Ace Frehley – Spaceman
2018, Entertainment One Music
- Without You I’m Nothing
- Rockin’ With the Boys
- Your Wish Is My Command
- Bronx Boy
- Pursuit of Rock and Roll
- I Wanna Go Back
- Mission to Mars
- Off My Back
- Quantum Flux
Musicians:
Ace Frehley – Lead Vocals, Guitar, Bass, Backing Vocals
Ronnie Mancuso – Guitar
Gene Simmons – Bass
Alex Salzman – Bass, Backing Vocals
Scot Coogan – Drums, Backing Vocals
Matt Starr – Drums
Anton Fig – Drums
Producers: Ace Frehley, Alex Salzman, Warren Huart
Spaceman is Ace’s 8th solo album and his fourth release in the last 9 years. Anyone who enjoyed Anomaly and Space Invader should enjoy this release as well. It is undeniably Ace and like those previously mentioned albums, it is reminiscent more of ’80s hard rock rather than the ’70s hard rock of KISS or Ace’s 1978 solo album.
At least, that’s the way I interpret these three albums, and I don’t mean that in a bad way. “Rockin’ With The Boys” is a prime example of what I mean. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think it was a Frehley’s Comet song. It would sound complimentary in concert or a compilation album right next to “Rock Soldiers”.
For this recording, Ace recruited former band mate Gene Simmons to help co-write two tracks (“With You I’m Nothing”, “Your Wish Is My Command”) and play bass on one track (“Without You I’m Nothing”).
As usual with an Ace album, there’s a cover song and there’s an instrumental. The cover song is “I Wanna Go Back” by Billy Satellite and I honestly that it was an Ace song at first until reading more about the album. It’s a solid tune. As for the instrumental, “Quantum Flux” is the fifth entry into Ace’s “Fractured” series of album-closing instrumentals following 1978’s “Fractured Mirror”, 1987’s “Fractured Too”, 1989’s “Fractured III”, and 2009’s “Fractured Quantum”. I like this track as well. It fits right in with the rest of the “Fractured” songs.
Clocking in at about 32 minutes with only 9 tracks, this album is the perfect length for me. I don’t have the time or attention span to devote an hour to 15+ tracks. If it was up to me, it would be a law that no album can exceed 10 tracks! The album is brief but it packs a punch and plenty of hooks. Ace doesn’t wear out his welcome and there is no filler here. Of Ace Frehley’s recent releases (all of which are good), this very well may be the best.
Highlights: “Without You I’m Nothing”, “Rockin’ With the Boys”, “Your Wish Is My Command”, “I Wanna Go Back”