Customer Reviews

Trouble Walkin

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

I think that Trouble Walkin' is a good album. It was released in 1989 and consists of ten tracks. Overall, the songwriting is worthy, the musicianship is tight, and the sound quality is pleasant. The material is in a straight-ahead hard rock musical direction. Ace Frehley and Richie Scarlet do a solid job handling the guitar work. Examples of cuts that I enjoy are "Shot Full of Rock," "Do Ya," and "Fractured III." "Shot Full of Rock," the opening song, is an energetic, no-frills one that exhibits forceful vocals from Frehley and cool guitar playing. "Do Ya"--a cover of an Electric Light Orchestra tune--is catchy and fun, while the closing instrumental "Fractured III" is a well-written, nice piece. I recommend this album.

ace frehley shows the world how to hold gibsons ,
and in the days of pop metal - creates hard rock
man .......ACE

This is the best work Ace has done in a long time. Ace made some much needed changes since his lackluster album "Second Sighting." Anton Fig (longtime member of the KISS family) replaces Jamie Oldaker on drums, but the big difference is Richie Scarlet replacing Tod Howarth on guitar/vocals. Richie is a better singer and songwriter, and fits Ace's style much better. There's also some guest musicians involved here, Sebastian Bach and Dave Sabo from Skid Row and none other than Ace's old partner in crime Peter Criss. Ace also brought in producer Eddie Kramer whom he worked with on some of his best KISS material (Love Gun, Rock and Roll Over.)

The music here is MUCH better than on "Second Sighting" as well. "Shot Full of Rock," "Five Card Stud," and "Trouble Walkin'" are all hard rocking songs reminiscent of Ace's solo debut. There are lots of surprises here as well. "Do Ya" is a remake of a classic ELO song and is done very well. "Remember Me" is a quite good bluesy song written about the environment and recorded live in concert. There's even a KISS cover song here - "Hide Your Heart."

If you are an Ace Frehley fan, or a KISS fan, then this album is a must. I'm one of the lucky few who turned out to catch Ace's tour in support of this album, and it was great. Ace pours his heart into his music, and it is very evident here.

It's funy that the best tracks on this CD are not original Ace works. Do Ya is a cover that I really enjoy. The straight-ahead riff is very cool - and Ace's vocals are good.

Hide your Heart is a bit of an enigma. This must have been a time where Ace, Paul, and Gene were buddies. Honestly, I like Ace's version better than KISS'

Overall, this album is average. Ace isn't that strong of a writer but his guitar work is very distinctive.

I can't exactly explain why, but this is one of my favorite albums of all time. I played it a lot while in college. It has great riffs, rocks hard, and the lyrics are hilarious (although probably not intentionally.) I'm glad Ace did this album.