"Rocket Ride" is a song by American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band

Kiss A kiss is the touching or pressing of one's lips against another person, animal or object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely; depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sex ...

, released in 1978 as the second and final single from their second live album ''

Alive II ''Alive II'' is the second live album by American hard rock band Kiss, released on October 14, 1977, by Casablanca Records. The band had released three albums (''Destroyer'', '' Rock and Roll Over'', and '' Love Gun'') since the previous live ...

''. The song, one of five studio tracks on the album, was written by Sean Delaney and guitarist

Ace Frehley Paul Daniel "Ace" Frehley (, ; born April 27, 1951) is an American musician who was the original lead guitarist, occasional lead vocalist and founding member of the rock band Kiss (band), Kiss. He invented the persona of The Spaceman (a.k.a. ...

, who sang lead vocals. It was his second vocal performance for the band, and another hit for them on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, reaching No. 49.

Background and recording

"Rocket Ride" was written by Sean Delaney and guitarist Ace Frehley, who sang lead vocals. He noted in the booklet for the 2001 ''Kiss Box Set'' that this was his first vocal performance he was satisfied with. The song was written for Frehley's eponymous solo album, but he submitted it for ''Alive II'' instead, the only studio track of the five recorded for the album that he performed on, as

Bob Kulick Robert Joel Kulick (January 16, 1950 – May 28, 2020) was an American guitarist and record producer, who worked with numerous acts such as Kiss (band), Kiss, W.A.S.P. (band), W.A.S.P., Alice Cooper, Lou Reed, Meat Loaf, and Michael Bolton. He w ...

was brought in to play guitar on some of the other tracks. It's unknown where "Rocket Ride" was written. Frehley says it was written at his home in the New York area to write it, while Delaney says it was written in Japan, as the band was experiencing writer’s block. Delaney, who came up with the lyrics and melody, asked if Frehley had any riffs. “Oh yeah, there’s this one, but I don’t think the guys in the band are capable of playing it,” Delaney remembers Frehley saying.

Composition and lyrics

"Rocket Ride" is a fast-paced song, described as "hard-rock overdrive" and one of the band's "most metallic moments." Starting with an effects-drenched ascending guitar riff, before Frehley's singing, the song pushes rhythm to the forefront by matching hard-swinging verses with a chorus built on staccato sing-along hooks. Like many of Kiss's works, the song is a

double entendre A double entendre (plural double entendres) is a figure of speech or a particular way of wording that is devised to have a double meaning, one of which is typically obvious, and the other often conveys a message that would be too socially unacc ...

, using space travel (appropriate to Frehley's onstage "Spaceman" persona) as an

innuendo An innuendo is a wikt:hint, hint, wikt:insinuation, insinuation or wikt:intimation, intimation about a person or thing, especially of a denigrating or derogatory nature. It can also be a remark or question, typically disparaging (also called in ...

for sexual intercourse.

Reception

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' praised the song's "grinding heavy guitar and driving rock beat, flashy solo and competent vocals."

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

critic Donald A. Guarisco described the song as a "major cult favorite" and "one of Frehley’s finest achievements as a songwriter and a guitarist." ''Ultimate Classic Rock'' critic Matt Wardlaw claimed "Rocket Ride" is more than worthy of its name, and is "built on top of that initial riff, there's driving energy, as Frehley’s guitar tone gives everything an appropriately lunar feel."

Hide Hide or hides may refer to: Common uses * Hide (skin), the cured skin of an animal * Bird hide, a structure for observing birds and other wildlife without causing disturbance * Gamekeeper's hide or hunting hide or hunting blind, a structure to hi ...

recreated the intro of the song for his own 1998 single "

Rocket Dive "Rocket Dive" is the eighth single by Japanese musician hide, the first to bear the hide with Spread Beaver name, released on January 28, 1998. It reached number 4 on the Oricon Singles Chart and was the 33rd best-selling single of the year. It h ...

", the title also being an homage to the track. Frehley's 2008 tour, The Rocket Ride Tour (in support of his album '' Anomaly'') was named after the song.

Appearances

"Rocket Ride" has appeared on the following Kiss albums: * ''Alive II'' – studio version * ''The Box Set'' – studio version * ''Kiss Alive! 1975–2000'' – studio version

Track listing

Personnel

– vocals, guitars, bass *

Peter Criss George Peter John Criscuola (born December 20, 1945), better known by his stage name Peter Criss, is an American musician, best known as a co-founder, original drummer, and an occasional vocalist of the hard rock band Kiss. Criss established th ...

– drums

Charts

References

Kiss (band) songs Songs written by Ace Frehley Casablanca Records singles 1977 singles 1977 songs {{1970s-single-stub