Ace Frehley will always be my choice pick for the guitarist of Kiss. Ace Frehley was the original guitarist and in my Metal opinion, the best at lead guitar for Kiss. I few posts ago, I stated that my favorite Kiss solo album of all time is Paul Stanley. I cannot backtrack that sentiment, the Paul Stanley album is for me, #1. With that said, out of the four Kiss solo albums, Ace Frehley is clearly my #2 choice. My fellow peer in Metal blogs over at The Metal Files, (a cool Metal Music blog that is worth the visits), commented his favorite Kiss solo album is Ace Frehley… this spurred me into delving into the Ace Frehley solo album once again. I do own the Ace Frehley solo album, (released on September 18, 1978), a record that has been with me for decades. I actually bought this Ace Frehley vinyl from a cut-out bin, from a small department store named Woolworths, back in the very early 1980’s. My Ace Frehley album has the top right corner actually cut off, therefore, that is probably why it was in a cut-out bin! Despite the cosmetic damage that this album cover suffered, the album itself and the large fold-out poster of Ace Frehley that was included with the album, never sustained damage from the cut-out process. (Each Kiss solo album had a large fold-out poster of the respective Kiss musician inside the album sleeve, with each of the four posters interlocking together, through die cuts, to form one giant Kiss collage, if you will).
Now, I have not ever owned the Ace Frehley solo album as a CD… until today. A trip to Best Buy had me, as usual, walking the CD aisles and staking out some Heavy Music that would pacify my Metal hunger. Well, Classic Heavy Metal has done it again… the Ace Frehley solo CD caught my eye, it was about time to upgrade my vinyl copy after all. I paid $7.99 for this Ace Frehley CD today, that is cheaper than buying a steak and a whole lot more gratifying too. “Rip It Out” and “Speedin’ Back To My Baby” are the first two tracks… I tag these two songs as being my two favorites. These songs have that Ace Frehley vibe happening, vocally of course, yet the guitar of Ace is so incredibly vintage. To plop a CD into the car stereo on the ride home and have the very first two songs crank like this… all I could say to myself as I drove was… Space Ace Rocks. As I continued to listen to Ace Frehley, it was a consistent reminder to me, as to how Rock legit his solo album was and still is. When I was much younger, back in 1978, I bought the 45 rpm of “New York Groove”, with the “B” side being “Snow Blind”. Both of these songs I do put on a Metal pedestal for the memories they stir… I was just a young, little dude playing this 45 record back in 1978, CD’s and ipods were non existent and The New York Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox – in a one game playoff for the American League East Division title. Plus, I had no bills to pay back in 1978 either. Ace Frehley as with all of the Kiss solo albums, bring back memories that money just can’t buy.
This Ace Frehley solo album did reach platinum sales status, (one million or more copies sold), peaking at #26 on the U.S. Billboard album charts as well. My fellow Metal blogging peer at The Metal Files commented Ace Frehley did not write “New York Groove”… Russ Ballard did. “New York Groove” peaked at #13 on the U.S. Billboard Singles chart. Not to sound like a television music show judge, excuse me by saying… Ace Frehley nailed it with “New York Groove”. Aw, heck, Ace Frehley nailed it on all nine songs too.
Each member of Kiss had released a solo album back on September 18, 1978. I remember back then, being a young Kiss fan, there was much to rejoice about… four new Kiss albums to choose from. Being just twelve years old, I could not just run out and buy all four new albums. Back in 1978, my parents did not have a bounty of expendable cash to dole out to me, thus I was only earning a quarter here and there for the yard work I did. (Sounds like the 1930’s or something, doesn’t it?). Instead, I waited patiently to obtain or receive as a gift, one or all of the Kiss solo albums. Not until January 26, 1979, did I receive the Paul Stanley solo album, as a birthday gift from my parents. To say that I was ecstatic on that day would be an understatement… Paul Stanley was and still is, my favorite musician and vocalist from Kiss. At that age, I remember just staring at the front cover portrait of Paul Stanley, holding the album jacket in my hands, thinking this was the greatest birthday of my entire life. The memories are so cool to reflect on… what is more cool is that Paul Stanley is still making music both solo, (“Live To Win”, October 24, 2006), plus with an upcoming new Kiss album.
AC/DC – they are not just Rock and Roll Hall of Famers, this band is an elite institution of heavy music. I always pondered throughout the years… which song from the extensive catalog of AC/DC albums, is my favorite of all time? Is my favorite song from the Bon Scott era? Man, the late Bon Scott was unique, his vocals were and always will be legendary. The Brian Johnson era is power packed with amazing songs, could I take the easy route and pull my favorite tune off of the “Back In Black” album? That would be way too easy for me, it seems like choosing “Hells Bells”, “Back In Black” or “Have A Drink On Me” as my favorite AC/DC song, would be particularly predictable. I will not argue the fact it is a historical album, “Back In Black” surely paved the way for Heavy Metal commercial acceptance. Besides, I personally am forever grateful for AC/DC appointing Brian Johnson to succeed the late Bon Scott. “Back In Black” will forever be on my all time favorite album list.
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