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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Where did THAT Come From? Jendell!,
By
This review is from: Ace Frehley (Audio CD)
From the very first album, Ace Frehley seemed to be the quiet one. The other members all sang while Ace remained mute. He also rarely surfaced as songwriter over the first five albums and it was only in his awesome guitar playing that fans got to hear his talents. Then in 1977 on the Love Gun album, Ace wrote, recorded and sang lead vocals on Shock Me. According to legend, he was so nervous he sang the track while lying down. He had nonetheless produced a rock classic, something he repeated with Rocket Ride on Alive II.
Despite all that, when the four members recorded solo albums in 1978, no one really expected much from Ace. He had written less than one albums worth of KISS' first few releases and so coming up with one all by himself must have seemed a daunting task. He surprised everyone with a fantastic album, and perhaps the best of the four. The album opens with the frantic Rip it Out and the catchy Speedin' Back to My Baby before really hitting hard with the menacing Snowblind. Heavy in sound and attitude, the song is as good much of KISS finest. Ozone proves much slower but equally atmospheric and edgy before the tone is lightened with What's on you Mind. Then comes the albums big single (none of the other three members troubled the charts) with a cover of New York Grove. The song is softer, a bit pop rock in nature but extremely catchy and never seems to age. It became a signature tune for the New York Yankees, the only song to feature in KISS set list after 1979 and the only song from the four solo albums to make it onto one of KISS's many greatest hits albums. I'm in Need of Love and Wiped out return to the heavy style before you are really blown away by the last track. The Spaceman plays rhythm, lead, acoustic and bass guitar on the instrumental Fractured Mirror, which inspired a generation of rockers from the late 1980s and 1990s to pick up a guitar for the first time and its easy to hear why. It is quite simply one of the most stunning pieces of music you will ever hear. Sadly, Ace was never able to top this debut album. He featured much more heavily on future KISS albums before leaving to pursue a fairly successful solo career in 1983. He has chipped in with many fine songs since then but this album (recorded for the most part while drunk) proved to be his sole masterpiece. It's very unique to Ace' style and showed there was more to him than just cracking guitar work. The only reason for dropping it to four stars is that there is only one great solo (Snowblind) on the album. For a man who left me speechless with his solos for years, it proves the ONLY disappointment of the album. Better than the other three releases and much of KISS catalogue, Ace Frehley showed with this album, that for 1978 at least, he was a great musician.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Ace high,
By D. J. H. Thorn "davethorn13" (Hull, UK) - See all my reviews (VINE VOICE) (TOP 500 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Ace Frehley (Audio CD)
Solo spin-off albums are usually no more than a sideshow for a band's hardcore fans, but occasionally they match or exceed the main event. This is one such album. There's nothing particularly original or groundbreaking about it. It's a largely no-nonsense rock album featuring thick slabs of guitar and clumpy drums and is a joy to listen to. A few tracks stick out: 'Speedin' Back To My Baby' is a good-time boogie and 'New York Groove' is the stomping pop hit. Meanwhile, 'Fractured Mirror' is that rare animal, a Kiss-related track that's subtle, being rocket science compared with the rest. To say, as one reviewer does, that it's 'one of the most stunning pieces of music you'll ever hear' is an exaggeration, but it is beautifully crafted. The rest of the album is straight rock and it's all pretty satisfying, with rock and roll excess a frequent theme. Not quite five stars from me, but a terrific album nevertheless.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Truly classic album - best of the KISS solo albums!,
This review is from: Ace Frehley (Audio CD)
When KISS decided to go on a brief hiatus in 1978 to record solo albums, few would have expected that Ace Frehley would come up with the best.Starting with "Rip it Out", a barnstorming heavy rock opener, it soon becomes obvious that the Space Ace is a lot more than a mere lead guitarist. With its thunderous drums and brain shattering riffs, the song makes a bold opening statement. "Speedin' back to my Baby" is a more poppy song, harking back to the 50's and 60's, and shows Aces ability to write a catchy chorus. "Snowblind" and "Ozone" are both more unorthodox songs - heavy yet spacey and showing influences far beyond the average KISS album. "Ozone" even features a chorus reminiscient of a Monks Gregorian chant. With these two songs, Ace was clearly exploring the darker side of his hedonistic lifestyle. "Whats on your mind?" is, in my humble opinion, Aces best crafted song, and once again shows how he can write catchy, melodic choruses. With a stuttering verse riff, and a gently spiralling chorus, this song is a worthy rival to even Paul Stanleys pop writing nous. "New York Groove" the only song not written by Ace, was a big hit and consists of a soulful, cod funk tune over which Ace half-talks and half-sings, and shows the diversity of his sound. "I'm in need of Love" and "Wiped Out" are both more haggard and wasted rock songs, similar to "Ozone" and "Snowblind", and giving proof to the argument that on this album Ace was trying to exorcise some of his demons in his haze of drug and alcohol addiction. Closer "Fractured Mirror" is, in short, a beautiful song, an instrumental with many layers of instruments combined to create a melancholic end to an album that was arguably built around Aces drug usee, but nevertheless was a true classic and showed that Ace had true song writing ability and control that he never truly exercised while in KISS.
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