Trouble Walkin'

AMG Review of Trouble Walkin'

John Franck
All Music Guide

Reuniting with legendary producer Eddie Kramer proved to be exactly what Ace Frehley needed to when he set out to record the follow-up to 1988's disappointing, Second Sighting. Armed with a batch of excellent material, Ace set up shop at Dreamland Studios in New York with the intent of recapturing the spirit of his '78 self-titled debut. If there was ever any doubt that Ace's 1978 solo piece was a fluke, Trouble Walkin' promptly squelches that theory. Bringing back long time studio drummer and friend Anton Fig works wonders for the band's dynamic -- re-focussing it into a leaner/meaner version of its 'Comet predecessors. Handling all the lead vocals himself, Ace comes up with his best songwriting in 11 years by teaming up with collaborator Richie Scarlet on a pair of classics, "Shot Full of Rock" and "2 Young to Die." In another winning move, the artist covers E.L.O.'s classic "Do Ya" and Paul Stanley/Desmond Child's terrific ocker "Hide Your Heart" (later resurrected on Kiss' underwhelming Hot in the Shade offering). In a side note, Kiss' own Peter Criss and Skid Row's Sebastian Bach, Dave Sabo, and Rachel Bolan all contribute additional backing vocals. One minor gripe is with Kramer's production itself is that, at times, its a little too hair ock for its own good. A must-own for any old school Kiss/Ace Frehley fan.