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 rocker "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 rock for its own good. A must-own for any old school
Kiss/
Ace Frehley fan. ~ John Franck