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"Dragontown"
Alice Cooper |
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The first thing you notice in gawking at Alice's new album is the "black" is back… as in the black face paint he first made famous all those years ago-a foreshadowing of the imminent return of the "Prince of Darkness" perhaps? Well certainly, and could we expect anything different? This creation that is "Alice Cooper" who paved the way for so many of those artistically inclined showmen to follow shows no signs of slowing and in fact one of the few who've actually intensified with age, redefining himself, his work and dreaming up new nightmares, bizarre images that haunt the mind, never fully isolated to those grandiose moments in time reserved for the granddaddies of the good ol' days… Just say "Ozzy?" I don't think so. "Dragontown" is a place… a dark place reserved for the fallen angels and those martyred from habitual deceit, bred from idol worship, and yet many names and faces held dear to so many for so long, well, nothing's ever as it seems in Alice's world. The latest in the trilogy first begun with 1994's "Last Temptation," followed by the unlikely bombast of "Brutal Planet" several years later, "Dragontown" paints the final portrait in jet black, the final piece of the concept bore of violence, vice and corruption in a material world gone awry, the tale begins and ends here while the journey draws you in, as a listener, still in awe of the capabilities by this man possessed. Where "Brutal Planet" was a pulverizing mix of riff-driven explosiveness, five years removed from the puritanically personal and "classic" styled nature of "The Last Temptation," "Dragontown," employs elements of both, considerably darker, deeper and more tempestuous. "Triggerman," begins the tale of woe in an immediate downward spiral, rhythmically, lyrically-self-explanatory and half the fun is following along the words, but for our abbreviated purposes, the chorus will do: "I am the Triggerman, I am the underhand, I'm full of dirty tricks, I'm twice as smart and certainly twice as sick…" In its entirety, "Triggerman" offers an impressive opening, is surprisingly up-tempo, throws catchy arrangements and inarguably, the perfect song to lock your doors to. "Deeper" churns along in a much eerier manner, completely offsetting the agility of its preceding opener, this one will give you nightmares before you've had even a moment to raise your hands in prayer… "Dragontown" as the title track is amongst the most impressive, starting off with an apocalyptic approach, you might well convey an image of purgatory the further along this one plays-and here's where the concept, loosely based as it may be, call it, an "evil dwelling" if you're so inclined, unfolds, and like a quick strike of the sword, it's upon us… Sound wise, the production on this record is more refined than the last, the formula remaining in a much clearer mix-noteworthy of the production job of industry vets Marlette and Ezrin-the electronic stimulus continues its sinister handiwork giving extra emphasis to this parallel universe Mr. Cooper so aptly conjures. "Dragontown's" another inspired creation from a twisted mind never at rest, never at peace, still capably shocking, purposefully relevant and oddly mistakable-see "Disgraceland's" Rockabilly "tribute" to the vaulted one during the latter stages - "Dragontown," an album destined for greatness and appreciable longevity. Released by Spitfire Records. Alice Cooper Website: http://www.alicecooper.com/index.html Review by Vinnie Apicella [va85@columbia.edu]
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Billion Dollar BabiesAlice Cooper |
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At a time when they were still known as "The Alice Cooper Group," the release of this album, originally in 1973, couldn't have been more profound. Not having much of a history myself at the time, I can't physically relate to the trials and challenges that we as Americans faced but skipping through the annals of history, it was assuredly a period of political, social and economic unrest… and then comes Alice Cooper. "Billion Dollar Babies," their best record of the "early days" and possibly of their entire career of this ingenuous and oft underrated lyricist, performer and anti-pop icon, offered no solutions, no serious overtones with aims at addressing the nation's problems, it was in fact, a statement in its own way and yet the establishment couldn't move them out of the way quick enough. Alice may never be fully appreciated musically until well after he's called it a day and even then he'll somehow manage to emit an eerie presence somewhere in the background, but never so much so as to be completely missed. This deluxe 2-disc edition, the latest in a well composed, packaged and remodeled series from the Rhino Records Archives focused on those classic bands and artists that so significantly helped forge Rock & Roll's formative years, is the classiest yet. The expected inner booklet documenting the bands' relatively short-lived career (really from the mid-70's on they were virtually an afterthought after countless sell-outs and press features only a few years earlier) complements the listening proceedings in no small fashion. Exemplary band coverage and liner notes alone make this the long sought-after gem it had always been, while a glut of colorful photos spanning the band's early years and a collage of still shot exploits from the master of the macabre himself… no, little has changed during the years. "Billion Dollar Babies" as a record, had everything and indeed ranks up near the top with the many classics of that or any time that followed. Disc One features all of the classic hits of the original like "Hello Hooray," "Elected," and of course the title track-all very significant documentaries of the time presented in Cooper-like fashion-"No More Mr. Nice Guy," and we'll throw "Generation Landslide" in there not for its commercial success but its underground appeal and underrated musical quality. "Sick Things" and "I Love the Dead" can also be grouped in with the latter-twisted and grotesque though they may have been, they were relevant to Alice and his legion of followers. The second disc features many of the same plus a few some interesting live cuts and unexpected outtakes from those sessions-Bob Ezrin's production contributions then, and now, should be measured by no small means. Alice Cooper's history will never be compared with the legendary Rock bands that preceded him-The Stones, The Who, maybe even Dylan, in terms of critical appeal or songwriting acclaim and yet many of his peers might be quick to dismiss any such notion, and that's really the true measure of success from an artist's standpoint anyway. The band's image and reputation would and always will be something that precedes them-and for that, they're history has been written and stamped on the future of countless generations to follow-but musically… every once in a while a well conceived idea leads to a focused plan such as that which resulted in this new "Billion Dollar" set. Released by Warner Archives/Rhino Records: http://www.rhino.com/index.lasso Alice Cooper Website: http://www.alicecooper.com/index.html Review by Vinnie Apicella [va85@columbia.edu] |
Mascara & Monsters: The Best OfAlice Cooper |
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They tried and they tried… all those years ago, and the world be damned, they couldn't get rid of this unearthly creature that stands at the root of all that's evil, macabre, distasteful and simply outrageous. Alice, the alter ego of a presumed ordinary individual who at the forefront is seemingly as normal as you or I, turns into something quite extraordinary and rather dangerous when the repressed entity undergoes its incredible metamorphosis-and those who bear witness still have not quite recovered. To try to sum up Alice Cooper's influence on the many million selling artists of yesterday, today and doubtless the future would be a daunting task for one thing and really unnecessary for any fan of Rock and Roll music need only thumb through the pages of their favorite Rock magazine or listen to their favorite artist on the radio and odds are lurking somewhere beneath the exterior is one Alice Cooper. Indeed, in glancing through the relatively quick liner notes-scoffed actually from the previous box set, "Life & Crimes Of…" Alice as many who would follow, never really received the accolades for the music he created with all of that bizarre imagery that surrounded him. Unfortunate but true and such will always be so in a prejudiced society that no matter how many seek to deny, it exists period. But yet Cooper's work, while never to be confused on the level of The Beatles or Stones-and who else was really-was genuinely good. "Mascara & Monsters" succinctly sums up the vast and ongoing career of a man called "Alice" and the true reigning king of Shock Rock who created horribly disfigured anthems as quickly and easily as his sociopathic character would ravage and rampage on a stage that he'd never outgrow. But sticking within the realm of the "review" process here, tempting as it is to rewrite the liner notes, Cooper's the latest to get the "Best Of" treatment and though its occurred before, this is the one to own. Basically a condensed version of the massive box set from a couple years back, "Mascara & Monsters" briefly recounts the career of Cooper and much of his classic band-see "The Band"-and their many hits (and misses for those of sound mind of which we know there are few) in a twenty plus song collection that features brief between song textual commentary from Alice himself and the sporadic band member. The expected classic and rare behind the scenes photos and illustrious images adorn the pages of the moderately sized booklet and capture some vintage onstage footage of the man at his worst. This "Best Of" follows mainly the earlier part of the band's existence-basically focusing on their peak of popularity during the early to mid-70's with a few abnormalities thrown in near the end and oddly leaving off with the 1989 "Trash" hit "Poison." Of course there've been several more since then but they'll be for another collection once they've had a chance to rot a little longer. In the meantime, this is vintage "Coop," in perfect clarity and all his demented glory; so close to the real thing you'll feel as though that monstrous python's gonna jump right off the page and into your lap! Released by Rhino Records: http://www.rhino.com/index.lasso Alice Cooper Website: http://www.alicecooper.com/index.html Review by Vinnie Apicella [va85@columbia.edu] |
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"Brutal Planet" ALICE COOPER |
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The Coop has had some serious ups and downs both commercially and artistically in his thirty-plus year career and though I feel confident in saying that this record won't get his kids into a better college it is definitely one of the best pieces of rock macabre that he has ever put his snaky stamp on. "BRUTAL PLANET" is a pretty thinly veiled Christian album with each song a sermon of some sort. Still, it is easy to forgive Old Black Eyes' peachiness when the astoundingly heavy presentation is taken into consideration. Only Alice Cooper could create a moral play directly inspired by biblical teachings and have it sound like it came from Satan's personal hymnal. Had they been recorded earlier in his career songs like "Brutal Planet," "Wicked Young Man" and "Pick Up the Bones" would have been mandatory for inclusion in a greatest hits set. As with any product from the Alice Cooper factory there are contradictions upon contradictions that only Cooper could unravel but had everything been black and white the disc wouldn't be nearly as interesting to listen to. Despite his truckload
of hits this son of a Preacher man has only now created his true and,
one would hope, lasting masterpiece. Go forth and sin no more. . . Released by Spitfire
Records. Alice Cooper Website: http://www.alicecooper.com/index.html Review By David Lee |
