Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame inductee and former KISS guitarist Ace Frehley has made history with his new album, Space Invader, which debuted at number nine on the Top 200 Chart this week. The LP scores the highest charting position of ANY KISS solo album ever, and marks Frehley’s first return to the Top 10 since KISS’s 1998 Pyscho Circus reunion album. The album has also sold better in its first week than KISS’ recently released Kiss 40 album. Internationally, Space Invader has debuted number one on the Independent Chart and number sixteen on the Top 200 Chart in Canada, Top 40 in Switzerland and Sweden, and hit a historic benchmark for the first time ever as a solo artist in Germany.
Space Invader, Frehley’s first studio album in five years, has also received praise from critics. Rolling Stone wrote, “Gene Simmons has claimed Ace Frehley doesn’t deserve to wear KISS’ Kabuki clown paint, but the former Spaceman’s first solo LP in five years says otherwise,” while the Associated Press hailed, “…the original KISS lead guitarist has recorded his best solo album since his groundbreaking self-titled album in 1978.” Paste also confirmed, “Space Invader is a good rock album, and it’s an even better guitar record.”
Frehley stopped by The Tonight Show prior to his album release to sit in with legendary house band The Roots to perform his classic hit New York Groove. Watch it below.
Space Invader features nine brand new original songs, including the first single, Gimme a Feelin’, as well as a cover of Steve Miller’s classic rock staple The Joker. Frehley also tapped long time friend and artist Ken Kelly to create the album art for Space Invader. Kelly created the iconic cover art for two of KISS’s best selling LPS, Destroyer (1976) and Love Gun (1977).
Widely known as the original “Space Ace” and founding guitarist for 16 cumulative years (over two tenures) of the multi platinum selling rock band KISS, Frehley is demonstrably the most popular original member. In addition to having the best selling solo album career (vintage or current) among the original foursome, Frehley’s self titled Ace Frehley (1978), went on to sell over one million copies, producing the only Top 40 single, New York Groove, from any of the legendary KISS solo albums. The massive hit was most recently featured in an episode of cult show Entourage and was also KISS’ second best selling download in 2012, besting such KISS Army anthems as “I Was Made For Lovin’ You, Beth and Calling Dr. Love even after 36 years.
Since departing from KISS, Frehley went on to release four more solo albums and one live EP including his most recent effort, Anomaly in 2009, which debuted at #27 on the Billboard Top 200 chart. Ace also released an autobiography titled No Regrets, which debuted at #10 on the NY Times Hardcover Non-Fiction best seller list in November 2011.
163 Responses
Congrats Ace you deserve it!!!
Well deserved, congrats Ace. The album has been playing non-stop in my car since I bought it. Landing at #9 is quite impressive regardless of total sales especially in this day and age of pop and rap chart domination.
Way to go Ace! Back in the “New York Groove”, and back on the charts!
The Space Man is flying high, stone cold sober! Cheers Ace! 🙂
The album is fantastic….still a little iffy on “The Joker”..(..though Steve Miller loves it) but the album aka…CD is solid. IMO, it clearly is much better than the last 2 KISS CD’s.
I agree Joe in the cuse!
Interestingly enough, the Joker sounds a lot better when I listen to it in the car. I think I had the same impression as you the first time I heard it. It’s one of those songs that when you listen to it the first impression is not the greatest. Then you listen to it again and it starts to grow on you. I know it sounds a bit cliché but Ace is back. Ha ha!
I still can’t grasp at this current version of “The Joker”….. But the rest of the album is really awesome….jmo.
Agreed Joe, love Ace, the album, but IMO, he picked the wrong song to cover! Even if Steve Miller himself says he likes Ace’s rendition, I think he’s just being nice. The only “joker” I want to hear, is Steve Miller, -think about how weird it would be to hear Miller doing “Shock Me”, and besides that, once again IMO, it just really doesn’t sound that good, but even if it did turn out better, like I’ve said before, some songs like “The Joker”, should never be re-done, by anybody! Doug in the zone…(just kidding there Joe) LOL! 😉
Doug R, glad you’re back, I was worried I offended you and have spent the last two nights on my roof, with the headset mic that I got from Radio Shack, pretending to be Sammy. No, I get what you’re saying with the whole life changer business. I tell ya, that song “Country Girl,” I dated this girl from West Virginal for awhile, and that fit her to a T. So, now I’m going to get Standing Hampton, because you did a hell (I”m glad we can still at least say hell) of a sales job on it. Don’t know if you knew this, but Jim Peterik, songwriter/keys/etc for Survivor co-wrote “Heavy Metal.”
Lol..no, not Virginal, Virginia, West Virginia. see what I’m sayin’?
“shock’n me”
Hey Clown, no worries, all good. You’re right about Jim Peterik, he’s a great songwriter. I’d love to chat some more about Sammy & everything, but I’m on my way out the door headed down to Atlantic City, Aerosmith tomorrow night! Should be back around Monday night/Tue? Have a good one, “GET YOUR BUZZ ON”, CHEERS! 🙂
Notice this guy never hypes himself, under-promises and over delivers. This and the new Tom Petty are my two favorites so far. Petty: was never a huge fan, but he kind of did what Ace did, just put out a bare knuckled album, in the sense of creativity.