1/2
After 5 years, Ace emerges from out of nowhere to
deliver a surprisingly good album. Frehley's Comet has its
highs and it has its lows but overall the album is what we would expect
from Ace after his fabulous 1978 KISS solo album.
Rock Soldiers is Ace's explanation of what
eventually drove him (literally) over the edge--his nearly fatal 1983 car
accident. This is easily my favorite post-KISS Ace song. It
has fantastic guitar work and actually is kind of a nifty story. Breakout
has
that Loony Tunes thing at the start that has always amused me. Ace's
great rhythm section backed by Anton Fig on the drums really shines on
this track. Into The Night is a testament to the seedy nightlife
that I'm sure Ace has experienced firsthand. Something Moved has
a creepy beginning and a great vocal by Tod Howarth. We Got Your
Rock is the sort of rock anthem that KISS was doing in their heyday
a la Shout It Out Loud. However the second half of the album
pales in comparison to the first. Love Me Right is pretty
bad. Dolls, Ace's shout out to "groupies", has that VERY-80's
sounding synth track and just doesn't measure up to the rest of the material
on the album. Calling To You is catchy enough. Stranger
In A Strange Land is OK. Fractured Too, Ace's sequel to
1978's instrumental track, Fractured Mirror, is the other highlight
of Frehley's Comet. Great musical experimentation with that
same ethereal feeling delivered on the original track.
Frehley's Comet marked the return of Ace
Frehley, who virtually disappeared from the music scene after leaving KISS
in 1982. The album is a firm reminder that Ace could really play
and it was nice to see him working again because he was the most underrated
member of KISS. My only complaint is why did Ace feel it was necessary
to hire another vocalist? He is more than capable of handling a microphone
and Tod Howarth, though a fine singer in his own right, unfortunately drowns
Ace out with his loud screaming vocals. Luckily Ace helms the vocals
on 6 of the 9 vocal tracks so we are able to hear him belt out the tunes
but still....
Interesting Facts:
This live EP was released rather prematurely as far
as I am concerned. With Ace releasing only 1 album after his departure
from KISS, there is hardly enough material to warrant a live album.
Hence the inclusion of 2 of the 5 tracks being from Ace's 1978 KISS solo
album, 2 tracks from Frehley's Comet and one new track.
Recorded live at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago,
Illinois on September 4th, 1987, the live material is terrific. The
album opens with a teaser of Fractured Too then segues into the
gravelly intro of the band. Frehley's Comet opens with the blistering
chords of Rip It Out from 1978's Ace Frehley. This
version is nearly as good as the original with Ace's guitar work being
the obvious standout. Then comes a version of Breakout that
in my opinion surpasses the original. Anton Fig's extended drum solo
at the end makes this song! Tod Howarth's great vocals
and Ace's scorcher of a solo also add to the feel of this version of Breakout.
Something
Moved is an unnecessary inclusion that is dwarfed by the original.
Rocket
Ride is an OK version but some of the energy is lost. The lone
studio track, Words Are Not Enough, is a decent song but is by no
means an Ace classic. One question: Where is Shock Me?
Live + 1 is pretty patchy as far as credibilty
goes. One must wonder who made the decision to release a live album
based on one studio album of material. The poor sales that ensued
from its release may have left fans asking the same question.
Interesting Facts:
1/2
Second Sighting is an excellent follow-up
to 1987's Frehley's Comet. Though Tod Howarth's vocals take
up 5 of the songs on the album, Ace still pops up to sing on the majority
of the tracks.
Insane opens Second Sighting and sets
the mood for similar material as Frehley's Comet--straight-up, guitar-based
rock. Insane is a good rocker from Ace which is one of the
better tracks. Time Ain't Runnin' Out is one of Tod Howarth's
better performances without too much screaming. Dancin' With Danger
is a middle-of-the-road track from Ace which showcases his vocals and blazing
guitar. Despite its rather sappy tone (which was all the rage at
the time), It's Over Now, a ballad from Tod Howarth, is the best
song on the album. Loser In A Fight is another forgettable
track. Juvenille Delinquent is a standard Ace rocker--nothing
fancy, just OK, but it does have a great feedback and effects intro. Fallen
Angel really doesn't fit. It's almost as if it was written
and recorded by someone else and dropped on to Second Sighting
accidentally.
Separate
has a cool riff and rap-type delivery by Ace. New Kind of Lover
is
more cookie-cutter material from Mr. Howarth. I wonder if this guy
can write anything that doesn't have "Aaaaahhhhh!!!" as its main lyrical
component? The Acorn Is Spinning is Ace's obligatory guitar-doodling
inclusion...but with a twist; it's almost like a soundtrack for a short
film about a boxer who takes a dive. I like Ace's cackling at the
end of the song. Jamie Oldaker's drums also really add to this song's
groove. Great stuff!
Second Sighting doesn't quite measure up
to Frehley's Comet but it is a worthy inclusion in Ace's catalogue.
Unfortunately the songs are a little too commercial thanks to the late
80's trends and Tod Howarth's more dominant presence than on the previous
album. Still, Second Sighting gives us another dose of Ace
which is always a good thing.
Interesting Facts:
1/2
With Frehley's Comet dead and buried, Ace was able
to capitalize on his own name with Trouble Walkin'. His label
finally agreed to drop the "Frehley's Comet" moniker and allow Ace to shine
on his own. It really shows here as the songs are more rock driven
and not as commercially viable as those from the 2 previous albums.
Plus we get to hear the resurrection of Peter Criss who hadn't been heard
from in 7 years. Peter shows up on Hide Your Heart, Trouble
Walkin' and, most notably, on 2 Young 2 Die. Despite the
fact that he looks like a surfer dude a la Jeff Spicoli at this point,
it's nice to see and hear from Peter Criss again.
The album opens with Shot Full of Rock, one
of Ace's heavier numbers and most underrated songs. Do Ya,
the old E.L.O. song, measures up nicely to the original. Five
Card Stud has a smokin' solo. Hide Your Heart falters
a bit, though. KISS' version on Hot In The Shade really outdoes
Ace's version but this one is still pretty good. Lost In Limbo
is definitely one of the weakest tracks on the album, as is Back To
School with Sebastian Bach's screaming in the background. The
title track is another good song with a cool anthemic chorus. Hair-metallers
Skid Row lend their vocals to the chorus as does Peter Criss which really
adds to the song. 2 Young 2 Die lets Peter Criss sing a couple
of verses and take a turn behind the kit with some great double bass-action.
This is a good song with a good groove to it, especially the rhythm section
of John Regan and Peter Criss. Remember Me is Ace's political
song. Playing on his "Space Ace" persona, he refers to himself as
the omnipotent overseer of the Earth and how we are destroying ourselves.
Kind of a cool song and a definite departure from the usual Ace material.
Fractured
III closes Trouble Walkin' and is the third installment in the
"Fractured" trilogy of Ace instrumental pieces. It is equally as
ethereal as the other 2 pieces but just isn't as grabbing as Fractured
Mirror or Fractured Too.
Trouble Walkin' was not a successful album
for Ace Frehley which is too bad. It is the most underrated of his
3 studio solo albums and certainly th least commercial. At the time
of its release, hair metal by the likes of Winger, Skid Row, Whitesnake
and the like dominated the charts. Though my heart still bears a
fondness for hair metal, Ace's departure from the commercially successful
sort of music that he was producing with Frehley's Comet was a mistake
for him at the time. His label was not promoting him properly and
the best way for him to get noticed was to stick with the current musical
trends. Trouble Walkin' lost Ace's affiliation with a major
label and hence he did not release another album before returning to KISS
in
1996. Up to this point, he was touring with Peter Criss' band, Criss,
on what was labelled The Bad Boys of KISS Tour.
Interesting Facts:
Well this is a "best-of" that I never thought I would
see released. Undeniably fans of the Ace KNOW he is worthy of a collection
such as this, but for some reason a greatest hits just didn't seem that
it would be warranted by the powers-that-be at the record label.
12 Picks covers all the bases really, though
a couple more studio cuts could have replaced the live selections.
I mean Rip It Out and Breakout were already released on Live
+ 1 (OK, in different versions) so why not replace them with,
say, the studio version of Breakout and another great tune like
Shot
Full of Rock or We Got Your Rock? As far as the rest of
the new material goes, it is pretty good. Rip It Out,
Breakout
and Rocket Ride sound like they were lifted directly from Live
+ 1 as there is little difference between these "new" versions. Cold
Gin is respectable though we could have been spared Tod Howarth's melodramatic
vocal overtures. It is a nice inclusion as Ace wrote the song of
course but never sang it live when he was a member of KISS. Ace's
guitar is the real star of this version of Cold Gin, especially
during the intro and the bridge. Shock Me, what can I say....an
extended 5 minute solo from Mr. Frehley on what I consider to be his best
song. Who could ask for more? 12 Picks closes with Deuce,
KISS' best song in my opinion. Why Ace sings it and includes it on
the album I have no idea. My best guess is the guitar doodling during
the solo. You would think that he would rather include some of his
own material but, oh well. He pulls it off alright.
12 Picks is a welcome addition to any KISS
fan's collection. As far as Ace fans go, it is nice to have most
of Ace's prime material on one CD. If one has never owned any of
Ace's post-KISS recordings, pick up this album. It contains the essentials
and throws in a few surprises as well--if you are fortunate enough to get
one of the limted-edition copies with the autographed Ace Frehley colored
guitar picks (mine's black...nice gimmick). But if you have an extra
$15 burning a hole in your pocket, pick up Loaded Deck as well to
get the entire Ace experience.
Rating:
1/2
Loaded Deck is a nice companion to 12 Picks
in that it includes the greatest hits omitted from 12 Picks.
However I feel that the material here doesn't quite measure up to that
of 12 Picks. Of course a second best-of isn't going to have
as many hits per se as the first but what would have been a better format
would have been to have all the studio cuts on one album and then have
the second strictly containing live material. Of course this way,
fans have to buy BOTH albums to get the hits, right? Clever marketing,
I guess.
It was nice to see a couple of unreleased studio
cuts on Loaded Deck, though. One Plus One is a decent
song. Give It To Me Anyway is the better of the two though,
most notably the guitarwork. As far as the live material goes, it
is your standard fare with all the cheesy banter and crowd cheers included
for ambience.
As a stand alone, Loaded Deck is average,
however, as mentioned above, it is an excellent companion piece to 1997's
12
Picks release. In owning these two albums, one can truly enjoy
the highlights of Ace Frehley's solo work.
Rating:
