Ace Frehley - Loaded Deck

The Spaceman's Collection

In 1996, Jon Regan, the former bassist of Frehley's Comet put togehter 12 Picks, a greatest hits album of Ace Frehley's solo career. It was a major success and Loaded Deck came out in 1998 as another greatest hits album. This album is a masterpiece like 12 Picks. The album does feature two demo tracks that didn't appear on Ace's albums on tracks one and two. The opener "One Plus One" starts out with a heavy drum beat and then loud heavy metal guitar riffs. The song is about someone who can't add. Some lyircs like "One Plus One, is one. I know it's crazy. But it's true. One Plus One, is one. And that one is me and you." The second new song "Give It To Me Anyway" is a good song with a good chorus. The album features Tod's famous ballad "It's Over Now" and one of Ace's strongest anthems, "Shot Full Of Rock". Like 12 Picks, half the album is live. On this one, tracks 6-10 are live cuts of some of Ace's best songs. The album in general is pretty good for a greatest hits collection of Ace. If you want an Ace Frehley greatest hits album, here it is. Also inside the case is a suprise from Ace. March 7, 2003

Ace was the "fuel" KISS needed...

Ace Frehley demonstrates through this album, as well as his Comet albums, that he had much to do with the distinct sound that KISS came to be known for. Ace is a super guitarist and has a wonderfully unique "rockin'" voice. This album is not quite as good as 12 Picks, however, it does demontrate that Ace was clearly responsible for that "KISS sound". Rock and Roll, Ace!!! October 14, 1999

Worthy only as a companion piece to 1997's 12 Picks release.

Loaded Deck is a nice companion to 12 Picks in that it includes the greatest hits omitted from 12 Picks. However I feel that the material here doesn't quite measure up to that of 12 Picks. Of course a second best-of isn't going to have as many hits per se as the first but what would have been a better format would have been to have all the studio cuts on one album and then have the second strictly containing live material. Of course this way, fans have to buy BOTH albums to get the hits, right? Clever marketing, I guess. It was nice to see a couple of unreleased studio cuts on Loaded Deck, though. One Plus One is a decent song. Give It To Me Anyway is the better of the two though, most notably the guitarwork. As far as the live material goes, it is your standard fare with all the cheesy banter and crowd cheers included for ambience. As a stand alone, Loaded Deck is average, however, as mentioned above, it is an excellent companion piece to 1997's 12 Picks release. In owning these two albums, one can truly enjoy the highlights of Ace Frehley's solo work. May 29, 1998

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