Retro Reviews: Kiss - Ace Frehley / Paul Stanley solo

 I decided to launch a new series to imagine myself as a critic at the end of the 60s and start of the 70s, and to rectify certain reviews from Rolling Stone magazine and Creem. This not meant to be contrarian, but to offer a more balanced perspective. All the albums reviewed are indeed classic albums. This is in tribute to Ace Frehley, Rest In Peace.

Kiss: Ace Frehley (1978)

***1/2

Producers: Eddie Kramer, Ace Frehley

Musicians: Ace Frehley, Anton Fig, Will Lee, Carl Tallarico, David Lasley, Susan Collins, Larry Kelly, Bill Scheniman, Bobby McAdams

Songs and music: Rip It Out, Speedin’ Back To My Baby, Snow Blind, Ozone, What’s On Your Mind, New York Groove, I’m In Need Of Love, Wiped-Out, Fractured Mirror

Reviewed By Matthew Anthony Allair

It’s not all that surprising that “New York Groove” is the single from this album, but we will get to that in a moment. All four members of Kiss have put together solo albums that link together to the Kiss brand. The results are pretty mixed but Ace and Paul are the strongest ones, the less that is said about the other two is probably for the better. To be honest, Kiss is usually off my radar, but I do appreciate the dedication of their fanbase, Kiss’s output pretty much offers up something straight forward, and there isn’t much profound on most of the albums. Yet I get why Kiss were successful a few years ago, there was too much of an over intellectualization with most rock music without the spirit of fun, there needs to be a balance. Yet it's true now the band is often at risk of oversaturation, quantity doesn’t always equate to quality, but these albums could be a benchmark for what they might do after the band is over. It seems as though that something has lit a fire under Ace, and it was incredibly smart for Ace to bring in Producer and Engineer legend Eddie Kramer to exert quality control on this collection.

There’s an rumor that Eddie Kramer produced the early demos that got the band their recording deal with Casablanca records, therefore it is baffling to me that Kramer didn’t produce their crucial early albums, they needed it, and while it was nice to have Kramer on last years Rock N Roll Over album, they needed a notable producer long before Bob Ezrin, and I don’t know if such a failure was a decision of the band or their label Casablanca not financing the services of such a producer before the Alive album, Kramer’s steady hand makes a difference.

Ace seems to understand the assignment, this is unpretentious, direct, and while Ace isn’t a great vocalist, he is a party vocalist and it suits the material well. You’ll have to accept this for what it is, and I pretty much suspect the average fan will embrace it. Lester Bangs has said that Rock n Roll was meant to be gloriously silly anyway. Ace’s guitar work throughout is solid, he also plays a little bass, and the little bit of keyboard work was played on a synth via Ace’s guitar. I would have liked a keyboard player to have been brought in to add some organ coloring to certain tracks, but I understand the aim of the rawer sound. “Rip It Out” pretty much sets the tone, Anton Fig’s drumming is quite good throughout. Ace offers up some of his classic guitar lead moves. ‘Speedin’ Back To My Baby” offers a good blues lead and shuffle. “Snow Blind” has a catchy mood, either about a certain drug or missing a woman. “Ozone” has an extended opening before the vocal that takes a nod to the structure of Jimmy Page’s sensibility. “What’s On Your Mind?” is a pretty straightforward number with some good guitar work.

The Russ Ballard number “New York Groove” has a fresh arrangement with a stomping tempo and some hints of RNB funk, the most focused number and concise, Ace offers up some good coloring and accents with his playing. “I’m In Need Of Love” is pretty simple piece accented by heavy delay effects. “Whipped Out” opens with a playful nod to the early 60s Surfaris number before shifting into something else. The instrumental closer has a slow opener that sounds like a nod to Rush, the track is more a vibe until the middle when the colors builds into the main melodic riff.

A lot of my peers miss the point that Kiss as a product isn’t designed to be very complicated, this is the kind of work you put the cassette or eight track in the car while cruising, or at a weekend party. You’ll have to take it for what it is. 

Kiss – Paul Stanley (1978)

***

Producers: Paul Stanley, Jeff Glixman

Musicians: Paul Stanley, Bruce Kulick, Steve Buslowe, Eric Nelson, Richie Fontana, Carmine Appice, Craig Krampf, Diana Grasselli, Miriam Naomi Valle, Maria Vidal, Peppy Castro, Doug Katsaros, Steve Lacey

Songs: Tonight You Belong To Me, Move On, Ain’t Quite Right, Wouldn’t You Like To Know Me, Take Me Away (Together As One), It’s Alright, Hold Me, Touch Me (Think Of Me When We’re Apart), Love In Chains, Goodbye

Reviewed By Matthew Anthony Allair

The band Kiss has jointly put out four solo albums under the band name, and the rumor is that a significant number of copies have been printed. Sounds like a pretty audacious move, and of the four, two work and the other don’t quite gel. Paul’s album is one of them that works, along with Ace’s. I will admit, I have been indifferent to Kiss, but I respect the slavish devotion of there fans, so I wanted to give them a chance. There’s a nagging feeling with Kiss, considering they put out two albums in 74 and two in 75, one being the big selling Alive, that quantity surpasses quality at times, and hence why some peers are so eagerly dismissive of the band. In the case of Paul, he is without argument the strongest vocalist in the band, and Paul’s vocal chops are almost on par with Plant, Mercury, Bowie, and McCartney, yet he often can sound a little reserved to my ears. Those other three singers care capable of taking adventurous gambles with their vocals. But Paul seems to need a good producer to push himself to new territories, at times there are certain vocal affectations he falls back on, and this can work against him. Paul has the range to step out of the Kiss brand, and that range allows him to stretch out with some of the writing. There’s the rockers, acoustic passages and piano ballad, but he sounds like he’s capable of even more.

The second guitarist and lead player Bruce Kulick might be his secret weapon on the album, and Kulick seems like a good foil for Stanley. The rhythm sections with the drummers and bassists offers some steady material, and you even have such drummers as Camine Appice on a given track is quite good. This may not work as well as Frehley’s effort, but the production is more straight forward and less ornamental than two of the other albums. Paul does seem to understand light and shade, and while the lyrics are nothing profound, he does seem to be working through some emotional tumult in the songs.

It’s not too surprising that the opening track is likely the single. “Tonight You Belong To Me” has a nice cordial acoustic 12 string opening with some nice interplay before the heavy section comes in. “Move On” opens with the typical flavor of his namesake band, but morphs into some nice colors with piano and acoustics for dramatic flare. “Ain’t Quite Right” has a laid back simple riff that is more about vibe than anything else, there’s some nice dynamics here, Steve Buslowe’s bass work is good on the track.  “Wouldn’t You Like To Know Me” is a pretty typical stadium anthem, fun. The opening half of the semi acoustic “Take Me Away (Together As One)” has a nearly prog rock feel before it shifts into the more brash section, some nice theatrical dynamics. Much of Bruce Kulick’s guitar work on the first half is tasteful and incendiary when needed.

Yes, I admit, “It’s Alright” is another stadium anthem that opens the second half, but Paul wears that mantel well. “Hold Me, Touch Me” had some nice piano and synth work from Doug Katsaros, again, it does show that Paul has some real range as a vocalist, probably the most sonically layered track. The tempo is brought back up with “Love In Chains”, but there’s some good guitar accents and interplay on the track, Bruce’s lead hints at Queen’s Brian May in places. The album closer “Goodbye” manages with it’s lead work to hint at AC/DC and Queen, a fairly solid closer. It is a shame that a Producer like Bob Ezrin wasn’t involved with this project, it would have been interesting to see where he might have taken it. The album certainly fares better than Gene or Chris’s album, to summarize, two out of four isn’t bad odds.

Again, the fans won't care, they will likely love it, for the rest, you will have to take it for what it is. One needs pop art as well as high art.