Judging by the seemingly never-ending amount of well-known guitarists who have listed Ace Frehley as an influence over the years, you'd have thought that the Space Ace would have had an instructional video on the market long ago.
But the former Kiss guitarist didn't get the "instructional video treatment" until 2010, when he was the subject of a DVD in the ongoing 'Behind the Player' series.
As with the other titles of the series, the viewer is treated to an in-depth interview with Ace in which he covers a variety of topics (his career with Kiss, his influences, his guitar/amp setup, etc.), as well as testimonials by other musicians and short vintage clips of Ace on-stage.
Additionally, Ace shows you how to play two Kiss classics on guitar -- "Cold Gin" and "Shock Me" -- step by step, and also jams on the first tune with Matt Sorum and John 5 (without vocals, though).
Some of the info from the interview segments has been covered elsewhere numerous times over the years (Ace getting electrocuted on-stage, joining Kiss, the origin of his smoking guitar, etc.), but there is quite a bit of interesting info here, especially from a guitar-playing standpoint.
The Ace Frehley edition of the 'Behind the Player' series will certainly come in handy to both beginning guitarists getting a feel for the instrument and longtime Ace fans who are curious to learn the exact finger placings of the two aforementioned tunes.
Unlike the majority of instructional videos/DVDs issued over the years, this one won't find its way to the bottom of your closet or on display at a garage sale.
~ Review by Greg Prato, Rovi
