Frehley's Comet is the band Ace formed after leaving Kiss in 1982. At the time I was a huge Kiss fan, and Ace had always been my favorite Kiss member, so I followed everything he did. Ace Rules!
Ace Frehley-Frehley's Comet (Megaforce)
1. "Rock Soldiers" (5:05)
2. "Breakout" (3:38)
3. "Into the Night" (4:12)
4. "Something Moved" (4:02)
5. "We Got Your Rock" (4:12)
6. "Love Me Right" (3:54)
7. "Calling to You" (3:54)
8. "Dolls" (3:28)
9. "Stranger in a Strange Land" (4:02)
10. "Fractured Too" -instrumental (4:14)
Ace sobers up, gets some new band members and begins to crank again. I remember hearing bootlegs of the Comet live before this album even came out, and it sounded good. Once the album was out, I had to rush out and buy it. Ace sings on about half the songs with his "can't sing/ don't care" vocal style. The other half are sung by Tod Howarth who has the perfect melodic rock voice for the 80's, when this came out. "Rock Soldiers" is a biographical song and one of the best songs Ace has ever written. "Rock soldiers, how do we know? 'Cause Ace is back and he told you so!" Great song! "Breakout" was a song co-written by Ace and former Kiss bandmate Eric Carr. The drum work on this song, handled by Anton Fig, is outstanding. It's too bad Eric never was able to play on a finished version of this song, as this would have been his "Moby Dick." A demo version of this song with Eric on drums appears on Kiss' "Hot in the Shade." Of course "Fractured Too" is part two of the instrumental that originally appeared on Kiss' "Ace Frehley." As on the Kiss solo album, Eddie Kramer was once again behind the board turning the knobs. Ace Rules!
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1. "Rip It Out"
-live (4:34) |
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After the release of the debut Frehley's Comet, Ace and his band took off for the road opening for shock-rocker Alice Cooper. To hold fans over until the next studio album Megaforce released "Live +1." The live tracks were recorded at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago on September 4, 1987. The remaining track ("Words Are Not Enough." ) was a studio leftover from the debut session. Ace showed with this live ep that he had the same, if not better, stage energy than his ex-band Kiss. "Breakout" contains an Anton Fig drum solo. Ace Rules!
Frehley's Comet-Second Sighting (Megaforce)
1. "Insane" (3:45)
2. "Time Ain't Runnin' Out" (3:52)
3. "Dancin' with Danger" (3:25)
4. "It's over Now" (4:39)
5. "Loser in a Fight" (4:33)
6. "Juvenile Delinquent" (5:13)
7. "Fallen Angel" (3:44)
8. "Separate" (4:56)
9. "New Kind of Lover" (3:14)
10. "The Acorn Is Spinning" -instrumental (4:50)
Frehley's Comet's second full length album is more keyboard saturated than his first album. Still the songs are catchy and contain Ace's signature sound. "Time Ain't Runnin' Out" is an 80's pop metal song that has strong hooks and an impressive range in the vocals. A few tracks are reminiscent of Ace's expected heavier sound: "Insane," "Juvenile Delinquent," and "Separate." Ace Rules!
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1. "Shot
Full of Rock" (4:47) |
 Ace on the cover of GUITAR WORLD with Dimebag Darrell and Snake Sabo |
Hmm, guess the record executives won as the Comet name had been dropped for this "solo" album, although long time Comet bandmates Anton Fig, John Reagan and Ace's favorite producer Eddie Kramer were still on hand. The third studio effort by Ace is his best thus far, with the possible exception of Ace's Kiss solo album. Definitely superior to Kiss' " Hot in the Shade" which was released around the same time. The funny thing is that Ace covered Paul Stanley's "Hide Your Heart" on this disc and actually did a better job of it than Paul himself. (Molly Hatchet also did an awful version of this song.) Ace's cover of ELO's "Do Ya" is excellent as well. Peter Criss makes a guest appearance on this disc, raising hopes that KISS would reform with all original members, which of course they did in 1995 for the MTV Unplugged session. Of course before that would happen Peter's band Criss and the Comet would do a short club tour together. I missed that one. I'm still bummed. Also on hand, probably hanging around the studio slobbering on Ace's Les Paul were the Skid Row gang. Ace Rules!
Ace Frehley/Frehley's Comet-12 Picks (Megaforce)
1. "Into the Night" (4:11)
2. "Words Are Not Enough" (3:25)
3. "Insane" (3:47)
4. "Hide Your Heart" (4:36)
5. "Trouble Walkin'" (3:08)
6. "Rock Soldiers" (5:03)
7. "Rip It Out" -live (3:42)
8. "Breakout" -live (3:30)
9. "Cold Gin" -live (6:48)
10. "Shock Me" -live (9:43)
11. "Rocket Ride" -live (4:55)
12. "Deuce" -live (4:48)
Ace Frehley/Frehley's Comet-Loaded Deck (Megaforce)
1. "One Plus One" (3:26)
2, "Give It To Me Anyway" (4:17)
3. "Do Ya" (3:48)
4. "It's Over Now" (4:42)
5. "Shot Full Of Rock" (4:47)
6. "Stranger in a Strange Land" -live (4:30)
7. "Separate" -live (4:58)
8. "N.Y. Groove" -live (4:54)
9. "Rock Soldiers" -live (7:23)
10. "Remember Me" -live (4:55)
11. "Fractured Too"-instrumental (4:10)
12. "Fractured III" -instrumental (6:40)
In an attempt to cash in on all things Kiss-able, Megaforce put out these two "best of" discs that just happened to coincide with the very successful Kiss reunion tour. Hmmm, coincidence? I think not! Both feature some rare studio and live material as well as the "hits." (did Ace have a hit?) The original pressings also came with an Ace guitar pick. Well, being the Ace-ophile I am, I had to own these two discs. The live material is superb Ace Frehley--Ace never failed to give a good show. I am of the belief that ACE is at his best live where he can let it fly. I wish Megaforce had put all the live material on one disc as it would have been nice to hear it as a complete show. "Shock Me" contains Ace's signature smoking (literally) guitar solo. The two unreleased tracks ("One Plus One" & "Give It To Me Anyway") are not bad, but were obviously left off the original studio discs for a reason; they weren't as solid as the other songs. In any case, well worth picking up, especially if you are a Kiss-oholic like myself. Cool notes by Comet bandmate John Reagan. One bit of info that peaked my interest was the words. "Comets have a way of returning." After Kiss' "Farwell Tour," bring it on! Ace Rules!
Oh, and to those greedy record executives who attempted to cash in on Ace's return to popularity with Kiss, well, good job, you got my hard earned cash. Ace also has a song on the "Smell the Fuzz" compilation called "Cherokee Boogie."
Ace was also the subject of a tribute called "Spacewalk-A Salute to Ace Frehley."
Did I mention ACE RULES?
Frehley's Comet-Live +1 (Megaforce)
Ace Frehley-Trouble Walkin'
(Atlantic)