I think we can all agree that 2025 can’t end soon enough. As if losing such genre figureheads as Tomas Lindberg, Brent Hinds, and the Prince of Darkness himself wasn’t enough, the great gig in the sky gained one more musician last week as Ace Frehley tragically passed away at the age of 74. Similar to the passing of Ozzy, just typing those words feels wrong. To many of us, Ace was a superhero, and superheroes don’t die. Hell, superheroes CAN’T die. Yet here I am, a grown-ass man on the brink of tears as I type this, because KISS will forever be that band I wanted to be as a little boy, those larger than life characters consuming every fiber of my being with their onstage antics and American bred rock n’ roll.
Contrary to what latter day narratives may have you believe, Ace was as important to KISS’s success as the band’s frontmen, Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons. If I had a dollar for every post I’ve seen from a prolific rock or metal guitarist, citing Ace as the reason they picked up the instrument in the first place, I’d have a month’s pay in my pocket. To honor this icon and his indelible impact on hard rock and heavy metal, today we’ll be counting down the top 10 songs in which he didn’t just bless us with his anthemic riffs and smokin’ solos, but stepped up to the mic as well. These are our Top 10 Ace Frehley-Sung KISS Songs.
10. “Talk to Me” (Unmasked, 1980)
Kicking off our list at #10, a song off an album that’s virtually ignored by the masses, and divisive amongst KISS diehards, Unmasked. Following the disco-rock glitz of 1979’s Dynasty, instead of returning to their hard rock roots, the band took a hard pivot towards saccharine power pop in the vein of Raspberries. Now pop hooks had always been a key part of the KISS sound, but it was on Unmasked where they took centerstage, overshadowing the little hard rock there was to be heard. “Talk to Me” is one of three Ace compositions on the album, and was even released as a single overseas where it met chart success in Switzerland at #10. Combining Ace’s natural swagger with a singalong chorus, it’s certainly one of the most memorable cuts off the album.
9. “Two Sides of the Coin” (Unmasked, 1980)
Of the three Ace songs on Unmasked, “Two Sides of the Coin” is undoubtedly thee most Ace sounding of the bunch, and perhaps the song with the closest similarity to their ’70s heyday. Ace’s riffage is loud and brash, exploding out of your stereo with brute force. Ace delivers his usual sing-speak vocals on the verses, aided by harmonies from Paul Stanley, before bursting into an earworm of a shout-along chorus. If you’ve never heard this deep cut before, be forewarned: You’ll randomly find yourself singing, “Two sides of the coin to choose from!” without being prompted to do so. That’s a better side effect than most of the pharmaceuticals out there today!
8. “Dark Light” (Music from “The Elder”, 1981)
If Dynasty and Unmasked hadn’t blindsided what was left of the original KISS Army, Music from
“The Elder” most certainly did. Here were our four heroes, well three of them with a new drummer in tow (Eric Carr), who had long since strayed from their hard rock roots, and how do they return? With an overblown Bob Ezrin-produced rock opera that stylistically lies somewhere between pseudo-prog rock, rampaging American metal, hook-driven AOR, and Broadway musical. Ace’s sole vocal contribution comes in the form of “Dark Light”: An oddball rocker that happens to bear a co-writing credit from none other than Lou Reed. On its own, it’s an uneven, disjointed rocker with an eerie aura. In the scope of the album, however, it bridges the gap between Stanley’s bombastic “Just a Boy” and Simmons’s “Only You” in its own singular way. Oh yeah, and that solo absolutely rules, sounding less Frehley and more Santana. Wild!
7. “In Your Face” (Psycho Circus, 1998)
If you’re not familiar with “In Your Face”, you’re forgiven. This hidden gem, and the last song in the KISS catalog to feature Ace on vocals, was an exclusive bonus track on the Japanese edition of Psycho Circus, which has to be one of the dumbest decisions in KISStory as it obliterates the majority of the songs that were featured on the album. Written by Gene Simmons as a gift for his old pal, “In Your Face” is classic Space Ace, with its boisterous lyricism and larger than life riffing. Sure, you could dress Tommy Thayer or any schmuck off the street in his garb, but at the end of the day, the Space Ace was a one off, and “In Your Face” embodies this.
6. “Into the Void” (Psycho Circus, 1998)
Not to be confused with the Sabbath classic of the same name, “Into the Void” stands head and shoulders above the rest of Psycho Circus, save for maybe the title track. On an album of middle of the road rockers, “Into the Void” is practically metallic in demeanor, sounding not just lifted from the band’s ’70s heyday in terms of aesthetic, but caliber as well. The perfect balance of riffs, hooks, and attitude, “Into the Void” is prime Ace and leaves us wishing the KISS camp had allowed him to throw some more tunes onto an otherwise underwhelming comeback album.
5. “Hard Times” (Dynasty, 1979)
Every superhero has an equally super origin story, and Ace Frehley is no exception. Growing up in the Bronx, Ace was surrounded by street gangs and juvenile delinquency, falling right into the trap as so many east coast kids did in the ’50s and early ’60s. Come the age of 18, rock n’ roll saved his life, giving him something more to aspire too than petty theft and back-alley brawls. It’s all chronicled on “Hard Times”: An autobiographical bruiser of a cut off the otherwise glossy Dynasty. Hearing Ace dust this off for his live set in his final years wasn’t just a pleasant surprise, but vindication for a Bronx boy done good!
4. “2,000 Man” (Dynasty, 1979)
If we were to do a top 10 KISS covers (Surely they had to have done at least 10, right?), “2,000 Man” would be near the top of the list, if not #1 itself. Originally performed by The Rolling Stones in the midst of their psychedelic, wannabe Sgt. Pepper’s era, it was Space Ace and the KISS gang who rearranged it as a pulsing ’70s arena rocker, reclaiming the song as their own entirely. Sorry Mick, I love ya, but Ace will FOREVER be the “2,000 Man”. The humorous, tongue in cheek subject matter suited Ace perfectly, and those crunchy riffs and smokin’ leads drive it on home better than Keith Richards ever could. Come his Origins cover album series, “Street Fighting Man” and “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” would also receive the Ace treatment.
3. “Save Your Love” (Dynasty, 1979)
It’s too bad Dynasty continuously gets brushed over as the “disco album”, when in reality it’s so much more. It’s the album where, post-’78 solo album success, Ace really stepped out as a singer-songwriter, so much so that this album is largely the Paul and Ace Show. With Peter out of the picture entirely (save for “Dirty Livin'”) and Gene preoccupied with Cher, it was Paul and KISS’s loveable oddball who anchored the multi-platinum success of Dynasty, which saves its heaviest for last. “Save Your Love” goes toe to toe with any riff-rocker off Rock and Roll Over or Love Gun, boasting the same hedonistic, fist-pumping, bubblegum metal blitzkrieg.
2. “Rocket Ride” (Alive II, 1978)
Following the colossal success of 1975’s Alive!, there was no way Casablanca was going to allow our four makeup-faced heroes to go without a proper sequel. Come ’78, said sequel arrived in the form of the aptly titled Alive II. The album didn’t just feature live renditions of their new hits, but a handful of new studio songs, exclusive to this collection. The strongest of the bunch? “Rocket Ride”. Penned by Ace and longtime KISS confidant Sean Delaney in the midst of a coke-fueled bender, this ’70s metal H-bomb showcases the original band at their most innuendo-laden…and yet still cracked the Top 40! No doubt about it, ’78 was a good year to be Ace Frehley!
- “Shock Me” (Love Gun, 1977)
While arguments can be made that “Rocket Ride” and “Save Your Love” are musically superior to “Shock Me”, it would be wrong for me to place any other song at #1. Just as “God of Thunder” is Gene’s theme song, “Beth” is Peter’s, and “Love Gun” is Paul’s, “Shock Me” is the definitive Ace song in every sense of the word. After years of penning such classics as “Cold Gin”, “Parasite”, and so forth, Ace finally steps out as a vocalist. Sure he doesn’t boast the operatic yelps of Paul, demonic grunts of Gene, or Rod Stewart-esque rasp of Peter, but his simple, streetwise drawl accompanies his playing style perfectly, making “Shock Me” one of the most beloved songs in the KISS canon, period, and the greatest Ace-sung tune ever. Rest in power Space Ace. Keep on rockin’ in Jendell!