Customer Reviews

Loaded Deck

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Loaded Deck is a nice companion to 12 Picks in that it includes the greatest hits omitted from 12 Picks. However I feel that the material here doesn't quite measure up to that of 12 Picks. Of course a second best-of isn't going to have as many hits per se as the first but what would have been a better format would have been to have all the studio cuts on one album and then have the second strictly containing live material. Of course this way, fans have to buy BOTH albums to get the hits, right? Clever marketing, I guess. It was nice to see a couple of unreleased studio cuts on Loaded Deck, though. One Plus One is a decent song. Give It To Me Anyway is the better of the two though, most notably the guitarwork. As far as the live material goes, it is your standard fare with all the cheesy banter and crowd cheers included for ambience. As a stand alone, Loaded Deck is average, however, as mentioned above, it is an excellent companion piece to 1997's 12 Picks release. In owning these two albums, one can truly enjoy the highlights of Ace Frehley's solo work.

In 1996, Jon Regan, the former bassist of Frehley's Comet put togehter 12 Picks, a greatest hits album of Ace Frehley's solo career. It was a major success and Loaded Deck came out in 1998 as another greatest hits album. This album is a masterpiece like 12 Picks. The album does feature two demo tracks that didn't appear on Ace's albums on tracks one and two. The opener "One Plus One" starts out with a heavy drum beat and then loud heavy metal guitar riffs. The song is about someone who can't add. Some lyircs like "One Plus One, is one. I know it's crazy. But it's true. One Plus One, is one. And that one is me and you." The second new song "Give It To Me Anyway" is a good song with a good chorus. The album features Tod's famous ballad "It's Over Now" and one of Ace's strongest anthems, "Shot Full Of Rock". Like 12 Picks, half the album is live. On this one, tracks 6-10 are live cuts of some of Ace's best songs. The album in general is pretty good for a greatest hits collection of Ace. If you want an Ace Frehley greatest hits album, here it is. Also inside the case is a suprise from Ace.

Ace Frehley demonstrates through this album, as well as his Comet albums, that he had much to do with the distinct sound that KISS came to be known for. Ace is a super guitarist and has a wonderfully unique "rockin'" voice. This album is not quite as good as 12 Picks, however, it does demontrate that Ace was clearly responsible for that "KISS sound". Rock and Roll, Ace!!!

This CD is a must-have for die-hard Ace Frehley fans. In my opinion, it's better than the 12 Picks CD. The selections are better, and I find the live songs hold up as well, if not better, than their album counterparts. The stand-out track for me is the live version of "Remember Me". Truly good and classic Ace! MUCH livelier than the album version! I also liked the pairing of "Fractured Too" and "Fractured III" at the very end. I would've liked to have had "Fractured Mirror" on there as well, but while I'm wishing, I'd settle for a new tour by the "Spaceman".

hello again. robert myers here. just want you too know im a kiss fan. and any album that ace or any other member from kiss makes is awsome.well any way back to the ace album. this album rocks. loaded deck is just a hits album but it has a lot of great songs from ace. if ur a kiss fan than hey buy the album but if ur not a kiss fan then buy it anyway.