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Ace Frehley
& Frehley's Comet
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About the Artist
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Discography: Album
Discography: EP
Discography: Single
Filmography (Film & Television)
Personnel
Photos
Videography
Polar Blair's Thoughts on the Artist
About the
Artist: He was born Paul
Daniel Frehley in 1951. Not only was he the creator of the Space
Ace character in KISS, the KISS logo was also his idea.
In 1978, Ace and the other members of KISS each made a solo album. What shocked everyone is that Ace Frehley had the best-selling album of the four, which easily went platinum within the year. And he had a hit with the song "New York Groove". Again, Paul and Gene and Peter all had solo albums that sounded just like KISS with their own spin on things. But Ace Frehley's solo album was incredibly unique from KISS and very, very good. It's certainly my favorite of the solo albums, although the others had their good parts, too.
In 1982, Ace left KISS. It wasn't under the friendliest of circumstances. For the next five years it would seem as if Ace was musically inactive; at least in recording. In 1987 he came out with his first truly solo album entitled Frehley's Comet. Later that year, Frehley's Comet became the name of the band.
Frehley's Comet sold moderately well, but not as well as it should have. I like KISS, but, in my opinion, this was a better album than anything KISS had made since the 1970s. The follow-ups to Frehley's Comet including the EP Live + 1 and Second Sighting (both from 1988) did worse in sales. After this, Ace decided to drop the moniker Frehley's Comet and just call it Ace Frehley again. The next album, Trouble Walkin' (1989), sold even poorer. Sometimes there's just no accounting for good taste. He made awesome music that just didn't get a lot of press. MORE COMING!
Polar Blair's Thoughts on the Artist: Ace Frehley is a notable musician. Out of all the members of KISS, he was the single best songwriter and certainly the one with the best singing voice. The shame of it was that he hardly got a chance to squeeze in his singing or his songs with KISS, but when he did it was a pretty sharp difference from all the Gene Simmons and/or Paul Stanley stuff. Whereas Gene & Paul sold trendy rock anthems to the young kids, Ace actually played original music that was just flat-out good and timeless.
What held back Frehley's Comet? It might have been the fact that a lot of people didn't recognize the name Ace Frehley as well as they did KISS, but I think the biggest reason is the inclusion of Tod Howarth in the band. I want to make it perfectly clear that I'm not picking on him. He is a good guitarist and singer. But him and Ace seemed to bounce off each other musically. Tod was more into the "hair metal" sound, where Ace was just an everyman hard-rocker. There is a very strong distinction between a song that Ace Frehley writes and a song that Tod Howarth writes. They're too separate and it often sounds like, in a Frehley's Comet album, that there are two different bands. I think Tod Howarth, on his own albums, could sell very great. And Ace Frehley, on his own albums, could sell very great. But the two put together is mixing audiences and not everyone is going to dig a Frehley's Comet album 100%.
Another thing I think held back the group's commercial success is the fact that there were not enough exclusively Ace Frehley-written songs. What was great about the 1978 solo album was that Ace practically wrote the whole thing himself save for a few songs. But with Frehley's Comet he did not have songwriting control. He's such a good songwriter that he doesn't need the great amount of outside writers and co-writers that he had. The only exception to that statement is the Ace Frehley/John Regan compositions; those are often the best things on a Frehley's Comet album. Surprisingly, Ace did not write much with co-frontman Tod Howarth; they were usually pretty separate.
By the time "Trouble Walkin'" came around, I think a lot of people who were disappointed with the Frehley's Comet albums just thought it was going to be the same ol' thing. It was actually a return to Ace's more hard-rock sound than the pop-metal of the Comet. Sadly, it was the last original Ace Frehley solo album to be released. As of 2007, he has not recorded any new music. I hope that changes.
Personnel:
Discography: Album:
With KISS:
KISS (1974)
Hotter Than Hell (1974)
Dressed to Kill (1975)
Alive! (1975)
Destroyer (1976)
Rock And Roll Over (1976)
Love Gun (1977)
Alive! II (1977)
Ace Frehley (1978)- This is a landmark album that every Ace Frehley fan must own. "New York Groove" is catchy and I'm glad they made it a single. It caught on with the general public, too, and is still the most popular song from all the 1978 solo albums KISS did. But I like all the songs on this album. None of them suck. And for me, that's rare.
With him on drums was Anton Fig, who would later drum in Frehley's Comet. Carl Tallarico also did some drums. Will Lee played bass. Bill Scheniman did vocals and bells. And vocal duties were also assigned to Susan Collins, Larry Kelly, and David Lasley. Ace, of course, is the lead singer and lead guitarist.
The song "New York Groove" was written by Russ Ballard. This is a good song. Funky and infectious. Ace Frehley either wrote or co-wrote the rest of the album. The songs he co-wrote on was "Rip it Out" with Larry and Sue Kelly, "Speedin' Back to my Baby" with Jeanette Frehley, and "Wiped-Out" with Anton Fig.
The great strength of this album is that it's truly an Ace Frehley solo project. He didn't have that with Frehley's Comet. He was the frontman of that group, but certainly not the whole show. I really hope Ace does another real solo album in the near future.
Songs:
Unmasked (1980) [Peter Criss credited on drums, but NOT on album]
Music From "The Elder" (1981)
Creatures of the Night (1982) [NOT on album, but credited]
As Ace Frehley:
Frehley's Comet (1987)- This was actually supposed to be an Ace Frehley solo album, and Frehley's Comet merely the name of that album. But Frehley's Comet soon became the band's name later that year. It was appropriate, because not only is Frehley's Comet a really cool name, it meant that it wasn't a uniquely Ace Frehley solo act. As an album, I like this better than the later "Second Sighting". But "Second Sighting" has some of the great, hard-rockin' songs that this album could've benefitted from; just not enough of them. This is a great album. Ace Frehley wrote a few of the songs, but mostly co-wrote. And at least he didn't let Tod Howarth do too much on his own, just the song "Something Moved" (which is actually a great song, Tod's best with the band).
Ace co-wrote on these songs: "Rock Soldiers" with Chip Taylor, "Breakout" with Eric Carr and Richie Scarlett, "We Got Your Rock" with Marty Kupersmith, "Love me Right" with Ira Schickman, "Calling to You" with Tod Howarth and Jim McClarty and Kevin Russell, and "Fractured Too (Instrumental)" with John Regan. The song and single from this album, "Into the Night" was written by Russ Ballard.
I don't really care for "Into the Night". "New York Groove" is such a great song, and this Russ Ballard composition just doesn't compare. Something didn't go right here. What happened? And it didn't have the hard edge that Frehley's Comet mostly played, which is probably what hurt sales. "Calling to You" was another one I didn't dig. But those are the only two I didn't care for so much. The rest of the album is really fantastic.
Frehley's Comet was Ace Frehley on lead guitar and lead vocals, Tod Howarth on guitar and vocals, John Regan on bass and background vocals, and Anton Fig on drums.
Songs:
Second Sighting (1988)- This is the second and last "real" Frehley's Comet album. There are various compilations and such, but this is the last original studio album from the band. I like this album, although it's not my favorite of all the Ace Frehley albums. It does, however, have some great, hard-rockin' songs that should have been on the earlier releases. I think Ace was wanting to break out of the pop-metal stuff and get back into the hard stuff, which was wise. The only thing is, there's still too much of the soft metal-pop stuff on this album. If they would've gotten rid of that, this would have been truly spectacular. Most of the light stuff was written by Tod Howarth who had too much to do on this album, I feel. Although I do want to restate that I'm not picking on him, I just don't think he was a good match for this band. He would've been awesome in a band like Motley Crue or Poison or any kind of hair-metal band.
This album is still worth buying, especially for the instrumental "The Acorn is Spinning" written by Ace and John Regan, which is truly fantastic. Probably the best tune Ace ever did period. Although that's hard to say considering his incredible catalog. "Separate" is another top tune, also written by Ace and John. "Juvenile Delinquent" is great, and the only exclusively Ace Frehley penned tune on this album. "Dancin' With Danger" is great, written by Ace Frehley, Dana Strum, Poffer, and Streetheart. It's a cover of a song originally done by Canadian hard rock band Streetheart. The lyrics are pretty much the same, although Ace reworked them a bit. "Insane" is a great song by Ace and Gene Moore. "Loser in a Fight" is a Tod Howarth and John Regan song that's also very good. The other songs on this album, which I didn't care for, were all written by Tod Howarth.
The band line-up is pretty much the same except Jamie Oldaker has replaced Anton Fig on drums. Jamie came from a lot of different acts, most notably Eric Clapton. He's a great drummer and you can't hardly tell the difference in the personnel change. Anton Fig came back to drum for Ace in his next solo album Trouble Walkin' from 1989.
Songs:
Trouble Walkin' (1989)
With KISS:
KISS Unplugged (1996)- Live album.
You Wanted the Best, You Got The Best! (1996)- Live album.
Psycho Circus (1998)
Discography: EP:
As Frehley's Comet:
Live + 1 (1988)- Released before Second Sighting (1988). This is the band's EP, not actual second album. It was meant to serve as a stop-gap between album #1 and album #2. Second Sighting was released later in 1988. It's called Live + 1 because one song is from the studio. "Words are Not Enough" is a shortened version of a demo the group made in 1985. Ace Frehley co-wrote it with Jim Keneally. The other songs were recorded live at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago, Illinois on September 4, 1987.
I love announcer "Moe" Haggedone, who introduces the band on "Rip it Out". He just goes out of his freakin' mind! He was also a member of the band's road crew, stage manager and bass guitar technician. I'd like to know more about this guy. If you know, please CONTACT ME.
I would have to say that I love this entire EP. It's not often that I like a whole album (or mini-album). All the live songs here are better than their studio counterparts. "Rocket Ride" is particularly awesome, as is the seven-and-a-half minute version of "Breakout" where Anton Fig goes crazy on the drums! So many drummers just hit cymbals all the time in a solo, and that's cheating. But more often than not, Anton is actually beating the hell out the skins for an extended period of time, which is awesome.
If you can find this EP, I strongly urge you to buy it and add it to your collection. It's as vital to have as the 1978 solo album. The band line-up is the same as in "Frehley's Comet".
Songs:
Filmography (Film & Television):
Photos:
Videography:
In 1978, Ace and the other members of KISS each made a solo album. What shocked everyone is that Ace Frehley had the best-selling album of the four, which easily went platinum within the year. And he had a hit with the song "New York Groove". Again, Paul and Gene and Peter all had solo albums that sounded just like KISS with their own spin on things. But Ace Frehley's solo album was incredibly unique from KISS and very, very good. It's certainly my favorite of the solo albums, although the others had their good parts, too.
In 1982, Ace left KISS. It wasn't under the friendliest of circumstances. For the next five years it would seem as if Ace was musically inactive; at least in recording. In 1987 he came out with his first truly solo album entitled Frehley's Comet. Later that year, Frehley's Comet became the name of the band.
Frehley's Comet sold moderately well, but not as well as it should have. I like KISS, but, in my opinion, this was a better album than anything KISS had made since the 1970s. The follow-ups to Frehley's Comet including the EP Live + 1 and Second Sighting (both from 1988) did worse in sales. After this, Ace decided to drop the moniker Frehley's Comet and just call it Ace Frehley again. The next album, Trouble Walkin' (1989), sold even poorer. Sometimes there's just no accounting for good taste. He made awesome music that just didn't get a lot of press. MORE COMING!
Polar Blair's Thoughts on the Artist: Ace Frehley is a notable musician. Out of all the members of KISS, he was the single best songwriter and certainly the one with the best singing voice. The shame of it was that he hardly got a chance to squeeze in his singing or his songs with KISS, but when he did it was a pretty sharp difference from all the Gene Simmons and/or Paul Stanley stuff. Whereas Gene & Paul sold trendy rock anthems to the young kids, Ace actually played original music that was just flat-out good and timeless.
What held back Frehley's Comet? It might have been the fact that a lot of people didn't recognize the name Ace Frehley as well as they did KISS, but I think the biggest reason is the inclusion of Tod Howarth in the band. I want to make it perfectly clear that I'm not picking on him. He is a good guitarist and singer. But him and Ace seemed to bounce off each other musically. Tod was more into the "hair metal" sound, where Ace was just an everyman hard-rocker. There is a very strong distinction between a song that Ace Frehley writes and a song that Tod Howarth writes. They're too separate and it often sounds like, in a Frehley's Comet album, that there are two different bands. I think Tod Howarth, on his own albums, could sell very great. And Ace Frehley, on his own albums, could sell very great. But the two put together is mixing audiences and not everyone is going to dig a Frehley's Comet album 100%.
Another thing I think held back the group's commercial success is the fact that there were not enough exclusively Ace Frehley-written songs. What was great about the 1978 solo album was that Ace practically wrote the whole thing himself save for a few songs. But with Frehley's Comet he did not have songwriting control. He's such a good songwriter that he doesn't need the great amount of outside writers and co-writers that he had. The only exception to that statement is the Ace Frehley/John Regan compositions; those are often the best things on a Frehley's Comet album. Surprisingly, Ace did not write much with co-frontman Tod Howarth; they were usually pretty separate.
By the time "Trouble Walkin'" came around, I think a lot of people who were disappointed with the Frehley's Comet albums just thought it was going to be the same ol' thing. It was actually a return to Ace's more hard-rock sound than the pop-metal of the Comet. Sadly, it was the last original Ace Frehley solo album to be released. As of 2007, he has not recorded any new music. I hope that changes.
Personnel:
Discography: Album:
With KISS:
KISS (1974)
Hotter Than Hell (1974)
Dressed to Kill (1975)
Alive! (1975)
Destroyer (1976)
Rock And Roll Over (1976)
Love Gun (1977)
Alive! II (1977)
Ace Frehley (1978)- This is a landmark album that every Ace Frehley fan must own. "New York Groove" is catchy and I'm glad they made it a single. It caught on with the general public, too, and is still the most popular song from all the 1978 solo albums KISS did. But I like all the songs on this album. None of them suck. And for me, that's rare.
With him on drums was Anton Fig, who would later drum in Frehley's Comet. Carl Tallarico also did some drums. Will Lee played bass. Bill Scheniman did vocals and bells. And vocal duties were also assigned to Susan Collins, Larry Kelly, and David Lasley. Ace, of course, is the lead singer and lead guitarist.
The song "New York Groove" was written by Russ Ballard. This is a good song. Funky and infectious. Ace Frehley either wrote or co-wrote the rest of the album. The songs he co-wrote on was "Rip it Out" with Larry and Sue Kelly, "Speedin' Back to my Baby" with Jeanette Frehley, and "Wiped-Out" with Anton Fig.
The great strength of this album is that it's truly an Ace Frehley solo project. He didn't have that with Frehley's Comet. He was the frontman of that group, but certainly not the whole show. I really hope Ace does another real solo album in the near future.
Songs:
- "Rip It Out"
- "Speedin' Back to my Baby"
- "Snow Blind"
- "Ozone"
- "What's on Your Mind?"
- "New York Groove"
- "I'm in Need of Love"
- "Wiped-Out"
- "Fractured Mirror"
Unmasked (1980) [Peter Criss credited on drums, but NOT on album]
Music From "The Elder" (1981)
Creatures of the Night (1982) [NOT on album, but credited]
As Ace Frehley:
Frehley's Comet (1987)- This was actually supposed to be an Ace Frehley solo album, and Frehley's Comet merely the name of that album. But Frehley's Comet soon became the band's name later that year. It was appropriate, because not only is Frehley's Comet a really cool name, it meant that it wasn't a uniquely Ace Frehley solo act. As an album, I like this better than the later "Second Sighting". But "Second Sighting" has some of the great, hard-rockin' songs that this album could've benefitted from; just not enough of them. This is a great album. Ace Frehley wrote a few of the songs, but mostly co-wrote. And at least he didn't let Tod Howarth do too much on his own, just the song "Something Moved" (which is actually a great song, Tod's best with the band).
Ace co-wrote on these songs: "Rock Soldiers" with Chip Taylor, "Breakout" with Eric Carr and Richie Scarlett, "We Got Your Rock" with Marty Kupersmith, "Love me Right" with Ira Schickman, "Calling to You" with Tod Howarth and Jim McClarty and Kevin Russell, and "Fractured Too (Instrumental)" with John Regan. The song and single from this album, "Into the Night" was written by Russ Ballard.
I don't really care for "Into the Night". "New York Groove" is such a great song, and this Russ Ballard composition just doesn't compare. Something didn't go right here. What happened? And it didn't have the hard edge that Frehley's Comet mostly played, which is probably what hurt sales. "Calling to You" was another one I didn't dig. But those are the only two I didn't care for so much. The rest of the album is really fantastic.
Frehley's Comet was Ace Frehley on lead guitar and lead vocals, Tod Howarth on guitar and vocals, John Regan on bass and background vocals, and Anton Fig on drums.
Songs:
- "Rock Soldiers"
- "Breakout"
- "Into the Night"
- "Something Moved"
- "We Got Your Rock"
- "Love me Right"
- "Calling to You"
- "Dolls"
- "Stranger in a Strange Land"
- "Fractured Too (Instrumental)"
Second Sighting (1988)- This is the second and last "real" Frehley's Comet album. There are various compilations and such, but this is the last original studio album from the band. I like this album, although it's not my favorite of all the Ace Frehley albums. It does, however, have some great, hard-rockin' songs that should have been on the earlier releases. I think Ace was wanting to break out of the pop-metal stuff and get back into the hard stuff, which was wise. The only thing is, there's still too much of the soft metal-pop stuff on this album. If they would've gotten rid of that, this would have been truly spectacular. Most of the light stuff was written by Tod Howarth who had too much to do on this album, I feel. Although I do want to restate that I'm not picking on him, I just don't think he was a good match for this band. He would've been awesome in a band like Motley Crue or Poison or any kind of hair-metal band.
This album is still worth buying, especially for the instrumental "The Acorn is Spinning" written by Ace and John Regan, which is truly fantastic. Probably the best tune Ace ever did period. Although that's hard to say considering his incredible catalog. "Separate" is another top tune, also written by Ace and John. "Juvenile Delinquent" is great, and the only exclusively Ace Frehley penned tune on this album. "Dancin' With Danger" is great, written by Ace Frehley, Dana Strum, Poffer, and Streetheart. It's a cover of a song originally done by Canadian hard rock band Streetheart. The lyrics are pretty much the same, although Ace reworked them a bit. "Insane" is a great song by Ace and Gene Moore. "Loser in a Fight" is a Tod Howarth and John Regan song that's also very good. The other songs on this album, which I didn't care for, were all written by Tod Howarth.
The band line-up is pretty much the same except Jamie Oldaker has replaced Anton Fig on drums. Jamie came from a lot of different acts, most notably Eric Clapton. He's a great drummer and you can't hardly tell the difference in the personnel change. Anton Fig came back to drum for Ace in his next solo album Trouble Walkin' from 1989.
Songs:
- "Insane"
- "Time Ain't Runnin' Out"
- "Dancin' With Danger"
- "It's Over Now"
- "Loser in a Fight"
- "Juvenile Delinquent"
- "Fallen Angel"
- "Separate"
- "New Kind of Lover"
- "The Acorn is Spinning"
Trouble Walkin' (1989)
With KISS:
KISS Unplugged (1996)- Live album.
You Wanted the Best, You Got The Best! (1996)- Live album.
Psycho Circus (1998)
Discography: EP:
As Frehley's Comet:
Live + 1 (1988)- Released before Second Sighting (1988). This is the band's EP, not actual second album. It was meant to serve as a stop-gap between album #1 and album #2. Second Sighting was released later in 1988. It's called Live + 1 because one song is from the studio. "Words are Not Enough" is a shortened version of a demo the group made in 1985. Ace Frehley co-wrote it with Jim Keneally. The other songs were recorded live at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago, Illinois on September 4, 1987.
I love announcer "Moe" Haggedone, who introduces the band on "Rip it Out". He just goes out of his freakin' mind! He was also a member of the band's road crew, stage manager and bass guitar technician. I'd like to know more about this guy. If you know, please CONTACT ME.
I would have to say that I love this entire EP. It's not often that I like a whole album (or mini-album). All the live songs here are better than their studio counterparts. "Rocket Ride" is particularly awesome, as is the seven-and-a-half minute version of "Breakout" where Anton Fig goes crazy on the drums! So many drummers just hit cymbals all the time in a solo, and that's cheating. But more often than not, Anton is actually beating the hell out the skins for an extended period of time, which is awesome.
If you can find this EP, I strongly urge you to buy it and add it to your collection. It's as vital to have as the 1978 solo album. The band line-up is the same as in "Frehley's Comet".
Songs:
- "Rip it Out"
- "Breakout"
- "Something Moved"
- "Rocket Ride"- written by Ace Frehley and Sean Delaney.
- "Words are not Enough (Studio)"
Filmography (Film & Television):
Photos:
Videography: