Ace Frehley's new solo effort cracks Billboard's top ten on debut!

[Dark Shadow]

Had I read the blurb pasted on the CD before I bought it, I probably wouldn't have bothered. "...Space Ace has out KISSed KISS. This may end up being the best KISS album KISS never recorded." Seems as desperate and pathetic to me as the old & tired "This is the best album we've done since Destroyer" schtick.

Listened to it twice through, and I'm not impressed. While some of the guitar work caught my ear, most of it seems repetitive to me...and the vocals? Ugh

To be fair though, I've never really appreciated Ace's vocal work. I like his voice on Rocket Ride, it works really well there, and I like it on a select few others like Rip It Out & Hard Times for example. Overall, not one song on this new album "grabs" me and makes me want to go back & hear it again.

While this CD does seem a touch more genuine than the synthetic Anomaly did, I'd still prefer to see what Ace can actually pull off live. Crafting an album with all the high tech wizardry at your disposal over the course of several years at your leisure is one thing, commanding the stage is something else altogether. For all the criticizing, complaining and self-promoting he's accomplished over the past 13 years or so, I'd like to see him actually get up on stage and pull off a series of shows, even if it's only in some really small clubs. That's what interests me.

For me, Ace was at his best when he played live and didn't give a damn about the microphone or what was happening around him. Way back when he would completely lose himself in his guitar and very rarely "check in" to take notice of everybody else around him. That is what defined Ace Frehley to me. That is what made him interesting and unique. Once he started chasing the spotlight he slowly began to lose that charm.

I'm not an Ace Fan. I'm not a Paul Fan. I'm not a Gene Fan. I'm not a Pete Fan. I'm not a Vinnie/Eric/Mark/Bruce/Eric/Tommy Fan. I'm a KISS fan. I've been on board since November 1975, through all the peaks and valleys, and I don't sing praises when I don't feel any are due.

I didn't hail Destroyer, Alive II, Double Platinum, any of the Solos (original or later attempts), Dynasty, Unmasked, The Elder, Crazy Nights, Hot In The Shade, Revenge, Alive III, Psycho Circus, Carnival of Souls, Sonic Boom or Monster as great works of art when they each arrived on the scene. Within most of those efforts, I did however, find several fun tunes that I considered "keepers". Once in a great while, I will listen to some of those albums from start to finish, generally though I go with my playlist faves.

Needless to say, nothing from this album (as with A$$hole, Frehley's Comet, Trouble Walkin', Anomaly, Out Of Control, Let Me Rock You, Cat #1, One For All) will make it into any of my playlists. (Only two from Live To Win have made the cut).

Sorry Ace...if you want to invade my ears...you'll have to hit the road.

[firestarcomics]

Its ALL true!!!!!!!!!!! My record store where I work already SOLD OUT of Aces new album in less than a week after its release! I CANNOT say that about Sonic Boom or MONSTER which we could NOT sell. KISS' new albums are pretty awful and corny, fans are coming an buying Ace's past and new works which is great because its TRUE that Ace THE REAL AND ONLY Spaceman has OUT KISSED KISS themselves! Great reviews by a guy that Paul and Gene trash so much an yet is MORE KISS than KISS is today or have been in the last 14 years since the end of the real KISS.....Congrats to Ace and the fans for the success and love! Better luck to Gene and Paul on their tour and future music.

[firestarcomics]

KISS today is a ghost of an old memory gone sour. Ace has OUT KISSED KISS this time and the record sales and reviews have shown that. We are getting our second orders of his album soon since we sol out. Great stuff because we could NOT give away Monster by KISS away and we only sold 2 copies to date on that compared to Ace's solo album,Anomaly and Space Invader on its second order now....great stuff

[Figuremod73]

http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/08/showbiz/music/rock-is-dead-gene-simmons-esquire/index.html?hpt=hp_c4

Is Gene upset by this albums success?

[WannabeMego]

[Werewolf]

http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/08/showbi...html?hpt=hp_c4

Is Gene upset by this albums success?

It's a completely unrelated article. He was criticising the music industry for not supporting and promoting artists that write their own songs and the digital downloading and file sharing of music.

His son interviewed him for the article and summed it up this way.

"But this is not that old story of an out-of-touch one-percenter crying victim. As so many pointed out during the now-infamous Napster public relations war, the rich/famous/established musicians are not the victims of the digital revolution. My father instead laments the loss of opportunity for my generation, those who have begun to sense that it may no longer simply be a matter of dusting our hands, learning a skill, and putting in the time. There is a system that is broken for those of us who love songwriting, instruments, and all the soul of the analog, and it is now working against us — unless we conform. Unless we decide to stick, safely, to pop, and let gray men in a boardroom write our songs for us, dress us, and sell us from somewhere in the shadows.

The death of rock music came, as we all feared, not as a bright, burning explosion, but as a candle that slowly faded away—and in my father's view, we are all at fault, for slowly leeching its fire without giving back any of our own."

[Werewolf]

That was actually pretty rough. Not one of his better live performances.