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) 1987
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' "Revenge." 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) 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! |
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Frehley's Comet - Live + 4 (Altantic) 1988 1. "Rip It Out" "Live + 4" is basically the same live material as "Live +1" with some additional video clips. Tracks 01 - 06 are live, recorded at the Hammersmith Odeon, London, England on March 19, 1988. Tracks 07 - 10 are the concept video releases. The live material is stellar! This VHS gets my vote as the one release that needs to be re-released on DVD. |
Frehley's Comet-Second Sighting (Megaforce) 1988
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 - 12 Picks (Megaforce) 1997
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1. "Into the
Night" (4:11)
1. "One Plus
One" (3:26) |
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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 Frehley - Greatest Hits Live (Megaforce) 2006
| 1. "Rip
It Out" [live] (3:42) 2. "Breakout" [live] (3:29) 3. "Cold Gin" [live] (6:48) 4. "Shock Me/Ace guitar solo" [live] (9:43) 5. "Rocket Ride" [live] (4:55) 6. "Deuce" [live] (4:20) 7. "Strangers In A Strange Land" [live] (4:10) 8. "Separate" [live] (4:58) 9. "N.Y. Groove" [live] (4:54) 10. "Rock Soilders" [live] (7:23) 11. "One Plus One" (3:25) 12. "Give It To Me Anyway" (4:18) |
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I have sort of mixed feelings about this disc. One the one hand, it is well known that Ace had nothing to do with this CD making it is painfully obvious that "Greatest Hits Live" is nothing more the the record company bilking more money out of the Kiss/Ace Frehley legacy. Certainly, there is no denying this, especially since all these live tracks were previously released on "12 Picks" and "Loaded Deck". I mean, c'mon, they surely have other live tracks around that they could have included. The very least they could have done was added an unreleased track, or an additional live track or something. Shoot, they could have at least included "Something Moved" from "Live +1". However, all the complaining aside, I still bought this release, right? So there must have been something about it I liked. Well, it is cool to have all these live tracks together on one disc. This collection of songs indeed does represents some of Ace's best work during the period after his highly publicized departure from the hottest band in the world. Certainly Ace is at home on the stage, and that comes across well on this recording. The majority of these live tracks were recorded in London, although "Strangers in A Strange Land" and "Rock Soldiers" were recorded in Chicago, IL. Thankfully the record company did see fit to make the songs flow together as if it were one complete show without any gaps between songs. The last two tracks are studio b-sides that were also released on "Loaded Deck", both of which are prime Ace. Both songs were produced by infamous producer Eddie Kramer. To entice collectors the record company did include a limited edition 3D cover.
Ace Frehley-The Warehouse (CD-R bootleg)
Recorded live at the Warehouse, Brooklyn, NY Feb.,
23, 1990
1. "Shot Full of Rock"
(5:07)
2, "Trouble Walkin'" (3:10)
3. "Insane" (5:01)
4. "Cold Gin"(6:51)
5. "Breakout" (3:31)
6. "New York Groove" (5:04)
7. "Rock Soldiers' (7:04)
8. "Lost In Limbo" (4:47)
9. "Do Ya" (3:59)
Excellent show from Ace's home stomping grounds. Sound quality is not perfect, but certainly not bad either. Sounds like this may have been a radio broadcast due to the condensed sound. Probably not the entire show either, but regardless a good disc with a good selection of tracks.
Ace Frehley - The Other Side of the Coin (Megaforce/00286-1997-1) 1997
| 1.
"Sister" (4:25) 2. "Don't Wan Loose You" (3:27) 3. "Take Me to the City" (3:22) 4. "Dancin' With Danger" (3:46) 5. "Into the Night" (4:05) 6. "Heard An Angel" (3:12) 7. "Back on the Streets" (5:39) 8. "Stranger in a Strange Land" (3:57) 9. "Dolls" (2:56) 10. "Back Into My Arms" (4:51) 11. "We Got Your Rock" (3:42) 12. "I'm So Wired" (3:38) 13. "Catch Me When I Fall" (3:54) 14. "The Girl Can't Dance" (3:13) 15. "Remember Me" (3:23) 16. "Words Are Not Enough" (3:49) |
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Sixteen Ace demos! Wooohoo! What more could an Ace fan ask for? Several of these demo tracks have been re-recorded for various Frehley's Comet albums, and one track ("Back on the Streets") showed up on Vinnie Vincent's first solo record. Not sure what the deal is with Ace recording a Vinnie Vincent track, but it's still quite cool to hear. Also unsure of who exactly put this CD out. It is a mass produced CD, not a CDR. According to what is printed on the disc and inserts, this CD is a promo CD put out by Megaforce Records. For some reason I doubt that and am more inclinded to think this is a bootleg, albeit a nice one. Ace rules! A big huge mega-thanks to my friend Kurt from Norway for giving me this gem.
...let me answer some of the KISS related questions you have on your site - the deal with Ace recording Back On The Streets is that at the time Frehley's Comet started doing that song (in '85), they, as well as Vinnie, were managed by the same person (former KISS road manager George Sewitt), who suggested that FC record the song. It was finally released in a newly-recorded version by the "Comet Band" (which included former members of Frehley's Comet including Ritchie Scarlett and John Regan) on the "Return Of The Comet," an Ace Frehley tribute album in the late 90s.
Ace Frehley - Rare & Raw (CD-R)
1. "The Hurt is On"
(4:11)
2. "Give It To Me Anyway" [demo] (5:26)
3. "Animal" (4:14)
4. "Breakout" [demo] (3:37)
5. "Baby It's You" (3:20)
6. "Rock or Be Rocked" (3:31)
7. "Deuce" [demo] (3:22)
8. "Strutter [demo] (4:59)
9. "Cold Gin" [demo] (5:12)
10. "Watchin' You" [demo] (3:52)
11. "Black Diamond" [demo] (3:48)
12. "In Your Face" (3:35)
A disc of odds 'n' sods Ace material. The first six tracks are various Ace demos, several of which never made it to any official release. Tracks 7 - 11 are old Kiss demos. "In Your Face" is a song that was recorded for the Psycho Circus album but wasn't released on that album. It was, however, releaased on a CD single that came with the Psycho Circus in 3-D video.
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) 1988
Ace Frehley-Trouble
Walkin'
(Atlantic) 1989
