“The solos are so perfectly composed... they remind me of what Bach would do if he had a Les Paul, a Marshall, and a space alien costume”: Paul Gilbert explains why he loves Ace Frehley’s playing

In just over two weeks’ time, Kiss will play their final-ever show, donning the iconic makeup and taking to the stage at Madison Square Garden on December 2 for the ultimate farewell performance.

In anticipation of a truly momentous occasion – one that comes 50 years after the band’s formation – we’ve been asking some of our favorite guitarists for their favorite Kiss guitar moments. 

Kiss has always been about the live experience – the gathering of the faithful at the altar of rock’s mega brand. Indeed, it was 1975’s Alive! that marked their true commercial breakthrough.

For Paul Gilbert, then, it’s the live albums that hold the most “magic” and, in a mammoth forthcoming feature, the Racer X guitarist and shred legend hones in (with his typical laser focus) on sections of two tracks from 1977’s Alive II.

“[On that album] Ace Frehley has infallible feedback magic!” Gilbert tells Guitar World. “The intro feedback note of King of the Nighttime World quickly transforms into its high harmonic, and Ace sustains it at full force with soulful, dramatic, and perfectly controlled vibrato. 

“Then Ace's unaccompanied solo at the end of Shock Me has more of this beautiful guitar feedback and vibrato. I love it!”

There’s a redemption arc, of sorts, in hearing a player of Gilbert’s unquestionable technical ability showering praise on Kiss, particularly given Frehley once told Guitar World that “a lot of musicians, serious musicians, wrote us off as clowns”. 

Indeed, it’s Frehley’s compositional talents that Gilbert singles out for his highest praise. 

“Ace's solos on the first two Kiss live albums [Alive! and Alive II] are so perfectly composed,” Gilbert tells us. “They remind me of what Bach would do if he had a Les Paul, a Marshall, and a space alien costume."

In the aforementioned 2009 Guitar World interview, Frehley summed up his own talent as a younger player, with somewhat brutal clarity. 

“I was good; I wasn’t great,” said Frehley. “I still don’t think I’m a great player. There are guys that play circles around me. But it’s a combination of my songwriting, my voice, my attitude, my persona... It’s the package. I know great guitar players that don’t have any image or personality. And you need it all.”

Keep an eye on the site for our full star-studded feature, in which Gilbert is joined by the likes of Nuno Bettencourt, Dave Mustaine and even Eric Johnson – all of whom single-out their own greatest Kiss guitar moments.

In 2022, Gene Simmons said he’d like to see Frehley onstage for Kiss’ farewell shows – or, at least, the encores.

The chance of a reunion happening is now looking increasingly small, though as Frehley hinted back in 2021: “anything is possible.”