ACE FREHLEY’s Origins Vol.2 a good time

Thanks eOne for the advance of the 4-seam fastball that is ACE FREHLEY’s Origins Vol.2. And, hot stove news spoiler, it’s a well-paced labor of love and a real stellar rock & roll party! Go figure right? …AAACCKKK! but, same as it ever was, no pretense and no fluff = good times. And like your favorite pair of jeans, faded but not jaded, Frehley rolls on Les Paul a blazin’, narrowly outflanking ‘Origins Vol.1’ on an adjacent orbit, phasers set again for fun, America’s favorite past-time.

>> GOOD TIMES, BAD TIMES – no big shock, Ace’s has had his share, but real nice to have Pagey in the lead-off influences/origins spot, speedin’ back, I don’t mean maybe, but I still don’t seem to care — it was Ace’s Page-like phrasing and detached ‘rock or be rocked’ vibe that got him the KISS gig, hence the spot on delivery of this rock crucible

>> NEVER IN MY LIFE – this may be about torpedo girl herself, or the ultimate Mountain women, certainly a Richie Scarlet infusion with 2-sides of the coin’ to choose from …”feel like a bolt of lightning!” …best tune on the album?

>> SPACE TRUCKIN’ – hard, heavy, foxy ‘n free spaced Deep Purple (slight return), ample G-forces to take your breath away just long enough to ascertain the Space Bear is M.I.A. again, riding’ high in the saddle with Blackmore’s gang

>> I’M DOWN – and out!! and down to the wire!! There’s no escape from this island of guilty FabFour pleasures, special thanks to a bench hit from John 5 and a delightfully spirited lead vocal from Mr. Excitement …does anyone remember laughter? good times!

>> JUMPIN’ JACK FLASH – Lita Ford kisses us deadly on this tag team sortie and it’s a gas, gas, gas runnin’ outta oxygen as the 2,000 man casts more lightning bolts across the pond — don’t run, good things are at hand, little runaway. Ace’s chorus vocal is as chill as the pill

>> THE POLITICIAN – Frehley diplomatic mythos manifested in finely aged Cream, a deep dive into earthly matters, couch calls, fractured mirrors and the non-partisan ozone, not my favorite track but it does belie the ‘origins’ of the “Space Bear” riff off Frehley’s 2009 release, Anomaly.

>> LOLA – Faithfully Kinked out by Ace, as with “All The Day And All The Night” on Vol.1, “Lola” & British Invasion continue to offer Frehley gender-bending hooks to burn and further insight into his keen pop sensibility, one of the best cuts on here

>> 30 DAYS IN THE HOLE – Robin Zander dices this classic up like Zoro; all treat, no tricks, rollin’ numbers, rock & roll, got my Humble Pie records out, surrender, this is grade A rock and an awesome pairing, would love to see these two do more together, what a long strange trip it’s been!

>> MANIC DEPRESSION – fellow KISS gunslinger Bruce Kulick channels Hendrix, summoning his wah-wah and acid rock swells as Ace waits on deck, bringing BK round with a base-clearing lead coda, a guitar Donnybrook

>> KICKS – A fair distance from Route 66, Ace takes this pure pop sedan, removes the top and mods it for turbo, mining seminal rhythm riffs that would help shape his approach to KISS tunes, then get his kicks. go through a park and space their heads out

>> WE GOTTA GET OUT OF THIS PLACE – a surprisingly rockin’ rendering of this soulful 60’s Picasso, obliterating the gravity on earth that used to hold us Animals down, gotta get away, leavin’ tomorrow by some way … reminds me of Ace’s take on Steppenwolf’s “Magic Carpet Ride” off Origin’s vol.1 in the decidedly creative approach / re-write, really fun versions

>> SHE – Old School, plus 40 years, Ace hits the boosters on the outro, catapulting into the free-form unknown so rarely glimpsed in KISS’s cannon, wailing comets, dressed to kill, and doin’ well for others.

Great album, home run

KISStorian reviews NOTHIN’ TO LOSE: The Making of KISS

Better late than never …I just finished reading Nothin’ To Lose: The Making of KISS (1972 – 1975) and want to congratulate Ken Sharp as well as Gene & Paul for transporting us back in time for one helluva rock & roll party!! …the early days of KISS. Not only is it a telling chronicle of the core dynamic of the original KISS line-up but one of the best books ever compiled on the concert & radio promotion business in the 70’s. With so many grass-roots stories and quotes from other rockers on the circuit with KISS at the time, I reckon it’s a book any rock fan would dig and hereby KISStorically proclaim it an essential rock classic!

As a KISS fan, it has completely re-invigorated my passion for the band as well as my respect for what it took for them to make it. It was an ‘all-hands-on-deck’ proposition; sink or swim. KISS stood tall, undaunted by bad press, poor radio reception, luke-warm record sales. continuous logistical touring nightmares ‘n snafus and ultimately Warner Brothers’ lack of love in supporting the band. As Paul might concur: “Don’t mean shit, I don’t care!” because that was KISS’s attitude. They had fans, with them the rest didn’t matter. A volunteer army was amassing in the jean-clad smokey high school hallways of the Midwest. The word was getting out …”YOU GOTTA SEE KISS!”

Behind the scenes though it’s clear the first KISS Army was the bands initial road crew. Those guys deserve to be knighted by The Elder, and this book does that, finally. It’s riveting stuff and you get it all from every perspective: nuggets from the band, the crew, the promoters, the management, the radio guys, the label suits, the producers, the engineers, and even just plain old friends of the band.

This rich tapestry of reflection is also refreshingly candid by KISS standards. This book is not a PR statement, it’s a historical document. As one surveys KISStory from 2016, bloated as it may feel at times, there is no denying that in the early days they were “The Hottest Band In All The Land!” As you peel through the pages you find yourself going into the void and ‘reelin in the years in a van with the band, deciding you were ‘it’ because you had nothin’ to lose. This book proves why we are talking about them today: KISS was irresistible.

KISStorian interviews MIKE FLORIO of PFT

Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com with NBC Sports is not only arguably the go-to-guy on all things NFL these days but is also a KISStorian well-versed in the ‘Old Testament’; IE the original fab four of Gene, Paul, Ace & Peter. He graciously took time out from his busy schedule of Xs, Os, deflated balls and rampant off-season conjecture to talk about the hottest band in all the land, KISS!! …it appears their influence truly knows no bounds. 

>>>>> Part of being a KISS fan often involves recruiting for the KISS Army, how is that going?  I actually joined the KISS Army many, many years ago. I was dishonorably discharged for buying a Peter Frampton album.

>>>>> Can you give us your KISS elevator pitch?  “Want to experience a thrill similar to the feeling of this elevator plunging to the bottom of the shaft but without being turned into human guacamole?”

>>>> How did you catch the KISS bug? I watched the Paul Lynde Halloween Special. It was either become a fan of Paul Lynde or KISS. I flipped a coin.

>>>> What was your first KISS concert?  January 1978. Loud, exciting, visually stimulating. Nasally stimulating, too. I never knew it smelled like burning B.O. 

>>>>> Who was your favorite member of KISS growing up and who is it now?  Growing up, it was Gene, because of the fire and the blood. Today, it’s Paul because now that I know more about Gene, I admire that Paul found a way to coexist with the biggest ego this side of Donald Trump.

>>>> What to you is the must-have KISS opus?  Alive. First KISS album I ever owned. I was transfixed by it. The music, the packaging. I still remember how the thing smelled after I removed the shrink wrap. It was nothing like burning B.O.

>>>> Were you in the KISS corner throughout the 80’s? Once the makeup came off, it was over for me. I bought Alive III and enjoyed it, but the bug didn’t return until they put the makeup back on in ’96. I went to the Farewell tour in 2000, and I remember thinking that it just wasn’t the same without the original four members. Fifteen years later, I think it’s time for Gene and Paul to start thinking about finding four guys who will look and sound like KISS from the ’70s, hire them, and start it all over again for a new generation, or two.

>>>> How do you rate The Elder? I had drifted away from KISS at that point in my life, so I never had any strong feelings about it. “A World Without Heroes” is one of my favorite songs from “Unplugged”.

>>>> Which is better: ‘Sonic Boom’ or “Monster’?  I’ve heard neither. I’ve been stuck in the pre-Dynasty phase since the reunion tour of ’96.

>>>> What are your most-prized KISS items / collectibles / keepsakes at home?  In 2003, I found a refurbished KISS pinball machine that ended up being a piece of crap. I returned it, got my money back, and recently made a deposit on the new KISS pinball machine from Sterm. I’ve also got a couple of tour books from the ’70s and the Destroyer and Love Gun puzzles.

>>>> Do you have a favorite KISS related story?  I have two: After seeing them on the Dynasty tour in 1979, we were driving away from the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, and someone on the sidewalk was waving a white towel and shouting, “Ace Frehley touched this towel!” So my buddy took off his shirt, stuck it out the window, and started screaming, “Gene Simmons wiped his ass with this T-shirt.” I’ve never forgotten that, no matter how hard I try to. More importantly, the entire approach to my website was directly influenced by Paul Stanley’s explanation of how KISS came to be. They created the band they would have paid to go see. I tried to create a website that I would spend my own time visiting. (check out ProFootballTalk.com)

>>>> Are you a face-painter?  In 1978, my sister painted my face as Peter Criss for Halloween. It was a one time thing. I used to think his gray hair was cool. Now that I’m sprouting a fair share of my own, I don’t.

>>>> What was your mindset on the eve of KISS’s induction into the Rock Hall? The original four should have performed one last time. Whatever the issues were from the past, they should have found a way to set it aside for one very important night.

>>>> Have you been exposed yet to KISS’s football venture, LA KISS?  I went to their game at Pittsburgh last year. The team was horrible, like most expansion football teams are. It looks like they do a great job with their home games, but ultimately the thing that gets fans to show up consistently is a winning team. After watching Fourth and Loud, I have a feeling that if Paul and Gene could do it all over again, they would have passed on the AFL opportunity. In sports, there are too many things that can’t be controlled, and Paul and Gene like to control everything.

>>>> Last question Mike ….what is your forecast for the Chicago Bears this year?  John Fox has won plenty of games with quarterbacks far worse than Jay Cutler, including Tim Tebow. The challenge will be to get the defense quickly fixed. Expectations will be low, which means that they can catch opponents by surprise, win some games in September and October, and position themselves to contend for a playoff berth.

Space Invading Joker to reenter atmosphere

Ace’s new album ‘SPACE INVADER’ will be out in June and is to include a cover of Steve Miller’s ‘The Joker’, hey now!

“Life on Earth has been very good to me, and the body of work I’ve created over the years has withstood the test of time. Today I see no obstacles before me and my creativity has never been more fine tuned. Growing up in an Alien world has enhanced my senses and allowed me to succeed where others would have failed. The best is yet to come!” – AceFrehley.com

 

is GENE SIMMONS dead?

These are the kind of mags you might pick up at your local town store in the rack in the 70’s when it was all about pin ups for the bedroom wall.