Ace Frehley - No Regrets - Reviewed

[Brad]

Shouldn't a thread about Ace Frehley be under the Sci-Fi heading?

I love Ace Frehley, I really do. Back in the day, he had a stellar stage presence, a fun-loving personality & his hypnotic leads were, without question, instumental (pardon the pun) to the signature sound of KISS.

Unfortunately, Ace couldn't hold the smoke. He has outright admitted that he could not handle the pressures that come with constant touring. He also admits, point blank, that he does not have a head for business and cannot cope with conflict. When the going gets tough, self-admittedly, Ace prefers to take the nearest escape route...a classic substance abuser characteristic.

All of that is fine. We all have our strengths & weaknesses. What bugs me is that Ace continues to publicly assign blame outside of himself for his shortcomings and refuses to accept personal responsibility for his destructive behavior & and the impact his actions had on those around him.

No Regrets? A substance abuser, a lifelong substance abuser, has no regrets? Really? What about what he put his daughter through? His wife? His family? Those closest to him? His bandmates? His accident victims? Hotel proprietors ?

When asked in a recent interview what he would do differently, he states that he would have gotten sober sooner (prior to his first departure in '82). His reasoning is that he thinks that if he weren't constantly wasted he would have been able to negotiate & debate more effectively with Paul & Gene and would never have had to leave the band.

Sounds like one hell of a regret to me, not to mention a subconscious admission that he was ultimately the problem, not Gene & Paul.

Still can't help but love the guy, and I do think that he'll eventually arrive at self-acceptance. I just hope it's sooner than later cuz I'd hate to see him fall off the wagon yet again.

Spot on!!! I couldn't have said that any better and I agree with you. I am a fan of Gene and Paul first and foremost so to see Ace place any blame on them is laughable to me. Ace's biggest enemy is Ace. Hopefully someday he will fully realize this.

[Werewolf]

But if you want to get into a whizzing contest,

There is no whizzing contest. I respectfully disagree with some of your opinions. Like calling Kiss without Ace or Peter a tribute band. I do not believe that is accurate, objective or fair.

Another point I was making, in a review, you can't have it both ways.

"Being that I am a fanboy of Ace one would think that my credibility in offering an objective review would be in jeopardy. I hope by this part of the process you see that is not the case"

You can review it as a fan of Ace, which is perfectly valid, or you can do it objectively. Also, discussing the book, or Kiss, doesn't mean we have a stake in its or their success. The book's success or failure has no effect on us.

Darkshadow: great post.

[Mikey]

I'm not really a KISS fan so I don't know many details but I heard Ace is super anti-Semitic right in Gene and Pauls faces and that's a big thing that puts them off to him.

If that's true I can see why they can't get along with him.

[Cosmicman]

Did he mention that Tommy Thayer had to reteach him how to play his own guitar licks for the Kiss reunion tour?.

I’m pretty sure that was not because Ace sucked or lacked any mental aptitude to preserve his personal music “he wrote”. For the duration of that “Kiss Reunion” era, Tommy Thayer was just a “goto man” and he ran around “KISS Avenue” as their “gofer boy”.

Previous to all of that Tommy Thayer was in the band Black and Blue as their lead guitarist. Gene Simmons was in charge and created that project and tried to get it on its way more than a few times and it was good but it didn’t catch the media’s eye and it went into the toilet but I’m sure Jamie St. James will tell you different.
Additionally to the band Black and Blue, Tommy was also in a Kiss Tribute band on the side to make money. Black and Blue was not a big bread winner and Gene Simmons knew that and he recognized something in Tommy Thayer which proved useful years later when Ace Frehley left that band.


Finally at some point he told Tommy, “look dude, your band is never going to go anyplace. Why don’t you journey on board the KISS thing with me and I’ll get you a job that will make you authentic money.” Thus, Tommy Thayer became the “gofer boy” for many years. As well as the main administrator of setting up and packaging a few Kiss box sets by organizing pictures and song track listings. He really was not anything at that point in Kiss but the “gofer boy.”

In the “Kiss Reunion’s” early stages; Ace had not played some of those songs in many years and had taken a "leave of absence" for private reasons from the music scene up until that point.
It wasn't for the reason that Ace was an idiot and had to have the great Tommy Thayer show him how to play his material once more.

OK this is my opinion and what I put together after reading an assortment of KISS books and articles. I kind of identify what happened (or in my opinion if you are a musician)
I've been at band practice and our guitar player has to relearn an old song or a cover song we used to play for an approaching show. One or two of the original songs he may have wrote himself and he'll from time to time look to me or the bass player and ask, "how did that riff go" and one of us will be reminiscent to him.

I'm pretty sure that's how the notorious Tommy Thayer had to reteach Ace his licks story was all about.
I have seen Ace an abundant times live and I know he isn't a guitar flop. He may have had some substance addictions in the past (and problem still does) but he rocks and he likes to do his own thing....hence Kiss.
He in recent times had dinner with Gene Simmons (so it sounds like that there is no real ill will in the KISS family).
A lot of the media likes to take the negligible of things and extend it out to make it sound like it was something dreadful. I have a feeling Ace Frehley is proficient of playing his own licks just required a reminder that day.
Remember thirteen some years is a long time to remember something note for note. And Tommy Thayer was fresh off the KISS Tribute band thing playing ACE. Which later landed him a role as ACE. (I know that sounds strange but true).
Tommy Thayer is a good guitar player but he isn’t Ace. I love the most recent KISS album with Tommy on it and I have learned to like all of the Kiss guitar players that came in after Ace. Ace just likes to do his own thing but I’m pretty sure we have not seen the last of Ace with Kiss with some of the rumors I have read/heard.

[MIB41]

I'm buying the book this weekend and will see how it reads for myself. I enjoy reading positive reviews and I liked Jim's thoughts on the book. I think everyone has an opinion when it comes to KISS. And because of that, your going to get out of this book, pretty much what you bring to it. If your expectations are lofty, then I suspect you will be disappointed. Too many people go into these books looking for a confessional. They expect these public figures to lower their heads and say, "I screwed up and I'm sorry. Oh but here's the dirt so you can judge me anyway." It's very easy to sit back and cherry pick the lives of people we don't know and say, "I would have done that differently." But the truth is as much as we would like to think we know these people, we don't. I met Gene Simmons and he was NOTHING like the guy I saw on TV, be it in KISS or the reality show. He was very soft spoken, respectful, and thoughtful. But his ego was nonexistent. He also struck me as being somewhat timid. He seems nervous in crowds. But turn those cameras on and he creates a character for television that wasn't there moments ago. So when I see Gene on TV, I see "product". I don't see the real man in KISS anymore than I see the real man on Family Jewels. It's a character he plays and that's what we see.

Ace is an enigma as well. He's colorful and a little whacky. But that doesn't mean I can speak for his life or career. As a fan I have my opinions and I have expressed those here. But I don't think you'll get any two people to agree on every aspect of a book concerning his life. It's very subjective. So, in my eyes, I think it would be more interesting to read the book and just share what you got out of it, rather than comparing notes and grading another person's thoughts. Every opinion counts in some measure because we're all fans. Just my two cents.

[jimsmegos]

I look forward to your take Tom. I think you'll be surprised when you read Ace's on Gene considering your account.

[Dark Shadow]

Having seen KISS live without Paul Stanley and witnessing Tommy Thayer step up & bust his butt to actually carry the rest of the band through that show, I have to say that downplaying his contribution & capabilities is really quite unfair.

[jimsmegos]

I'm not saying that what both Tommy Thayer ot Eric Singer bring to the stage isn't worthy of applause but they aren't innovators like the previous lineups (this of course includes, Eric Carr, Vinnie Vincent, Mark St. John and ESPECIALLY Bruce Kulick).

[Dark Shadow]

Is it your opinion that Tommy & Eric are incapable of being innovative, or could it be that they are simply not permitted the opportunity to bring anything extraordinarily new to the table?

How innovative were Ace & Pete between 1996 & 2002/2003? Seems to me that Eric & Tommy are held by the same restraints that Ace & Pete were during the reunion period. If that's the case, is it fair to hold Tommy & Eric to a higher standard or expectation than Ace & Pete (post reunion)?

Kulick's largest innovative contribution was his virtual free reign efforts on the album Carnival of Souls, the only album in KISS's history which decidedly wallows in despair & misery instead of offering an optimistic celebration of life. Innovation does not always lead to a better product.

[jimsmegos]

Is it your opinion that Tommy & Eric are incapable of being innovative, or could it be that they are simply not permitted the opportunity to bring anything extraordinarily new to the table?

Not allowed... In my previous comments I'm not cracking on their musical abilities at all. KISS is a machine and a brand. And I don't mean that in a bad way. Gene and Paul have developed / evolved / crafted the show in a way that is absolutely guaranteed to please the audience. Nothing wrong with that. Just like a Broadway production. But that's not a live rock show IMO.

My point when it comes to the specialness of the original 4 is that without their ground work this tried and true presentation wouldn't exist. When it comes to the band as a whole sure I have my favorites but when it comes to the band as a unit I don't let those personality favoritism's influence my judgement on the music. Example's:

the Vinnie Vincent years did nothing for me. This first incarnation of the band post Ace seemed as if they had lost their sound but working hard to find it. They just never did.

The Crazy Night's show was the most boring thing I have ever seen.

Hot in the Shade however made up for the aforementioned one. KISS was really in their groove. Eric Carr was also amazing during his solo.

The reunion tour was great. First time I got to see the four together live. The bad part for me however was that I had seen and heard this show a hundreds of times on video, television etc... I understand that's just what it is but outside of the nostalgia aspect there was nothing super special about it. Mind you I did party my posterior off that night, I just didn't watch the show that much.

The Psycho Circus stuff was a good attempt at trying to build off of the 70's superhero aspect of the band but IMO it fell flat.

Since then I haven't heard anything new. It may be out there but I'm not aware of it.

So to set the record straight, I think Tommy and Eric could infuse some life into KISS but I don't think Paul or Gene have any desire to do so ot need to. The fans don't seem to mind so who can blame them?

[MIB41]

From my perspective, KISS is more about brand, and less about band these days. Let's be honest. We're talking about Paul and Gene approaching 60 years of age and singing tunes about Rock n' Rolling all "nite". The old tag lines are still there, but the life styles are more as domesticated family men and less about partying. You see the logo on candy, cups, toys, and the band in ads for Pepsi and Walmart. Their manager, Doc Mcgee, makes "events" out of the band performing at local carnivals and playing live on boat cruises. So I think the old days of KISS being tied to album sales and big tours to define their validity are behind them.

Their last album, Sonic Boom (a Walmart exclusive), is one of their worst selling studio records of all time. Even below the infamous Elder in album sales, posting less than 500,000 copies, meaning it didn't even receive gold certification. Now to listen to the band talk, you might think it did pretty good. They even released a TERRIBLE commercial promoting both Walmart and the record. The album debuted at number two on a very slow week for new releases. That is the highest charting record they have ever had. But it also dropped out of the top 200 in a month's time, making it one of their biggest flops as well. Eric and Tommy played on that record and even sang lead vocals, which were fine, but nothing notable.

As musicians, Tommy and Eric are quite good. Eric Singer has an illustrious past, building his reputation initially with Alice Cooper, long before KISS came along. Tommy does not share similar roots, but has been a reputable session player for a long time. He's good. But watching him play Ace's guitar riffs certainly reveals a difference in style that does not serve those songs well. That doesn't mean he isn't good or doesn't possess his own strengths that Ace doesn't have. He just doesn't possess the same "feel" for those notes as Ace does when he plays them. But I'm also sure he is playing those notes as instructed by Paul and Gene. Make no mistake. So Dark Shadow is most certainly correct in pointing out, they are limited in their roles. More of a reason to go back to my original point that KISS is more a 'brand' than 'band' these days.

I think you just have to enjoy them for what they are. But more importantly what they use to be. Because let's face it. When Paul has to put on a wig and as much make up as I would to play the role, you know it's time to start thinking about retirement. And to my last point... that makeup does not cover their age anymore. Paul and Gene both look like elder statesmen in their gear these days, which carries it's own shock value. But for different reasons than the 70's.

[Mongoose1983]

I'm a huge KISS fan, and I appreciate all of past the members. They're like family to me. I just wanted to point something out that I can see you're not addressing with the perspectives that have been presented here in this thread. These guys, Ace, Gene, Peter, Paul, are all in their 60's. I can not understand why some of you expect them to sound, act, and perform as good as when they were in their mid 20's. I mean, none of us are any better as we got old, physically, mentally, etc. Think of music as sports. Jimmy Connors is probably the best tennis player of all time, but by the end of the 80's he stopped playing his usual level. That, my friends, is getting old. Just like that. Think of any other band of the very good old days. Are they having huge hits, rocking onstage, or having the same energy or vibes of the 70's? Saying this, and acknowledging I will always love everything these guys do, I enjoy their music and shows, and try to keep things in perspective.

You all have a good Thursday, and keep rocking with KISS, the hottest band in the land!!!

[huedell]

I'm not saying that what both Tommy Thayer ot Eric Singer bring to the stage isn't worthy of applause but they aren't innovators like the previous lineups (this of course includes, Eric Carr, Vinnie Vincent, Mark St. John and ESPECIALLY Bruce Kulick).

I find this perspective odd, considering Vinnie Vincent's songwriting
involvement and playing represent the most successful post-makeup
KISS material, and thus defines KISS after the departure of Ace and Peter.
... pretty innovative acievements.

Eric didn't write as much as Vinnie, but was a member for essentially
all the non-makeup era and defined a modern hard rock drum sound
for a harder rock era than Peter's KISS tenure.... the definition of innovative
in some respects.

Kulick was a lead guitarist in KISS... for a long time... and STILL
couldn't bring a notable presence to the table until the Revenge-era...
whether he was allowed to or not throughout...well, that's debatable.

[MIB41]

I'm a huge KISS fan, and I appreciate all of past the members. They're like family to me. I just wanted to point something out that I can see you're not addressing with the perspectives that have been presented here in this thread. These guys, Ace, Gene, Peter, Paul, are all in their 60's. I can not understand why some of you expect them to sound, act, and perform as good as when they were in their mid 20's. I mean, none of us are any better as we got old, physically, mentally, etc. Think of music as sports. Jimmy Connors is probably the best tennis player of all time, but by the end of the 80's he stopped playing his usual level. That, my friends, is getting old. Just like that. Think of any other band of the very good old days. Are they having huge hits, rocking onstage, or having the same energy or vibes of the 70's? Saying this, and acknowledging I will always love everything these guys do, I enjoy their music and shows, and try to keep things in perspective.

You all have a good Thursday, and keep rocking with KISS, the hottest band in the land!!!

I guess the question has to be asked here. What is the expectation? And how far do you let it go? At this stage, I think they sell better out of makeup than in it. For better or worse, the makeup is a gimmick. So when does the esthetic lose it's luster? Are you seeing it as it is or through fan glasses? Because I've been a fan since the 70's and attended KISS concerts in every era. But I would not pay a dime to see them today. Gene is fat. Stanley has lost his voice and is wearing a BAD wig. And I've seen better impersonators of Ace and Peter in KISS cover bands. So what is the draw? How can I, as a long time fan, justify good money for an experience that can not remotely match past performances from just ten years ago? Do you realize they are charging $1,400.00 just to meet them now? That's insane! I've met most of these guys during their best years and never paid a dime for the experience. So they are really sticking it to fans who close their eyes and follow the same old sales pitch. I think my skepticism is pretty realistic and grounded.

Paul McCartney could get the sons from his deceased band members and tour as the Beatles. Does that mean it's the Beatles? No. I liked everything KISS did up to Psycho Circus. Personally I think they should have retired as sold on the Farewell Tour. It was the original band, they looked and played well, and gave a memorable performance. It would have been an ideal exit for them. So, from my perspective, if you still want to see them in whatever guise they sell themselves in, that's great. But to the band I would say this... "Please don't ask the remaining loyal followers to pay more than what you can give back." Because in my eyes they have finally become what their critics have said for decades. A washed up act hiding behind costumes. To that end, I now have to agree. Don't get up on stage, if you can't do it anymore. In my eyes, KISS is gone. And seeing this incarnation is painfully embarrassing. I'm not blaming Paul Stanley for being 60 and still wanting to do it. The question is, SHOULD he be doing it and charging a big ticket price for fans to watch a reduced performance? There's a reason why they can't play in big arenas anymore. And there's a reason why they now have to pair up with the Crue just play in Amphitheaters. So their market share is pretty limited. And as a fan this is not the way I envisioned them going out. It's very sad.

[GlobalObserver]

As far as I'm concerned, KISS is little more than a tribute band/corporate branding machine nowadays.

I pretty much lost all respect for Paul and Gene when they started dressing up Tommy and Eric as Ace and Peter. For me, that was the final straw.

I listen to the new RUSH album, and it's Amazing. Those guys have been around for as long as KISS, yet they continue to make awe-inspiring music. I've listened to Clockwork Angels at least a dozen times in the past couple of days, and it's absolutely brilliant.

I still treasure my childhood memories of KISS. I became a fan during the summer of 1976. Those guys were Gods to me back then, but for the past three decades, Gene & Paul have done everything in their power to diminish that legacy by becoming everything that their detractors always said they were.

It didn't have to be that way. By their own design, Gene and Paul pimped away every ounce of integrity that they once had. It's a shame.