For Ace Frehley, lead guitarist, backing vocalist and occasional song writer, this opportunity gave him the chance to show the fans – and perhaps even his band mates – what he was capable of producing. He recruited Anton Fig as his drummer, and Eddie Kramer to help him produce the album. Ace himself played all of the lead and rhythm guitars, along with some bass and synth. More importantly, he provided all of the lead vocals for the album, which was a big thing for him at the time. Ace had provided some lead vocals on Kiss songs but was generally a reluctant vocalist. On this album he would be stepping into new territory, which must have been a big step for him. He also wrote the majority of the tracks himself, with a couple being collaborations and one cover song. Of all of the four, it always felt as though it was Ace’s album that would have the most to show and the most to prove. In many ways this is how it panned out.
“Rip it Out” is a great opening track, with Ace getting out on the front foot and producing the kind of uptempo songs that his main band is renowned for. Driven by a great drum beat that becomes an important element of the whole album, Ace sings lustily and adds a great typical solo that tops off a great song. “Speedin’ back to My Baby” continues down this path, and again showcases Ace’s great guitaring but also his lead vocal work. His vocals here are just as good and is another great hard rock track to set the tone for the album early on. “Snow Blind” comes out at a slower tempo but based on the same principle of steady vocals and great solo through the middle to remind you just whose album this is. “Ozone” falls into the trap of finding a riff and repeating it over and over again, making the song a tad drab and predictable without a hook to grab on to. This is followed by “What’s on Your Mind?” which is the first song here that really has any pretence to sound like a song from Ace’s main band, with a similar structure and backing vocal singalong pieces, all of which actually works better than you might expect.
The opening song of the second side is a cover of a song by a band called Hello, an English glam rock band. The song is called “New York Groove” and was actually written by the grand old hitmaker himself, Russ Ballard, who has written dozens of hard rock anthems for bands all around the world. The style of the song is immediately different to those that come before it on the album as a result. This was chosen as the only song released as a single from the album, which to me was a strange choice considering the other songs here actually penned by Ace, but perhaps they decided that the Russ Ballard magic might rub off on it. And indeed they were right, as the songs reached #13 on the US singles charts.
“I’m in Need of Love” again mixes the slower, almost soul-like opening of the track with the burst of energy and power once Ace breaks into the solo slot in the middle of the song, which electrifies for a moment before dropping back to the opening tempo to round out the track. “Wiped-Out” has a contemporary rock them about it, while the album closes out with the longest song on the album, the instrumental “Fractured Mirror”. Now, to be honest, this is an interesting track, and one Ace can do because it is his album, and not a Kiss album. There’s a nice build and rise throughout the song and it is a satisfying way to end the album. But... I just wonder... is it the longest track because they need to fill up the time for the album? And was Ace sick f singing or coming up with lyrics, and this becomes the best way to achieve all of that? Unlikely, as the style of the track does not allow itself lyrical space. Whatever the reason, it does finish the album on a high note.
Despite my enjoyment of Kiss, I did not hear any of these four solo albums until about 20 years ago. I just felt no compunction to go and find them and listen to them. I didn’t know anyone who owned them, so it wasn’t until the years of downloading that I decided to get around to checking them out.
There’s no doubt that this was the one that caught my ear the most. What I like most about it is that it sticks to the ideals that Kiss had performed in their years since inception. The songs stick to that hard rock base, and Ace provides what he does best, his lead guitar work on this album is terrific and generally the best part of each song. The songs are catchy enough, and I think in a live environment would probably improve. Most of all, Ace’s vocals are listenable and stay within his range on all the tracks.
20 years ago I found this to be listenable without anything encouraging me to listen to it more than I did. Over the past few days revisiting this and the other three solo albums, this for me is the standout, which may not be saying much. But I have found myself singing along, enjoying when the songs break out into the guitar riffs, and not cringing against what Ace has produced. It may not be a ‘banger’, as the kids of today like to say, but as a solid hard rock album you could do worse than check it out.
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