Ace Frehley. Who's a fan?

[Neptical]

As a wee little guy, KISS was the sole reason why I actually picked up a guitar - thanks to my aunt. I became a fan, but I never paid attention to Ace. Funny enough, I was a fan of Gene the most.

Fast forward many years, I never realized how GREAT Ace's playing and TONE was. He had great Marshall tone. LP ( with my fav Super D pups) straight in - RAW and FULL tilt.

Going through Kiss discography, they ALL really knew how to write a jam. They really pulled from a wide range of influences : Blues, Rock, RnB, Funk, Disco, etc.

Though I love the core lineup, I truly love most of their albums.

Lately, I'm ALL about ( several repeats a day at work):

Unmasked
Creatures of the Night
Dressed to Kill
Dynasty
Music From The Elder
Alive

Where are my KISS friends???

 

[Dblgun]

I thought Ace and the boys were good when I got the Love Gun album in 77. I moved on pretty quickly to better musicians but they were a lot of fun. I always thought the stuff with Bruce Kulick in the 80's was some of their best.

 

[RobS]

no hiding im a KISS fan when you look at my #1 guitar to the left.....Parasite & I stole your love were the 1st songs I learnt note 4 note on guitar

I too would not have picked up the tennis racquet as a kid thinking I was Ace and then a real guitar at around 16

to be honest what really kicked me into gear to play was seeing Mick Mars in Melbourne on their Dr Feelgood tour, Think it was 89/90. I was right up front and blown away by what he made look so effortless

 

[ApathyForum]

Love KISS and Ace. Truly a great rock n roll guitar player in KISS’ heyday, in my opinion.

 

[FracStrat]

Ace penned “Calling to You” …… better known as “Megaforce”

 

[junk notes]

Spark shooting Les Paul Custom's and fire breathing Marshall's, what is not to like about that! (edit: was not ALIVE rated one of the best sounding live albums of their era? oh yes! ushers in Mammoth!)

 

[Red Solo Cup]

Nah ... @Vinsanitizer LOL

 

[lespaul6]

I loved the solos and playing on Rock Soldiers and Into the Night...good stuff

 

[Deftone]

I loved them in the 70's when I was a kid. Alive, Alive II, Hotter Than Hell, Destroyer, etc....

 

[paul-e-mann]

I dont know too much about Kiss other than what was on the radio and a Kiss Alive album I picked out of the garbage when I was in my mid 20's, I thought it was pretty cool!

 

[mark123]

Check out the book "Look Me in the Eye: My Life with Asperger's" by John Elder Robison for some interesting little-known Kiss trivia.

 

[Wildeman]

Hell yes.

 

[fitz288]

Spark shooting Les Paul Custom's and fire breathing Marshall's, what is not to like about that!

Yep.
Underneath all the costumes, stage antics and marketing, just plain rock n' roll.

 

[V-man]

KISS was a steaming shit show with the band in-fighting, the big-budget production shows, the shameless exploitative marketing the cringey 80s, the fanatics and the haters. KISS was the big brother band you’d go to the party and the girl’s big brother and friends were in the back with the pot and the whiskey listening to it.

It influenced my heroes (who were destroying them by the time they were playing along beside them in the 80s), so I went back to see what the fuss/magic was that inspired these bands. There was some magic with the darker 70s songs. When the ‘96 reunion came, I stood in line and made my first floor seats arena concert. They were the (”mostly” makup-free) horse-faced cross dressers in spandex far longer than they ever were “KISS” and to see the actual 70s experience seemed like the thing that could not be missed. Amazing show to me (though the tour was a fiasco according to Gene and Paul)

I very much have mixed feelings about KISS. They largely ripped off Alice Cooper (and Bowie) but are probably the leading reason why any big budget rock/metal show was the production it was. I respect them moving on musically in the 80s and dealing with the perpetual struggle in the transition from “icon” to “relevant-ish,” and replacing members in their pursuit of musicianship… until the Tommy Thayer “Kiss tribute“ years, pretending to be the band they were and milking the fans with too many ”final” tours. Bar none, their best was with Ace (which should have had him on Creatures) and you can cherry pick excellence from them throughout the 70s, yet I can’t listen to a single album of theirs throughout with the lone exception of Alive! (not even Alive 2, which has = or > hits).

 

[V-man]

Oh, since it is relevant here, my first pics ever caught in the history of concert-going.

 

[jeffb]

I was a fan as a kid- My brother did some DJ work and had bought Rock & Roll Over when it came out. I was fascinated by the cover and swiped it from the milk crate when he wasn't around. I'd put it on the family home stereo (much to my Mother's chagrin) and "I Want You" was that first song- one of their absolute best tunes to this day AFAIC- especially live.

A few years later when I got very interested in playing guitar I had "moved on" and I'll admit I became very snobbish towards the band and Ace. I mean jeez..with bands like UFO, Rush, Zep, Yes, etc out there- KISS was garbage in my young mind.

Now a much, much older me has come full circle- I'm a fan. I can't say I find them brilliantly talented or like every song, but 70s KISS is entertaining. It's not deep or thought provoking, it's just fun to watch straight up rock & roll music. It doesn't NEED to be deep or thought provoking. It's a soundtrack for rebellious , scandalous, bad behavior of our youth (Maybe still, for some of us).

I've heard someone describe Ace as having a very basic vocabulary, but he knows how to get the point across in every conversation. I'm paraphrasing, but I think that is apt. He's not going to blow you away with technique (barring perhaps his very good vibrato) but he's going to play for the song and put his heart into every note he plays, every night (even when he's "off") There are many other technically gifted guitarists who just don't/won't/can't do that, and they bore me to tears. Unfortunately I think Ace's demons kept him from ever moving up to a next level of playing ability, and certainly hurt his consistency from night to night. His tone is an absolute classic. He and Larry Dimarzio very much created "the 70s hard rock" sound. Sure- there were guys using strats and other humbucker guitars, but the SuperD/Marshall combo is a decade+ defining tonality.

 

[StrummerJoe]

KISS Army Veteran here.

 

[NYgroove]

I love Kiss and their music is so fun to play. Ace is a legend.

 

[Mitchell Pearrow]

When I was having Kiss shoved down my head, I didn’t care so much for them.. mid 70’s there was a lot of great bands to influence my mind, plus the other bands I had been listening to.. but as I have gotten older ,, I now appreciate them more for their simplicity in raw rock N roll.. yes I did purchase the first live 8-track.. but I held other bands on a higher pedestal.

Thanks

 

[StrummerJoe]

When I was having Kiss shoved down my head, I didn’t care so much for them.. mid 70’s there was a lot of great bands to influence my mind, plus the other bands I had been listening to.. but as I have gotten older ,, I now appreciate them more for their simplicity in raw rock N roll.. yes I did purchase the first live 8-track.. but I held other bands on a higher pedestal.

Thanks

Oh wow...I'd forgotten about 8 track. Had Love Gun on 8 track, Beatles greatest hits, and some Hendrix.

Old.