Ace Frehley is strongly denying online accusations that he wasn’t the main guitar player on his new album.
Since the well-received 10,000 Volts was released last month, some fans online have suggested that it was producer and founding Trixter guitarist Steve Brown who actually handled the majority of the guitar work on the record.
“Wow. Listen to previous albums by Steve Brown. Do they sound like this record? I don’t think so. Number one, I’m doing all the vocals. Number two, I’m doing the majority of the solos,” the former Kiss star tells UCR. “You know, Steve grew up idolizing me. And he’s a wonderful human being and a great producer and a great engineer and a great guitar player and singer and songwriter. And working with him was such a pleasure. Sometimes he’d come up with his solo idea and I’d recreate it, because he’s been studying my guitar style since he was a little kid, you know?”
Steve Brown Played “A Couple” of Guitar Solos on ‘10,000 Volts’
Frehley does concede that the album contains some lead work from Brown, echoing comments he made during a recent appearance on the Shout it Out Loudcast. “Yeah, he’s only 50 or 51. I’m 72. So a couple of times he laid down a solo, but he played it like me, in my style, because he studied my style his whole life. As far as I’m concerned, it really doesn’t matter who plays what, you know … as long as the cut sounds great. A couple of them, I thought Steve laid down so well that I said, ‘Let’s just keep it.’ But that’s as far as that goes. I played the majority the guitar solos on the record, absolutely.”
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In addition to producing 10,000 Volts and co-writing all but one of its original songs, Brown handled most of the album’s background vocals. “It was great. I was very flattered, you know?” Frehley says of their collaboration. “He told me his two biggest two biggest influences were me and Eddie Van Halen, may he rest in peace. And so it was his dream to work with me. Once I realized his talent and his abilities as a writer and an engineer, and as a guitarist, songwriter and singer — you know, he did most of the background vocals on the record, if not all of them. Of course we doubled our vocals, but everybody does that. I mean, Kiss was doing that in the ’70s. That’s a process that’s been going on in rock ‘n’ roll for 40, 50 years.”
Watch Ace Frehley’s ‘10,000 Volts’ Video
After more than 50 years in the spotlight, Frehley is taking the recent online discourse in stride. “People are always gonna say something that’s going to start things off, you know? I’ve read dozens of comments where people say, ‘His vocals are too good. He probably Auto-Tuned the majority of them.’ Yeah, you can ask me and you can ask Steve Brown. We didn’t use Auto-Tuning on any of my vocals. I have perfect pitch. No, I’m not the greatest singer in the world. But everybody who hears me knows it’s me. I have a certain vocal style.”
Frehley is currently on the road in support of 10,000 Volts. You can get the most up-to-date tour and ticket information at his website.
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Gallery Credit: Matthew Wilkening
