Ace “The Spaceman” Frehely has shuffled loose this mortal coil for that big Carnival of Souls in the afterlife. I’m not going to get into all the heartbreaking details, but you can read about his passing here.
After learning that Ace had passed away, I felt compelled to pay tribute to him the best way music news outlets can… with a list! A list of songs that fans can jam to celebrate the life of such a legendary rock star. But first, I had to reach out to the biggest KISS fan I’ve ever known, my father-in-law, Tom, who took me to my one and only KISS concert during the End of the Road World Tour, and who literally named his daughter — my wife, Shandi — after a KISS song.
I had a couple of songs in mind, but wanted to get his input, and when I tell you he has never messaged me back faster, that is barely an exaggeration. Immediately, he had several songs come to mind that he was already queuing up for his own Ace Marathon. Below, you’ll find our selections, all of which were picked in honor of a late, great rock and roll icon.
“Cold Gin”
Back when KISS released their debut, self-titled album in 1974, there was just one song written solely by Frehley: “Cold Gin.” It’s a raucous drinking song that has become a quick fan-favorite and has turned up in a lot of the band’s live and greatest hits albums.
Notably, Guitar World, Liquor.com, and TimeOut.com have all listed “Cold Gin” on their lists for the all-time best drinking songs.
“Into The Void”
Back in ’98, following a very successful reunion tour of all four original members of KISS, the band got into the studio to work on some new music. The result: Psycho Circus, a wild rock ‘n’ roll thrillride throwing back to the days of straightforward arena rock.
Frehley’s lone contribution to the record, including vocals and lead guitar duties, was “Into The Void,” which I will confess is my favorite song on the album. Interestingly, it’s also believed to be the only track that Paul, Gene, Ace, and Peter all performed on.
It’s also notable that “Into the Void” was the only Ace Frehley composition released between his 1989 album Trouble Walkin’ and his 2009 album Anomaly.
“Shock Me”
Kiss dropped their fifth album, Love Gun, in 1977, and it featured the debut of Ace on lead vocals for the song “Shock Me,” which he also wrote.
The song was actually inspired by a real situation. The band had been out on their Rock and Roll Over tour and, during a stop, Ace was nearly electrocuted by his electric guitar. This led him to pen the hit tune, which has one of the band’s best solos of all time.
“New York Groove”
So the thing about “New York Groove” is that it’s a KISS song and it’s not a KISS song… what I mean by that is, it was one of the Ace tracks recorded for his solo album when all four members of the band did their own individual records in 1978.
“New York Groove” is a cover song, written by the English musician and producer Russ Ballard and originally recorded by the glam rock band Hello in 1975. The song is obviously very well-written, but there’s just something about Ace’s version that stands out, which is funny because the story goes that he didn’t even want to do it to begin with, but his producer convinced him, and the rest is history.
“Rocket Ride”
Last, but far from least, you just have to jam “Rocket Ride,” from KISS’ Alive II. The song was written by Ace Frehley and Sean Delaney, with the Space Ace singing lead vocals. This was only his second time doing lead vocals for the band, and it was a hit. The song peaked at 49 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
Godspeed, Ace, and rest in peace.
The post Remembering Ace Frehley: 5 of The Spaceman’s Best KISS Songs appeared first on VICE.
