With the passing of my first guitar hero last week, I thought it was appropriate this week to honor his memory and do a ranking of his solo albums. He had 10 albums and I have to say I do enjoy all of them so it isn’t a worst to first, more like a least favorite to most favorite. We include the Kiss solo album from 1978, the two Frehley’s Comet albums and the rest are his actual solo albums that he has done over the last 40 years. Ace was one of a kind and will certainly be missed. That boyish laugh to that Chesire grin, he was his own unique self and I think the music world is all the better for it. He influenced so many guitar players over the years and he is in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and soon will receive the Kennedy Center Honor that is so richly deserved.
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With Ace Frehley’s new album 10,000 Volts now out, I thought a perfect time to go through my entire Ace Frehley collection (excluding Kiss of course). We will go through the vinyl, the CDs, the Cassettes and the 7″ Singles.
At the end, I will give you my thoughts on the new album. Is it as good as everyone is saying? Is it as good as the ’78 Kiss solo album? You will have to watch it to find out. The show is live now, click below and give it a whirl. And don’t forget to click “Like” and “Subscribe”. While you are at it, drop us a comment as well.
MNRK Records has been going a little overboard with the Ace Frehley collection in releasing so many different color variants of his vinyl that it borderlines on the ridiculous. How many copies do you really need. Me…one!! But they have a done a couple cool things with The Space Cassette Collection and now a Singles Collection. These are at least different formats and not the same vinyl with a different color or cover. I finally picked up the Singles Collection, but only because of a massive price drop. The set was way overpriced at $125 which I think is nuts for what you get. I saw someone post on Facebook that there was a huge sale on it and so I went and snatched a copy. The price had dropped to only $40 and now it is worth the price for what you get.
There are seven 7″ Singles all with picture sleeves and colored vinyl. You get at least one single from each album starting with his 2009 comeback album ‘Anomaly’ and going all the way up to his most recent album, the 2020 covers album, ‘Origins, Vol. 2’. Most of the albums get only one single, but ‘Origins, Vol. 1’ and ‘Spaceman’ get two singles. And I think those are two of the better albums so it makes sense to me.
We won’t go in to detail of each song, but we will post pictures of everything you are getting so you have an idea of what you are really getting in the box set in case you want to buy it. You also get a digital download card of the songs and I won’t post that picture because that is my card and I don’t want anyone using it before I do. I hope you enjoy the walk through the set.
Ace Frehley has been pumping out product lately and as a fan, I couldn’t be happier. His record label decided that it was time for a nice addition to his catalog and that was to finally issue all his albums on his label eOne on cassette and to do it in style. What you get is a box set that is all 5 of his eOne albums on cassette for the very first time. It is a limited edition box set (I don’t know how limited) and comes with a bonus of 4 collectible Ace Frehley picks. It is called The Space Cassette Box Set and I am glad to finally have it in the collection.
The box is sturdy and very well done. The lettering on the front is nice and the back gives you pictures of the albums as well as track listings of each album and a handful of Ace pictures. The box is small so reading the track listing for someone with my age and poor eyesight is quite difficult. The box fits the tapes perfectly and even room for an extra box that holds the picks. I like the way the lid folds back but still connected to the box. Good job with that packaging.
To celebrate the release of Ace Frehley’s new album, Origins, Vol. 2, Ace and his team decided to release a Record Store Day “First” for the Black Friday 2020 release day. This time around we got a limited edition 12″ Picture Disc for the song “Space Truckin'”. How exclusive, well there were only 2,100 released worldwide and I got one. Now, if you notice I said “Record Store Day First” which means all we got was an early copy of what will be released at a later time. So the 2,100 limited run is the one with the RSD Sticker I imagine.
There are two things that are really awesome about this release. First is the pictures on the disc. They are incredible Cartoon renderings of Ace and the band. Really great and cool artwork. Second, all the songs on the B-Side are “Space” related. I like how they kept to a theme.
SIDE A:
On Side A is strictly the song “Space Truckin'”. The song is a cover of the Deep Purple classic and Ace does what he doest best and makes the song his own. It has his signature guitar sound and he turns it up a notch and makes the song a fun, rocking track. He has an old friend from Brooklyn do the organ work to try and replicate the great John Lord. His name is Rob Sabino and he does a fantastic job. Matt Starr is on the drums and does a banging job and then Ace lays down a really cool solo. Is it as good as Purple’s version, oh no, but it doesn’t have to be. It just needs to sound like Ace and that is all you need and with his addition to the lyrics of “Hey Curly” it is fantastic. This version is the full album version.
SIDE B:
Side B has not 1 song, but four. All our space themed and you get the songs “Space Invader” (Radio Edit) from the ‘Space Invader’ Deluxe Edition album. Next is “Mission to Mars” from the album ‘Space Invader’ and then you get “Space Truckin'” again but this time it is the Radio Edit and it is about 1/2 the time of his album version. Nice to now have this version on vinyl. And lastly, you get the hilariously bizarre “The Return of Space Bear” from the album ‘Anomaly’ Deluxe Edition. You even get the Space Bear in the artwork above. This song is really an instrumental with Ace being…well Ace. Crazy, Silly, Demented Ace! He talks throughout the song and sounds so insane and wasted, it is quite comical. Worth a listen for that song alone.
I really love this disc and it is a great add to the collection. Getting the Radio edit of “Space Truckin'” was really what I wanted here and the picture disc itself looks quite stunning. A brilliant collector’s piece that will be loved and enjoyed forever.
2 Loud 2 Old Music 