By 1989 the original guitarist of Kiss, Ace Frehle,y had been out of the band for seven years, and at the very end of the 1980s he released his album “Trouble Walkin’.”
“Trouble Walkin’” is the third record in his post-Kiss career and is a fan favorite. The album failed to crack the top 100 on the Billboard 200, clocking in at No. 102, but despite the lack of success the record did in the charts, there is still an all-star lineup on the recording.
The main band, in addition to Ace, includes Richie Scarlet who was Ace’s longest band member until he was let go in 2019, John Regan who also played with Peter Frampton, and Anton Fig who played in Paul Shaffer and the World’s Most Dangerous Band, the house band on The David Letterman show.
There are also a lot of guest stars on this record on top of the core four mentioned above. Former Kiss drummer Peter Criss is credited with background vocals on four tracks, while Skid Row members Dave Sabo, Rachel Bolan, and former singer Sebastian Bach are also credited with background vocals.
Out of all the solo records that “The Spaceman” has released, “Trouble Walkin’” is one of my favorites. The 10 songs on the record are classic Ace Frehley Kiss-like songs that leave listeners headbanging for 44 straight minutes.
Track one, “Shot Full of Rock,” is a great opening song that is a meat and potatoes hard rock song. The chorus of “Your fascination with my creation adds stimulation rock til you drop. Hard rock nation lost generation end the frustration get shot full of rock get shot full of rock get shot full of rock” leaves fans fist pumping in the air as Ace shreds during his solo.
Track two is a cover of The Move’s “Do Ya.” Of course, Ace made it his own sound while Fig added his own touch of a driving beat to the track which makes it so unique. At the end, during the classic “Do ya, do ya want my face? I need it,” Ace replaces it with “Do ya, do ya want the Ace?” Further making the cover memorable.
The second cover on this record is track four, “Hide Your Heart.” Originally written by Paul Stanley and legendary writer Desmond Child, the track was originally performed by Bonnie Tyler.
Like “Do Ya,” “Hide Your Heart,” is another great sing-along song. Ace does a great job adding his own touches to the song while also respecting the original Tyler version. If you had to compare this cover to the original, or even the Kiss version, I think Ace’s version is the best one and it isn’t even close.
The next two songs on the record, “Lost In Limbo,” and the title track are classics that are unfortunately no longer incorporated in Ace’s setlist.
“Lost In Limbo” contains a really catchy riff from Ace and Scarlett while the entire band has perfect harmonies on this song. I think that throughout the entire album, one of the band’s strongest aspects is the harmonies and how strong the vocals sound on the record.
The title track has the same feel as “Lost In Limbo.” The song has another classic Ace Frehley riff while the entire band sings together on the chorus of “I am trouble walkin’ I am every mother’s nightmare I am trouble walkin’.”
On the final chorus of “I am trouble walkin’,” I love how Ace is able to go up an octave and hit the higher notes to show just how good his voice actually is.
The remainder of the songs, “2 Young 2 Die,” “Back to School,” “Remember Me,” and “Fractured III” are also good enough to round out the record.
Track seven, “2 Young 2 Die,” has Scarlett on lead vocals while “Fractured III” is the instrumental that also has appeared on two prior records (“Kiss: Ace Frehley,” “Frehley’s Coment”).
In the lure of Kiss, this record came out seven years before the famous MTV Unplugged session which was the beginning of what would become the Reunion Tour of 1996.
Out of the four original members of Kiss, Ace has had the most success when it comes to solo material. Drummer Peter Criss had little to no success with his solo records, Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons’ solo records, “Live to Win,” and “Asshole,” didn’t chart higher than the No. 53 position. The only member that has seen any success with their solo records was Ace Frehley.
It’s such a shame that this record didn’t chart higher and is a bit overshadowed by 1987’s “Frehley’s Comet” and 2009’s “Anomaly.” The latter was Ace’s first solo record since 1989.
Ace should incorporate some of the “Trouble Walkin’” songs into his current setlist. Ace’s current setlist includes all Kiss songs, mainly the songs he co-wrote during his time with the band but it would still be nice to hear some of his original material live.
After looking at one of “The Spaceman’s” most underrated records, I’ll now ask, do you remember?
