ALICE COOPER // ‘ROAD’ // ALBUM REVIEW

            If anyone deserves the monicker of `Legend’ then Alice Cooper does. Now in his seventy-fifth year, everyone’s favourite snake-handling, leather-clad shock shocker returns with his twenty-second album. Never one to do things by halves, not only has he enlisted the stellar collaboration abilities of Bob Erzin, but he has made this a concept album about life on the road in the music business, something which he has plenty of experience about!

            The thunderous drumming from Glen Sobel is accompanied by the entwined wailing guitar of Nita Strauss, Ryan Roxie and Tommy Henrikson as `I’m Alice’ invites you into Cooper’s Realm. `Welcome To The Show’ returns us to the glorious 70’s Alice sound where elements of Queen and The Who lurk in the shadows of the nightmare man. Roxie and Strauss have a blazing guitar duel mid-song which really kicks ass.

            `All Over The World’ takes on a soulful bluesy strut as Cooper’s vocal oozes sass, he relays tales of hitting the stage. Hammonds groan and brass sections slide in amongst the classic guitar riffs. Things get heavier and darker as `Dead Don’t Dance’ sees thick bass lines and a mentally dense riff rings out. In typical Cooper fashion though, the hook line is so infectious and melodic it is sure to bury an earworm deep in your head.

            `Go Away’ harbours a riff that could so easily have been born on a Rainbow album. The whole song has a gritty southern rock feel with a beat that rolls on down the tracks like a runaway freight train. `White Line Frankenstein’ is the bastard son of `Teenage Frankenstein’ and takes the attitude of the classic song but adds a modern, menacing edge that bites harder than a rampant vampire. More outstanding solos leap out here.

            We return to a seventies feel as the tongue-in-cheek `Big Boots’ as we travel back in time with a pounding piano line, delayed guitar parts and an altogether lighter-sounding vocal. Sticky sweet backing vocals sit next to a driving shuffle beat that’s pure old school rock n roll lifted straight from the streets of Detroit as Cooper defines the `Rules Of The Road’.

            Deep, dense chugging metal riffs stake their claim to `Big Goodbye’ which is surely Cooper’s heaviest track ever. Strauss and Roxie trade riffs and heavy phrasings as the two challenge each other throughout `Road Rats Forever’ making this a very dynamic and live-sounding track.

            The gentler ballad, `Baby Please Don’t Go’ sees Cooper drip with emotion as acoustic guitars strum exposing a softer side to Alice. `100 More Miles’ has that scary, funfair/circus vibe that blended with a merciless-sounding Cooper is all the more unsettling.

            We jump on the `Magic Bus’ and get sprinkles of psychedelia, The Who, and The Beatles as chorused backing vocals, crunchy guitar lines and Cooper’s unique tone sound out, ending with a superb drum solo from Sobel.

Alice Cooper and his band have achieved many things with this album, not least of which is capturing that elusive ingredient that is normally only found with live music. This is likely due to the fact that tracks were recorded live as a band rather than pieced together at a later date. He has also pulled musical snapshots from his long career and used those to weave a spellbinding backdrop to his rock road trip. The last ingredients are perhaps the most vital here and that is the sheer mastery of lyric writing and Alice Cooper’s outstanding ability as a showman.

            Every track is a future classic and all will be killers on a live stage. Long may the show continue Alice!

Road Arrives Friday, August 25th courtesy of ear.Music

Review: Paul Sabin

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