One of you asked which is the best sounding release of FREHLEY’S COMET debut album “Frehley’s Comet“. The recording never has been remastered – an extremely strange thing – and while the LP vinyl is great in sonic dynamics, not so the flat CD versions (as tested with the USA and German manufactured discs).
But as happened with Japanese CD pressings (especially the 1986 -1989 period) the sound quality of “Frehley’s Comet” is pretty awesome. This is the one to get – if you find a used copy at reasonable price.
Btw, this is killer album.
Frehley’s Comet were the post-KISS band formed by legendary guitarist Ace Frehley; they only put out two albums and one alarmingly-good live EP; this small amount of output stands as not just some of the best melodic hard rock of the era, it also has a uniqueness and personality to it that few bands of the era had.
For their debut, Frehley enlisted excellent Anton Fig on drums, John Regan on bass and Tod Howarth on guitars, in-your-face keyboards and vocals. The combination of these four strong personalities went a long way toward giving the band’s 1987 self-titled debut album its incredible charm.
“Rock Soldiers” kicks off the album; it’s an absolutely excellent anthem with some of the most insane lyrics ever (it kills me every single time when Ace mumbles out “And the devil sat in the passenger’s side / of DeLorean’s automobile,” as if that’s how the humans talk, as if saying “of DeLorean’s automobile” is a remotely normal way to phrase that thought). “Rock Soldiers” is actually a stone-cold classic, a rock song as good as they come.
“Breakout” was, confusingly, kinda also recorded later by KISS on Revenge as “Carr Jam 1981”, featured a “zany” little intro, tapped into the iconic “jailbreak” theme, and was turned into an agonizing drum solo live. And, because of all that, it’s a kick ass rockin’ song.
“Into the Night” is the greatest “night time in the big city in the ’80s” song ever and, after the opening pair of rockers, shows the glory of Frehley’s Comet: the near-AOR melodies and the sense of atmosphere.
Penned by talented Russ Ballard, “Into the Night” is an absolutely fantastic song, one that should be discussed regularly when the great rock songs of the ’80s are discussed. And Frehley’s Comet dis a great job with it here.
“Something Moved” is an odd, balls-to-the-wall rocker, and “We Got Your Rock” is a simple but strong groovy anthem ready for the arenas. “Love Me Right” is a super left-field Frehley-led mid-paced melodic radio rocker with a great riff, and it leads in to the phenomenal “Calling To You”.
With “Calling to You,” the band suddenly sounds like the greatest AOR band no one ever heard, Howarth leading the charge at the mic. Frehley does something back there, but this song is mainly a showcase for Howarth’s melodic songwriting (co-written with AOR specialist Kevin Russell) smart and soaring voice. Listen to that chorus! Talk about anthemic…
On “Dolls,” things gets weird: Frehley sings about his collection of dolls and how he doesn’t understand why visitors are alarmed by them, which always struck me as a sort of lonely thing for an ex-KISS member to admit; the song is pretty weird, too, and fun.
“Stranger in a Strange Land” is memorable and moody, and gives Frehley some good solo time. The album ends off with “Fractured Too,” a sequel to the instrumental “Fractured Mirror,” which closed off Frehley’s 1978 KISS solo album. It’s actually a legitimately interesting and engaging instrumental, Frehley’s Comet getting it right here, big time.
And there you have it, an excellent, fun, and varied album, one that had a good amount of hard rock, melodic rock, and oddball personality (and, Anton Fig on drums).
On this Comet’s debut, Howarth sings lead vocals on “Breakout,” “Something Moved,” and “Calling to You”, providing a melodic rock / commercial nature to the album, very ’87 in essence.
Add to that the unique Eddie Kramer co-producing, engineering and mixing, and you have a second half of the Eighties little gem.
This Japanese CD press sounds great.
HIGHLY Recommended
ＷＡＲＮＥＲ – Ｐ Ｉ Ｏ Ｎ Ｎ Ｅ Ｒ Corporation manufacturing
『 32XD～738 』
01 – Rock Soldiers
02 – Breakout
03 – Into The Night
04 – Something Moved
05 – We Got Your Rock
06 – Love Me Right
07 – Calling To You
08 – Dolls
09 – Stranger In A Strange Land
10 – Fractured Too
Ace Frehley – guitars, lead and backing vocals
Tod Howarth – guitars, keyboards, lead and backing vocals
John Regan – bass guitar, backing vocals
Anton Fig – drums, percussion
Additional musicians:
Robert Sabino – keyboards
Gordon G.G. Gebert – synthesizer
Chay Lentin, David Spinner, Frank Simms, Lara Kramer, Monique Frehley, Tom Ayers – background vocals