ACE FREHLEY - Space Invader [Deluxe Edition] (2014)

Genre - Hard Rock

Label - Steamhammer (SPV)

Track listing:

01 - Space Invader

02 - Gimme a Feelin' (Radio Edit)

03 - I Wanna Hold You

04 - Change

05 - Toys

06 - Immortal Pleasures

07 - Inside the Vortex

08 - What Every Girl Wants

09 - Past the Milky Way

10 - Reckless

11 - The Joker

12 - Starship

13 - Space Invader (Radio Edit) [bonus track]

14 - Gimme a Feelin' (explicit version) [bonus track]

One of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame’s newest inductees, ACE FREHLEY, is unleashing a nugget of rock gold next week on August 19, entitled... “Space Invader”. Yes, not only the title and the album artwork has a nod to his KISS years, but so does the music inside, a little too much in place if I am honest.
The first thing you realise listening to the title track which opens the CD is that this could well be a track from Frehley’s legendary 1978 solo album. Despite or maybe because of all the space-age technology available, Ace you see is still stuck in a time warp, and this is the best thing about this album. It's pure late seventies / early eighties.
"Gimme A Feelin" that follows has that trademark bombastic riff, a rough but charming vocal and slightly awkward lyrics that were always a huge part of Frehley’s boyish charm. When you add to that a ‘could only be Ace’ solo it’s a track that’s ‘perfectly imperfect’ like all of Ace’s best numbers.
"I Wanna Hold You" is a cool track that gives Ace another card in his deck of tricks. The song has a playful melodic rock sensibility without losing the edge that his voice and guitar lend to virtually every track in his catalogue.
"Change" has a meaty riff that starts the track, but the chugging rhythm underneath the vocals adds depth and grit to the track that makes this a bit heavier than other tracks here without deviating from Ace’s signature sound.
"Toys" rides over a groovy bluesy riff that offset the chunky guitar parts in the verse. The vocals and lyrics are all Ace. The tempo and mood of this track remind me of the song 'Dolls' from his first post-Kiss solo disc, 1987′s Frehley’s Comet.
"Immortal Pleasures" is a different track from Ace standards that features a muted guitar line that adds depth to the song, especially once the vocals kick in and give the song an identity. "What Every Girls Wants" is a return to a sound and era for Ace. The feel of this track sounds like a riff he would have constructed in his formative Kiss years, while adding the experience of being a seasoned solo artist who has developed his own sound.
"Reckless" plays off of other tracks on this disc, while adding a playful vibe from earlier Frehley gems. This song helps tie pieces of Ace’s past with the present, and hopefully the future.

"Inside The Vortex" gives all Ace fans exactly what they are looking for: tight vocals and tighter guitars. The drumming and bass on this track are really hard rockin' without bringing the vibe of the song down. 

"Past The Milky Way" is reminiscent of his 1978 solo album, in that it breaks the mold of what is expected from him, but comes off as only an Ace Frehley track can. The chorus and bridges are chock full of guitar fire that duet nicely with his vocal. 

"The Joker" is an interesting take on the Steve Miller track. Although cut from different clothes, you see how adaptive Ace and his playing can be in creating his own spin on an all too familiar track without totally changing it.

"Starship" is a good instrumental from Frehley that brings all of the facets of this disc and his career together in a cool 7:00 opus. The use of effects and his playing harken back to 'Fractured Mirror' while updating that groove and feeling to 2014 with this song. The track is a bit heavier, but reminds us why we loved Ace in the first place.

This Deluxe Edition, apart from two very nice posters, includes two bonus tracks; a Radio Edit of "Space Invader" which I think has been slightly re-mixed, and a worthwhile 'Explicit Version' of the catchy single "Gimme a Feelin'".

Ace Frehley surprises with “Space Invader”: not only for the very classic songwriting but also for the production / sound, very vintage yet with a 2014 recording technique.

This album sounds, to my ears at least, much more like KISS Klassic than anything on Monster did. 

Space Ace has out KISSed KISS. He even got Ken Kelly, the guy who did the album art for Destroyer and Love Gun, to do the cover artwork. This may end up being the best KISS album KISS never recorded… hell, it may end up being the best KISS album since Revenge.

Anyway, forget comparisons to any bands Ace has been associated with in the past – a great record is a great record… and this is a great recording. 

With “Space Invader” Ace has outdone himself and proven to the world once again why he has influenced guitar players and that he is still relevant in 2014.

Highly Recommended.

Rating - 9/10

Kiss - Monster (2012)

Genre - Hard Rock
Label -

Track listing:

01. Hell Or Hallelujah
02. Wall Of Sound
03. Freak
04. Back To The Stone Age
05. Shout Mercy
06. Long Way Down
07. Eat Your Heart Out
08. The Devil Is Me
09. Outta This World
10. All For The Love Of Rock & Roll
11. Take Me Down Below
12. Last Chance
13. Right Here Right Now (Bonus Track)

Kiss are back, with quite possibly their best album since Revenge, possibly since Destroyer!

KISS's career has spanned almost 39 years and this year they release their 20th studio album titled “Monster”. As with their last effort Sonic Boom the band invited no co-writers and founder and rhythm guitarist Paul Stanley co-produced the CD along with Greg Collins.

Paul Stanley, along with co-founder and bassist Gene Simmons have continued to sport the same lineup for the last 8 years with drummer Eric Singer and lead guitarist Tommy Thayer rounding out the quartet.
“Hell or Hallelujah” was released to the airwaves on July 2, 2012. It is an up-tempo song that showcases Thayer’s strong and consistent licks delivered with that traditional Stanley vocal that Kiss fans have come to love.

Sung by Simmons, “Wall of Sound” has some nods to their Revenge album, while Stanley handles lead vocals on “Freak” and shares in the collective effort on the choruses and some of the verses.
“Back to the Stone Age” was co-written by all four members and all 4 have their imprint on this song vocally. Pretty good one.
“Long Way Down” is Kiss trademark, is a flowing track that bares everything that Kiss encompasses; a strong Stanley vocal performance and good harmonies.
“Eat Your Heart Out” starts out with the group doing an a Capella chorus, during which, you can really hear Eric Singer who has an underrated voice. Simmons takes lead vocal on this track, and if any song stands out as unique, I would say it’s this one.
Thayer commands lead vocals on “Outta This World”, nothing outstanding but he sounds natural and fresh.
Eric Singer has a song called “All for the Love of Rock & Roll”. As noted, his vocals are underrated andnster  he shows what he can do with his voice on this song. His style of playing is a little different here, which earns some added attention.
Simmons’ bass pummels through the track “Take Me Down Below”. He locks in with Singer and leads this track on its way, later accompanied by Stanley. A potential single.

"Monster" is a more solid and consistent album than the previous 'Sonic Boom'.
Even though this band has been together for 8 years now, this is only the 2nd studio effort between them. Seems the band is becoming more comfortable with one another and the results show on some tracks.
"Monster" does not pace itself: it's a full-on aural assault from the first note, and doesn't let up until Stanley lets out a final jarring wail on 'Last Chance'.
It's Kiss, and you know what to expect.

Monster really is a true return to form for one of rock n rolls most iconic and long lasting bands.

Rating 10/10

Lester And The Landslide Ladies - Estranged In Ladyland

Genre - Pop / Punk / Rock
Label - Tornado Ride Records

Track Listing -

01. Eat It Up
02. A Drug I Can’ t Deny
03. From The Start
04. Margarida
05. Nothing Left To Borrow
06. Answering Machine
07. Estranged In Ladyland
08. Who Do You Think You Are
09. Dead And Gone
10. Me, Myself And I
11. 1 2 3 Arriba
12. Fraulinen Broderline
13. Bleeding In Style
14. For The Ramones

Described as being lost somewhere between Kiss and The Ramones, Lester And The Landslide Ladies deliver a high quality pop / punk rock that warms the soul.
These degenerates offer up a great dose of love, hate, pain, blood, power! For fans of The Ramones, D.A.D., Kiss, AC/DC, Hanoi Rocks, Bowie, Cult, N.Y. Dolls.
A great little album, thoroughly enjoyable!

website - Lester And The Landslide LadiesRating - 8/10

Kiss - Sonic Boom Review

Glam superstars kiss return with a 'Sonic Boom!' It's been more than a decade since KISS' last studio album. Eleven years is a decent chunk of time on most scales - but for KISS fans this has seemed an eternity.

Kiss promised that Sonic Boom would be a return to the classic Kiss sound of the 70's and to be fair the guys have managed to pull it off.

So are any of the songs on 'Sonic Boom' destined to become Kiss classics? Well to be honest I really don't know. 'Sonic Boom' is definitely the strongest Kiss album in years, there's no ballads and the vibes in the right place. The Albums sound fits well in the feel of their 70's and early 80's albums but classics, I'm not sure.

All the tracks are great songs with Gene and Paul alternating vocals with each song. Musically the standards reach the high standards, but sometimes lyrically I get the feeling that its a case of Kiss by numbers.

If your a fan of kiss, even in passing you'll enjoy this album, but I'm not sure you're gonna love it.

The great news is that's its a body of new material, and hopefully Sonic Boom gets the ball rolling and the juices flowing,

Ive enjoyed Sonic Boom but I'm looking forward to the next album already!



rating 8/10

Ace Frehley - Anomaly

The original Spaceman returns with an awesome new album,'Anomaly', which is up there with his very first solo album from ’78!
'Anomaly' has the classic Ace sound, with the former KISS guitarist deliberately having tried to get close to his very first solo outing which he pulls off with ease here,
The album kicks off quite heavy with Foxy & Free, which is one of the two oldest songs on the album. (he basically used material he worked on over the last few years (only two songs were written before the time Ace joined KISS again to do a reunion tour in ’96), It’s a bit of a Jimi Hendrix tribute with references to the Hendrix classics Foxy Lady and Voodoo Chile. This is one of my favourites on the album.
'Outer Space' another rather heavy tune (which was written by Ace plus Jesse Mendez and David Askew) is a close second!
Other stand out tracks include ' Pain In The Neck ', The Sweet’s classic 'Fox On The Run', 'Too Many Faces', which has some great lyrics and 'Space Bear'.
To be honest 'Anomaly' is a great album throughout, with its only weakness really being the vocals, but Ace has often commented that he is no virtuoso singer!
Lets just hope that the new Kiss album is as solid when it comes out later this year!

Rating 9/10