What a long and strange odyssey it’s been for the Space Ace! Ace Frehey rose to fame in the 1970s as the guitarist of KISS, inspiring a whole generation of young people to pick up an instrument. Even after parting ways with the band in the early 80s, Frehley made a comeback with his band Frehley’s Comet, eventually starting a full-fledged solo career. Following a 20-year gap between solo albums, during which time he participated in a KISS reunion, he came back in 2009 with ANOMALY, having been releasing a mix of original material and covers ever since.
10,000 VOLTS is the former KISS guitarist’s latest outing. To say he’s been keeping busy musically for the last decade or so would be an understatement, with plenty of new releases and tour dates around the globe. For his latest studio effort, Trixter guitarist Steve Brown is in the producer’s chair.
For his latest album, this rock and roll fan is pleased to say that the Space Ace doesn’t disappoint, serving up a solid collection of 11 tracks that are quite diverse, but also work well together as a whole. From some hard and heavy opening cuts to some slightly more pop-oriented and melodic tracks, this is classic Ace through and through. Mr. Frehley is never going to win any “Greatest Vocalist” awards, but he’s got one of the most distinct voices out there, and as usual he’s surrounded himself with a solid band of musicians. And perhaps unsurprisingly, the album even ends with an obligatory (but welcomed!) instrumental cut. I don’t think 10,000 VOLTS will top anyone’s list of Ace’s greatest albums, but it’s still a damn fine effort, and I’ll easily put it over nearly everything else the music world is shelling out today.
Hats off to the Space Ace for doing it again with this fantastic release. While certainly not the best album Mr. Frehley has given us, there’s no denying it’s an excellent and musically diverse effort, helped greatly by Steve Brown’s powerful production. Fans of Ace or of classic hard hard rock in general should be pleased with what the Spaceman serves up on 10,000 VOLTS. Highly recommended!