Ok, it's that time of the month again, when we all get paid. We've raped the bossman for a pretty penny or two, and now it's time to go blow it all on something we don't need.
In my case I don't get paid until Friday, so I'm spending that money today. Hey it's the credit generation, and Susan's out of town.
To allow me to even do more damage and partying while Susan's out and about, a guest blogger is submitting this most awesome of awesomess reviews.
A one the only Mr. Jim Fancher... I've nown Jim for several years and the guy has moved to the Paradise City of Morgantown. Amazingly being as unsocial as I can be, we've not managed to hook up during tailgates at WVU.
This must be remedied.
Anyhow, Jim is one of the biggest KISS fans I know, and KISS has a new disc out and so does Ace? Ace was my favorite so I'm doing his review first. Kiss can come later as you know my readers can't handle too many new posts in one week month.
So let's get started, after all I've got some drinkin' to do.
First, Jim's review is in this color. If I have a snide comment or two, I'm going to put it below his in this color. Similiar to how me and Susan did the Surf Bar review on Fork You.
Anomaly review ... (by Jim)
This is a very satisfying and entertaining album from Ace Frehley. Work on this album spans longer than GNR’s Chinese Democracy (I long-hoped it would be called “Space Democracy” as a play on that GNR album), as Ace’s last release was in 1989. He hyped it as a return to form of his ’78 release, but I don’t think it sounds like that album at all. (It's a common theme amongst KISS members to call their latest release a "return to form" and then refer to some great 1970's era LP) It’s a rock record that starts off with hard-rock type songs that Ace probably thought his fans expected from him, and then takes off into more introspective & diverse territory. He sings every song on this album & sounds great (due to help from Pro Tools, no doubt! and Tune Pro), and the production is crisp & clear (it is much “glossier” than the new Kiss album – which is great, by the way). (ok here is where I have to disagree - I think Sonic Boom is much better produced - it's my opinion, it's my blog, deal with it.)
Song by song: (thanks Jim, this makes it that much easier for all my loyal readers to follow - all two of them - to be honest, it's only me I read it twice)
Foxy & Free – A killer metallic opening riff that grabs your attention as the album opens, grabbing your attention with surprising heaviness. The riffs are heavy & cool with a great groove, and Ace’s vocal delivery, he sounds great on this song (and on the whole album for that matter). This song would fit on any Kiss or Ace album and would be one of the better songs on any of them. I love the nod to his hero Hendrix with the song title, and the spoken “Voodoo Chile” in the song itself. Very strong opening song, 8.5 Spacebears out of 10. (I agree, with Jim, pretty damned good tune..I will convert Jim's rating to an " i " friendly device rating system thus it's about 85% which is closest to Four Stars )
Outer Space – For whatever reason, the first single. ( well it didn't take long to disagree - "for whatever reason" is obvious to me as it's the best damned tune on the disc ) This song is interesting in that two guys in an unknown band wrote this song with Ace in mind, and somehow got Ace’s attention with it. Ace made some changes to the tune and here we have the final song. It’s a good, but kind of vanilla rock by numbers. Lyrically, I don’t look for Ace to give me Shakespearean insight, but some of this is pretty cringe-worthy. Also, I have no idea what this song is about, other than it’s a play on his “Spaceman” aura. That’s okay, Ace is our hero because of his guitar and his riffs. 5.5 Rock Soldiers out of 10. (..."lyrically I don't look for Ace to give me Shakespearean insight..." - by far, this will be the best line of the review - and I haven't even read the whole thing yet, somethings I just know. As I mentioned this is probably my favorite track on the disc, unlike Jim, my life was probably wrecked by taking Shaksespearean insight from KISS memebers this has resulted in my recluseness probably deservedly so. I wasn't aware that Ace didn't really come up with the idea, and probably got it from the people in the said You Tube Clip below, but I give it Four Stars on my iTunes.)
Pain In The Neck – A mid-tempo, grooving song that has a great feel to it. Ace delivers his vocals in a cool bluesy way. I am loving this tune until it gets to the chorus, which is one of the most unimaginative choruses I’ve ever heard. There’s a cool very un-Acelike guitar “bridge” around the 2:05 mark, leading into the guitar solo. It feels almost like it was spliced in. Great solo too. This song would be an 8, but the chorus brings it down a bit. 7 out of key vocals out of 10. ( I agree the chorus blows spaceballs all over the place. But the rest has that "Ace" swagger that is vintage - Three Stars )
Fox On The Run – This is Ace’s cover of Sweet’s early 70’s classic. It begins with classic Ace toggle switching, and then it’s off and running like the title suggests. This song sounds like it was Ace’s all along, and his voice is perfect for it. It’s just a fun, great summer tune. I would have loved to have been there when they recorded this, it just sounds so fun to me ears. I can’t say enough good things about Fox On The Run. Buy a convertible and play this song loud while driving. 9.5 Farewell Tours out of 10. ( again, I agree with Jim, although I haven't quite jizzed all over the convertible's steering well - it's a pretty damn good cover Four Stars)
Genghis Kahn – Interesting song, sounds nothing like anything in Ace’s catalog. It starts off with some strong acoustic guitar and then goes into this Zep Houses of the Holy / Kashmir kind of groove, just a jamming thing that just makes you bob your head. Other than one line that gets repeated a few times (“Soooo loooong, Genghis Kahhhhn”), the song an instrumental. It’s a jamming thing with some great solos, basically a song without lyrics. I wonder if the “So long, Genghis Kahn” thing is about being free of Gene Simmons’ dominance? 7 Fractured Mirrors out of 10. ( you know, Jim makes a good point about the Gene Simmon's thing... that would be cool, but I don't think it's the case... as that would cut Ace out of any future reunion project. I can't get into this song, I give it Two Stars as I'll explain later some parts are good, I like the intro, but it just drags me down in the end. Two Stars)
Too Many Faces – After opening the album with several songs that (I speculate) Ace wrote with what his fans expect in mind, we begin to get into the meat of the record where Ace (in his way) making personal statements about where he is as a 58 year old rocker in his twilight years as a musician. This song has this weird/awkward intro that doesn’t really fit, and then goes off into this light, retrospective song that almost sounds pop. Really nice verses, pretty unimaginative chorus (but better than Pain in the Neck). I like it. It’s a nice little tune that would have fit on an 80’s Frehley’s Comet release. 6 drunken performances out of 10. ( I don't know where a 58 year old Spaceman, could be, but I agree with Jim, the song seems to be about self reflection, but after all the attempts of trying to put the too many faces of Ace together out of the CD Jacket well I can't say too much about it... Three Stars. - Oh and here's one too many pics of me: )
Yes that's me holding my Frehley's Comet / Second Sighting / Live +1 cassettes, and Ace Frehley Solo Disc while wearing my overly stretched "I survived the Ace & Peter Show " T.Change The World – A rather slow song with acoustic/electric guitar mixed (like Too Many Faces). Ace is looking back at his younger years, realizing there are more important things than just being a crazy rock star. A great but short solo. This song kind of reminds me of “Remember Me” from Trouble Walkin, although I like that song better. 7 Rocket Rides out of 10. ( This is an Ok song, I wouldn't have written it, but that's because I didn't try to write it, and as Ace sings "nothing happens if you don't try"... Three Stars, it could easily be a two in my book Oh wait I forgot about the "ladddeeedee " at the end TWO STARS )
Space Bear – A full-on electric instrumental. Like Genghis Kahn, it’s a grooving jamming thing, but no acoustic guitar anyway. Also like GK, it sounds like a song with the vocal track missing (and again that is a compliment as “hey look at me” instrumentals are a bit boring). Goes on too long, should have been shorter. 5 shots of Cold Gin out of 10. ( I did a double take while reading this review, I said to myself "Space Bear"?? What the hell??? and sure enough that is the title of the song? Ace says he's clean and sober, I'm starting to wonder.... Oh well I'm not a fan of instrumentals so Two Stars )
A Little Below The Angels – An acoustic song about Ace’s sobriety (which hit 3 years on the date of Anomaly’s release). Again unlike anything in Ace’s back catalogue. The lyrics are very direct to the point of being almost lumbering, but again Ace was never a poet. I really like this song, it’s like Ace does Dylan. Nice little bridge of “I don’t know if I’ll make it to heaven, or if He’ll just open the gates to hell…..” and then the song goes into a reprised riff of Fractured Mirror from ’78. Well done…..then there is a spoken-word part between Ace & his daughter Monique, which isn’t so well done. Ace gets a mulligan for that because he’s being really genuine here about his struggles. Then the song glides out electrically with a children’s choir singing the chorus over & over, which fits and sounds good. If you can forgive the spoken-word part (which is so bad it sounds like a cartoon), this song is a highlight. 8.5 Les Pauls out of 10 ( there's no mulligans in with my hard earned money, the spoken word shit just plain sucks... if it was a spoken word with me, then it would be excellent, and we wouldn't be talking about seeing angels, we'd be talking about ending that three year sobriety as we get into Delorean's automobile! Three Stars )
Sister – The most up-tempo song on the album! This song rocks and I’ve been looking forward to hearing this since the ’95 demos of it leaked some time back. Ace played this with his solo band in the mid’90s, and I still remember it! Ace presented this song to Kiss for that band’s ’98 Psycho Circus album, but it was rejected. Whatever, Gene & Paul. Great solo, great riffs, great feel, a highlight. 8 replacement guitar players out of 10 ( I'll go with 4 Tommy Thayer's out of Five, it's a good song and probably the second favorite of mine... As for why it wasn't on the 98 Kiss disc, was probably because it wasn't cheesy enough Four Stars )
It’s A Great Life – Another retrospective acoustic song with a weird 70’s R&B feel. You’ll know what I mean when you hear it. It feels kind of stiff, but I like it once it kicks in a bit around the 0:40 mark. It just leaves you feeling good “It’s a great life, I paid a high price for all I’ve done wrong” etc. It loosens up after a stiff start. Ace leaves us feeling like he’s on the right track to stay. ( weird 70's vibe eh? I agree, and just an overall weird song... Again one of those songs that makes me wonder what Ace is smoking?? I don't know I can't get into it... it's not bad, but not hmmmm it's catchy... Three Stars )
Fractured Quantum – The third instrumental, and the fourth in the “Fractured Mirror” series that began on his ’78 album. It starts with this Pink Floydish sound of children in the distance playing on the beach and goes into acoustic guitar. It’s mellow, pretty, a nice way to end the album. I don’t like it as much as the other three “Fractured” instrumentals that end his other solo releases, but that’s fine because I love all of those. ( OK - here's where I get mean - the "fractured mirror" series is like that sweater Aunt Jane would get you every year for Christmas or that tie your wife get's you - You think to yourself what the hell, Aunt Jane knows I don't like this sweater why the hell does she keep serving it up to me?? Well the Fractured crap is that way to me? Ace is no Guitar Virtuoso by any means... He's a god because he got people to play and they grew up with him and he was the SPACEMAN who shot rockets out of his guitar!!!! not instumentals. I could do with another song, let's say " Can I do your Sister Two" ?? One Fractured Mirror Star )
OK, everyone thank Jim for offering this week's contribution, it sure made my job a hell of a lot more productive. I'm serious I did more at work instead of writing on this blog.
