The Best Ace Frehley Album Is an Underloved KISS Experiment
The guitarist and founding member of the famous band KISS, Ace Frehley, has died at 74, following complications from a fall. While his surviving family and fans, and former bandmates mourn him, it's natural that rock fans everywhere are turning to old KISS albums for comfort and nostalgia.
Along with Paul Stantley, Peter Criss, and Gene Simmons, Frehley (who was a part of KISS from 1973-1982) was one of the four founding members. So, if you listen to the famous song "Rock and Roll All Nite," you'll likely hear Frehley ripping. But, if you really want to revisit the underrated sonic coolness of Frehley, it's argued that some of his best music didn't even come out during his time with the band.
For hardcore KISS heads, the answer to the question: "What is the best Ace Frehley album?" is easy. For everyone else, this little-known album might be a revelation. The best representation of Frehley's talent, coolness, and weirdness is almost certainly his 1978 solo album, Ace Frehley.
In 1978, KISS didn't break up, but instead used the concept of solo albums to artificially boost sales. The gambit was simple: Because KISS was so popular, if each member released their own solo album at the same time, they would get four times the amount of normal album sales, right? Even though the albums performed well enough (about 700,000 albums sold each), the project wasn't the massive success the band hoped it would be.
It did, however, give us Frehley's Ace Frehley solo album, which remains, to this day, pretty amazing. As famed critic Chuck Klosterman wrote in his 2005 book Killing Yourself to Live, "Frehley's solo effort is exceptional," adding later that the track "New York Groove" is an utterly unique track. Klosterman's bold claim about this album is that "under the right circumstances, disco metal can make you cry."
"New York Groove" is a great microcosm of what makes Ace Frehley such a cool solo album, because it doesn't really sound much like any other KISS song, and yet, it does convey Frehley's unique talents. Like a lot of KISS songs, it feels like your own personal soundtrack, something you put on when you're driving and in a great mood, or walking through a city, full of swagger and purpose. The track that follows "New York Groove" on the album is "I'm in Need of Love," which feels like something out of Robert Palmer's oeuvre (like "Addicted to Love") was performed by a metal band. In short, it's great, catchy, but not super deep or intelligent.
KISS music is often like this: rock songs that rock sort of for the sake of rocking, but tinged with intentional garish over-the-top absurdity. The thing is, though, if you didn't know the songs on Ace Frehley were part of a KISS faux-solo album publicity stunt, you wouldn't have any of that bias or baggage, and, as such, you'd find a solid rock album that shockingly incorporates several genres at once. "Wiped Out" sounds like something Ozzy could have sung. Meanwhile, the stopmer, "Rip It Out," is a classic '70s metal track that also feels like something countless bands tried to imitate later. Is "Rip It Out" the precursor to Blink-182's entire career? Maybe. And, is there any way not to love an album like this, which ends with a beautiful, contemplative instrumental song? When you listen to Frehley's "Fractured Mirror," you'll wonder why it's not the ending song for every single movie, ever.
The larger point is, the album Ace Frehley remains a wonderful celebration of the late musician's unique talents. It sounds crisp, fun, upbeat, and goofy all at the same time. If you're thinking about Ace, and you're wondering which KISS record to spin, this 1978 solo treasure won't disappoint.
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