Of the four
Kiss solo albums released simultaneously in 1978, the best of the bunch is guitarist
Ace Frehley's. Similar in approach to
Paul Stanley's album,
Frehley did not stray far from the expected heavy
Kiss sound (like
Gene Simmons and
Peter Criss did with their releases), but
Ace was equipped with better compositions than
Stanley. With future
Late Night with David Letterman drummer
Anton Fig helping out (as well as
Letterman bassist
Will Lee on three tracks),
Frehley proved once and for all that he was not simply a backup musician to
Kiss head honchos
Simmons and
Stanley. All of the tracks are strong, such as the venomous opener,
"Rip It Out," as well as a few tracks that confirm how
Frehley was indulging in alcohol and drugs a bit too much by the late '70s (
"Snow Blind," "Ozone," and
"Wiped Out"). You'll also find many underrated compositions (
"Speedin' Back to My Baby," "What's on Your Mind?," "I'm in Need of Love"), a gorgeous instrumental (
"Fractured Mirror"), and the Top 20 hit single
"New York Groove." Unfortunately, when
Ace left
Kiss in 1982 (eventually forming
Frehley's Comet), he never came close to topping this solid and inspired 1978 solo outing. ~ Greg Prato
![Permanent Waves [40th Anniversary Edition]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0602508607226_p0_v2_s90x140.jpg "Permanent Waves [40th Anniversary Edition]")
![Live at the Hollywood Palladium [With Media Book]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/4050538588163_p0_v1_s90x140.jpg "Live at the Hollywood Palladium [With Media Book]")
![The Best of Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac [Columbia]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/5099751015529_p0_v1_s90x140.jpg "The Best of Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac [Columbia]")
