{"id":235363,"date":"2025-10-19T02:48:11","date_gmt":"2025-10-19T02:48:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/235363\/"},"modified":"2025-10-19T02:48:11","modified_gmt":"2025-10-19T02:48:11","slug":"ace-frehley-the-five-albums-that-changed-my-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/235363\/","title":{"rendered":"Ace Frehley: The five albums that changed my life"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you were an aspiring guitarist growing up in America in the 1970s, Ace Frehley<\/a> was the man you wanted to be. He was the one who gave Kiss<\/a> the rock\u2019n\u2019roll edge amid all the pyros and flashbombs.<\/p>\n

But who influenced the Space Ace himself? His 2016 album Origins Vol. 1<\/a> laid his cards on the table, featuring covers of the bands who shaped his own playing: Cream<\/a>, Jimi Hendrix<\/a>, the Rolling Stones<\/a>, Steppenwolf and more. And they continued to inspire him – Frehley was working on a fourth volume of Origins when he passed away.<\/p>\n

In 2018, Frehley dug deep into his own record collection and told Classic Rock about the five albums that truly changed his life.<\/p>\n

You may like<\/p>\n

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The Jimi Hendrix Experience \u2013 Are You Experienced (1967)<\/p>\n

\u201cIt changed my life, no question about it. I used to walk around my high school with this album under my arm. It\u2019s groundbreaking in so many ways \u2013 nobody played guitar like Hendrix.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was already playing the guitar for a few years, but when I heard Hendrix, it seemed so beyond everything else I was hearing at the time. He was doing something that was light years away from all of my other heroes. I used to slow down the record and try to figure out the solos. His use of effects, his composing, his phrasing \u2013 the guy was a once-in-a-lifetime talent.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Jimi Hendrix Experience – Purple Haze – LIVE (1967) – YouTube
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Watch On <\/a>
\nLed Zeppelin \u2013 Led Zeppelin (1968)<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll never forget seeing Led Zeppelin<\/a>\u2019s first New York appearance. They were opening up for Iron Butterfly at the Fillmore East. It was one of those nights you always hear about: Zeppelin played their set and just killed the place. Iron Butterfly had to follow them. Half the audience walked out.<\/p>\n

\u201cI went out and got the debut record. I wasn\u2019t really familiar with [Jimmy] Page before then. I liked the Yardbirds, but I always thought of Jeff Beck<\/a> with that band. So putting on Zeppelin was a huge experience. His riffs, his sounds and his solos \u2013 he was like the complete guitarist. I became a massive fan right away.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Led Zeppelin – How Many More Times (Danmarks Radio 1969) [Official Video] – YouTube
\n\"Led<\/p>\n

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\nThe Who \u2013 My Generation (1965)<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat a great record. Fabulous songs. Pete Townshend<\/a> wasn\u2019t a big lead guy, but he knew how to work chords. I learned a lot about my chord technique from studying Who songs. Pete Townshend can play the same chord on 20 positions on the next. He\u2019s a wizard.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love their harmonies and the way they arranged their songs. The Who were a really smart band. Nobody played like Keith Moon \u2013 he didn\u2019t use a hi-hat. But it was all focused around Townshend\u2019s guitar. He had something pretty strong in his hands.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Who – My Generation – LIVE (1967) – YouTube
\n\"The<\/p>\n

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\nCream \u2013 Fresh Cream (1966)<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the record I discovered [Eric] Clapton on. Actually, I saw Cream. I was at their first New York appearance when they were opening up for Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels. I had no idea what I was going to see, but I was blown away. Come to think of it, the Who were on the same bill. Those were great days.<\/p>\n

You may like<\/p>\n

\u201cI love the Fresh Cream record. Clapton is such a beautifully unique rock-blues<\/a> guitarist. I\u2019ve studied everything he\u2019s done, from Cream to Blind Faith to Derek and the Dominos and then the solo stuff. He\u2019s one of those guys who has something so singular \u2013 you know it\u2019s him, the second he plays a note. I definitely tried to take as much as I could from Clapton.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cream – I feel free (1967) – YouTube
\n\"Cream<\/p>\n

Watch On <\/a>
\nThe Rolling Stones \u2013 Satisfaction (1965)<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a toss-up between the Beatles and the Stones \u2013 I love \u2018em both \u2013 but I\u2019ll have to go with the Stones because they were the bad boys. Picking a single album is hard, so I\u2019ll just go with the first song of theirs that really jumped out at me \u2013 Satisfaction.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember walking around the Bronx and hearing it on the radio. It was an incredible time. It seemed as if the song was everywhere. You\u2019d hear it coming from windows, from car radios as people drove by. You just couldn\u2019t escape Satisfaction during the summer of \u201965.<\/p>\n

\u201cGuitar-wise, there\u2019s that incredible riff, one of the greatest three-note patterns ever. It\u2019s so simple that you can\u2019t believe no one thought of it before. It wouldn\u2019t be the song it is without that riff. It sounded amazing coming through those little transistor radios. I went out and bought a fuzz box \u2013 I had to try to get that sound myself.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"If you were an aspiring guitarist growing up in America in the 1970s, Ace Frehley was the man…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":235364,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[88,216],"class_list":{"0":"post-235363","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-music"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235363","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=235363"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235363\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/235364"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=235363"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=235363"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=235363"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}