Review: Ace Frehley – Origins Vol. 2 CD Reviews by Hear2Zen Magazine - August 26, 20200 Artist: Ace FrehleyAlbum: Origins Vol. 2Release Date: September 18th 2020Label: eOneReviewer: Rod Strachan The one and only Ace Frehley will drop “Origins Volume 2” on us on September 18 th . This will be thelong awaited follow up to the forerunner “Origins Volume 1” released back in 2016 featuring twelvenew covers. Track 1 – Good Times, Bad Times (Led Zeppelin) Ace has long touted Led Zeppelin as one of his majorinfluences of his fledgling career right until this very day. This cover showcases Ace’s comfort in hisown vocal ability without having the compare notes against Robert Plant. A very solid opening trackrunning a full 36 seconds longer than the original, more Ace is just fine with me! Track 2 – Never In My Life (Mountain) Ace delivers what can only be described as an exquisite versionof the 1970 Mountain track from their debut album. Staying true to the Leslie West Les Paul formulafrom 1970 this 2020 is a version of remastered and updated brilliance. Track 3 – Space Truckin’ (Deep Purple) On July 28th this great cover dropped as the first single. The videois a great animation production with the song lending itself to Ace’s very own Space Ace character inso many ways. A blistering guitar solo from Ace backed into a Rob Sabino keyboard section that dothe original proud. Perfect choice is the front running single for the album. Track 4 – I’m Down (The Beatles) The upbeat B-Side single for Help! Arrives next. A rousing renditionof the Lennon/McCartney (and apparently more McCartney) live staple track which incidentally isthe final song played by the fab four in a concert tour at Shea stadium. Ace with the help of guestguitarist John 5 prove well and truly they are on top of his game with this one! Whilst it maybe notmy first choice for a Beatles cover from the Space Ace, he certainly delivers a solid performance on asomewhat lesser known track. Track 5 – Jumpin’ Jack Flash (The Rolling Stones) Track five and its back to back covers from theworld’s two biggest bands. Lita Ford lends her great vocal talents to the lead on this one. Whilst Acehandles the backing vocals in fine style. The two work together extremely well to give a five-starperformance on one of the Stones biggest hits! Track 6 – Politician (Cream) John 5 returns to the record to trade licks again with Ace from this takeCream’s Wheels On Fire album. In Ace’s own description on this recording the two recordedseparate guitar solos with Engineer Alex Slazman cross fading the two. This mix is a must for anyheadphone enthusiast, adding an interesting element to a very well thought out cover! Track 7 – Lola (The Kinks) No acoustic intros leading into one of The Kink’s best-selling singles. Juststraight-ahead rock and riffs from Ace. Without straying away from the blueprint that made thissong such a success all those years ago, this song fits the album perfectly. Track 8 – 30 Days in The Hole (Humble Pie) Ace leans on the extraordinary vocal talents of CheapTrick’s Robin Zander for this one. A vocalist with few peers Robin’s range fills the microphone inexemplary style while Matt Star holds the deliver the solid punch on drums. A true highlight of analready burgeoning list of pinnacles on the record. Track 9 – Manic Depression (Jimi Hendrix) Bruce Kulick joins Ace in a KISS reunion of sorts. My twoguitar heroes as a kid growing up blend their contrasting styles together for the first time in a studiorecorded situation. This track will leave even the conservative KISS fan thinking…Could there bemore to come from these two icons? Some original material is a mouth-watering concept inanyone’s mind surely? Track 10 – Kicks (Paul Revere & the Raiders) Ace unearths another of his early life influences herewith this 1966 hit song. A selective track that leans heavily on the lyric content surrounding Ace’s old lifestyle based on the original meaning when written by Barry Man and Cynthia Weil. Over a decadesober now and Ace is fulfilling the potential as an artist one can only dream of! Great track choicehere and fits the album’s tone perfectly. Track 11 – We Gotta Get Out of This Place (The Animals) With its own New York style into Acedelivers the goods with the cover of The Animals classic. Another song in many waysautobiographical track from Ace’s formative years growing up in the Bronx. A great way to end ofthe album until…. Track 12 – She (KISS) Bonus Track – No Ace, no Matt no Ron no problem. The Ace Frehley band delivera high-quality replica of the KISS song from the Dressed to Kill album. The band’s ability to playanything from KISS’ back catalogue is highly regarded amongst fans in general. In all the album extremely solid, rock solid to say the least. My only gripe would be a KISS cover inthe same vein as Origins Vol 1, where Ace threw at us a fantastic version of “Rock N Roll Hell”. Anotheralong those lines would have be ideal here maybe something like “Good Girl Gone Bad” from CrazyNights or “Tough Love” from Revenge…maybe on Origins 3? Share this:TwitterFacebookLike this:Like Loading... Related