Alice Cooper, the youngest old dude ever, isn’t one to sit at home idle, rolling his thumbs only to go out on tour every now and then playing the hits. At 72 years old, the guy is as creative as ever and the importance for him to release new music seems pivotal for both his peace of mind and career. In later years he has both been recording new solo albums and his just-for-fun side-project Hollywood Vampires that he runs with Johnny Depp and Joe Perry (Aerosmith). As always when classic and iconic artists release new music, the reception has been mixed. Some people – like me – has really dug his later albums while some, in my mind retrograding people, think he shouldn’t have bothered with any new music after 1976 or something like that. Be that as it may, The Coop doesn’t give a rat and keeps on doing what he loves and does best – and now it’s time for Alice to invite us to his wicked world once more.
The background to this album is an E.P. called Breadcrumbs, a record I for some reason totally missed out on, which contains several of the tracks featured on this album. Here Alice pays homage to Detroit, the city where he got his first chunk of stardom back in the early seventies and many bands which came from there – MC5, Iggy & The Stooges to name but a few. Detroit is a city close to Alice’s heart and a tribute was in order. Bringing along classic producer and the guy who helped Alice to become the spooky behemoth he now is, Bob Ezrin, plus members of the band that back in the day was the band Alice Cooper – guitarist Michael Bruce, bassist Dennis Dunaway and drummer Neal Smith, leaving guitarist Glen Buxton (1947-1997) sadly missed. The Coop has been very clear with this being not a new Alice Cooper album as such, more of a rocking intermission until the next “real” AC album comes out.
Opening the record is a cover of Velvet Underground’s “Rock & Roll”, a crunchy and stompy rocker with a bluesy swing and more of a wink towards Mitch Ryder’s version than Lou Reed’s own. It’s a Classic Rock slammer with Alice’s personal touch all over it and former Coop-guitarist Steve Hunter going bananas on it. The swing-fueled, slightly gospel-infected chorus brings on a raw catchiness and even though I’m not a huge fan of the song originally, I kinda like this one. “Go Man Go” is a punchy and glammy garage rocker with equal parts MC5 and New York Dolls – punchy and direct, no fuss, in-your-face and kicking in a fast tempo. It’s raw and edgy, punky with lots of attitude. Since this kind of music isn’t really my bag, I find the song kinda forgettable and really nothing special. I wouldn’t say it’s bad though, only ok.
The single, another cover, this time of an Outrageous Cherry (never head of them), “Our Love Will Change The World” is a pop-groovy, 60’s smelling, quite cute pop-rocker with a guitar sound that takes me back to Love It To Death (1971). At the same time it’s quite smooth and holds lots of pop-hooks. With addictive hook-lines and an infectious chorus this one goes for the win. I need to check out the original version. Latest single “Social Debris” is a chunky, gritty and rough-edged 70’s Hard Rock belter with a stompy beat, raw riffing and a stompy groove. Slightly grungy, the tune also holds a huge live-feel with lots of rawness and a rowdy outlook, still with memorable melodies. The tune also brings Cooper, Bruce, Dunaway and Neal together for the first time on the album. Good one.
“$1000 High Heel Shoes” is a funk-edged, souly Classic Rock stomper from the early 70’s in sound which brings along a swaggering swing complete with a horn-section and a female choir. The beat is danceable and the song holds an uplifting, positive vibe with both Blues, Jazz and Gospel incorporated and even though it doesn’t sound like an Alice Cooper tune one bit, I quite dig it. Straight-forward, upbeat and distinct, “Hail Mary” is a raunchy 70’s rock-groover, very direct and the chant-friendly chorus makes for some catchy live-feel. It’s followed by “Detroit City 2021”, a kicking and raw rocker with an attacking groove and an Arena Rock feel. It’s ballsy and frantic yet with a striking hook and the vocal-melody takes us back to Cooper’s early 70’s. Good one.
It’s ballad-time when “Drunk And In Love” – featuring Joe Bonamassa – shows up. It’s a bluesy and quite stripped slow groover both darkening and raw vibe with a harmonica solo thrown in for good measure. The lyrics about being in love on Skid Row (“come into my cardboard box”/”we can cuddle on the sidewalk where my buddy froze”) is dark humor and quite funny but musically it’s a traditional Blues, ok as a whole but nothing really special. “Independence Dave” (what a brilliant title) is an upbeat rocker where Classic Rock from the 60’s and 70’s has been put in a blender. It’s pretty much an addictive good-time rock ‘n’ roller with a classic Coop vocal-melody and a chorus, catchy as hell that goes right to the brain. Style-wise, this is a tune that wouldn’t have been out of place on his last album Paranormal (2017). Very good.
“I Hate You” is a raw and gritty Garage Rock stomper where each member of the old band gets to sing a line where they, tongue in cheek, go off insulting each other – very funny. The late Buxton gets the line “we hate you for the hole you left on the stage”. Quite tear-jerky, if you ask me. It’s a fun song and I’m sure they had a blast doing it but as a song it’s only ok and doesn’t really stand out much musically. “Wonderful World” is a slower, 60’s laden tune that mixes pop melodies with quite a big The Doors influence with an edgy and raw guitar sound and a held-back beat. The pompous chorus is very memorable where the classic Cooper meets Jim Morrison melodies sticks right by hello. I dig this.
A cover of the MC5’s “Sister Anne” follows and in the hands of The Coop it has taken a more 70’s Glam Rock road where the mixture of classic Alice, T.Rex, Bowie and Mott The Hoople works just just fine. It’s a straight forward, no bull, bang-on-target belter with distinct melodies, a rough sound and a direct and effective chorus as the cream of the crop. It’s energetic and powerful and of course, Wayne Kramer himself appears on the song. I’m not a MC5 fan but I love this version. “Hanging On By A Thread (Don’t Give Up)” is slower in pace and down-beat yet dark and gritty where Cooper talk-sings over the music like only he can. There’s a grunge-inspired riff here which for some reason marries fine with 80’s Arena Rock catchy and hooky refrain. Great stuff.
“Shut Up And Rock” is a plain, rough and in-your-face 70’s Rock ‘n’ Roll stomper – gritty, edgy and punchy and I say it kicks up some dust for sure, featuring U2 drummer Larry Mullen Jr. The repetitive “shut up and rock” yelled chorus reminds me of something that could have been written for his underrated The Last Temptation (1994) album with slices of Paranormal. It’s a straight-forward balls-to-the wall rocker with distinct live feel. Very good. Cooper & co. closes the album with a cover of Bob Seger’s “East Side Story”, a good-time, old sounding Rock ‘n’ Roll stomper. We get a chunky groove, an intense Hammond organ and an organic and stripped-down sound. It’s a firey and good rocker but the chorus really could have been stronger.
As a whole a competent and good album and as Alice said, it’s more of a fun intermission than an actual follow-up to Paranormal and that’s exactly how this album feels. Even though the classic AC elements are involved, I get more of a Hollywood Vampires record vibe than an Alice Cooper one. That said, as an Alice Cooper album, my guess is that this record probably appeals more to the fans of The Eyes Of Alice Cooper (2003) and Dirty Diamonds (2005) than any of his 80’s, 90’s or more recent stuff. The whole “looking back to the first few AC albums” things is also a bit exaggerated even though nods towards an album like Love It To Death shows up here and there. I like this album – the fact that the feeling of them having the time of their lives making this album rubs off on me – but it won’t go down in history as one of my favorites. Good but not great.
6/10
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Tracklist:
1. Rock & Roll
2. Go Man Go
3. Our Love Will Change The World
4. Social Debris
5. $1000 High Heel Shoes
6. Hail Mary
7. Detroit City 2021
8. Drunk And In Love
9. Independence Dave
10. I Hate You
11. Wonderful World
12. Sister Anne
13. Hanging On By A Thread (Don’t Give up)
14. Shut Up And Rock
15. East Side Story
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