Origins Vol. 1

Whether with KISS or solo, Ace Frehley has always chosen fantastic songs to cover—e.g., Hello’s “New York Groove,” The Rolling Stones’ “2000 Man,” ELO’s “Do Ya.” It seemed only a matter of time before the Spaceman put out an entire album of choice cuts. Origins Vol. 1 is sort of a rocking document of the bands that influenced Frehley to pick up a guitar. You’ve got the Stones’ “Street Fighting Man.” “White Room” by Cream. But Frehley really strikes gold when he digs for the deeper cuts. His cover of Thin Lizzy’s “Emerald” features an electrifying guitar-off between him and Slash. And Free’s “Fire and Water” is pure magic—mainly because of a stellar vocal from Frehley’s former KISS bandmate Paul Stanley, their first performance together in 18 years. Frehley even redoes a couple of his OG KISS cuts, “Cold Gin” and “Parasite.” He’s never sounded better—and these classics are a big reason why.