The Alice Cooper Thread

[Susan Foreman]

Headbangers Lifestyle have got the first review of 'Road'

"75-year-old Alice Cooper is a constant force in (shock) rock music releasing no less than 21 albums in his 5-decade spanning career. His touring band a well-oiled machine, Alice turned to long time Cooper-collaborator Bob Ezrin (Kiss, Pink Floyd, etc.) in the creation of his 22nd consecutive album, to capture the live atmosphere on his brand-new issue ‘Road’. Meanwhile make it a concept album about life on the road in an imaginary setting. The outcome is as astounding as it is masterful in term of its conceptual creation and live welling atmosphere. Here’s Alice about life on the road…

HOLLYWOOD VAMPIRES

Scorching the European stages with his side-project Hollywood Vampires, Alice Cooper luckily found time to craft an album of his own. Fortunate we are, not worthy as Wayne and Garth proclaimed!

The in-studio creation of ‘Road’ is astounding and brings across the level of entertainment we might expect from Alice and his band. It is all catchy as heel and flourishes with excellent musical marksmanship. Guitar-driven the songs are full of loud riffs and great melodic harmonies, with Ryan Roxie and (the returned) Nita Strauss adding their poise. And heavy-as-sh!t grooves laid down by drummer Glen Sobel and his counterpart Tommy Henriksen on bass. The entire performance pulses like an organism, radiant and powerful, with a live atmosphere that is dense and organic.

,,I’m Alice” is pounded into action amidst wailing guitars and Alice belting his engaging luring vocals with a scat and moan into the pre-chorus. It is powerful and very arena-pumping, with Alice imposing self-reflecting on his personality onstage and off. Growling, sneering and roaring. Just wonderful, reborn and vibrant, as he states “but I stand here before you and the legend lives onnnnn….” to empower the statement.

CLASSIC ERA

It pitches into the guitar offload between Roxie and Strauss to introduce us to the show on ,,Welcome to the Show” that pushes an organic 70s/80s hardrock beat, reviving his classic era instantly. His stopped phrasing is hard and gritty, the interaction with the background vocals engaging. Plucking in The Who style, Alice literally welcomes us to the show midway, after which Strauss and Roxie delve deep in a guitar duel atop the plucking bass discharge and Sobel’s maniacal driven drums. More soul and bluesy swing is unloaded on ,,All over the World” with its ‘uuh uh uhs’ and grassroots sections full of Hammond and brass.

SHOCKROCK SEVENTIES

Deep and doomy Alice and the band bring ,,Dead don’t Dance” forward. A loud and lose drum groove with heavy dark guitars have Cooper belt out loud and snarling, which he embeds in his roaring reverbing ,,Go Away” that is built around loud towering guitar licks and bluesy Southern guitars. The song pulsates like a throbbing vein popping, perfectly pitching us into the gritty and loud ,,White Line Frankenstein”. The song fuses the modern vibe to that of his classic ,,Teenage Frankenstein” and reinstates the shockrock seventies with glam and stunning bite. The transparent production separates instruments and makes it breathe air into the density of the song. Especially Henriksen dominates in the low end and plucks and growls with his wonderful bass melodies. Solos again marking the magnitude of his live band, Alice picked wisely for this live-recording approach.

Floor and rhythm fills propel ,,Big Boots”, and the bass drones atop the raw guitars with their stretched notes and sturdy riffs. Piano raining frequently and Alice belting out his most friendly and bright narrative-like vocals. The tongue-in-cheek wordplay of ,,Big Boots” is easily transpired elsewhere.

Throwing in a lush shuffle and melodic guitar sprite the band transports another 70s psychedelic driven track with ,,Rules of the Road”. Bordering with classic rock ‘n roll stance and melodic gearing in the sticky chorus. It is a shuffle made metal for the following ,,The Big Goodbye”. The song is powerful and extremely heavy, with Cooper drawing his echoing register and bringing true power to the front. The song is one of the heaviest of his catalogue, without overstepping.

CLASSIC ALICE COOPER REVISITED

More stop ‘n go is the beat driven ,,Road Rats Forever”, which is pulled forward by great guitar interaction, with Nita and Ryan feeding each other chops of muscular riffs and heavy hooks. Piano returns and Alice belts out towering towards the nesting 70s chorus. The dynamics are back and forth, with Sobel guarding the pace while both guitar players keep challenging one another, reviving the ,,Billion Dollar Babies” guitar sound constantly. It is classic Alice revisited!

,,Baby Please don’t Go” is the first breather on the ‘Road’. It is welling with emotions and sees a frail side of Alice. Touching seductive vocals, charisma emotive; “…Melts my soul, baby please don’t go”. The song is followed musical style by the carousel spinning in ,,100 More Miles” with Alice isolated atop the carousel orchestrated toil. It meanders almost secluded depicting the lonely stretches of life on the road. It suddenly picks up power into the heavy chorus, opening the track for rock reverting. Concluding “I see the Sign ahead, it says a hundred more miles”, it wells an ominous prediction of a swansong as Alice addresses the loneness of life on the road.

BEATLES-VIBE

Bottlenecks slide up the necks of roaring bluesy guitars open to ,,Magic Bus” that is psychedelic tinged and leans on 70s vocal lines reminiscent of Steppenwolf’s ,,Magic Carpet Ride”, but fused to the tripled up harmonized background vocals that impose a ,,Sgt. Pepper’s…” Beatles-vibe. Again, the song flourishes with down-to-earth lyrics easily transferable to any roadtrip, while its instrumentation draws from the aforementioned, and Stones-like guitars to conclude the cocktail of classics that is rounded by Alice’s own heritage; the vocals. Breaking into a drumsolo that has Sobel drawing from the Moon and Bonham dynamics and groove, the song slowly builds back to its live performance-style as the exclamation to the album and its story.

ALICE COOPER MUSICAL ROADTRIP

‘Road’ is a series of songs interwoven with life-spanning road-stories full of humour and winks to his elusive career and his musical identity. Alice has shocked the world of rock frequently and this is unified with a flammable cocktail of in-your-face rock tracks that breathe an immense and gigantic live atmosphere. Siding with Ezrin and his touring band during creation, Alice Cooper brings a collective comradery-like atmosphere to the front. Making ‘Road’ a musical roadtrip riding the Alice Cooper tour bus through all dimensions of his career, from stage to backstage area, it conveys sincerity without lacking humor and humility, it packs tremendous power and live appeal, as expected from the master.

Personally, I am keeping myself from labelling it as the catalogue closer and his best album to date, if only it is for the ominous presence of retirement echoing through the lyrics."

[Susan Foreman]

About halfway down this page are 30 second clips of all the songs on 'Road'

[Susan Foreman]

Alice has just started his latest concerts on the 'Too Close For Comfort' US tour - opening the bill for the Motley Crue / Def Leppard dates

The setlist, which was obviously truncated (duration: 1 hour) was:

• Lock Me Up (First verse & chorus )
• No More Mr. Nice Guy
• I'm Eighteen
• Under My Wheels
• Billion Dollar Babies
• Fallen in Love
• Snakebite
• Feed My Frankenstein
• Poison
• Guitar Solo
• Black Widow Jam
• Ballad of Dwight Fry
• Killer (Band Only)
• I Love the Dead (Band Only)
• School's Out
• Elected

For completists, the Motley Crue set was:

Wild Side / Shout at the Devil / Too Fast for Love / Don't Go Away Mad (Just Go Away) / Live Wire / Looks That Kill / The Dirt (Est. 1981) / Guitar Solo / Rock And Roll Medley [Rock and Roll, Part 2 / Smokin' in the Boys Room / Helter Skelter / Anarchy in the U.K. / Blitzkrieg Bop / (You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!)] / Home Sweet Home / Dr. Feelgood / Same Ol' Situation (S.O.S.) / Girls, Girls, Girls / Primal Scream / Kickstart My Heart

and the Def Leppard set was:

Take What You Want / Let's Get Rocked / Animal / Foolin' / Armageddon It / Kick / Love Bites / Promises / This Guitar / When Love and Hate Collide / (Short version) / Rocket / Bringin' On the Heartbreak / Switch 625 (With drum solo) / Hysteria / Pour Some Sugar on Me / Rock of Ages / Photograph

This short tour continues until August 22nd, and then Alice starts the 'Freaks On Parade' double-header with Rob Zombie two days later on August 24th

[Susan Foreman]

Reviews are starting to come in for the Alice / Crue / Leppard shows, but they seem to be concentrating on the headliners rather than Alice

Syracuse .com states "Alice Cooper kicked off the marathon show at 5:45 p.m., showcasing hits like 'Eighteen,' 'Feed My Frankenstein,' and 'Billion Dollar Babies.' The eclectic singer, renowned for his bizarre onstage antics, capped off his set with a stellar rendition of his mega-hit 'School’s Out,' and surprised fans by incorporating Pink Floyd’s 'Another Brick in the Wall Pt. II.' Ever the dark horse, Cooper finished by tossing his tophat into the ring of the presidential race with an over the top performance of 'Elected'" and concludes that "...In this hard rock shootout, Mötley Crüe may have edged out their co-performers for the most razor-sharp set of the night, but Alice Cooper and Def Leppard put on sets that contributed to a rock show for the ages."

Meanwhile, Backstage Axxess writes "First up was Rock and Roll legend Alice Cooper. This is the first Allice Cooper show in a while as he just ended his summer tour with his other project, the Hollywood Vampires. This was probably the best one hour show I saw this year. Cooper jam packed 15 songs within that time period and incorporated as many of his stage props too. Sheryl Cooper was there dressed as Mari Antionette for the part in 'I Love the Dead.' What should be noted as the first time in 20 years, I saw Cooper bring out the boa constrictor for the tune 'Snakebite.' Copper sounded great and they rounded the set with a fantastic rendition of 'Elected.' There are always three things certain in life: death, taxes and Alice Cooper putting on a fantastic show!"

[Susan Foreman]

Another new song from 'Road' - 'Welcome To The Show'

Looks like it's going to be a cracking album!

[Susan Foreman]

'Road' review from Metal Planet Music

"The master of nightmares is back with studio album number 29 and there is no resting on his laurels as this album harks back to the man at his absolute best. The band are on fire, the production is precise and the lyrics are Mr Furnier’s tongue in cheek best as always.

This man never stops, if you add up the Hollywood Vampires albums, compilations and live albums you are talking over 60 and the man is always on tour. How he fits all this in at his age I have no idea. I struggle to get out of bed FFS.

No doubt there are fans out there who will be living in the past who think 70/80s Alice is the pinnacle and although they do have a point Mr Cooper has brought out some excellent material since those days and if anything I actually get a bit wound up that when it comes to a live show we miss out on so much fantastic music due to the classics always being played but I have to go back to the 90s for the last time I saw a bad show from this man so maybe I should just shut up.

Album 29 opens with a musical auto biography with “I’m Alice” and this harks back to your 70s swagger, guitar riffs and lyrical majesty. You can hear so many past songs entwined in this track and with the rock God singing about himself is excellent and I have no doubt this track will slip into the setlist especially with the spoken piece which takes you back to a homage to Vincent Price with a little slice of Bon Scott on Dirty Deeds. What a way to open the album.

When it comes to releasing so many albums you will always revisit certain aspects and the majority of the titles on this album have a little mirror image of the past and on “Welcome to the Show” we have this and a song ripped from the 80s. The guitar work is decades old but on fire all the same. Place your bets on this one opening the next tour as it is a beast and will let the guitarists shine.

The riffage on the opening of “All Over the World” has that 70s feel again, especially with the additional horns. The song is dedicated to the many tours and shows and the career of the man himself. It is a good old Rock’n’Roll song.

A real veer off on “Dead Don’t Dance” as it visits Alice’s industrial past and this would sit on Brutal Planet easily and it has a catchy as hell vibe. Chuck Garric is on fire here and directs the death march with beauty and brutality.

It is back to Rock’n’Roll again on “Go Away” which has Alice’s sarcasm dripping from your speakers whilst at the same time its crawls into your ear and settling down and refusing to leave. This is classic Alice and something nobody can recreate.

“White Line Frankenstein” is just a beast of a song. You know when Alice puts Frankenstein in a song title it is a dead fire hit. I wonder if we will now get a segment of the live show dedicated to all the Frankensteins?

“Big Boots” is more RnR brilliance. Garric is on fire again and the staccato piano plays perfectly to the simplistic rocker which slips into a very Dr Feelgood (the band, not the album) “Rules of the Road”. I can see Alice dressed as a big bopper on this. We get the layered vocals, the horns and a very hoffner sounding guitar.

As the title of “The Big Goodbye” scrolls onto the screen it kind of hits hard. We do have to face facts that no matter how many gigs or albums the man does one day he will need to hand up the cane and that will be a very sad moment. Alice has been a constant in my life since the 8os. He has the most albums in my vinyl collection and must be up there to the man I have seen live the most. I have so many amazing memories of his shows and so much amazing music that I know he will never die but I do not want to think about not being able to see Alice live ever again so as much as I like the song it does dip me into a bit of a pesimistic mood so I will skip onto “Road Rats Forever”.

This is a perfect addition to the original. It is so fitting and in line to that classic track that you can not fail to do a DiCaprio point and shout at ever little flick to the past. A song done so well.

From the earlier go away to a slower and more heartfelt “Baby Please Don’t Go”. Alice has done some incredible ballads over the years and this is no different. With that said it does not sound like an Alice track but it is another excellent addition to the catalogue.

On “100 More Miles” it is Alice telling tales from the road again but his has a feel of Steven with Alice doing a mainly talking opening. When the track breaks out is becomes huge, the keys fade away and the rock kicks in and instantly this becomes one of my favourites. I always loved Alice left field tracks/albums and this is slotted into that chapter of titles perfectly.

Final track “Magic Bus” comes out of the traps at full pelt before it settles in to a bastard child of the Beatles and some redneck hoedown. A great way to sign off what could very well be a future Cooper classic.

Road is a collection of songs that flutters across the mans career both musically and lyrically. I suppose an album like this had to happen as the road is in Alice’s DNA. Let’s face it Alice Cooper lives and dies for the show.

Irrespective of his live show his longevity would never have survived without a backbone of amazing songs and for 50 years this man has produced again and again. There are very few Cooper albums I dislike, very many I love and many more I could not live without and Road slips onto the love pedestal and after many more listens this is going to sit in my Cooper top 10."

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Road gets an 8/10 review in the new Classic Rock, in shops later this week.

[Susan Foreman]

Alice has been announced as being the headline act at the 'Life After Death' festival in Mexico City on Saturday December 2nd

This is actually a really good line-up

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

I wonder who the other two headliners are?

That's a pretty awesome festival to me - Doro, W.A.S.P., Queensryche, Lita Ford, Lacuna Coil, Accept, Saxon, Armored Saint, Lizzy Borden, Obituary, KK's priest, Coroner, Vixen plus the all star Dio tribute band Last in Line. One or two like Holy Moses, Coven and Leather i'd love to check out too.

[Justin101]

I assumed it was Doro and W.A.S.P. and it's just a badly laid out poster because the Alice logo is too big