Review by Ritchie Birnie for MPM
Lets get the band back together. I do not think I have been more excited for an album since I heard that this album was turning the clock back 50 years to bring back the original band, it even managed to include the gone too soon Glen Buxton.
Many people have been introduced to Alice Cooper over the years and they tend to favour the time and genre that they came in on. The man has been going so long and covered so many genres that there is something to please everyone, but for me, Alice Cooper was always a band and that band is finally back.
Of all the Cooper shows I have been to (and there have been many) one of my favourite ones was when the original band came on for the encores a few years ago. I may have loved all those early albums but I was just too young to see them on stage together, so to finally see that was incredible.
Nostalgia is pretty much always seen through rose tinted glasses and as much as the guys shone together live could they get that original spark back all these years later? lets take a dive into the album.
“Black Mamba” sets the tone perfectly, The spoken word harks back to those dark and twisted tracks I fell in love with and as well as all the originals from the band we get Robby Krieger of the Doors.
This takes you back to those shock horror tracks of the 70s like a flashback in a movie. Alice sounds amazing and dives into the persona of creepy uncle like only Alice does.
Black Mamba holds a little bit of terror for me anyway as without knowing what one was I stepped over one whilst lost on Table Mountain in South Africa and when it was explained to me later that is was one of the most venomous snakes I shuddered…just like I did throughout this song.
“Wild Ones” is up next and Michael Bruce is on fire, all the old magic is back, the band, Ezrin and it is even recorded in an old school recording studio. This is a catchy beast of a track. Classic upbeat Rock that kicks ass.
“Up All Night” is a Sabbath/ Kiss riff which is punctuated by Neil Smith’s perfection on the kit. This almost slips into an eighties vibe and it is loaded with the Cooper tongue in cheek lyrics. killer licks and stunning kicks.
Time to go back to the Stephen era on “Kill the Flies”. We get the dysfunctional off kilter beat and Alice is on the edge with the poor defenseless flies, there is no halo here folks but there is a cracking song.
We drop into a Tarrantino movie on “One Night Stand” and this is Alice so this is no normal one night stand. Alice is the sultry, scary narrator and very possibly the serial killer who obviously does not do manogomy.
“Blood on the Sun” is a Doors track with a kick. It takes off as a happy 70s feel good track that turns into a ferocious monster. This instantly became my go to song on the album. The musical breakdown is worth the price of the album on its own. Just to hear this band create again and to do it with such vigour is beautiful to hear.
Where to start with “Crap that gets in the Way of Your Dreams”? This could be a song about Alice from a parallel dimension. We all know Alice was made to be a star, but what if he did not make it? would he still be in a garage playing somewhere? I think so and this catchy punk filled song is what you would get.
“Famous Face” is a dig at all the assholes and it has a slick undercurrent and swagger just like said assholes. Alice knows how to take a dig at people in song and its just drives you crazy thinking who the hell is this song about?
Musically this is a solid track and the boys are on fire here, Another sizzling slice of Rock.
“Money Screams” has a Ramones feel and Alice is doing his best Joey as he drops the decibels and slow sings his way through this toe tapper. A definate nod to the sadly missed band.
Time to dive into the “Lace and Whisky” era as we scat into “What a Syd”. Think smoke filled jazz bars and for some reason all I can picture in my head is Jerry( from Tom and Jerry) in a zoot suit. This is just fun personified with a huge helping of cool.
I am won over immediately with the harmonica on ” Inter Galactic Vagabond Blues” but when it slipped into the vibe of Steve Martin singing “Dentist” in Little Shop of Horrors I am in heaven. Typical Alice craziness.
“What Happened to You” has the Ramones vibe again and this is the track that has the Glen Buxton part and I think it is easy to pick out and when you mix that with the crazy piano work you are onto a complete Alice classic.
“I Ain’t Done Wrong” has the harmonica again and this is so deep south it has passed out on the porch with a moonshine bottle next to it. This will have you wanting to dance your ass off. This is the type of track that Hendrix and Elvis had people screaming this is the devil’s music, if it is I have a golden fiddle to play for.
The perfect way to finish the album is “See You on the Other Side”. This is a farewell to the original Hollywood Vampires and all those who have gone before. In among Alice’s humour and his horror is his gentle side, his “Only Women Bleed”, his “Pickup the Bones” and the most underatted Cooper album in “From the Inside” and this song is beautiful. It had me thinking Tim Curry singing “I’m Going Home” from Rocky Horror Show.
A heart felt fond farewell to end an album that I thought would never see the light of day. Of course if you decided to splash out on the extended versions you get two bonus tracks. The first “Return of the Spiders” which is an all new version discovered whilst going through the tapes and even includes some studio chat and final track “Titanic Overunderture”which is one minute and thirty seconds of a carousel ride going haywire and killing everyone on board.
Once my vinyl copy of The Revenge of Alice Cooper arrives it will proudly sit alongside those early albums. Killer, School’s Out and Billion Dollar Babies are etched into my very dark soul and this album deserves its space right next to them.
We may have came full circle but there was a huge possibility that it could have been a mistake, that the magic had gone but no, this album is going to turn out to be ageless just like those original classics.
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