Post by Henny Macc on Jul 22, 2020 23:28:56 GMT
Paul Daniel "Ace" Frehley (April 27, 1951 - )
Years active: 1973-present
Country of origin: United States of America
Recorded vocal range: F2-A5 - 3⅓ octaves
Band history:
- 1973-1976 - Kiss (lead guitar, backing vocals)
- 1976-1982 - Kiss (lead guitar, vocals)
- 1978 - Ace Frehley (lead vocals, guitar, bass)
- 1984-1988 - Frehley's Comet (lead vocals, lead guitar)
- 1989-1995 - Ace Frehley (lead vocals, lead guitar)
- 1996-2002 - Kiss (lead guitar, vocals)
- 2007-present - Ace Frehley (lead vocals, lead guitar)
Recorded high notes:
A5: "Wiped Out"
G♯5/A♭5: "I'm in Need of Love"
F♯5/G♭5: "Cold Gin" live at the Hammersmith Odeon 1988, "Trouble Walkin'"
F5: "Cold Gin '16", "Wiped Out"
D♯5/E♭5: "Cold Gin" live at the Hammersmith Odeon 1988, "Shock Me" live Dodger Stadium 1998, "Stranger in a Strange Land", "Rocket Ride", "Torpedo Girl"
D5: "I'm Down", "Lost in Limbo", "Sister"
C♯5/D♭5: "Lost in Limbo", "New York Groove" live at Hammersmith Odeon 1988, "Past the Milky Way", "Wiped Out"
C5: "Detroit Rock City" live at The Coach House 1995, "Lost in Limbo", "Nothin' to Lose" live at The Coach House 1995, "Rocket Ride" live Aragon Ballroom 1987, "Shock Me" live at the Hammersmith Odeon 1988, "Stranger in a Strange Land", "The Girl Can't Dance"
B4: "Baby It's You", "Calling to You", "Into the Void", "I Wanna Hold You", "Juvenile Delinquent", "Love Me Right", "New York Groove" live at the Hammersmith Odeon 1988, "One Plus One", "Ozone", "Rock Soldiers", "Rocket Ride" live Aragon Ballroom 1987, "Save Your Love", "Sister", "Snow Blind", "Stranger in a Strange Land" live at the Aragon Ballroom 1987, "Talk to Me", "Trouble Walkin'", "Two Sides of the Coin", "We Got Your Rock", "Wiped Out", "Wired Up", "You Wanted the Best"
A♯4/B♭4: "Baby It's You", "Back to School", "Cold Gin" live at the Hammersmith Odeon 1988, "Five Card Stud", "Foxy & Free", "Foxy Lady" live Providence 1995, "Hard Times", "Hide Your Heart", "I'm Down", "Insane", "Juvenile Delinquent", "Lost in Limbo", "Lola", "New York Groove", "Nothin' to Lose" live at The Coach House 1995, "Power to Raise the Dead", "Rock and Roll Hell '16", "Rocket Ride", "Save Your Love", "Shot Full of Rock", "Shout It Out Loud" live Providence 1995, "Sister", "Two Sides of the Coin", "2000 Man", "Up in the Sky", "What Every Girl Wants", "Wiped Out", "Wired Up"
A4: "A Little Below the Angels", "Audio Video", "Blinded", "Calling to You", "Dancin' with Danger", "Don't Want to Lose You", "Do Ya", "Fightin' for Life", "Fox on the Run", "Foxy & Free", "Gimme a Feelin'", "Good Times, Bad Times", "I Got the Touch", "Into the Night", "In Your Face", "I Wanna Hold You", "Juvenile Delinquent", "Love Me Right", "Mission to Mars", "New York Groove" live at the Hammersmith Odeon 1988, "One Plus One", "Outer Space", "Ozone", "Parasite '16", "Pursuit of Rock 'n' Roll", "Remember Me" demo, "Rockin' with the Boys", "Rock or Be Rocked", "Shot Full of Rock", "Sister", "Snow Blind", "Stranger in a Strange Land", "Take Me to the City", "Talk to Me", "The Girl Can't Dance", "The Hurt Is On", "Torpedo Girl", "Walkin' on the Moon", "Watchin' You" live Providence 1995, "What Every Girl Wants", "Wired Up", "Words Are Not Enough"
G♯4/A♭4: "Back into My Arms Again", "Back to School", "Cold Gin '16", "Detroit Rock City" live at The Coach House 1995, "Deuce" live at the Hammersmith Odeon 1988, "Do Ya", "Emerald", "Foxy Lady" live Providence 1995, "Give It to Me Anyway" demo, "Hard Times", "Hide Your Heart", "I'm Down", "I'm in Need of Love", "Into the Void", "I Wanna Hold You", "Love Me Right", "Remember Me", "Rock and Roll Hell '16", "Rock and Roll All Nite" live at The Coach House 1995, "Rocket Ride", "Save Your Love", "Separate" live at the Hammersmith Odeon 1988, "Shock Me", "Shot Full of Rock", "Sister", "Space Invader", "Spanish Castle Magic", "Substitute" live at the House of Blues Sunset Strip 2014, "Talk to Me", "10,000 Volts", "The Joker", "The Seeker" live at the House of Blues Sunset Strip 2014, "Till the End of the Day", "Trouble Walkin'", "2000 Man", "Watchin' You" live Providence 1995, "We Gotta Get Out of This Place", "Wild Thing", "Wiped Out", "Without You I'm Nothing"
G4: "Baby It's You", "Change", "Change the World", "Cherry Medicine", "Dark Light", "Detroit Rock City" live at The Coach House 1995, "Fox on the Run", "Hide Your Heart", "Immortal Pleasures", "Into the Night", "I Wanna Hold You", "Jumpin' Jack Flash", "Life of a Stranger", "Loser in a Fight", "Love Me Right", "Manic Depression", "Mission to Mars", "Never in My Life", "One Plus One", "Pursuit of Rock 'n' Roll", "Rip It Out", "Rock and Roll Nite" live at The Coach House 1995, "Rockin' with the Boys", "Separate", "Shout It Out Loud" live Providence 1995, "Space Truckin'", "Talk to Me", "The Girl Can't Dance", "The Hurt Is On", "Too Many Faces", "Up in the Sky", "Walkin' on the Moon", "We Got Your Rock", "What Every Girl Wants", "Wired Up", "Your Wish Is My Command"
Recorded low notes:
E3: "Baby It's You", "Back into My Arms Again", "Bronx Boy", "Change the World", "Cherry Medicine", "Cosmic Heart", "Good Times, Bad Times", "I Got the Touch", "Into the Night", "It's a Great Life", "Lola", "New York Groove", "Parasite '16", "Rock Soldiers", "Rock or Be Rocked", "The Joker"
D♯3/E♭3: "Behind Blue Eyes" live at the House of Blues Sunset Strip 2014, "Bring It on Home", "Gimme a Feelin'", "Hide Your Heart", "I'm Down", "I Wanna Go Back", "Kicks", "Lost in Limbo", "Pain in the Neck", "Parasite" live St. Louis 2019, "Remember Me", "Separate", "Till the End of the Day", "2000 Man", "What's On Your Mind?"
D3: "A Little Below the Angels", "Change the World", "Cherry Medicine", "Cosmic Heart", "Good Times, Bad Times", "I Got the Touch", "Lola", "Mission to Mars", "Off My Back", "Outer Space", "Pursuit of Rock 'n' Roll", "2000 Man" live Kiss Kruise VIII 2018, "Up in the Sky"
C♯3/D♭3: "Behind Blue Eyes" live at the House of Blues Sunset Strip 2014, "Do Ya", "It's a Great Life", "Kicks", "Life of a Stranger", "Rip It Out", "Rock or Be Rocked", "Separate", "The Joker", "Till the End of the Day", "We Gotta Get Out of This Place", "White Room"
C3: "Blinded", "Bring It on Home", "Change the World", "Fightin' for Life", "I'm in Need of Love", "Jumpin' Jack Flash", "Outer Space", "Politician", "Remember Me", "Spanish Castle Magic"
B2: "Cold Gin '16", "Gimme a Feelin'", "Rock Soldiers", "Reckless", "Space Invader", "The Joker", "10,000 Volts"
A♯2/B♭2: "I'm in Need of Love", "Lola", "Rock Soldiers"
A2: "Blinded", "Constantly Cute","Power to Raise the Dead", "The Girl Can't Dance"
G♯2/A♭2: "Foxy & Free", "Foxy Lady" live Providence 1995, "Wild Thing", "Your Wish Is My Command"
G2: "Change the World", "Dark Light", "Love Me Right", "Manic Depression", "Spanish Castle Magic"
F2: "Power to Raise the Dead"
{Questionable notes}C5: "Blinded", "Fightin' for Life", "Walkin ' on the Moon"
B4: "Back into My Arms Again", "Cosmic Heart", "10,000 Volts", "What Every Girl Wants" - backing vocal notes that may not be him
A♯4/B♭4: "Comin' Home" - Frehley is credited for vocals on this song, but these notes do not sound like his voice
A4: "Constantly Cute", "It's a Great Life" - backing vocal notes that may not be him
G♯4/A♭4: "Genghis Khan" - may be a different singer; does not sound like his voice
F2: "Rocket Ride" live at the Aragon Ballroom 1987 - note is done as part of a low slide in a live song introduction
B4: "Back into My Arms Again", "Cosmic Heart", "10,000 Volts", "What Every Girl Wants" - backing vocal notes that may not be him
A♯4/B♭4: "Comin' Home" - Frehley is credited for vocals on this song, but these notes do not sound like his voice
A4: "Constantly Cute", "It's a Great Life" - backing vocal notes that may not be him
G♯4/A♭4: "Genghis Khan" - may be a different singer; does not sound like his voice
F2: "Rocket Ride" live at the Aragon Ballroom 1987 - note is done as part of a low slide in a live song introduction
.......................................................
*Blue marks falsetto notes.
*Italics mark non-melodic notes.
*Underlines mark notes in backing vocals or otherwise muffled/obscured in the song mix.
{Detailed bio}Ace Frehley is best known as the lead guitarist and "Spaceman" character in Kiss, whose role as a vocalist developed in the band as a time went by. When Frehley first started out in Kiss, he was the only member of the band who did not contribute to lead vocals, as he felt too self-conscious about his singing voice to handle the role. He was, however, still an active songwriter in the band during this period, and thus designated lead vocal duties to his bandmates Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons and Peter Criss for the songs that he wrote on the first five Kiss albums, which included the hits "Cold Gin", "Parasite", and "Strange Ways". However, on 1977's Love Gun, Frehley had a change of heart about singing, and contributed his first lead vocal performance on the song "Shock Me", which went on to become a signature song for him. Following this, the decision was made to have all four members of the band put out self-titled solo albums in 1978, on which each of them handled lead vocal duties entirely by themselves. This included Frehley, who as a result went from only having one recorded lead vocal performance to having an entire album that he sang on, and had a very successful first solo release.
From this point on, Frehley seemed to feel much more confident about his singing and became a regular contributor to vocal duties in Kiss. This increased role as vocalist can be heard on 1979's Dynasty and 1980's Unmasked, where he wrote and sang three songs for each (which was actually more contribution than Simmons or Criss got on Dynasty!). Following Dynasty, Kiss released 1981's Music from the Elder, an album that Frehley greatly disliked and as a result made a deliberate point to be less involved in. His only contributions to this album were the song "Dark Light", which he co-wrote and sang, and the instrumental "Escape from the Island". Between his disdain for the album, growing tensions with his bandmates, and his own substance addictions starting to spiral out of control, Frehley became unhappy in the band, and made the decision to quit in 1982. He is still credited for guitars on their 1982 album Creatures of the Night and appears in the music video for "I Love It Loud", but did not record on the album whatsoever, and was subsequently replaced in the band by Vinnie Vincent following its release.
A few years after his departure from Kiss, Frehley formed his own band Frehley's Comet, for which he once again handled lead guitar and lead vocals, and initially also had rhythm guitarist Richie Scarlet contributing to vocals as well. A few years into the band's inception, however, Scarlet left the band, and was replaced by Tod Howarth, who ended up sharing lead vocal duties with Frehley in addition to playing rhythm guitar and keyboards. The band released two studio albums, a 1987 self-titled and 1988's Second Sighting, as well as the live EP Live +1 in 1988. In 1988, however, Frehley disbanded the group to focus on a full-on solo career, but rerecruited bassist John Regan, drummer Anton Fig, and original rhythm guitarist Richie Scarlet to play on his next solo album Trouble Walkin'. This album featured Frehley handling lead vocal duties on all songs except "2 Young 2 Die", which was sung by Scarlet, and also featured backing vocal contributions from Peter Criss and Sebastian Bach.
For the first half of the 1990s, Frehley refrained from releasing music as much as he had in prior decades (though apparently a number of unreleased demos exist from this era), and largely focused on touring. One of these tours saw him joining forces with Peter Criss in 1995, and together their two solo bands embarked on a joint tour, co-headlining together. This caught the attention of many old school Kiss fans, and sparked excitement to see more of the original lineup playing together. Later that year, he and Criss were subsequently invited to partake in Kiss' MTV Unplugged performance, playing and singing on the songs "2,000 Man", "Beth", "Nothin' to Lose", and "Rock and Roll All Nite". The success of this reunion performance resulted in a 1996 tour with all four original members, strictly playing songs from their 1974-1980 albums. They then recorded and released another album with this lineup in 1998, entitled Psycho Circus, which featured vocals by Frehley on the songs "Into the Void" and "You Wanted the Best" (on which vocal duties were split by the entire band), as well as the bonus track "In Your Face". Unfortunately, old tensions began to resurface during the recording of this album and the tours following it, which eventually resulted in Frehley leaving the band again in 2002, this time being replaced by Tommy Thayer afterward.
Since leaving Kiss for a second time, Frehley has resumed his solo career and has actively been releasing new albums every few years. His 2009 album Anomaly marked his first solo release in 20 years (since 1989's Trouble Walkin'), and he has released 3 more albums since then, with plans for another later in 2020. Among these solo albums was the 2016 covers album Origins, Vol. 1, on which Frehley rerecorded the Kiss songs "Cold Gin" and "Parasite", which he had originally written for the band's first two albums, but at the time had delegated lead vocal duties to Gene Simmons. Additionally, the album included a cover of the Kiss song "Rock and Roll Hell" off Creatures of the Night, a song that Frehley had not been involved in the writing or recording of the original version of, but had been credited for guitars on. Origins Vol. 1 also featured Frehley collaborating with Paul Stanley for the first time since 2002 on the song "Fire and Water", and his 2018 album Spaceman featured a guest appearance by Gene Simmons on the track "Without You I'm Nothing".
For someone who initially had little confidence in his singing abilities, I must say that Frehley turned out to have a pretty decent singing voice when he worked up the courage to start doing lead vocals. From early on in his singing career, he was easily able to sing through the fourth octave with good tone and control, and in my opinion had a cool sense of attitude to his voice. He tends to limits his fifth octave singing though, as the highest song melodies I can think of by him are "Past the Milky Way" and "Wiped Out", which feature singing up to C♯5. Aside from that, he has a tendency for hitting fifth octave notes at the end of vocal lines in a rather "exclaimed" manner, which can be annoying to count for notewatching purposes. Similarly, he's proved to have a decent low range, but a number of his low notes tend to be talky passages or slides down to notes that end up being just barely countable. Even so, though, not a shabby range or singer on the whole!
From this point on, Frehley seemed to feel much more confident about his singing and became a regular contributor to vocal duties in Kiss. This increased role as vocalist can be heard on 1979's Dynasty and 1980's Unmasked, where he wrote and sang three songs for each (which was actually more contribution than Simmons or Criss got on Dynasty!). Following Dynasty, Kiss released 1981's Music from the Elder, an album that Frehley greatly disliked and as a result made a deliberate point to be less involved in. His only contributions to this album were the song "Dark Light", which he co-wrote and sang, and the instrumental "Escape from the Island". Between his disdain for the album, growing tensions with his bandmates, and his own substance addictions starting to spiral out of control, Frehley became unhappy in the band, and made the decision to quit in 1982. He is still credited for guitars on their 1982 album Creatures of the Night and appears in the music video for "I Love It Loud", but did not record on the album whatsoever, and was subsequently replaced in the band by Vinnie Vincent following its release.
A few years after his departure from Kiss, Frehley formed his own band Frehley's Comet, for which he once again handled lead guitar and lead vocals, and initially also had rhythm guitarist Richie Scarlet contributing to vocals as well. A few years into the band's inception, however, Scarlet left the band, and was replaced by Tod Howarth, who ended up sharing lead vocal duties with Frehley in addition to playing rhythm guitar and keyboards. The band released two studio albums, a 1987 self-titled and 1988's Second Sighting, as well as the live EP Live +1 in 1988. In 1988, however, Frehley disbanded the group to focus on a full-on solo career, but rerecruited bassist John Regan, drummer Anton Fig, and original rhythm guitarist Richie Scarlet to play on his next solo album Trouble Walkin'. This album featured Frehley handling lead vocal duties on all songs except "2 Young 2 Die", which was sung by Scarlet, and also featured backing vocal contributions from Peter Criss and Sebastian Bach.
For the first half of the 1990s, Frehley refrained from releasing music as much as he had in prior decades (though apparently a number of unreleased demos exist from this era), and largely focused on touring. One of these tours saw him joining forces with Peter Criss in 1995, and together their two solo bands embarked on a joint tour, co-headlining together. This caught the attention of many old school Kiss fans, and sparked excitement to see more of the original lineup playing together. Later that year, he and Criss were subsequently invited to partake in Kiss' MTV Unplugged performance, playing and singing on the songs "2,000 Man", "Beth", "Nothin' to Lose", and "Rock and Roll All Nite". The success of this reunion performance resulted in a 1996 tour with all four original members, strictly playing songs from their 1974-1980 albums. They then recorded and released another album with this lineup in 1998, entitled Psycho Circus, which featured vocals by Frehley on the songs "Into the Void" and "You Wanted the Best" (on which vocal duties were split by the entire band), as well as the bonus track "In Your Face". Unfortunately, old tensions began to resurface during the recording of this album and the tours following it, which eventually resulted in Frehley leaving the band again in 2002, this time being replaced by Tommy Thayer afterward.
Since leaving Kiss for a second time, Frehley has resumed his solo career and has actively been releasing new albums every few years. His 2009 album Anomaly marked his first solo release in 20 years (since 1989's Trouble Walkin'), and he has released 3 more albums since then, with plans for another later in 2020. Among these solo albums was the 2016 covers album Origins, Vol. 1, on which Frehley rerecorded the Kiss songs "Cold Gin" and "Parasite", which he had originally written for the band's first two albums, but at the time had delegated lead vocal duties to Gene Simmons. Additionally, the album included a cover of the Kiss song "Rock and Roll Hell" off Creatures of the Night, a song that Frehley had not been involved in the writing or recording of the original version of, but had been credited for guitars on. Origins Vol. 1 also featured Frehley collaborating with Paul Stanley for the first time since 2002 on the song "Fire and Water", and his 2018 album Spaceman featured a guest appearance by Gene Simmons on the track "Without You I'm Nothing".
For someone who initially had little confidence in his singing abilities, I must say that Frehley turned out to have a pretty decent singing voice when he worked up the courage to start doing lead vocals. From early on in his singing career, he was easily able to sing through the fourth octave with good tone and control, and in my opinion had a cool sense of attitude to his voice. He tends to limits his fifth octave singing though, as the highest song melodies I can think of by him are "Past the Milky Way" and "Wiped Out", which feature singing up to C♯5. Aside from that, he has a tendency for hitting fifth octave notes at the end of vocal lines in a rather "exclaimed" manner, which can be annoying to count for notewatching purposes. Similarly, he's proved to have a decent low range, but a number of his low notes tend to be talky passages or slides down to notes that end up being just barely countable. Even so, though, not a shabby range or singer on the whole!
{Album ranges}Kiss:
Frehley's Comet:
Ace Frehley:
- Love Gun (1977) - G♯3-G♯4
- Alive II (1977) - G♯3-A♯4-D♯5
- Dynasty (1979) - E♭3-B4
- Unmasked (1980) - G3-B♭3-E♭5
- Music from "The Elder" (1981) - G2-G3-G4
- MTV Unplugged (1996) - E♭3-G♯4
- Psycho Circus (1998) - F♯3-B4
Frehley's Comet:
- Frehley's Comet (1987) - G2-E♭5
- Live+1 (1988) - A3-C5
- Second Sighting (1988) - C♯3-B4
- Greatest Hits Live (recorded 1987-1988; released 2006) - E♭3-G♭5
Ace Frehley:
- Ace Frehley (1978) - B♭2-E♭3-D♭5-A5
- Trouble Walkin' (1989) - C3-F♯5
- Take Me to the City (1997) - F3-B4-D5
- Anomaly (2009) - G2-B4-D5
- Space Invader (2014) - B2-C♯5
- Origins Vol. 1 (2016) - G2-F5
- Spaceman (2018) - G♯2-A4
- Origins Vol. 2 (2020) - G2-B♭2-D5
- 10,000 Volts (2024) - A2-B♭4
{Best displays of vocal range}"I'm in Need of Love" (B♭2-A♭4-A♭5)
"Cold Gin '16" (B2-F5)
"Power to Raise the Dead" (F2-B♭4)
"Love Me Right" (G2-B4)
"The Girl Can't Dance" (A2-C5)
"Foxy & Free" (G♯2-A♯4)
"Rock Soldiers" (B♭2-B4)
"Spanish Castle Magic" (G2-G♯4)
"Wild Thing" (G♯2-G♯4)
"Change the World" (G2-G4)
"Cold Gin '16" (B2-F5)
"Power to Raise the Dead" (F2-B♭4)
"Love Me Right" (G2-B4)
"The Girl Can't Dance" (A2-C5)
"Foxy & Free" (G♯2-A♯4)
"Rock Soldiers" (B♭2-B4)
"Spanish Castle Magic" (G2-G♯4)
"Wild Thing" (G♯2-G♯4)
"Change the World" (G2-G4)
Previous version of this thread by 1999 on TRP3.