ACE FREHLEY: Origins Vol. 2 (HARD ROCK): review / opinion to read on Music Waves

For the second time in his career, Ace Frehley has released an album exclusively made up of covers of songs whose common thread is to have been a source of inspiration in his early years (hence the title "Origins"). If the first record was due to a commission from the singer-guitarist's label, the latter seems to have enjoyed it enough to renew the experience four years later.

To expand his repertoire, the set-list will draw from singles from the 60s and 70s, the oldest titles dating from 1965 ('I'm Down' by the Beatles and 'We Gotta Get Out of This Place' by the Animals) and the most recent from 1974 ('She' by Kiss as a bonus track). A relatively limited period of time that allows the album to retain a kind of homogeneity that is often lacking in this kind of exercise. Ace Frehley also had the intelligence to choose titles full of hard rock or dynamic rock, reinforcing the coherence of the whole. No risk as for the quality of the chosen songs, most of them being standards of bands whose reputation is well known : Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Cream, The Kinks, Humble Pie, Jimi Hendrix Experience, The Animals... difficult to do better as a business card.

Overall, Ace Frehley remains fairly faithful to the original versions, keeping the tempo and the general style of each song. Only the numerous and tasty guitar solos allow to bring a touch of novelty without distorting the creators' intention. Also noteworthy is the addition of a few lyrics to 'Good Times Bad Times', in which Ace Frehley settles some personal scores, a more vigorous version of '30 Days in the Hole' and the slightly failed finale of 'Space Truckin', in which Ace Frehley is unable to pick up the high notes that Ian Gillan reached.

In the end, only one question arises: what is the point of buying a cover album which, by definition, offers nothing new? From our point of view, we don't see any. But if cover albums don't put you off and you have a taste for dynamic rocks, "Origins Vol.2", thanks to its quality and coherence, should make you happy. - Official website

ACE FREHLEY

ORIGINS VOL. 2

EONE MUSIC

HARD ROCK