Christa Titus of Billboard reports:
…[Guitarist] Ace Frehley is in the early stages of recording his next album, which is a covers project. The set follows up 2014’s Space Invader. The critically lauded album debuted in the top 10 of the Billboard 200, surpassing the No. 26 peak of his 1978 self-titled solo debut. “The album’s going to be about my influences,” says Frehley. “I’m probably going to do a Rolling Stones song, a Who song, possibly a Led Zeppelin song, maybe a Beatles song. Stuff from bands that I grew up on and greatly influenced me. Those are the songs I’d redo, besides vintage KISS stuff and a Frehley’s Comet track.”
Frehley hasn’t thought to ask former Beatle Paul McCartney to join him in the studio if he does cover the Fab Four — Frehley chuckles at the idea — but he has put the ask out to guitarists Lita Ford, Slash and Mike McCready of Pearl Jam. “I was actually going to ask [former KISS bandmate] Gene Simmons to play bass on a track and sing with me. I haven’t gotten to that stage yet,” he says.
Frehley says he has done some overdubs and intends to track another six to eight songs, then pick the best 12 to focus on. The album’s track list isn’t solidified, but he says he’s “probably going to redo both Cold Gin and Parasite. On KISS records, I’m not singing lead. So I’m going to sing lead on them like I do live so there’s [studio tracks] out there with me.”
He doesn’t have a set idea about how he wants the updated versions of the songs to sound, either. “That’s something I don’t plan. I just go in and do it. Try a couple different ways. It’s obviously going to be a lot heavier than the original, and the production is going to be far superior because technology has advanced so much [to a] higher state since we tracked a long time a go in the ’70s. Those are going to be the major differences. Obviously, Peter Criss isn’t going to be playing drums on it. I’m going to be using my touring drummer, Scot Coogan.”
Since he enjoys working in the studio, in the future, Frehley would like to produce music for other artists besides himself. “I have a wealth of knowledge. I’ve worked with some of the greatest producers and engineers over the years, and it’s knowledge I want to share with a younger band,” he says. “I’ve learned so much from guys like Eddie Kramer and Bob Ezrin and miking techniques, the way to put together a song, layering harmonies. Even working with [former Kiss bandmate] Paul [Stanley] and Gene, I learned a lot about harmonies, because those guys are good at layering harmonies. It’s a lot of knowledge I’d like to pass on to another band.”
Read the whole feature at Billboard.
source: billboard.com
7 Responses
If I could ask one question of Ace it would be: “Ace, when the day comes that you feel that you’re too old to record and tour, will you hire someone else to become Ace Frehley and carry on with your music?”
Ding Dong
Who is it?
Tommy Thayer here……
…for his knuckle sandwich
I like the idea of re-imagining the KISS songs that he wrote as a singer and FREHLEY’S COMET was underrated so bringing back a song from that era is also cool but ZEPPLIN, THE WHO, and the STONES have been redone time after time and that time is past. Aces talent has always been greater than his body of work and something like this is not necessary. The TESLA and JOE ELIOT STUFF is cool but please no more BEATLES. Maybe BON SCOTT AC/DC or early ANTHRAX could work but no more WHOLE LOTTA LOVE or JUMPIN JACK FLASH. Something like GARAGE DAYS with lesser known material is always welcome. METALLICAS TUESDAY’S GONE is outstanding. THE JOKER wasn’t great but as a cover, at least it was original. Remember DUFF from G N R doing YOU CAN’T PUT YOUR ARMS AROUND A MEMORY. That is cool. DIO doing DREAM ON is also really great but no more BLACK DOG or PAPERBACK WRITTER. A great song for Ace to try his hand at would be OUT TO GET ME off of APPETITE FOR DESTRUCTION sung in Aces monotone voice.
Ace Frehley and Mike McCready together? That’s amazing!
Song-wise, he needs to pick the ones that are best for his voice because, let’s be honest, Ace has never been a great singer. He can do whatever he wants and I’m positive the music arrangements will be great, he needs to not try to sing above what he’s capable of. But at the same time, Ace’s voice has a quality all its own and those of us that grew up with him are used to his singing. So whatever he does can work if it’s done the right way. I’d love to hear him throw down on each track with another guitarist, like the way Leslie West has done. And if he and Gene play together, oh man, that would start a media storm for sure! But, we all know there’s a certain person, and we all know who it is, who would not let that happen.
It would be great to get Peter to do one or two drum tracks on Ace’s new album. Being a fan of the original KISS catalog, I could never figure out why Ace wasn’t more involved in using Peter throughout his solo career. I know they toured together once in the 90’s and Peter was involved in very small drum parts on various Ace solo projects, but not actually laying down the full drum kit track(s). The Peter / Ace chemistry is something that should be recorded again and would be worth capturing with todays technology. His current drummer is good, but that kind of chemistry just can’t be duplicated, Just a thought, and am looking forward to hearing old KISS tunes played by an original member with todays recording technology.