Ace Frehley - Origins Vol. 1

"Origins Vol. 1" track listing:

01. White Room (CREAM)
02. Street Fighting Man (ROLLING STONES)
03. Spanish Castle Magic (JIMI HENDRIX) (feat. John 5)
04. Fire And Water (FREE) (feat. Paul Stanley)
05. Emerald (THIN LIZZY) (feat. Slash)
06. Bring It On Home (LED ZEPPELIN)
07. Wild Thing (THE TROGGS) (feat. Lita Ford)
08. Parasite (KISS) (feat. John 5)
09. Magic Carpet Ride (STEPPENWOLF)
10. Cold Gin (KISS) (feat. Mike McCready)
11. Till The End Of The Day (THE KINKS)
12. Rock And Roll Hell (KISS)

Original KISS guitarist Ace Frehley will release "Origins Vol. 1", a collection of twelve newly recorded classics from Ace's formative years featuring some of the biggest names in rock and roll, on April 15. Most notably, KISS frontman Paul Stanley joins Ace on FREE's hit "Fire And Water". This collaboration marks the first time that Ace and Paul appear on the same studio recording since KISS's 1998 reunion album "Psycho Circus".

Ace spoke with Rolling Stone about the new record, his guest players and recording with Paul after all these years. Regarding his reunion with Stanley, Frehley shrugged off any residual tension between the two of them. "We've always been friends," he told Rolling Stone. "The press seems to amplify negativity. I guess it makes good copy."

Frehley also commented on Stanley's appearance on "Fire And Water". "I thought Paul did a fabulous vocal on it," he said. "He jumped at the chance to do this because it's something that’s outside of KISS and his character in KISS, and it gave him a chance to, you know, sing. With Paul, you usually think of him singing in a slightly higher register and on 'Fire And Water', he's singing deep from his diaphragm, and it's a real cool vocal. Everyone who's heard it just thinks it's the sh*t."

Other guests are none other than Slash trading leads on THIN LIZZY's classic "Emerald", Lita Ford singing and playing lead on THE TROGGS staple "Wild Thing", ROB ZOMBIE guitarist John 5 playing guitar alongside Ace as he sings his classic KISS composition "Parasite" for the very first time, as well as Jimi Hendrix's "Spanish Castle Magic", and PEARL JAM's Mike McCready also plays guitar with Ace as he finally sings his KISS "Alive!" mainstay "Cold Gin". "White Room" is also an iTunes instant gratification track, meaning fans who pre order the LP on iTunes will receive the CREAM cover song instantly.

Click on the link to the Rolling Stone website to hear Ace's take on Cream's 'White Room'

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/ace-frehley-announces-new-lp-white-room-cover-paul-stanley-reunion-20160210

While I personally would've like to see him dig a little deeper on both the Cream and Rolling Stones covers, he's Ace, so I'll give him a pass. Looking forward to this.

Ack.

Dammit I still haven't gotten Space Invader yet and he's got a new one lined up already? When did Ace start getting all prolific 'n' stuff?

Sounds good. Surprised to hear that he got Paul to sing on a track, esp. since he told Rolling Stone "Paul's voice is shot" not all that long ago.

Sweet ! Another cd to purchase . This year has been great so far.

While some ground here is well tread, there is some stuff here that's not on every covers/tribute album. Looking forward to hearing "Emerald".

I listened to The White Room and it's decent, he certainly hasn't murdered it but to a non Ace fan it isn't different or great enough to draw me in. Ace should get his drummer to sing all of this I think.

On a side note bravo for blaming the press for tension between him and paul, they must have forced him to say that Paul was

an asshole
Gene's flunky
gayer than a meadow full of rainbows
and that his voice was shot!  

I liked the cover of White Room better than I thought I would. I'll add this to the wants list.

ZombieHavoc wrote:

While some ground here is well tread, there is some stuff here that's not on every covers/tribute album. Looking forward to hearing "Emerald".

I saw this on another site earlier today and was stoked to see my fave Lizzy song being covered.

the sentinel wrote:

ZombieHavoc wrote:

While some ground here is well tread, there is some stuff here that's not on every covers/tribute album. Looking forward to hearing "Emerald".

I saw this on another site earlier today and was stoked to see my fave Lizzy song being covered.

I don't think I've ever heard that song before so this will be like a brand new Ace tune to me. In fact, the only original Thin Lizzy tunes that I know are The Boys Are Back In Town and Jailbreak.

Nice wah pedal work from Ace on "White Room"

Wonder if "Rock n Roll Hell" is the KISS or BTO version ?

I heard that when an established artist…
begins to put out a release - of all covers -
it's the ole death knell to a band's career.
Doing nothing but covers skirts on dangerous ground.
I was surprised to hear Lemmy attempt
" The Trooper " “ Cat Scratch Fever “ etc
But it does seem that Ace is pushing product -
so he's no doubt sober -  
I heard his mansion in NJ caught on fire ?

Glower wrote:

I heard that when an established artist begins to put out a release - of all covers -
it's certainly the death knell - to that band's carreer -

Bowie did it in 1973, he managed to scrape along for a couple more years afterwards 

Fat Freddy wrote:

Dammit I still haven't gotten Space Invader yet and he's got a new one lined up already? When did Ace start getting all prolific 'n' stuff?  

Sounds good. Surprised to hear that he got Paul to sing on a track, esp. since he told Rolling Stone "Paul's voice is shot" not all that long ago.

Get on the trolley, son. Space Invader is classic Ace. Just skip the "Deluxe version". The bonus tunes are just "radio edits" and pointless.

Paul returned the favor and was equally nice to Ace...

Quote :

During an appearance on KBAD 94.5's "Morning Crash" radio show, Stanley stated about his new collaboration with Frehley: "Ace was doing an album of covers, songs that influenced him and that he loved, and called me. And it's always very funny, because with caller ID, I look, and the phone's ringing, and I see Ace's name come up. So, of course…

"Look, for all the bickering and stuff that we may say about each other, we go back to a very magical time. We started this together. So in spite of whatever we may say from time to time or things that get blown up, we are a family, and a dysfunctional one, but nonetheless a family.

"So Ace said, 'Would you do something on the album?' I said, 'Sure. Of course.'"

He continued: "If [Ace] succeeds, it only makes me happy. I don't wanna see anybody fail, especially somebody who I'm close to. Even if I don't speak to him weekly, even monthly, we are connected in a way that will go to the end.

"There's a great song by FREE called 'Fire And Water', which was on the album with 'All Right Now'. Paul Rodgers, besides being a friend of mine, is one of the consummate vocalists. So to get a chance to sing something that's a little different than what I do in KISS was something I didn't take lightly, because Paul Rodgers is a hell of a vocalist. So it was great, and it was a lot of fun, and it was terrific. And I only wish Ace well with it."

James B. wrote:

Wonder if "Rock n Roll Hell" is the KISS or BTO version ?

KISS

Interesting that he is covering Rock and Roll Hell that Gene says was written about Ace....

Quote :

Get on the trolley, son. Space Invader is classic Ace. Just skip the "Deluxe version". The bonus tunes are just "radio edits" and pointless.

It's on "the list" but I just haven't gotten round to it yet... you know the drill, so many CDs, not enough $$

Some Spaceman related items, for your consideration:

-I listened to "White Room" finally. It's a perfectly fine cover tune. Nothing too exciting. Still looking forward to his versions of some of the tunes on the tracklist.

-The cover art to the Origins album is pretty boring in my opinion. Especially when compared against Space Invader.

-Space Invader did not live up to my out-of-this-world expectations. I enjoy it, but I was really expecting to be just in love with it, like I was with Anomaly. Still worth getting though if you are an Ace/Kiss/rock and/or roll fan.

-When I went to listen to "White Room" on Spotify, I noticed a 2015 release that looked/sounded cool, called Galactic Explorer, with a 70s make up cover. It's a collection of interview. So no fun. I know there are people out there who buy these kinds of things...and granted, one listen to an interview CD of an artist you are a die hard fan of, well that could be interesting...but I definitely think these things are kinda weird. I feel like I'd always come across CDs for bands I'd like in the used CD section and get excited to see a front cover I was unfamiliar with, only to find out it was like a 45-minute, one-track interview CD. No thanks.

thejokeriv wrote:

Interesting that he is covering Rock and Roll Hell that Gene says was written about Ace....

Considering that was around the time when Ace had enough and bailed, he was probably feeling the same way.

I like these cover albums alot but they lose their novelty after awhile.

Damn. That is a killer track list.

manny wrote:

I like these cover albums alot but they lose their novelty after awhile.

Agreed. I make a lot of fave "covers comps" so I am a sucker for this stuff.

I was recently listening to a Malmsteen interview -
and his 'Inspirations' release - of cover songs -
 It's pretty good !

Interesting choice in Rock and Roll Hell since the rumor was that the song was written about Ace.

Concerning Rock n Roll Hell -
at the time when I first heard it - way back when -
I thought it was a direct rip-off from Forienger -
they had a song called Jukebox Hero - that was pretty big at the time -
same story telling scenerio lyrics, not as good as Foreinger though -
And Kiss stole more 'this and thats' than Zep = lol

ultmetal wrote:

Interesting choice in Rock and Roll Hell since the rumor was that the song was written about Ace.

Yea, I think I heard that once too. Oh, here it is...

thejokeriv wrote:

Interesting that he is covering Rock and Roll Hell that Gene says was written about Ace....

I pulled out Space Invader this week to give it a fresh spin in anticipation of this new one coming. It's such a good album.