ACE FREHLEY – MEGAFORCE DEMOS 1985 (CD-R)

Description

Recorded at Power Station Studios, N.Y.C 1985 STEREO SBD

　In 1985, Ace Frehley was starting up his own band and writing songs for their official debut. Two studio recordings, which could be described as “Frehley’s Comet’s 0th album,” have been scheduled for simultaneous release.

　This is the second of a two-part series. It’s a soundboard album compiling studio demos produced at Power Station Studios in the fall of 1985. It took three years for Frehley’s Comet to make their record debut. This week’s two-part series features demo albums from their pre-debut period. While the simultaneously released “Bronze Records Demos 1984 (Shades 2546)” was a demo from before their first stage performance, this album was from after they began their live performance career. To understand the situation, let’s first take a look at the band’s activities at the time.

● 1984
(Early: FREHLEY’S COMET formed)
(Summer: Demos recorded) ←※ BRONZE RECORDS DEMOS 1984
, November 30th “SIR STUDIOS 1984”
● 1985
, March 1st-9th: USA (7 shows) ←★※ L’AMOUR 1985 1ST NIGHT
(May: Arthur Stead leaves → Summer: Rob Sabino joins)
(Autumn: Demos recorded) ←★Here★
(Arthur Stead and Richie Scarlett leave)

[Newly discovered first-gen master from Eddie Trunk’s collection]
　This is Ace Frehley from 1984/1985. In 1984, he only had one debut gig, “THE FIRST SHOW: SIR STUDIOS 1984 (Shades 2470),” but in 1985 he did a mini-tour. After that, he spent his days writing new songs and making demos.

　Demos from that era have been circulating for some time, but this new master represents a new peak. It was digitized directly from the first-generation cassette owned by Eddie Trunk, who worked at the Megaforce label at the time. Indeed, the sound is superb. While the recording quality itself hasn’t improved enough to qualify as an “official masterpiece,” it’s perfectly usable for official bonus tracks and box sets. The freshness, with no sign of aging or dubbing degradation, is overwhelming, and there’s no doubt that the studio sound has been preserved. Its quality could even be described as “official excavation quality.”

[A studio album that could be said to be the original form of the debut work]
　This first-generation sound depicts the treasured demos that could be said to be the original form of the debut work “Frehley’s Comet.” The simultaneous release “Bronze Records Demos 1984” did not include any songs from the official album “Frehley’s Comet.” However, this album features a much larger number of original songs. Let’s take a look at the contents while paying attention to this.

●Officially re-recorded songs (5 songs + 3 songs)
・FREHLEY’S COMET (1st): Stranger In A Strange Land / We Got Your Rock / Breakout / Dolls / Into The Night
・Other: Dancin’ With Danger [★: SECOND SIGHTING] / Words Are Not Enough [LIVE+1] / Give It To Me Anyway [LOADED DECK]
●Unreleased songs with no official versions (6 songs)
・Rock Or Be Rocked (★) / Back On The Streets / Angel / Baby It’s You / The Hurt Is On (★) / My Girl
*Note: Songs in brackets [ ] are official albums that feature re-recorded takes. Songs marked with a “★” have alternate takes available on “BRONZE RECORDS DEMOS 1984”.

…And so it goes. There are five early versions of songs from “Frehley’s Comet,” as well as a cover of StreetArt’s “Dancin’ With Danger,” which will be included on “Second Sighting,” and “Words Are Not Enough,” which will be re-recorded on “Live+1.”

　Of course, there are plenty of unreleased songs, especially “Back On The Streets,” “Baby It’s You,” and “My Girl,” which are delicious repertoires not found on the simultaneously released “BRONZE RECORDS DEMOS 1984.”

　Speaking of pre-debut Frehley’s Comet, we’ve archived their live albums, “The First Show: Sir Studios 1984 (Shades 2489)” and “L’Amour 1985 1st Night.” This week’s two-part series is the studio version. The band was a 1985 ace, cramming together a string of classic songs and eagerly awaiting their debut opportunity. We hope you enjoy this newly unearthed first-generation sound.

This studio demo album was produced at Power Station Studios in the fall of 1985, before the band even had a record contract. It was digitized directly from a first-gen cassette owned by Eddie Trunk, who was working for the Megaforce label at the time. The sound is of “official unearthed quality,” surpassing previous records. This is an absolute must-have album, packed with original masterpieces and rare unreleased tracks.

(54:43)
(Ace Frehley Demo 1)
1. Rock Or Be Rocked　
2. Back On The Streets
3. Angel
4. Stranger In A Strange Land

(Ace Frehley Demo 2)
5. We Got Your Rock
6. Breakout
7. Give It To Me Any Way
8. Dancin’ With Danger (Streetheart)
9. Baby Its You
10. The Hurt Is On
11. Dolls
12. Into The Night
13. My Girl
14. Words Are Not Enough

STEREO SOUNDBOARD RECORDING

Ace Frehley – guitar, vocals
Richie SCARLET – guitar, vocals
John Regan – bass, drums, backing vocals
Anton Fig – drums, percussion
Rob SAbino – keyboards