Alice Cooper - 'Revenge Of Alice Cooper'

Rock Metal Machine
Oct 2
2 min read

This is a strong effort, and all that remains to be seen is… will this be a one-off?

Vintage horror poster with eerie characters, castle, and bold text: "The Revenge of Alice Cooper". Dark, mysterious atmosphere.

We all have our ultimate heroes; Alice Cooper is mine, has been since the seventies, in all his incarnations, all eras… even the so-called blackout period. I was more than excited to be offered this review, but my excitement was tinged with anxiety and apprehension. With The Alice Cooper Band back together for the first time in fifty years it was a dream, but could it become a nightmare?

This has many highpoints. ‘Black Mamba’ is an eery night-time killer. ‘Blood On The Sun’ sees the band stretch out, with Cooper in reflective mood, as he deals with the horrors and the power of the gun; it is absolute genius. ‘One Night Stand’ has a sinister, twisted slasher-movie feel, while ‘Wild Ones’ roars with sounds of rampaging rockers and motorcycle villains. All should make the cut when the tour hits the stage.

In addition to these, ‘Money Screams’ is a successor of sorts, a Billion Dollar classic where money rules! ‘What A Syd’ adds depth with its Vaudeville swing on acid, while ‘Intergalactic Vagabond Blues’ is harmonica-fused Blues. ‘See You On The Other Side’ is deep, talking about battling the demons that make you want to dance with the Devil.

Having the Alice Cooper Band back together is a joy. All aspects are covered; all members are involved (including the late Glenn Buxton). That being said, I think the sequencing could be better, and maybe that causes a lack of flow. There are a few tracks that don’t belong or add anything. ‘Up All Night’ could have been on ‘Trash’, and ‘Crap That Gets In The Way Of Your Dreams’ steals from The Kinks’ ‘You Really Got Me’, especially in the chorus. My review copy comes with two bonus tracks, ‘Return Of The Spiders’ from ‘Easy Action’ and ‘Titanic Overunderture’, originally a short instrumental from ‘Pretties For You’, with added vocals. It is good to see the Zappa period acknowledged.

This is a strong effort, and all that remains to be seen is… will this be a one-off? Apparently sixty songs were presented, so there are plenty left, plus more to be written. Vincent Furnier, Glenn Buxton, Michael Bruce, Dennis Dunaway and the octopus that is Neal Smith, you are all legends, and I am thrilled to say… I love this new release to death!

Reviewer: Paul Mace

Label: earMUSIC

Genre: Hard Rock

Issue Reviewed In: 112

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