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Jan 18, 2012

Doug rated it:

I have mixed feelings about this book. The positives I took away from this book, particularly his insight with meeting his musical heroes (He talks about meeting Mitch Mitchell, drummer for the Jimi Hendrix Experience, and some of his funny experiences with Les Paul)and his breakdowns of the various KISS albums over the years, were great. Regardless of what anyone thinks, Ace Frehley influenced a lot of kids to pick up the guitar.

Where the book let me down, was all the stories about More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Jan 14, 2012

Adam rated it:

the spaceman , it doesn't get any bigger then his life in the rock n' roll universe, especially when they were in their prime in the late seventies it was a very decadent time. as close a you get to superhero status a rock star in costume, the epitome of myth youth used to relate rock musicians as and he lived it. So much excess and insanity (even being friends with the legendary John Belushi) but he seems to have credibilty in the end although usually we don't appreciate our tragic heroes getti More...

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Nov 26, 2011

Nycdreamin rated it:

Three grades for this one...resulting in an overall grade of 4 stars.

#1: As A Member Of The General Public.
Say you're NOT a mega-Kiss fan, not a member of the millions-strong Kiss Army. You do like to rock and roll all night and party every day...occasionally. You might even know who Ace Frehley is but you haven't followed his career very closely. You know he was the cool guy from Kiss with the smoking, rocket-shooting guitar but you didn't even know he had a book coming out. B More...

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Nov 13, 2011

Henrik rated it:

There will be people who say that Ace Frehley is still an alcoholic, and still a drug addict. This is true. Sobriety doesn't negate addiction, and there's always a chance that the addict will slide back, and that drugs can and will affect memory. This is demonstrated by the fact that Ace Frehley has used two friends (Joe Layden and John Ostrosky) to help him research and organize No Regrets into a solid document of his life, his successes in and out of KISS, his relationships with fans, frien More...

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Dec 28, 2011

Andrew rated it:

Came to this looking forward to Ace's perspective of KISS and the sometimes fraught he had appeared to have had with his band mates..as yet we have only really had Gene Simmons book to go on plus the authorised KISS book a few years back which went into bits and pieces.
Ace seems willing within this book to accept the blame for much that went wrong with his relationship within the band and it's pretty much a tale of excess and clouded judgement,I enjoyed the writing..the KISS years were the More...

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Dec 29, 2011

Nick rated it:

As a fan of KISS since I was five years old (maybe even younger), I had a blast reading about the early days of the band, and as a major ACE fan, I LOVED the stories about the recording of his classic 1978 solo album. Like most rock n roll memoirs, there's plenty of drug and alcohol stories, as well as car crashes and near-death experiences. So as a KISS and Ace fan, the book is a lot of fun, especially when Ace trashes Gene and Paul on nearly every other page, then offers something positive a More...

2 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jan 09, 2012

AJ rated it:

LOVED it. highly recommend. never really COULD understand people who didn't like KISS (the original line up).
gotta hand it to ACE (i'm mean, Paul). way to go brother. props.

favorite lines:

-with each drink the inhibitions faded, and so did any concern over repercussions.

-hindsight, man. it's a bummer. a waste of time, too.

-i lived in a small, affluent community, and the cops believed their job was to protect the taxpayers, rather than harass them. they More...

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Feb 09, 2012

Vince rated it:

I was a pre-teen when Ace left the band originally, so like most KISS fans my age I grew up on mid-80’s songs like Lick It Up, Heaven’s On Fire, and Who Wants To Be Lonely. Although I knew a good bit of the songs from the makeup era, the truth is I didn’t know very much about original members Frehley and Criss.

I bought this book with the intent of learning about the formation of the band, and the reasons why Frehley has never been able to find a way to work with Gene and Paul. I en More...

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Jan 17, 2012

Marisa rated it:

I refused to read the Gene Simmons book because he is such a pompous ass so I was glad to see Ace Frehley release a book. I got a kick out of the stories and even YouTube'd the infamous interview with Tom Snyder on Tomorrow he mentions in the book which was hilarious and gave alot of insight to what was going on in the band. I also had a good laugh about the also infamouns "KISS Meets The Phantom of the Park" tv special. I vaguely remember watching it as a kid and had to watch it ag More...

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Feb 08, 2012

Jeff rated it:

I really enjoyed this look into the darkness and trials of one of rock's great guitarists. The band KISS was the very first band I ever bought an album of back as a little tike; I am guessing I was probably about 12 years old or so. I was hooked, and from that time on, they were always one of my favorite bands.

Last year I read through a fairly major biography on the whole band, with sub-sections on each member's history (see KISS: Behind the Mask: The Official Authorized Biography), bu More...

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Jan 28, 2012

King Dinösaur rated it:

Ah, Ace Frehley...The Spaceman. Original KISS guitarist. There is no one even remotely like him. Ace is one of five guys most responsible for me ever picking up a guitar (the others being Angus Young, Tony Iommi, Greg Ginn and Neil Young, in case you're dying to know) and was definitely the heart and soul of KISS. I mean, he had to be what with Gene and Paul being such money-grubbing douche-bags. Anyway, this is Ace's story and I'm glad he finally put it out there to counterbalance all the b More...

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Jan 13, 2012

Greg rated it:

Ace Frehley's memoir is for Kiss & Ace Frehley fans only. I can't imagine anyone who isn't a fan being interested in all his anecdotes of sex, drugs & rock 'n roll. We all knew Gene Simmons is an asshole who sold his soul for the money. We all knew Ace had a serious drinking problem and has since found sobriety. But what is interesting is when he writes about his creative process, and the music he created with the band, especially about his 1978 solo album. Also interesting was how Gene & Paul s More...

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Jan 20, 2012

A rated it:

I was a fan of KISS when I was five years old. My Love Gun album made an appearance in kndergarten show-and-tell and my mother dressed me like "The Catman" for Halloween when I was six. I still have my albums and still have a love for KISS of that mid-seventies era. Even after they removed the make-up I had no idea what these guys really looked like until years later. Ace's No Regrets takes me back to those days when could skateboard without a helmet and play lawn darts with metal tips More...

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Feb 20, 2012

Leticia rated it:

I had heard many, many good things about Ace's book prior to actually getting around to it myself. My other half, a *massive* KISS fan, devoured it as soon as it arrived on my doorstep. His nonchalant "excellent book" was kind of neither here nor there.

What you discover, with No Regrets, is that Ace Frehley is an honest, forthright, downright funny dude. The book traces Frehley's journey into rock'n'roll, his foray into what became KISS, what it turned into, and the hows an More...

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Feb 19, 2012

Rene rated it:

This is a great book. Not like your "normal" tell all. The title "No Regrets" says it all. Ace does not have any regrets. Did you know Ace designed the KISS logo, that his IQ is higher than Gene Simmons, that his Mom helped make his outfits and Ace invented White Out? Just kidding about the White Out. The rest is true. Ace's candor and easy going style make this book a pleasure to read and one you want to keep reading. Ace plays in lots of bands until one day he answers an ad More...

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Jan 17, 2012

Chip'sBookBinge rated it:

Ace Frehley's book is a throughly enjoyable read from start to finish. The beginning of the book which is devoted to his upbringing might seem boring to most, but for me it was a trip to hear about what he did as a kid with regards to his association with the Duckies, the gang that first saved his ass and then get's it into trouble.

But like all KISS fans, myself included, we are anxiously waiting for when he gets around to the formation of the 'Hottest Band In The World'. One of my fav More...

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Nov 07, 2011

Dutch rated it:

Ok here's the thing.. I love Ace Frehley. So no book he writes is going to change my opinion of him. As far as I'm concerned, he got the crappy end of the deal with a band he really didn't want to be in from the beginning. But this book review is about his book, not my love for Ace. So here goes..

Over the years I've read the really awful trash-talking about Ace from Gene Simmons, Wendy Moore (ex-girlfriend) and ex-friends Gordon Gebert and Bob McAdams. I only read them for the K More...

1 comment like (3 people liked it)

Dec 29, 2011

Dave rated it:

I've been a KISS fan since 1978, and Ace was always my fave. Reading Gene's book a few years ago was a eye opener!
Ace confirms much of what Gene said, Some things he ignores, and I wish he hadn't. (Gene's claims of Ace having Nazi thoughts for one)
This is a fun read, and it's cool to see Ace's take on the birth of KISS.
I wish he's been more open about Peter. And he never mentions the death of Eric Carr. All in all though, I enjoyed this book.

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Feb 21, 2012

Snem rated it:

I really enjoyed reading this book. It was a little all over the place and crazy, but he's the spaceman what do you expect? I was glad to get Ace's perspective on things and hearing about his approach to music. It's one thing to have no regrets in life, but it seemed like he also had very little remorse for the things that happened when he was under the influence.

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Jan 28, 2012

J.ames rated it:

Ace is drunk and high for most of this book, and jumps back and forth between his "love" for the original members of KISS, to his disgust for some of them and back to "love." The biggest surprise for most people will be the reason he left KISS for the first time - he was just bored and not into it anymore (guess the drugs and drinking didn't come into play). Still looking for that "tell-all" book about how this band got to the top and fell to the bottom......

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Dec 17, 2011

Sasha rated it:

Entertaining, but not fantastic. It had that ghostwritten feel. The language style is inconsistent and so some of it didn't ring true. Example (p197): "Don was practicing his golf swing and I guess you eluded his peripheral vision". Really? More likely: "Dude! How the f*** are you still alive?".

But, it's great to read the stories nonetheless.

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Dec 07, 2011

Justin rated it:

I love KISS and I used to love Ace. However, my tolerance ran out years ago (like his family, friends and band mates) and this book just reiterates my frustration. There is little background information about Ace's music or bands, just stupid drinking and drug tales that just irritate and reform my belief of Ace's wasting of his talents. The unauthorised biography released in the 90s is actually a better read...Discuss.

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Dec 28, 2011

Eric rated it:

More than once, Ace refers to himself as lucky and lazy. And that's probably true. But what does he think of his old bandmates in KISS? "I think they're just a bunch of dirty rotten whores," he says. I couldn't agree with him more. "Awk!"

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Dec 26, 2011

Andrew rated it:

A quick easy read, read it in a day.
Some funny stuff about the early years of Kiss.
As a fan it's worth reading but he does seem to glamorize drugs and alcohol and as well seems to have little remorse about all the harm he caused others.

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Dec 19, 2011

Melyssa rated it:

I bought this book as a present for my older brother, who grew up really liking KISS. I read it before wrapping the gift, which is my habit. Pretty good if you are at all interested in the band.

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Jan 27, 2012

Terese rated it:

So far, I am loving it, as see how Gene really is the Gene of today.
Now that I'm finished, I still love the book and would like to see if others wrote bios and read them too. To get a more of a picture of what really happened behind the scenes in their opinions.

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Jan 25, 2012

Jeff rated it:

Fantastic book for a fan... Of course it wasn't a literary masterpiece, but it offered a really nice insight into my main guitar hero. It was a very detailed, very 'real' look into the alcohol/drug-induced journey through KISS in the 70's and really laid out the dichotomy between Ace and Peter, who were in it for the music and fun versus Gene and Paul who were in it for the business and money. Definite must-read for a KISS/Ace fan.

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Jan 09, 2012

Jernej rated it:

The best book I have read so far concerning rock star biographies and memoirs. There was at least a hint of internal main character tension and dilemma which eventually disappeared as the book drew to its end.

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Feb 01, 2012

Stephen rated it:

Not going to repost the entire thing, but you can find my review here: http://www.findyourgeek.com/reviews/deta...

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Jan 09, 2012

Gary rated it:

I'm a life-long KISS fan so I'm slightly biased; good read, most insightful when speaking of his realtionship with Paul, Gene and Peter.

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