Go back to the main Kiss page. Say Ace sent ya. Face Rehley Overall Album Score: 7.8 out of 10 And here's the grand tamale of them all! Yeah. I know it only got a 7.8 on my album scale, but compare that to the 3.5-6.5 reviews that I have been giving to the regular Kiss albums! This is essentially a relative gasp of brilliancy! Of course, I had to give this review some amount of objectivity. I can't go and give this something uncalled-for like a 9.0 or something ... I'm still making attempts to rate this one along with all the albums on this site. And I did. This is really a 7.8 on my scale. It's obvious, though, that I am less apt to point out the shortcomings of Ace Frehley than when, say, Bob Dylan put forth a 7.8-scoring album. But believe me when I tell ya that this album is GENUINELY enjoyable from start to finish! The final two tracks are a bit iffy in 'genuinely enjoyable' ... but I don't care! I have finally grown to *LIKE* a Kiss album! I'm so excited! I'm going to call my grandparents with the good news! (Okay ... maybe I won't ... but I have the urge to, anyway.) Yes, two of the other 1978 Kiss solo albums, Peter Criss and Gene Simmons were mildly good (better than any Kiss album, in fact) and Paul Stanley made a somewhat admirable showing (at least being better than the early Kiss albums). But Ace Frehley is truly the culmination of all of this. And, indeed, whatever few reasons there were for Kiss to exist are here, take it or leave it. Overall Album Score: 7.8 out of 10 (Ace Frehley is far from being a perfect album. But ... this is the first time that I've actually ever held some respect for a member of Kiss.) Average Song Score: 7.9 (Wow! These songs are so good that you would never have expected it to come from a solo album by someone from Kiss! This is remarkably strong!) Album Tilt: 8.0 (Again, I was actually enjoying this! Bogus!) Artist Rating: 7.5 (It's not an *artistic* achievement per se, but it's the most convincing thing I've heard from a Kiss member yet!) Track Reviews Rip it Out 7.5/10 Yeah. I know. "Rip it Out" is not really that impressive (especially after ranting and raving about how much this album rocks). "Rip it Out," though, is certainly much more rocking than 95 percent of the average Kiss song. The riff is not only just tolerable, it actually has balls. The electric guitar solo in here is also a pleasant piece of work ... whenever I pointed out in a Kiss song that I liked the electric guitar solo, I fully realize that Ace was behind it all. Speedin' Back to My Baby 8/10 Hey! What is this? A hard rock/glam song that has an actual melody? The lyrics are trite, indeed ... but hey there's a melody! Wow ... was there an actual talented person somewhere in Kiss? This sounds like there is an actual talented person behind all of this. That's cool. Snow Blind 8/10 MAN! Get this riff! It sounds like somebody like Black Sabbath or somebody created it! I force myself to review this track (somewhat) objectively, so I can't really give these incredibly high points, but DUDE ... these are not only listenable, they're actually enjoyable! Get that instrumental interlude in here! Doesn't that sound great?! This is non-Kissian by definition! Ace! Where have you been hiding all my life? Ozone 8.5/10 Again! What's with these nice riffs? What's with the creative arranging? Who or what's spiritually possessing this member of Kiss? Whatever you do, let's not ask it to leave! Maybe it'll make the future Kiss albums bearable! ... I somehow doubt that, but whatever muse this guy was operating off of was a true blessing ... about the only blessing anyone who donned annoying face paint ever received, I'd imagine ... that is, unless we're counting Marcel Marceau. He got to appear in a Mel Brooks movie once. What's On Your Mind? 8.5/10 I'll tell you what's on my mind! This is a nearly immaculate metal-pop song with *gasp* melodic innovation! Seriously. This album totally rocks. New York Groove 9.5/10 Hey! This is a nice groove, too! CRAP! I'm almost beginning to regret making fun Kiss in the past. How could one of the members suggest to me strongly that there was an actual brilliant person under all that stupid face paint? (Albeit, Ace really didn't shine after this album as far as I can tell.) This is a remarkably catchy pop song (it's a little bit throwaway, but there's no sense in complaining about that). It so danged immaculate that it absolutely SHINES. I'm in Need of Love 7.5/10 Oh man! AGAIN! ... This one has an echoey guitar effect here that Kiss might have tried before, but it sounded so blasted CRAPPY that it failed entirely. Here, though, it manages to work perfectly. That's it, Ace. I think you should go back to 1974 and fire all of your band members. You could get away with it, too, I think. Don't worry. I'll go back with you, if you need me to, and start taking swings at their knees with a metal bat. I'll probably enjoy it, too. Wiped-Out 7/10 Goofy and fun. This song takes a surfer vibe and gives it the old heavy metal treatment. Strikingly enough, the electric guitar playing here is TIGHT! Unfortunately, the melody here isn't that great ... but DUDE, the instrument playing is spot-on! And I still think it's fun. You'll enjoy it. I know you will. Fractured Mirror 6.5/10 Even this boring old acousticish thing is super by Kiss standards. It's tons more enjoyable than similar things by the regular Kiss standards ... although, this really isn't that good, is it? Ace Frehley said he'll play automobile-chicken with your mother in a dark alley if you don't e-mail me a comment about this album here! Jereznjul@aol.com (Jerry) received Nov. 25, 2004 I was just a kid when first introduced to Kiss. The solo albums were alright as far as the music go's, but the treat was the poster's inside the album's! I thought Ace's album was the best of the four. Fractured mirror was my favorite song. That's just my preference though. I like a good vocal-free song. I also loved listening to Yngvie Malmsteen for that reason. I will admit Kiss was a "kiddie band" and I was a kid. There music was simple, but fun. And I enjoyed all albums. I started losing interest when there prices sky rocketed on merchandise and the sale of songs that have already been on four or more albums. It is getting old! Anyway of the four ace is the best in my book, and I will own all of his solo's.

All reviews are copyrighted by the author, Michael Lawrence. He's a certified pediatrician.