The Toy Box: Frehley's Comet

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Retro Spins: Ace Frehley - Trouble Walkin'

Popularity for Frehley's Comet waned fast. So much so, that when it was time to return to the studio for 1989's Trouble Walkin', Frehley would drop the band moniker and instead opt to release it as a solo album. Frehley also took a page out of Paul Stanley and Gene Simmon's book, informing co-lead singer / guitarist / keyboardist, Tod Howarth, that his vocals wouldn't be needed on the new album, essentially relegating him to a session musician. Both Howarth and Jamie Oldaker would ultimately drop out.

What would draw people's attention to the album would be the guest appearance of Peter Criss and Sabastian Bach, who provided backing vocal on several tracks. Additionally, Frehley would use the Paul Stanley, Holly Knight, and Desmond Child penned, Hide Your Heart, which would later appear on Kiss's Hot In The Shade, released that same year. A year earlier, the song was released as a single by Bonnie Tyler, who recorded it for her album of the same name.

Unfortunately, history would repeat, and Trouble Talkin' would underperform, peaking at 102 on the Billboard 200. The lone single, a cover of The Moves, Do Ya, penned by ELO's Jeff Lynne, failed to chart. Kiss would release Hot In The Shade four days after Frehley's, and with the massive success of the album, it made no sense to release Hide Your Heart as a single.

It's a very generic rock album, and at the same time, a very loud one. Those aspects alone make it difficult to enjoy.

Sadly, none of the Frehley penned tracks really resonate either. Do Ya, and Hide Your Heart, were the only standouts for me, and frankly, the original of Do Ya, and Kiss version of Heart, are far superior.

Mind you, the music as a whole wasn't bad. It was just...well, boring. Generic at best, and forgettable. Ironically, at the same time, it was simply nice to hear Frehley's voice and guitar work. Like an old friend just stopping by to say, "Hello."

While a tour would kick off in support of the album, it was unceremoniously ended after John Regan abruptly quit. The bassist simply couldn't take the ups and downs of Frehley and his substance abuse. Other opportunities existed for him, including working with John Waite, so at the end of the day, he simply didn't need the headache. Frehley himself wouldn't tour again for two years.

Ups and downs certainly persisted for Ace, including a surprise reunion with Kiss, including Peter Criss, during MTV's Unplugged, which aired on Halloween, 1995. This led to the four original members formally reuniting in 1996 for a series of sold out shows around the world. He'd leave Kiss again in 2001, and resume his solo career, releasing six albums between 2009 and 2024.

With the help of his daughter, Ace even cleaned himself up in 2006, and though he continued to struggle with substances, managed to stay relatively clean. Sadly, as he got older, he had a few falls, which severely injured him. One such fall on October 2, 2025, resulted in him severely injuring his head, and being rushed to the hospital. On the sixteenth of that same month, it was reported he was on life support with a ventilator, suffering from brain bleeding. With no signs of recovery, his family opted to turn off life support. He died just a few hours later. Peter Criss and his wife were among the few who were present with him during his final moments on October 16, 2025.

Frehley's legacy was so widespread that many celebrities openly mourned his death with his fans, telling stories, and participating in tribute events. Even Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons offered their own tributes through one-off events, and statements. Though some fans were split by the genuineness of these.

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Retro Spins: Ace Frehley (AKA Frehley's Comet) - Second Sighting

With a hit record on their hands, and brand recognition from roots in Kiss, one would think that Ace Frehley, and his band Frehley's Comet would head into their second album with great ease. One would also think with the previous writing credits of Frehley that another hit was inevitable. Sadly, none of this was the case, and the band's momentum quickly stalled out.

Second Sighting saw touring drummer, Billy Ward replaced by Jamie Oldaker. Howarth and Regan remaining in their respective roles of guitars / keyboards / co-lead singer, and bass / backing vocals, respectively.

The album would chart on the Billboard 200, peaking at eighty-one. However, singles, Insane, and It's Over Now, which also received music videos, would fail to chart. Further issues arose when the band set off on tour with Iron Maiden and Alice Cooper, only to run out of money, and have to back out. Depending on who you ask, this may or may not have been a result of the band not being paid. Regardless, the point was they didn't have any money to feasibly continue.

Things follow the standard format of Frehley's previous album, and tenure with Kiss. That being the rotating lead vocals from track to track between him and Howarth. What's lacking, however, is the spark and punch that its predecessor offered.

Overall, it's just not as good. Songs are rather forgettable, mediocre at best, and frankly, I found myself kind of bored with it. The standouts were fewer and farther between than their self-titled debut. For the Frehley vocals, you get Dancin' With Danger. For Howarth, Time Ain't Runnin' Out.

It turns out that my lackluster opinion of Second Sighting isn't alone. Overall sales began to decline rapidly for Frehley's Comet, so much to the point that Frehley would opt to restructure everything for his third solo album. This all started with dropping the band name and instead using his own for their next studio project, and unceremoniously ejecting Howarth off of co-vocals. These decisions would lead to members leaving. It would appear the biggest draws would come from a guest drummer, as well as a Kiss member penned track, but would these be enough to tip the scales back to favorable? I guess I'll find out tomorrow when I listen to 1989's Trouble Walkin'.

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Retro Spins: Ace Frehley - Frehley's Comet

By 1982, Ace Frehley had departed Kiss, retaining his 1/4 interests with the band until 1985 when his contract expired. Free to do whatever he wanted, he formed a band with Anton Fig, John Regan, Richie Scarlet, and Arthur Stead. The group would alter between using Frehley's name, and Frehley's Comet. Though they would record demos, and perform live shows, the lineup would change when the band ultimately singed with Megaforce Records.

Now consisting of Frehley, Tod Howarth, Regan, and Fig, their debut, Frehley's Comet would be a much-needed success and revitalization of Frehley's career. The album would peak at number forty-three on the Billboard 200, only solidifying my opinion that he was always the true talent of Kiss. The band's cover of Russ Ballard's Into The Night would also peak on the Rock Charts at twenty-seven, while the semi-autobiographical Rock Soldiers music video would see moderate rotation on MTV.

To support the album, the band headed out on tour. However, Fig, who had accepted the full time offer as drummer for David Letterman's talk show band, would only be sporadically available, leading to his departure midway through. Billy Ward would be brought in to fill his shoes and also appear in promotional music videos.

Things start out with Rock Soldiers, which is a fantastic track to set the tone of things to come. However, what I noticed with track two, is that Frehley had definitely taken a page from his previous co-workers, Paul Stanley, and Gene Simmons. Much like Kiss albums, lead vocals rotate between Frehley and Tod Howarth from song to song. Ironically, Howarth would also make a convincing Stanley. They sound very similar.

While the album as a whole is a very satisfying rock pop mixture, there are a lot of standout tracks for sure. For the Frehley sung tunes, those are the aforementioned Rock Soldiers, Into The Night, and Dolls. While Howarth has Breakout and Calling You.

Despite its success, Frehley's Comet wasn't able to maintain much momentum in the 80's. Part of this may have been a result of the ongoing substance abuses of Frehley himself. Their follow up, 1988's Second Sighting wouldn't yield any charting singles. Its correlating tour would also see the band running out of money, ultimately cancelling appearances. With a mess on their hands, a rift was inevitable, but that, as I've said many times before, is a story for tomorrow.

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