Space Invader (album)

Last updated

Space Invader
AceFrehleySpaceInvader.png
Studio album by
ReleasedAugust 18, 2014
Recorded2014
Studio
  • The Creation Lab, Turlock, CA
  • The Hideout, Las Vegas, NV
  • Ace in the Hole Studios West, San Diego, CA
  • The Green Room, Los Angeles, CA
  • Spitfire Studio, Los Angeles, CA
Genre Hard rock, heavy metal
Length53:52
Label E1 Music
Producer Ace Frehley
Ace Frehley chronology
Anomaly
(2009)
Space Invader
(2014)
Origins, Vol. 1
(2016)
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic 57/100 [1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [2]
Blabbermouth.net 8/10 [3]
Classic Rock 8/10 [4]
Paste 7.8/10 [5]
PopMatters Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [6]
Record Collector Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [7]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [8]

Space Invader is the fourth solo album by former Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley, released in the UK on August 18, 2014 and in the US on August 19 [6] via eOne Music. [9] His first album of new studio material since 2009's Anomaly , it was produced by Frehley, and recorded at The Creation Lab in Turlock, California.

Contents

Reaching No.9 on the Billboard 200 chart, [10] it is the only solo album by a past or current Kiss member to attain a US top ten position.

Artwork

The cover art was by fantasy artist Ken Kelly, who painted covers for the Kiss albums Destroyer (1976) and Love Gun (1977). "It was very exciting when I was approached with the idea of doing an album cover for Ace," he said. "I am very pleased with the results and proud to play a part of Ace's continuing successful career!" [11]

Reception

"His music still has the raw edge and offbeat sensibility that he brought to early Kiss and the best of his subsequent work…" opined Classic Rock . "The title track is quintessential Frehley; 'Toys' reminiscent of Aerosmith circa Rocks . And on two other space odysseys – 'Past the Milky Way' and the seven-minute instrumental 'Starship' – Ace travels to places that Kiss could never reach." [12]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Ace Frehley, except where noted.

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Space Invader" 4:17
2."Gimme a Feelin'"Frehley, John Ostrosky4:05
3."I Wanna Hold You"Frehley, Gen Rubin, Sebastian Basco3:32
4."Change"Frehley, Rachel Gordon4:08
5."Toys" 4:09
6."Immortal Pleasures"Frehley, Gordon5:05
7."Inside the Vortex" 4:40
8."What Every Girl Wants" 3:46
9."Past the Milky Way"Frehley, Chris Cassone5:31
10."Reckless" 4:12
11."The Joker" (Steve Miller Band cover) Steve Miller, Eddie Curtis, Ahmet Ertegün 3:35
12."Starship" 7:03
Deluxe edition
No.TitleLength
13."Gimme a Feelin'" (radio edit)3:55
14."Space Invader" (radio edit)3:18

Personnel

Band members
Additional musicians
Production

Charts

Chart (2014)Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA) [13] 59
Canadian Albums (Billboard Canadian) [14] 16
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista) [15] 42
Japanese Albums (Oricon) [16] 88
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [17] 28
UK Albums (Official Charts Company) [18] 158
UK Rock Albums (Official Charts Company)15
US Albums (Billboard 200)9

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References

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  2. Jeffries, David. "Ace Frehley - Space Invader review". AllMusic . All Media Network . Retrieved January 2, 2020.
  3. Van Horn jr., Ray. "Ace Frehley - "Space Invader"". Blabbermouth.net . Retrieved January 2, 2020.
  4. Elliott, Paul (November 2014). "The Hard Stuff: Albums". Classic Rock . No. 203. p. 96.
  5. Lore, Mark (August 19, 2014). "Ace Frehley: Space Invader review". Paste . Retrieved January 2, 2020.
  6. 1 2 Beaudoin, Jedd (October 6, 2014). "Ace Frehley: Space Invader". PopMatters . Retrieved January 2, 2020.
  7. Staunton, Terry (October 2014). "Ace Frehley - Space Invader". Record Collector . No. 432. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
  8. Grow, Kory (August 19, 2014). "Space Invader". Rolling Stone . Retrieved January 2, 2020.
  9. Giles, Jeff (July 10, 2014). "Ace Frehley Reveals Space Invader Track Listing". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved August 25, 2014.
  10. "ACE FREHLEY's 'Space Invader' Cracks U.S. Top 10". Blabbermouth.net. August 27, 2014. Retrieved September 1, 2014.
  11. "Ace Frehley reunites with Ken Kelly for Space Invader Cover Art". EntertainmentOne. May 30, 2014. Retrieved August 25, 2014.
  12. Elliott, Paul (November 2014). "The Hard Stuff: Albums". Classic Rock . No. 203. p. 96.
  13. "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 1 September 2014" (PDF) (1279). Australian Web Archive. September 5, 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 5, 2014. Retrieved September 7, 2014.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  14. "Ace Frehley Canadian Chart History". Billboard .
  15. "Ace Frehley: Space Invader" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
  16. "スペース・インヴェイダー" (in Japanese). Oricon ME inc. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
  17. "Swedishcharts.com – Ace Frehley – Space Invader". Hung Medien.
  18. Zywietz, Tobias. "CHART: CLUK Update 14.08.2014 (wk34)". Zobbel. Retrieved August 30, 2014.