Search - Ace Frehley :: Trouble Walkin'

The most underrated of Ace's 3 solo album offerings.

05/29/1998

(4 out of 5 stars)

"With Frehley's Comet dead and buried, Ace was able to capitalize on his own name with Trouble Walkin'. His label finally agreed to drop the "Frehley's Comet" moniker and allow Ace to shine on his own. It really shows here as the songs are more rock driven and not as commercially viable as those from the 2 previous albums. Plus we get to hear the resurrection of Peter Criss who hadn't been heard from in 7 years. Peter shows up on Hide Your Heart, Trouble Walkin' and, most notably, on 2 Young 2 Die. Despite the fact that he looks like a surfer dude a la Jeff Spicoli at this point, it's nice to see and hear from Peter Criss again. The album opens with Shot Full of Rock, one of Ace's heavier numbers and most underrated songs. Do Ya, the old E.L.O. song, measures up nicely to the original. Five Card Stud has a smokin' solo. Hide Your Heart falters a bit, though. KISS' version on Hot In The Shade really outdoes Ace's version but this one is still pretty good. Lost In Limbo is definitely one of the weakest tracks on the album, as is Back To School with Sebastian Bach's screaming in the background. The title track is another good song with a cool anthemic chorus. Hair-metallers Skid Row lend their vocals to the chorus as does Peter Criss which really adds to the song. 2 Young 2 Die lets Peter Criss sing a couple of verses and take a turn behind the kit with some great double bass-action. This is a good song with a good groove to it, especially the rhythm section of John Regan and Peter Criss. Remember Me is Ace's political song. Playing on his "Space Ace" persona, he refers to himself as the omnipotent overseer of the Earth and how we are destroying ourselves. Kind of a cool song and a definite departure from the usual Ace material. Fractured III closes Trouble Walkin' and is the third installment in the "Fractured" trilogy of Ace instrumental pieces. It is equally as ethereal as the other 2 pieces but just isn't as grabbing as Fractur! ed Mirror or Fractured Too. Trouble Walkin' was not a successful album for Ace Frehley which is too bad. It is the most underrated of his 3 studio solo albums and certainly th least commercial. At the time of its release, hair metal by the likes of Winger, Skid Row, Whitesnake and the like dominated the charts. Though my heart still bears a fondness for hair metal, Ace's departure from the commercially successful sort of music that he was producing with Frehley's Comet was a mistake for him at the time. His label was not promoting him properly and the best way for him to get noticed was to stick with the current musical trends. Trouble Walkin' lost Ace's affiliation with a major label and hence he did not release another album before returning to KISS in 1996. Up to this point, he was touring with Peter Criss' band, Criss, on what was labelled The Bad Boys of KISS Tour."

Ace gets it right!

Graboidz | Westminster, Maryland | 03/11/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I recently pulled this disc out with and listened to it as well as Frehley's Comet and Second Coming. I wanted to see if these disc's held up after a decade or so of sitting on the shelf. Frehley's Comet had some catchy songs, like "Into the Night". Second Coming was largely forgettable without much going for it except "Acorn". But Trouble Walkin' was a great disc. Anton Fig was back on drums, Ace's guitar work was great, and each song had it's own feel. This is the best of Ace's solo stuff. The remake of "Do Ya" is worth the price of the CD alone! But I think the best tune on the album is the instrumental "Fractured III". If you haven't picked up any of Frehley's non-Kiss stuff but are interested, this is the place to start."

An impressive solo effort by Ace Frehley

Some Gravity | Indiana, USA | 01/01/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Ace Frehley's 1989 solo album, "Trouble Walkin'", is an impressive solo effort by Frehley. Frehley is by far the best guitarist KISS ever had, and while Frehley's self-titled 1978 solo album is Frehley's best solo effort, "Trouble Walkin'" is pretty impressive also. This album has ten tracks, and all ten tracks are all very strong, with the lyrics, production, and Frehley's work on guitar and lead vocals. "Shot Full of Rock" is a good way to open an album, and Frehley's cover version of Jeff Lynne's "Do Ya" and KISS' "Hide Your Heart" are both very good also. Another bright spot on this album is the accoustic instrumental "Fractured III", which is a sequel to the instrumental "Fractured Mirror" off of Frehley's 1978 album and "Fractured Too", which appeared on Frehley's Comet debut album. While the best songs on this album are "Trouble Walkin'" and "Back To School", the best thing about this album is the cameo apparance by Peter Criss on "2 Young 2 Die",on which Criss played percussion on and sung the additional vocals for the song. There are also cameo appearances by Sebastian Bach, Dave "The Snake" Sabo, Rachel Bolan, Peppy Castro, Al Fritsch, and Pat Sommers. "Trouble Walkin'" is an album you should check out if you're a fan of Ace Frehley, KISS, or 80's rock."