Ace - Five-A-Side (1974)

I think it's quite fascinating how some bands that are somewhat popular in their time are completely forgotten while others gain a cult following. Ace very much belongs to the first group of bands. I don't think there are many people who didn't live in the 70s who would have any idea this band ever existed. I certainly didn't before, as a result of rummaging through the vinyl albums left at my grandmother's place by mu father and uncles, I took this home along with many other vinyl records. I can see why Ace hasn't secured its place in memorable classic rock bands. There is nothing particularly original in these songs. There's a strong AOR vibe in the songs and the style is very 70s Americana rock. I was a bit surprised to find out that the band is actually from UK from Sheffield. Back in the time of its release, the album did make it quite high on the charts.

As I mentioned already, I got this album along with many others from my grandmother's place. It has been really interesting to see what kind of music my father and his brothers were listening to back in the 70s. Of course, my sample isn't that accurate, since they have all the best albums in their own collections even now, so this was just a collection of albums they had left behind. This makes it even more interesting, because it's a window to all the stuff that might've been popular back then, but that didn't stay in people's memories.

The album begins with the song Sniffin' About, which has quite a straightforward rock beat. This sounds like some of the most boring, most AOR Dire Straits songs. Rock & Roll Sunday takes on a more wavy country beat and a nice treble-heavy jumping bassline. This song really reminds me of Grateful Dead. How Long starts with just a bass line until it is accompanied by fresh organ sounds and a funky guitar. This was the hit single of the album and it gained some popularity in the single charts. I can see why. This is probably the only song on the album that stands out even a little bit. The Real Feeling has some interesting piano lines that are accompanied by funky rhythm section. This song could have something if it would more clearly go somewhere, but unfortunately, it just stays in the same intensity throughout the song, which makes it a bit boring. 24 Hours continues with the same recipe, funky bass line and raunchy rock organs. The chorus saxophones depict the mood of the mid-70s quite well. Why has a rhythm that makes me nod along even though nothing that interesting really happens in the song. At least it has an engaging rhythm. Time Ain't Long is a complete cliche of a song, but it does have something that makes it a bit more interesting than many of the other songs. Perhaps it's the progressive rock rhythm changes before the chorus, which oddly enough is more boring than the verse. Know How It Feels is the only ballad on the album. It has a bluesy vibe that sound-wise could work quite well, but unfortunately the composition is a bit dull. Satellite sounds like Saloon skiffle song with its rock piano. The album ends with So Sorry Baby, which goes back to the AOR rock that we heard at the beginning of the album.

How Long kind of has a music video. I think it's just a televised live performance with the original song in the background, but it definitely is more like a music video than other similar things from the 70s. The clothes on the band are beautifully hippy. I think it's interesting that the performance looks almost as boring as this music, which is at least partly because the lead singer is the keyboard player and can't really move that much while singing. The song sounds reasonably good though now on the second listen, so perhaps this album could give a bit more if I gave it more chance.

I guess I could give a bit more positive review to this album if there was a bit more variation between the songs, but now the whole album just sounds very boring and not very original. I'm sure this kind of music could've been okay live, but finding this album almost 50 years after its release doesn't make it that much justice.

Listen to the album on Spotify.