The Nineties were an all-time peak for guitar bands, and that’s because Nineties bands were full of guitar players who grew up worshipping Ace and the spell he cast in Kiss songs like “Parasite.” It’s the most proto-grunge of Kiss tunes, heavy as a dinosaur but surprisingly fast on its feet.
Ace Frehley preparing to perform with Kiss at Alex Cooley's Electric Ballroom in Atlanta on July 18, 1974Ace Frehley was the spaceman guitar hero at the heart of Kiss. Just a kid from the Bronx, he transformed into an extraterrestrial rock monster with his silver makeup and glittery astronaut boots.
As Space Ace, he was the driving force of Kiss with his heavy riffs, a larger-than-life strutter inspiring countless kids over the decades to pick up the guitar and play along — whoever your favorite bands are, the guitarists probably started out as Ace fans. But he was more than just a classic rock & roll character — his musical legacy is as gigantic as the planet Jendell itself. Here are some of the classic songs that will keep the Ace Frehley legend alive forever.The Nineties were an all-time peak for guitar bands, and that’s because Nineties bands were full of guitar players who grew up worshipping Ace and the spell he cast in Kiss songs like “Parasite.” It’s the most proto-grunge of Kiss tunes, heavy as a dinosaur but surprisingly fast on its feet. It’s a highlight of, the album where Ace really stepped out as a songwriter and lead guitarist , alongside “Strange Ways” and “Comin’ Home.” But the punk thrash of “Parasite” is Ace at his toughest, showing why he got more influential as a guitarist over the years.The first classic that Ace Frehley ever wrote, “Cold Gin” was a highlight of Kiss’ raw 1974 debut album, a tale of drunken debauchery that turned out to be prescient in terms of all the turmoil to come. But Ace didn’t feel quite confident enough to sing it himself, so ironically, the lead vocals were by Gene Simmons, who didn’t touch a drop. Kiss kept playing “Cold Gin” off and on for decades, but the definitive version is onbe some people out there that like to drink tequila!” According to an anonymous source backstage, Paul reports on the popularity of vodka and orange juice. But when he quizzes the Kiss Army on their favorite quencher, the people’s choice is clearly “Cold Gin.”In a sense, Ace Frehley put his life on the line for rock & roll every time Kiss took the stage due to the pyrotechnics that shot out of his guitar, which were somewhat primitive in the band’s early days. Such a disaster nearly came to pass one night in Lakeland, Florida, when he was electrocuted. “I got knocked back, 220 volts,” he later recalled, “and I was knocked out for about five minutes. I had burns on my fingers. I almost bit the bullet.” But the scary incident ended up inspiring the song that had his first lead vocal for the band, as well as one of the best guitar solos on any Kiss song. In Ace’s optimistic reimagining, the painful experience is transformed into a song about sex — the work of a man who made transcending reality his everyday gig.Kiss tried to duplicate the “live”-vibe success of their seminal 1975while also offering fans a handful of studio recordings. The best of them is Ace Frehley’s “Rocket Ride,” a blast of sexual-innuendo rock & roll that played right into the roguish guitarist’s strengths. There’s a monster riff, a shout-along chorus, and an ad-lib for the ages: “Come on, grab ahold of my rocket!” Ace shouts. Subtle, it was notWhen Kiss came up with the idea of releasing four solo records on the same day, not many people involved with the gambit would’ve imagined that Frehley’s would be the most successful — including the other members of Kiss, who condescendingly offered him help with the project. But it ended up being the breakout hit, thanks to Ace’s smash version of “New York Groove,” originally by U.K. glam band Hello. Frehley was skeptical of recording the song when producer Eddy Kramer initially proposed the idea, but he threw himself into it, taking inspiration from his deep knowledge of the then-vibrant Times Square prostitution scene — and he came up with one of the most beloved tunes of the 1970s.Sept. 18, 1978, was perhaps the most Seventies day of the Seventies: The day all four members of Kiss released simultaneous solo albums. But Ace stood head, shoulders, and space boots above his bandmates on this day with his solo album, kicking it off with “Rip It Out.” For the others, “Rip It Out” would have been a standout contender for a hit. On Ace’s album, it got overshadowed by “New York Groove,” but “Rip It Out” is the connoisseur’s pick for solo Ace — he wails about betrayed love, but lets his Gibson do most of the talking.Kiss’ 1979 disco-leaning effort, and its radio hit “I Was Made for Loving You” left some members of the Kiss Army thinking their superheroes had gone soft. But Ace Frehley made sure a gritty rock edge remained in the band’s sound with “Hard Times,” one of threetracks on which he sang lead. He wrote “Hard Times,” too, and it ripples with his Bronx attitude: “We had to fight to be accepted!” he sneers at one point. “The hard times have made me strong.”Ace Frehley left Kiss in 1982 and soon formed Frehley’s Comet. The band released its self-titled debut in 1987. The singles were “Into the Night” and “Rock Soldiers,” the latter recorded with a “guitar army” and inspired by being chased by the police while drunk-driving his DeLorean. But the catchiest thing on the album is “Calling to You,” a fun pop-metal ode to the rock & roll lifestyle. “Some can’t understand/And they’ll only go so far,” he sings. For Ace, too far was always just the starting point.Trouble Walkin’, his second solo album under his own name — his first non-Kiss LPs were as Frehley’s Comet — he included a radio-ready version of Jeff Lynne’s “Do Ya.” Originally cut by the Move and later made a bona fide hit by Lynne’s ELO, the crunchy rock song was the perfect vehicle for Frehley the solo artist, and its video put the guitarist’s face on MTV. Frehley also took the opportunity to make “Do Ya” his own, literally. For the final chorus, he cheekily shouts-out himself: “Do ya, do ya want the Ace?”Anomaly, Ace Frehley leaned hard into his origin story — but not the New York one. Rather, he embraced his fantastical Spaceman persona over songs like the cosmic instrumental “Space Bear” and the on-the-nose rocker “Outer Space.” “It’s like I told you, I came from outer space,” he sings on the latter. “I want to take you away.” The album may have appealed most to hardcore Ace fans, but it succeeded in proving that Frehley still had the chops of a pioneering guitarist. Listen to his extended solo break just after the 2:00 mark and marvel
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Ace Frehley, Kiss Guitarist, Dies at 74Ace Frehley, the original lead guitarist and a founding member of the glam rock band Kiss, has died at the age of 74. Known for his iconic Space Ace persona and guitar pyrotechnics, Frehley's contributions were crucial to Kiss's rise to fame and influence on rock music. His death marks the first among the original four founding members.
Read more »
Ace Frehley, Kiss' original lead guitarist, founding member, diesAce Frehley, the original lead guitarist and founding member of the glam rock band Kiss, who captivated audiences with his elaborate galactic makeup and...
Read more »
Kiss Guitarist Ace Frehley Passes Away, Celebrated by BandmatesGuitarist Ace Frehley, a founding member of the rock band Kiss, has died, prompting tributes from bandmates and reflecting on his legacy. The news comes amidst other celebrity deaths and the discontinuation of a hair growth product's sales, and reports of a legal issue for a US resident.
Read more »
Kiss Guitarist Ace Frehley Passes Away, Celebrated for Rock LegacyGuitarist Ace Frehley, a founding member of the rock band Kiss, has died, prompting tributes from bandmates and reflecting on his significant impact on music. His death occurred in the same week that news broke of the passing of his Father of the Bride co-star Diane Keaton and the video-recording service has stopped sales of its once-revolutionary product. His legacy will live on in the music industry and in the hearts of the KISS Army.
Read more »
Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley ‘devastated’ over KISS bandmate Ace Frehley’s shocking death at 74Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck reunited for the “Kiss of the Spider Woman” premiere in New York City Monday, marking their first public sighting together since finalizing their divorce in January.
Read more »
Gene Simmons, Rush, Tom Morello, More Honor Kiss’ Ace Frehley: ‘My First Guitar Hero’Tributes remembering Kiss' guitarist, Ace Frehley, were shared by his fellow musicians following the spaceman's death on Oct. 16 at 74.
Read more »