Ace Frehley Alive II

Let it be known:

"Contrary to published reports, Ace Frehley, formerly of KISS, is alive and well and working on his highly anticipated solo album. It has been erroneously reported on various websites and wire services that the legendaryguitarist had committed suicide. Not so! 'I don’t know how this ridiculous rumor got started,' smiles Ace, as he eats his daily allotment of wheat germ, preparing to jump back on his treadmill."

I think the treadmill has saved a lot of rockers' lives over the years. At any rate, glad that Ace is still on our planet, which, as you may remember, is not his home planet.

Kathy Valentine Go-Goes Solo

Here's something from billboard.com:

"Go-Go's bassist Kathy Valentine switches to guitar and takes center stage on vocals for 'Light Years,' her solo debut. The album will be released Sept. 6 via the artist's All for One Music imprint via Redeye Distribution, Billboard.com has learned. Valentine is flanked on the project by former Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley, former Guns N' Roses axeman Gilby Clarke and in-demand session musician Craig Ross, as well as Attractions drummer Pete Thomas and Blondie drummer Clem Burke."

I don't know if the album will be any good, but I love her choice of musicians, especially Åce, of course.

Christian Science Monitor and The Elder

There is a good article about the comeback of concept albums in the Christian Science Monitor. They credit the Kiss concept record, "The Elder," with helping to kill off the genre in the early 1980s. Of course, Lou Reed collaborated with Kiss on "The Elder," so apparently this effort was so advanced that we're trying to figure it out 20 years later. That is typical of Lou Reed's efforts in the 1980s, which is perhaps his most advanced period, or, at least, the hardest to understand. I'm sure he's more advanced now and I don't understand what he's doing now any better than what he dide in the 80s, but we'll have to wait and see. Anyway, here's a description of "The Elder" from allmusic.com:

By the end of 1980, Kiss knew that their next album had to be a strong one -- a glorious return to hard rock a la their classic Destroyer. New drummer Eric Carr had refueled the band's desire to rock, and the quartet began working on a straight-ahead rock album in early 1981. Midway through, the band felt that they were rewriting past songs, and the sessions were aborted. Simmons and Stanley then came up with the idea of recording a concept album, based on a mythical original story by Simmons. Destroyer producer Bob Ezrin was back, and encouraged the band's concept album idea (against both Frehley and Carr's wishes). Simmons and Stanley had high hopes for The Elder (such as a movie, an elaborate tour, a follow-up record, etc.), but it completely bombed upon release. The reason? The music is totally uncharacteristic of Kiss -- it resembles heavy prog-rock for the most part. Some of the songs could have been classics if the pompous and/or hard-to-decipher lyrics were replaced, such as "The Oath," "Only You," "I," and "Just a Boy." Only two tracks resemble the Kiss of old (Frehley's "Dark Light" and the instrumental "Escape From the Island"), while the rest is downright embarrassing ("Odyssey," "A World Without Heroes," "Under the Rose"). The Elder was the final straw for Frehley, who would leave the band in 1982.