Spaceman (Ace Frehley album)

Spaceman is the sixth studio album by American guitarist Ace Frehley, released on October 19, 2018. The album features a guest appearance from Frehley's former Kiss bandmate Gene Simmons who also co-wrote two tracks.

Spaceman
Studio album by
ReleasedOctober 19, 2018
Recorded2017–2018
StudioAce in the Hole Studios, Westchester, New York
GenreHard rock
Length37:07
LabelEntertainment One Music
ProducerAce Frehley, Alex Salzman (co-producer 1–8), Warren Huart (co-producer track 9)
Ace Frehley chronology
Origins Vol. 1
(2016)
Spaceman
(2018)
Origins Vol. 2
(2020)
Singles from Spaceman
  1. "Bronx Boy"
    Released: April 27, 2018
  2. "Rockin' with the Boys"
    Released: August 9, 2018
  3. "Mission to Mars"
    Released: May 28, 2019
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles8.0/10[2]
Classic Rock[3]
Metal Hammer (GER)5/7[4]
Spectrum Culture[5]

The album features three alternative covers.

Album information

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Spaceman features a reunion of sorts with Frehley's former Kiss bandmate Gene Simmons, who co-wrote and played bass on the opener "Without You I'm Nothing". He also co-wrote "Your Wish Is My Command", which Simmons intended for Kiss to record. Simmons named Spaceman.

"Rockin' with the Boys" was mentioned as a Frehley song title for the upcoming Kiss album (before Music from "The Elder") by Kerrang! magazine in 1981.[6] In a 2018 interview with Ken Sharp, Frehley confirms that it is partly the same song: "I wrote the chorus for “Rockin’ With The Boys” in the ‘70s. But I could never come up with a good enough verse and bridge to make it a viable tune. I experimented and had several versions of that."[7]

Track listing

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No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Without You I'm Nothing"Ace Frehley, Gene Simmons4:06
2."Rockin' with the Boys"Frehley4:15
3."Your Wish Is My Command"Frehley, Simmons3:38
4."Bronx Boy"Frehley, Ronnie Mancuso2:50
5."Pursuit of Rock and Roll"Frehley4:32
6."I Wanna Go Back" (Billy Satellite cover)Danny Chauncey, Monty Byrom, Ira Walker4:01
7."Mission to Mars"Frehley, Tom Kunzman, Kait DiBenedetto, Ken Gullic3:39
8."Off My Back"Frehley3:38
9."Quantum Flux"Frehley6:28
Total length:37:07

Personnel

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  • Ace Frehley – vocals, guitars (all); bass guitar (track 2, 4-5, 7-9); creative direction and design
  • Gene Simmons – bass guitar (track 1)
  • Scot Coogan – drums (track 1, 3-4, 7); background vocals (track 3-4)
  • Alex Salzman – co-producer/recording engineer (tracks 1-8); background vocals (track 2-4); bass guitar (track 3, 6)
  • Rachael Gordon – background vocals (track 2-3)
  • Matt Starr – drums (track 2, 6, 9)
  • Ronnie Mancuso – additional guitar (track 4, 7)
  • Anton Fig – drums (track 5, 8)
  • Warren Huart – recording engineer (track 9); guitar (track 9), mix (all tracks)
  • Eric Gonzalez – mixing assistant
  • Andrew Perez – mixing assistant
  • Hayden Cluff – assistant engineer for Warren Huart
  • Jay Gilbett – photographer
  • Paul Grosso – creative direction and design
  • Adam Ayhan – mastering

Charts

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Chart (2018) Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[8] 115
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[9] 87
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[10] 45
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[11] 123
Scottish Albums (OCC)[12] 73
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[13] 56
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[14] 20
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[15] 28
US Billboard 200[16] 49

References

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  1. ^ Monger, James Christopher. "Ace Frehley - Spaceman review". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved January 4, 2020.
  2. ^ Balazs, Nick (October 31, 2018). "Ace Frehley - Spaceman". Bravewords.com. Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles. Retrieved January 4, 2020.
  3. ^ Yates, Henry (October 19, 2018). "Ace Frehley: Spaceman". Classic Rock. Loudersound.com.
  4. ^ Mineur, Matthias (October 19, 2018). "Ace Frehley - Spaceman" (in German). Metal Hammer. Retrieved January 4, 2020.
  5. ^ Beaudoin, Jedd (December 11, 2018). "Ace Frehley: Spaceman". Spectrum Culture. Retrieved January 4, 2020.
  6. ^ Crew, Marko-. "Outtakes from The Elder | KISS ARMY SWEDEN |DESTROYER | DESTROYER ALIVE" (in Swedish). Retrieved September 6, 2022.
  7. ^ "Aces High: A Q&A with Ace Frehley About 'Spaceman' and the KISS Farewell Tour - Rock Cellar Magazine". rockcellarmagazine.com. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
  8. ^ "Ultratop.be – Ace Frehley – Spaceman" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 26, 2018.
  9. ^ "Ultratop.be – Ace Frehley – Spaceman" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 26, 2018.
  10. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Ace Frehley – Spaceman" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved October 26, 2018.
  11. ^ "Ace Frehley". Oricon. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
  12. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 27, 2018.
  13. ^ "Top 100 Albumes – Semana 43: del 19.10.2018 al 25.10.2018" (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
  14. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Ace Frehley – Spaceman". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 27, 2018.
  15. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Ace Frehley – Spaceman". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
  16. ^ "Ace Frehley Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 30, 2018.
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