Customer Reviews

Trouble Walkin'

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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 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.

This is one of Ace's best albums. Straight up classic Frehley. Back to basics hard rock from Ace and the band, featuring Anton Fig on drums. One correction must be noted on these previous reviews: Peter Criss does not sing lead on anything here. Peter does do some background vocals on "2 young 2 Die" and the title track, as well as some cowbell playing on "trouble walkin", but that's it! It's Richie Scarlet on lead vocals on "2 Young", not Peter Criss. Just an FYI. Tunes like "five card stud", "Shot Full Of Rock", the Move/ELO cover "Do Ya" and the title track make this one Ace's best solo albums, and his lead playing here is awesome!
Cheers,
Mike A.

This is a great cd,i've always liked Ace since he was in Kiss,this is a must buy for any Kiss/Ace Frehley fan,the best song is Do Ya!

With "Trouble Walkin'" Ace Frehley decided to follow the heavier, hard rock direction of his 1978 KISS solo album as opposed to the pop-metal direction of "Frehley's Comet" and "Second Sighting," and in doing so he created his second best solo album to date! (second only to his KISS solo.) The album starts rockin' hard with "Shot Full of Rock" and never stops! Ace's covers of "Do Ya" and "Hide Your Heart" give ELO and KISS a run for their money, respectively. "Five Card Stud" and "Lost in Limbo" are cool tunes that Rock Soldiers will love. "Trouble Walkin'", though not written by ACE, is still a very catchy and very rockin' tune. "2 Young 2 Die" is the only non-Ace lead vocal track on the disc, instead being sung by Richie Scarlett. "Back to School" is cool. However, "Remember Me" is one of my favorites on the disc! And "Fractured III" puts "Fractured Too" and "The Acorn is Spinning" to shame, and is second only to the original "Fractured Mirror." Die-hard Ace fans and casual fans will both be able to appreciate the best, and so far, last solo album of Ace Frehley!

This is a fun record. Sounds like Ace is having a blast recording with his friends. Fantastic guitars as always with Ace, and some good vocals. I enjoyed his version of Hide Your Heart.

After Ace's band Frehley's Comet broke up in late 1988, Ace and his Comet bassist John Regan set out to make another solo album just under Ace Frehley's name. Joining him was Ace's friend Anton Fig, the former drummer of Frehley's Comet's first album. Ace had a handful of excellent new material for his album. He included special guest stars on the album like Kiss's former drummer and Ace's best friend, Peter Criss on drums and additional vocals on "2 Young 2 Die," and Skid Row's Sebastian Bach, Dave "The Snake" Sabo and Rachel Bolan. In joining the team was the famous producer, Eddie Kramer from Ace's solo album of 1978 and Frehley's Comet's first album in 1987. This album is pure Ace Frehley. Good lyrics, loud, and heavy metal. Ace did all the lead vocals on this album except for "2 Young 2 Die" which he shared vocals with Peter Criss.

The opener, "Shot Full Of Rock" is so heavy on drum beats and guitar solos. Excellent antemetic lyircs written by Ace. This song is so INTENSE. It's definately a genuine masterpiece. The next track, Ace did a re-make of E.L.O's "Do Ya". This is a good soothing tune with a good chorus. The song is simple guitar riffs and a good beat to go with the loving tone in the lyrics.

A good tune that Ace did on the album was "Hide Your Heart" (later done that year by KISS, on the Hot In The Shade album). If you heard the KISS version of it, you'll love Ace's version. To, me I think Ace did a better job on with this one. The title track, "Trouble Walkin'" is a short anthem-like tune with good guitar solos and a good chorus like, "I have Trouble Walkin'. I am every mother's nightmare."

Here is the real stuff. The song "2 Young 2 Die" is an awsome song. The songs starts out with a heavy bass riff and a rolling drum beat. Peter starts to sing the lyrics with his awsome voice. This song is very anthemetic. Ace and Peter did a great collaboration on this song together. The next track, "Back To School" is song about rebels that hate school. A real good anthem.

Another great tune, "Remember Me" is a more heavy metal/rythem and blues track that sounds really good. Ace is basically telling his fans (like me) to always remember him. Last but not least, the last track "Fractured III" of the Fractured Mirror triology. This one is unlike the first two. This one is a more heavy metal tune with electric guitars mixed with acoustic guitars. It's the longest of the three and has some really good slow guitar solos by Ace.

This album is SO great I can't even put it into words. Great anthems, outstading guitar solos and drum beats like you've never heard before from Ace or anyone else. If you are an Ace Frehley follower like me, follow the trail into "Trouble Walkin'" and enjoy it as much as I do.

The strongest memory I have of this album is that I purchased it at the exact same time I bought KISS 'Hot In The Shade'. I studied both albums liner notes, checked out the guest appearances, heard the differences, and believe me, they are vast!

Please refer to my review of 'Hot In The Shade', which, for all the filler contained within, was still a decent KISS album. The big difference was that this was a more mature, but still rockin' album, a bit more abrasive, a LOT more anthemic, but still quite accessible. "Do Ya" got a bit of airplay; Ace made the most of his limited range on this album, and you can tell especially on "Fractured III", which is a tremendous instrumental that closes the album.

In a nutshell, this would have been a multi-platinum KISS album if Ace had still been in the band. It shows (although it's up for debate how much Ace actually had to do with the production/songwriting) a much more versatile Frehley's Comet without the Comet, and Eddie Kramer does a great job on the production.

It might have actually sold about 2000 copies, but it still holds up, even without the dram of '89 nostalgia to wash it down with.

Critics of Ace be damned. This is a rockin' 80's album, and except for his 1979 solo effort, this is his best product. The album grabs you immediately with 'Shot Full of Rock' which has a better guitar solo than anything Bruce Kulick did. The hit single 'Do Ya' was a remake, as was 'Hide your Heart'. That tune was released the same year by KISS on 'Hot in the Shade' and I've heard has been done by Molly Hatchet and a female country singer. Decent song and I like Ace's version best, but to release it at the same time as his old band, it was a strange move for the Jendellian indeed.

However the rest of the album is solid Ace, it even has a guest appearance by none other than Peter Criss, singing on the song 2 Young 2 Die. Jon Regan as usual is back as Ace's bass player and does another solid job, co-writing Fractured III to end the album.

Favorite cuts include the great morning after hangover tune 'Lost in Limbo' and the gambling man's 'Five Card Stud'. Ace should have finally arrived at stardom outside of KISS with this album, but for whatever reason it just didn't sell. Too bad because it's 100 times better than anything Warrant, White Lion, or Poisen ever did. With this album falling flat except for dedicated Ace fans, Ace was not heard from again until the KISS Reunion Tour. Will Ace try again where he left off almost 15 years ago? I hope so, I'll be first in line to buy Trouble Walkin' II.