ACE FREHLEY-Spaceman

SPV/eOne

Although I have never been a “real” die-hard KISS fan, I still regularly listen to classic rock albums like ‘Kiss Alive’ (their best album ever) or ‘Hotter Than Hell’. However I have always followed the solo career of original KISS guitar player Ace Frehley, as he has made a couple of great albums like e.g. ‘Ace Frehley’ (1978) or ‘Frehley’s Comet’ (1987)! Now, Ace, better known as the spaceman (his nickname during his KISS period), releases his 8^th solo album, with the rather obvious title ‘Spaceman’. Ace’s new album contains 9 new tracks of which on two (,,Without You I’m Nothing” and ,,Your Wish Is My Command”) you can hear the pounding bass guitar of Gene Simmons. Both songs were recorded at Frehley’s home studio in Santa Fe and Frehley co-wrote ,,Without You I’m Nothing” with his old KISS “pal” Simmons. Frehley saves the best for last, as the final three songs of ‘Spaceman’ are without any doubt the cream of the crop on this album. ,,Mission To Mars” is a great up tempo hard rock track, featuring a typical Ace Frehley guitar riff and a ferocious solo. ,,Off My Back” is a mid-tempo catchy rocker with great lyrics about Frehley’s past and again a magical guitar solo in the middle of the song. ‘Spaceman’ ends in style with the longest track, the instrumental gem ,,Quantum Flux’’, kicking off with an acoustic guitar intro, followed by progressive guitar rock per excellence and in this song Ace really shines. It is a shame that the first tracks are not really of the same quality as these last three “masterpieces”, otherwise this album would have really been his best post KISS album ever. Especially the too cheesy song ,,Rockin’ With The Boys” is definitely too simple for Ace and a true disappointment on this more than excellent rock album; play it loud, of course, is my last advice!!!