and evolving. Reading some of these posts though, I don’t think evolution HAS taken place.
Name Changer, good post. I don’t agree with “everything” you said, but I do respect the way you said it. I too have followed Kiss my whole life, was also 10 in ’76, and “grew up” with Kiss, amongst others. Look, long story short, what I’m about to say has NOTHING whatsoever to do with Eddie’s opinions on this matter, this is MY opinion. Whatever the real deal is regarding the makeup, who sold it, stole it, whatever, I don’t care, IMO it’s just wrong, always has been and always will be. Not just because it’s Ace & Peter, I don’t ever want to see ANYBODY wearing Gene & Paul’s faces either! If Eric & Tommy had their own “personas”, I’d still be supporting the band 100%, even with Paul’s vocal issues, AND no Ace & Peter, just like most of the 80’s, I would still go to every show I possibly could. To me, it’s always been more than just “makeup”, it’s symbolic of the person who created it, just like a song, you don’t f**k with the originals, no matter who it is! Anyway, those are MY opinions, peace. 🙂
@Name Changer (if this is really you, and by the way, who have you been?),
Good post. You have some good points to make but if you are the one (please come clean and tell us what names you have used) who has taken some personal shots at Eddie, lets quit that and keep it clean and with some better arguments. This post is much better and in fact is a great post! I’ve had my own run-ins with some posters on this site and have resolved (I think) some of my differences with them. We agree to disagree on some things and agree to respect each others opinions. Like Doug, I don’t necessarily agree with everything you said, but I like and respect the way you said it. Eddie (or Dana) let is pass so that is also a testimony to their fairness in all this.
I’m glad you are still with us and turning it around–not that I am policing this site or anything–I’m just trying to pass on some good vibes and I hope it helps.
Mike B,
I let it through because this is the type of post I appreciate: articulate, well thought, and above all, considerate.
D 🙂