Published on Sep 30, 2003
The first few years of the 21st century have seen Alice Cooper’s
busiest creative period since the late 1980’s. To quickly recap, in
late 1999, the sprawling four-disc career spanning box set,
The Life And Crimes Of Alice Cooper, was released, bringing
rock music’s greatest shock rocker (and just plain overall great
rocker) back into the spotlight after several years in obscurity.
This was quickly followed up by the critically-acclaimed
Brutal Planet studio album in 2000, Cooper’s first disc of
new material in six years. Year 2001 saw the release of both a new
greatest hits package (
Mascara & Monsters: The Best Of Alice Cooper), and
Brutal Planet‘s conceptual continuation, the studio album
Dragontown. And in a truly shameless plug, you can go and
enjoy reading my reviews of all the albums mentioned above
right here on the Daily Vault, in the
archives.
So, with the Halloween season of 2003 upon us, Alice Cooper
returns once again with another palette of fresh new music that
clearly demonstrates that he is still in the zone of superb
songwriting quality that began with his
Brutal Planet comeback 3 years ago.
Indeed, the somewhat misleadingly titled
The Eyes Of Alice Cooper (sounds more like something you’d
call a greatest hits compilation, doesn’t it?) is Cooper’s 23rd
studio album in a career that now spans 35 years, and it is the
fourth straight disc that has no filler. That’s certainly no small
feat for an artist who’s been around for such a long time,
especially one who has arguably been through as many phases as
David Bowie.
Before I continue, I should explain that the
Brutal Planet storyline was conceived as a trilogy, and
although
The Eyes Of Alice Cooper follows the first two albums of
that trilogy (
Brutal Planet and
Dragontown), it is NOT the conclusion of the story. Cooper
said he simply wanted to take a breather and release nothing more
than a collection of uplifting, meat and potatoes rock ‘n roll
songs, with no concept in sight, before returning to complete the
Brutal Planet trilogy in the future.
Inspired by the current successful wave of retro-garage rock
bands like The White Stripes, The Hives, The Datsuns, and The Yeah
Yeah Yeahs, among others, Cooper wanted to revisit the raw,
abrasive sound of his early 70’s masterpieces like Love It To Death
and Killer, which along with seminal albums from hard/garage rock
contemporaries of that time like The Stooges, MC5, and the New York
Dolls, provided the blueprint for the current successful wave I
mentioned above.
Now, you might think that the embrace a style of music that by
its nature is created and performed by adolescents by a man of
Cooper’s age would likely result in a very out-of-touch,
embarrassing attempt by an old rocker to recapture the glory of his
youth. After all, unpolished garage rock, the forerunner of the
punk movement, was a reaction against mature, commercialized music,
full of energy and power and reckless abandon, sometimes with
political rebellion along for the ride, and other times just for
fun.
Against the odds,
The Eyes Of Alice Cooper is awash with this youthful spirit
from beginning to end. In a bold move to capture the necessary
urgency for the album, Cooper recorded the entire album live in the
studio with his backing band in a mere two weeks, an unheard of
speed in the recording process these days. There are virtually no
overdubs – approximately 20 takes of one song a day were recorded,
and they picked the version they liked the best. Very efficient
without any unnecessary tinkering, the resulting fresh, live sound
crackles with purpose and passion.
In a recent interview Cooper stated that although he is
physically 55 years old, his health has never been better and that
mentally he doesn’t feel a day over 18. The effortlessness with
which he was able to write 13 tracks brimming with youth on this
new release is perfect evidence of that. His vocals have quite
possibly never sounded better, and he infuses them with a
ridiculous number of different personalities to fit the nature of
the song in question.
Fast, powerful and raw guitar riffs adorn the majority of songs
with bluesy little licks thrown into the little spaces here and
there. This, combined with loads of catchy verse and chorus
melodies and Cooper’s usual brilliant, satirical lyrics make for a
ridiculously enjoyable listening experience.
Some of the album highlights include the witty opener, “What Do
You Want From Me,” a song essentially lampooning the typical
white-trash lifestyle, “Man Of The Year,” a satirical knockdown of
arrogant know-it-alls, the wonderfully addictive first single,
“Novocaine,” a very jaded look at failed relationships, and the
horn driven “Bye Bye Baby,” which brings to mind his 1971 classic
“Under My Wheels.” The obligatory ballad this time around is the
fantastic “Be With You A While.” Alice Cooper has never written a
mediocre ballad, but this one in particular stands apart with its
use of a Hammond organ keeping Cooper’s sentimental vocals company
in what has to be one of his finest compositions.
Legendary MC5 guitarist Wayne Kramer drops by to supply riffs on
“Detroit City,” Cooper’s affectionate tribute to the original mecca
of garage rock, in which alongside himself he name drops the likes
of Iggy Pop, David Bowie, Bob Seger, Ted Nugent, Kid Rock and
Eminem, as peers who have all had important early successes
there.
“This House Is Haunted” brilliantly revisits the demented,
psychotic, heavily theatrical side of Cooper’s past, sounding like
it could have been an unreleased track from the 1975
Welcome To My Nightmare album sessions. I can’t begin to
describe how awesome this song is. Cooper softly sings an
unsettling, ghostly melody to the accompaniment of nothing but
alternating acoustic guitar and mandolin, with an eerie sounding
clarinet along for the ride. Chilling stuff! I really wish he would
make an entire album in this style.
Of course no true Alice Cooper album would be complete without
the inclusion of a track so hilarious that it will have you laugh
out loud. Here that track is “The Song That Didn’t Rhyme,” an
absurd number teasingly poking fun at the awful songwriting and
musicianship commonly found in mediocre bands. The line where
Cooper sings about the “drummer always being out of time” right as
the drum fill fumbles awkwardly in the background is a classic
moment.
There is doubt that
The Eyes Of Alice Cooper is yet another in a long line of
must-have releases for not only fans of Alice Cooper, but also for
anyone looking to become one. After having spent the previous few
albums exploring very heavy subject matter surrounded by extremely
dark, punishing music, with this release he returns to the musical
style that made him famous, and I’ll be damned if it isn’t the most
purely joyous, FUN album he’s made since those early years. Easily
one of the best discs of 2003.