Alice Cooper, first the band and then just the guy, have been a staple of hard rock for over 50 years. Starting in 1969, they built a kind of rock and roll circus which combined blues rock, vaudeville, Gothic undertones, and 50s camp horror, Alice Cooper made a name for themselves as harbingers of blood-soaked “shock rock” and theatre of the absurd.
The Alice Cooper band made their last and seventh record in 1973 with Muscle Of Love. After that the band called it quits due to personal issues and burnout, and singer Vincent Furnier officially changed his name to Alice Cooper. Two years later he released Welcome To My Nightmare produced by Bob Ezrin, and the rest is history. Well, there were a few years of serious alcohol and drug abuse in the late 70s/early 80s, but with 1986s Constrictor Cooper was back on top clean and sober and revitalizing the horror/rock genre he helped create.
Elder statesmen of rock and roll by day(along with golf pro and Johnny Depp pal) and rock and roll ghoul by night, Cooper has remained busy(and sober) for the past 40 years. And now for the first time since 1973 he’s releasing an album with the original Alice Cooper Band titled The Revenge of Alice Cooper. For a band that hasn’t put new music out in over 50 years this album sounds pretty good. Cooper sounds as great as he did in the 70s, and the remaining band members are solid. And with Bob Ezrin back in the recording booth this record sounds far better than it deserves to be.
Alice Cooper has made his political and religious preferences known, but for years he kept those things out of his day job. Even going so far as to state musicians that bring politics into rock and roll are committing “treason against rock and roll”. Unfortunately the older he gets it must be harder to refrain, given the ignorant things he’s said over the last few years about the LGBTQ community. But I digress. For the most part he’s kept those worlds separate. The Revenge of Alice Cooper, fortunately, is a straight up rock and roll record with a few theatrical twists.
“Black Mamba” opens on a groove rock wave and Cooper’s slithery, sleazy delivery. It’s a solid way to open things. “Wild Ones” throws us a literal fastball with power metal rhythm. “Up All Night” has a late 80s d-tuned guitar groove that’s equal parts 80s sleaze and grunge trudge.
From The Cult-meets-Rob Zombie “One Night Stand” to the Sunset Strip neon glow of “Famous Face” to the bluesy swagger of “Intergalactic Vagabond Blues”, The Alice Cooper Band blow through rocker after rocker. And track “What Happened To You” even features former band guitarist Glen Buxton on guitars(Buxton passed away in 1997.)
If you were pining for some new classic Alice Cooper Band music, look no further than The Revenge of Alice Cooper. A solid rock and roll record with all the creepy, sleazy vibes you’ve been missing.
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My US copy has arrived and now just waiting on my Japanese CD. I have not played it yet. What you said about Alice and what he’s been saying lately has turned me off. Plus I never play any of the studio albums after Welcome 2 anymore. Road was as dull as dirt. I will play this eventually.
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I’ve never been a huge fan, with Welcome To My Nightmare and Killers being my favorites of his(my parents spun those quite a bit in the 70s.) A Cooper aficionado that I’m friends with said the same thing about Road. Going into this one leaving his recent baggage at the door, I think you’ll genuinely enjoy the record. For a bunch of old dudes they pull it off. And of course Ezrin makes it all sound rather great.
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I know Matt Phillips from TVC said he liked about half of it, which is not too bad. My Japanese CD is probably the one I will play, leaving the other one sealed. I think they both have the same bonus tracks. Actually Matt’s copy HAD the two bonus tracks as unlisted tracks. Did yours have that?
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I was reviewing a digital copy of it, so it was 14 tracks with “See You On The Other Side” as the closer. Not sure what’s on the CD versions.
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Thanks John, that is the standard running order. The copies I ordered have:
15: Return of the Spiders 2025
16: Titanic Overture.
I believe on one copy they are on a bonus 7″. On the Japanese they are the usual bonus tracks.
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I love much of Coops 70’s to 90’s output. I even went in for Paranormal for old times sake. As monolithic as the original bands output was. There’s nothing here of value. Hasn’t been since Wayne’s World really
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I was definitely all in with Constrictor and whatever album had “Poison” on it. Revitalized his career. This one sounds better than it has a right to.
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