During a recent interview with Guitar World, Ace Frehley expressed his views on bandmates Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley, comparing them to puppets for following producer Bob Ezrin’s lead during the recording of the album ‘Destroyer.’
The discussion stemmed from Frehley’s comparison of his guitar solo on the song ‘Sweet Pain’ with that of session musician Dick Wagner. In the ‘Destroyer Resurrected’ version, released to mark the 35th anniversary of ‘Destroyer,’ Ace’s original solo was included, contrasting with the original album where Wagner’s work was featured. When asked about his preference between the two solos, the guitarist replied:
“I’d have to listen to it, hang on [Ace pauses to listen to his version of ‘Sweet Pain’]. You like my solo better than Dick’s, huh? Well, Dick was a great player, and he did a great solo, but I don’t think there’s anything wrong with mine [Laughs]. But I’ll be honest – I don’t remember recording it [Laughs].”
Political Moves And Punishments
He added, reflecting on the reasons behind the substitution of his solo in the original ‘Destroyer’ album:
“I think they took my solo out to punish me for being late. It was a political move that Bob Ezrin made when he said, ‘Ace has got to be taught a lesson,’ and Gene and Paul followed him like puppets. They were always control freaks, and I was always the dude who drank too much and was late too many times. But even with all the nonsense, we were still friends and did get along to that point.”
The Resurrection Of A Classic
The initiative to remix and re-release ‘Destroyer,’ led by Ezrin with the consent of Simmons and Stanley, involved revisiting the original analog master tapes. This process not only improved the overall sound quality but also reintroduced elements previously omitted, such as Frehley’s solo on ‘Sweet Pain.’ Ezrin, opening up about the decision, admitted to Rolling Stone in 2016:
“When I listened back to the master tapes for ‘Destroyer Resurrected,’ the ‘Sweet Pain’ solo we replaced with Dick was because it was, in quotes, ‘more professional-sounding,’ end of quote. When I went back and listened to what Ace played, the rawness of it, and kind of truth of it, was more effective than the polished solo we got from Dick. And I was really glad to have stumbled back over it, to have been allowed to restore it so other people could hear it. I think it deserved to be heard, and I think Ace did a great job with it in hindsight.”
The producer also recalled in the same interview that since they were tight on time and budget, he called in Wagner, a musician who lived nearby, to fill in for Ace. Wagner ended up playing guitar for the songs ‘Beth’ and ‘Sweet Pain.’ Gene and Paul were a bit upset with him for not showing up. Ezrin was also frustrated because it was crucial to keep the album’s production on track and stick to their schedule.
