For a band that performed in garish makeup and costumes amid explosions and spitting fire, it’s perhaps unsurprising that Kiss were not often given much respect as musicians. Yet the band’s co-founder and lead guitarist, Ace Frehley, who died Thursday from injuries sustained in a fall last month, was a die-hard musician. He was born into a family of musicians, received an electric guitar at the age of 13 and has never stopped playing: his last concert took place a little over a month ago.
With Jimi Hendrix, Buddy Guy, Jeff Beck, the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin and the Who as major stated influences, he began playing in bands as a teenager, joined Kiss in his early 20s, and within a few years became one of the most influential rock guitarists in the world, inspiring several generations of musicians with his fiery playing and flashy stage presence. He played with Kiss from its formation in late 1972 until 1982, then returned for reunion tours and an album in 1996 before going solo for good six years later.
Below are 10 of his greatest musical moments, with Kiss and solo.
Kiss, “Cold Gin” (1974)
This first track that Frehley wrote for his fledgling quartet’s 1974 debut album was a live favorite and a highlight of the group’s breakthrough, “Kiss Alive!” His lyrics are an ode to the aphrodisiac capabilities of this frozen cocktail and unfortunately foreshadow his later struggles with alcohol.
Kiss, “Black Diamond” (1974)
Don’t let the acoustic intro to “Black Diamond” fool you. Frehley’s solo, needle in the red and bending the strings, slips strangely into the sound effect of a tape which slows down and agitates. The band didn’t worry about such details live, accelerating to the rhythm of the pyrotechnics on stage.
Kiss, “100,000 Years” (live, 1975)
Very little of Kiss’ music could be considered jazzy, but drummer Peter Criss, a Gene Krupa aficionado, could rock the band when the occasion called for it. Here Frehley takes up the drummer’s quivering syncopation and unleashes a banshee howl of a solo which always clings to the rhythm of the group.
Kiss, “Love ’em and Leave ’em” (1976)
A muscular track written by Gene Simmons is given light, air and a vintage “Space Ace” solo. More improvisational and experimental than many of his solos, it features a Mick Ronson-like stutter near the end.
Kiss, “Shock Me” (1977)
The album’s “Love Gun” contains a handful of impressive pop metal moments, but none as dramatic and endearing as this track, Frehley’s debut as lead vocalist. Above Simmons’ thundering bassline, Frehley announces his singing debut with a six-string solo that throws disarray into the kitchen sink with long phase shifts that roll around the song’s springy chorus.
Ace Frehley, “New York Groove” (1978)
All four members of Kiss released solo albums simultaneously in September 1978, and fans were stunned when Frehley’s turned out to be their best, considered by many to be on par with the group’s last two studio albums. Designed for maximum glam rock acidity with the sizzle of T. Rexian guitar, Frehley takes this Russ Ballard-penned stomper and gives it a sulky, poppy vocal, enhanced by the immaculate production of the legendary Eddie Kramer.
Frehley’s Comet, “Rock Soldiers” (1987)
For Frehley’s Comet debut album, Frehley looked in the mirror for this co-write with Chip Taylor (who wrote both “Angel of the Morning” for Merilee Rush and “Wild Thing” for the Troggs). He took a sober look at his 1983 arrest following a high-speed chase with police (for which he received a DUI and a reckless driving charge) and reinforced the message with a veritable army of guitars: 20 guitarists who were attending a seminar for the Guitar Institute of Technology at the Musicians’ Institute in Queens, New York.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1II4NX_4tlc&list=RD1II4NX_4tlc&start_radio=1
Kiss, “Into the Void” (1998)
The original reunion of the made-up members of Kiss would have been just another Bruce Fairbairn pop-metal album of the era (Bon Jovi’s “Slippery When Wet,” Aerosmith’s “Pump”). That is, until the album’s only Ace-penned track arrives and elevates the proceedings with thick, energetic chords and his most bravura vocals since “New York Groove.”
Ace Frehley, “Quantum Fractured” (2009)
For all his solo albums, the Bronx’s snotty, attitude-laden vocals and beats snappier than Kiss, Frehley’s 2009 “Anomaly” found a true rarity in “Fractured Quantum (Instrumental),” a catchy, wordless track that builds from a quiet, bird-tweeted beginning to build into a nifty set of melodies, moods, techniques and sounds.
Ace Frehley, “Mission to Mars” (2018)
For his latest album of original material, “Space Ace” did what his image always promised: he went to Mars. This ferociously pulsating track features what sounds like 10 menacing guitars in fuzzy tones, topped by one of his patented solos.
