Ace Frehley's ORIGINS, VOLUME 1, Expected in Mid-April; WHITE ROOM Out Now

Ace Frehley is beginning the new year by looking back. The former Kiss guitarist's new LP, Origins Vol. 1 – due out April 15th – finds him covering songs by Jimi Hendrix, the Rolling Stones, Thin Lizzy and other artists that have inspired him over the years. His heavy-hitting take on Cream's "White Room" is premiering here. The LP also features his first recording with Paul Stanley, an impassioned interpretation of Free's "Fire and Water," in nearly two decades. Other guests on the record include Slash, Pearl Jam's Mike McCready, Lita Ford and Rob Zombie guitarist John 5.

"I'm really thrilled with the whole thing," Frehley tells Rolling Stone. "I'm excited about it, and probably somewhere down the road there'll be a second volume."

"White Room" holds a special place in the guitarist's heart, since he attended Cream's New York City concert debut when he was about 15 – one of Frehley's first concerts. "Eric Clapton has always been a big influence on me," the guitarist says. "They were opening up for Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels. The Who was on the bill, too. Clapton had a big afro then and that painted guitar. It was pretty cool and different. I always liked 'White Room.'" Frehley's drummer, Scott Coogan, joins him on vocals for the song.



Frehley shrugs off any residual tension between himself and Stanley. "We've always been friends," he says. "The press seems to amplify negativity. I guess it makes good copy."

Both founding Kiss members were fans of Free and the song "Fire and Water," the title cut of the "All Right Now" group's 1970 LP. Frehley had wanted to do a version of it since the Seventies, so he recorded the backing tracks with his band and sent them to Stanley about a month ago, with the Kiss singer sending his recorded parts right back.

"I thought Paul did a fabulous vocal on it," the guitarist says. "He jumped at the chance to do this because it's something that's outside of Kiss and his character in Kiss, and it gave him a chance to, you know, sing. With Paul, you usually think of him singing in a slightly higher register and on 'Fire and Water,' he's singing deep from his diaphragm, and it's a real cool vocal. Everyone's who heard it was just thinks it's the shit."

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Origins Vol. 1 Track List

1. "White Room" (Cream)
2. "Street Fighting Man" (Rolling Stones) 
3. "Spanish Castle Magic," feat. John 5 (Jimi Hendrix)
4. "Fire and Water," feat. Paul Stanley (Free)
5. "Emerald," Slash (Thin Lizzy)
6. "Bring It on Home" (Led Zeppelin)
7. "Wild Thing," feat. Lita Ford (The Troggs)
8. "Parasite," feat. John 5 (Kiss)
9. "Magic Carpet Ride" (Steppenwolf)
10. "Cold Gin," feat. Mike McCready (Kiss)
11. "Till the End of the Day" (Kinks)
12. "Rock and Roll Hell" (Kiss)