WTDP? got a sneak peek at Ace Frehley’s first solo album in over 20 years – Anomaly. John Dee in Oslo hosted an advance listening party for the 12-track effort (I must’ve missed one!) this weekend. While I had planned to string together audio thoughts of the new album and stream them in live blog form, logisitics and other issues prevented that. What I did manage to do was jot down some initial thoughts as the album played. Anomaly will be released on 15 September and was recorded at New York’s Schoolhouse Records and Frehley’s home in Westchester. Check out my first-listen reactions – track titles added later – after the jump!

1. (Foxy & Free) Machine gun riff of the opener. So Foxy! Like the 70s all over again. Solo section sounds very GnR Appetite era. Foxy and Free! More cowbell! Solid opener.

2. (Outer Space) Space Ace returns! Tribal toms over power chord chugga. Take you away. A little cheese but great low end on the album so far.

3. (Pain in the Neck) A little Jet City to the intro. Decent mid tempo rocker with a stutter… not Strutter… main riff. Pain in the neck. Cool little bridge break before a signature Ace solo.

4. (Fox on the Run) Chop trem opens a sing along style rocker. Cover? (edit – yes, an old Sweet tune) …on the run? If so, I can do without it. It’s been a long time Ace… give us originals!

5. (Genghis Khan) Acoustic intro… Kinda cool. A little bluesy. Rip harmonics intro a power chord stomp instrumental? I like this. Oh… He started singing, minimal vocals though. Still like it! Back to acoustic for strumful break prior to solo. Favorite song so far. Wah for days on the outro solo section.

6. (Too Many Faces) Poppy mid tempo rocker with half step progression hook… Main hook is a liitle STP-ish. Too many faces in the mirror looking back at me. Solid solo… it’s Ace! Not bad overall.

7. (Change the World) Ballady/Anthemy rocker. When i woke up today i thought i could change the world. Acoustic break here too. Tom Petty? Worked better in the other song. Not a fan of this one.

8. (Space Bear) Gettin a little nasty here with snakey opening riff. Another instrumental? Pretty harmless mid way through. Solo tries to make an OK song good, but doesn’t quite make it. More GnR style grit towards the end… A little more interesting now, but then it’s over.

9. (A Little Below The Angels) Acoustic strum along. A little below. Not very interesting, but it is getting harder to hear due to the crowd. Hey! A childrens choir? Hmmm. Kinda cool, but the song is weak overall.

10. (Sister) Burner out of gate! Track 10 and NOW I here Kiss! Probably wasn’t listening for it before, but this one smacks you with it. Can’t change my ways. Solid track… Dug the little flangey bit into the solo.

11. (It’s A Great Life) This ones too poppy for me. Not terrible, but definetly in my second half favorites off this effort. Solo is even uninspired. Fits though. It’s a great life?