I was aboard on the ground floor with Hurricane, as soon as I heard of them. I was already a huge Quiet Riot fan, and Hurricane had in their roster the brothers of Rudy Sarzo and Carlos Cavazo. On guitar was Robert Sarzo (now in Operation: Mindcrime), and on bass Tony Cavazo. Their first video ever, “Hurricane”, was in near-constant rotation at Chez LeBrain. When I joined the Columbia House record club, Hurricane’s first full length Over the Edge was in my introductory first order.
I loaned Over the Edge to my buddy Bob, who did not like it. I was surprised because I thought it was right up his alley, but he didn’t care for the singer Kelly Hansen (now in Foreigner). I was digging it at the time, and although there were some tracks that were undoubtedly filler, I thought it had quite a few killers too! The first single “I’m On to You” for example was memorable, tough enough, and catchy as anything that major bands had been releasing.
There were two big names attached to the album: Mike Clink produced it, with Bob Ezrin acting as executive producer. You would expect it to sound a lot better than it actually does. Vocals and guitars often seem distant, the drums don’t have enough snap, and there are weird distracting keyboard overdubs that cramp the mix. Over the Edge is not horrible sounding by any stretch, but it sure is not up to the standards of Mike Clink and Bob Ezrin.
It’s not always your best bet to open an album with a slow-building semi-rocker like “Over the Edge”, acoustic intro and all. Thankfully, Robert’s electric riff kicks in and the track begins to rock like an old Europe anthem. It’s a little more dark and foreboding than most of the hard rock making the charts in ’88 — it has some weight to it, and that’s what I liked about it. But I also get what my friend Bob didn’t like about Hansen’s vocals. He has powerful lungs but when he’s pushing, his voice can sound a little uneven. As an album opener, “Over the Edge” implies there will be drama and twists and turns ahead.
The first twist is a bizarre cover of Alice Cooper’s “I’m Eighteen” that slows down and unnecessarily modernizes the track. Maybe this cover was Ezrin’s doing. I don’t know and I advise that it’s a track for skipping as it just kills the momentum. “I’m On to You” is way, way better. A bright hard rocker with a catchy na-na-na chorus and fiery guitar licks is a fast way to the heart.
“Messin’ With a Hurricane” is a pretty cool song, sounding a bit like 80’s-era Ace Frehley lyrically and musically, but without Ace! Then “Insane” (a song title Ace also used in ’88) ends the side with a boring “blues” rock jam. Nope, sorry, no sparks happening for me here. Even worse though, side two opener “We Are Strong”…oh man. I am struggling to describe how bad this song is. Imagine swimming in a jar of lukewarm Cheez-Wiz. Nothing about this sounds good to me.
Hurricane salvage the situation with “Spark in My Heart”, a decent hard rocker with an anthemic chorus. It has some balls to it and Hansen’s singing here is great. “Give Me an Inch” is really good. It uses the guitar sparingly and has an unusual construction that I am immediately attracted to. It’s very different, and still hits the spot today. Likewise, “Shout” is still a good song, although Kelly Hansen pushes the limits of his range on it.
One thing about Kelly Hansen that I need to point out is that since 1988, his voice has barely changed at all! He has lost nothing. Singing with Foreigner is a serious gig, and he does it.
The best and worst track on the album is the instrumental closer “Baby Snakes” (no relation to Frank Zappa). In an unexpected left turn, the band crank out a fast-paced metal shuffle with smoking drums and solos. But…but but but! These amazingly smoking instrumental passages are then lowered in volume as we listen to some guy named Jeff calling up some girl named Jenny and constantly asking her out, while she blows him off. It gets tired fast, especially when, for a brief moment, the volume comes back on and Robert Sarzo rips out a killer solo only to be interrupted by Jeff and Jenny again. Bad call, guys. Bad call.
MVP: Drummer Jay Schellen, a serious talent with chops and creative fills. The guy smokes all over this record.
ALICE COOPER – Raise the Dead: Live from Wacken (2CD/1 Blu-ray, 2014 UDR)
This beast of a set was a gift from the ever-faithful Aaron, and I do thank you so much for it. Alice Cooper in 1080i hi-def, 5.1 surround sound. The CD has more songs than the Blu-ray, so I’m going to review both simultaneously, but let you know when it’s a track that’s exclusive to CD. Let’s give’r!
“Hello Hooray”! It’s still daylight in Wacken, when Alice proclaims to “let the show begin, I’ve been ready”. Alice is resplendent in his sharp red and black stripped tux. Australian beauty Orianthi has a drip of blood in the corner her mouth, and smears of it on her guitar and arms. “Hello Hooray” leads directly into a modern version of 1989’s “House of Fire”. With the three guitars live, it has a lot more bite to it, and neat six-string twists. (“House of Fire” briefly segues into the riff from “With a Little Help From My Friends”. Remember that. That’s important.) Not letting up for a second, it’s into “No More Mr. Nice Guy” and then immediately “Under My Wheels”! There’s simply no let up as the crowd starts surfing. Alice’s six piece band are visual and boast three lead soloists.
Newer song “I’ll Bite Your Face Off” is one of only two songs from Welcome 2 My Nightmare. The cool thing is how easily Orianthi digs into the vintage guitar stylings of it. She is an absolute natural. Even though there are four other talented musicians on stage, she commands attention without even trying. Alice chases her around the stage, as she casually throws down classic guitar licks. He has changed into a black leather jacket.
“Billion Dollars Babies” takes the focus temporarily back to the oldies. Alice wields a sword impaled with money, taunting the crowd. The wheels temporarily come off with “Caffeine”. I always welcome newer material, but I’d prefer just about any other song from Welcome 2. Alice has traded the sword for a giant coffee mug that he holds dear like his “precious”. Thankfully Orianthi lays down a blazing solo (actually two) , because otherwise I’d say this is my song on which to pee. But, I wouldn’t want to miss the classic “Department of Youth” from the original Welcome to my Nightmare, one of my top 10 Alice tracks of all time.
I like a rock show with variety, so I’m glad Alice pulled “Hey Stoopid” out of his 1991 hat. In the 5.1 mix, I don’t like the way some of the guitars just kind of drop out in the verses of this arrangement. I’ll have to listen to that again. It didn’t sound right. Otherwise it’s great with plenty of shredding. “Dirty Diamonds” was another surprise. I saw Alice play that one here in Kitchener on the Dirty Diamonds tour. That whole album is excellent, but the title track has a smoking riff. Drummer Glen Sobol gets a moment in the spotlight, accompanied by bassist Chuck Garric. A drum solo in the middle of an Alice Cooper show is not always a good thing, but this is actually a cool, worthwhile solo. There’s some crazy hand-over-hand stuff, tricks with sticks, and interesting cymbal work. Then it’s Orianthi’s turn. She is, without a doubt in my mind, one of the best guitar players out there today. Every note is worth something. The whole band come together at the front line, and the crowd goes nuts! Meanwhile….
As good as the solos are, in the context of the Alice Cooper show, they were merely a distraction. Where did Alice go? The opening strains of “Welcome to My Nightmare” indicate Act II has begun. He has emerged as the Showman. Weilding a dagger in one hand, he leads the charge into 1976’s “Go to Hell”. The two songs serve as a wicked intro to the theatrical part of the show. Alice attacks lead soloist Ryan Roxie with a whip, but it doesn’t phase the guitarist who safely evades him.
Out of Alice’s trick bag comes “He’s Back (The Man Behind the Mask)” the legendary campy 80’s theme from Friday the 13th Part III. Stripped of the keyboards and drum machines, it functions as a living, rocking entity. The three guitars enable the band to fill the spaces previously played by synths in the studio. Orianthi’s guitar solo just leaves my jaw on the floor. Keeping with the monster theme is “Feed My Frankenstein” from Hey Stoopid and Wayne’s World. Alice has changed into a blood smeared smock. He is strapped to an evil looking device by “Igor” and electrocuted! Then a monster-sized Franken-Alice appears to finish the song! The real Alice returns in a straight jacket for the still haunting “Dwight Fry”. This most intense Cooper classic is well served by three guitarists, loaning a “Freebird” epic quality to it live. “I’ve gotta get out of here!” screams Alice with the agony he manages to muster for every performance. Breaking free of his bonds, he attacks Nurse Sheryl, only be executed to the tune of the exit music from “Killer”. It’s the guillotine again for Alice Cooper. His head is hoisted into the air by a black-clad executioner to a chorus of “I Love the Dead” (Alice singing off-stage). Act II is over. Act III is beginning.
Though uncredited, the opening music for “DaDa” (from 1983’s DaDa, a cool cameo) plays as Alice is surgically resurrected in the graveyard of the Hollywood Vampires. The Hollywood Vampires were the drinking club down at the Rainbow…the teachers and the students. Lennon and Keith Moon passed down the ways of drinking to the likes of Vincent Furnier and Marc Bolan. A voice booms to Alice, “What are you going to do? Raise the dead?” So that’s what Alice does….
First it’s Morrison. The Doors’ “Break on Through” finally has balls to it! I never liked the Doors. I like Alice doing the Doors, so they can’t be all that bad. What’s interesting is how Alice can morph his voice to suit these covers. He uses a lower, howling early Alice voice to do the Doors. For the next track, “Revolution” (exclusive to CD) he uses his nasal Cooper voice, to cop that Beatles feel. He also does the opening McCartney scream…of course. You have to have that. The band hit the high backing notes perfectly too. The classic riff to “Foxy Lady”(exclusive to CD) indicates that Jimi Hendrix is the next Hollywood Vampire to be honored. Another cool connection is that both Alice and Jimi were important musical icons honored in the movie Wayne’s World. And the song was “Foxy Lady”. Next it’s Keith Moon and “My Generation”. Chuck Garric gets a moment to shine on those glorious Entwistle bass licks. It’s quite a bit more modern and slick than the Who’s, but the backing vocals are remarkably authentic.
Thematically “My Generation” connects to “I’m Eighteen”. Ryan Roxie and Orianthi both play solos on “Eighteen”, and smoke each one. Then, “Poison” is the final song of the set, a slick reminder that Alice Cooper survived the 1970’s only to become more popular than ever in the 80’s, 90’s and present. “Poison” has stood the test of time. It’s not a particularly simple song; just listen to those backing vocals. They have to be right, they can’t be off. Although I hadn’t really thought of “Poison” as a set closer, it does work in that slot and ends the show on a celebratory note.
The encore of “School’s Out” is the real celebration of course; the stage ablaze with lights and Alice clad in gold. It’s a mash-up with “Another Brick in the Wall”, proving again that mash-ups can sometimes produce fascinating results. I love Alice’s stage introductions for the musicians. “In a world where evil has a name, and that name is…Orianthi! And playing the part of Alice Cooper tonight…me!”
But Nurse Sheryl returns to the stage one last time and stabs Alice! I have a feeling our anti-hero will be back to terrorize us again on another tour….
There is only one Blu-ray bonus feature. The pre-Wacken interview with Alice is cool because it’s completely uncut. It’s only 20 minutes, but it’s insightful. Cooper is always a pleasure to listen to. The concept behind Raise the Dead revolves around his old, long gone buddies from the Hollywood Vampire. With this show, Cooper is paying tribute back to those guys, his idols and friends. The show has some history to it, he says. A little bit of a lesson. But the kids already know the songs, says Alice. The tunes like “Foxy Lady” and “Break on Through” are already familiar to them. Every kid seems to own a classic rock T-shirt.
Cooper muses that his live show is probably as close to Broadway as many of his new young fans will ever see. He reminds us that he has his own Broadway influences — “Gutter Cat vs. the Jets” from West Side Story, for example. His own solo band is so tight now that he doesn’t have to worry about the music part. Alice can get on with the show and performance, because the music is in good hands. He has particular praise for the stage presence and chops of Orianthi. As for the show, It’s no longer about shock, says Alice. You can’t shock the audience anymore. Now, it’s about entertainment. Give them something entertaining and of good value.
The hidden theme in the show is that everything is connected. The kids pick up on the connections behind the music. “School’s Out” and “Another Brick in the Wall” are presented as a medley. Who produced both songs? Whose kids are on both songs? Bob Ezrin. Connections!
The Blu-ray also has a substantial booklet included, the kind of thing that people who buy physical product still care about. I’d rather have this than a crappy photo slide show or text on a DVD. My only quibble is that I was underwhelmed by the 5.1 mix. I may have had my setting messed up, and I will have to try again. It was “Hey Stoopid” where this was particularly unpleasant to me. I’ll have to check that and try again. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the CDs, which sound friggin’ great.
In Getting More Tale #347.5: Days of Christmas Past, you may recall our good buddy Aaron sent me another Mystery Aaron Mail (M.A.M.) parcel. It finally arrived, several days behind schedule, but safe and sound which is the main thing. With Aaron’s encouraging “Give’r!” I tore into the packaging, to discover the treasure seen below.
Raise the Dead – Live From Wacken is Alice Cooper’s latest offering, one I had been excited to get! One thing you have to credit Alice Cooper with is changing up his setlist tour after tour. No two tours offer the same highlights, hits and surprises. At a glance, I can see this 2 CD/1 Blu-ray set contains the following interesting choices: “House of Fire” from 1989’s Trash, “Caffeine” from the recent Welcome 2 My Nightmare, the favourite “Department of Youth” from the original 1975 Nightmare, and oldies-but-goodies “Killer”, “Dwight Fry” and “Go To Hell”. This is rounded out by numerous covers, perhaps from Alice’s soon-to-be-unleashed covers album? “Break On Through” outta be good.
Finally this is Alice’s last release with Orianthi on guitar, who has since split to play with Richie Sambora. I’m glad she has been captured live in concert in hi-def on Blu-ray. Thank you, Aaron, for this gift! The 2 CD format means that I can listen to it in the car, and the Blu-ray gives me Orianthi in 1080i hi-def, according to the specs! There’s also a 20 minute interview and 5.1 surround mix. Gonna be a rockin’ Christmas if this is any indication!
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This last set of pictures is a Christmas gift to myself, from myself! I ordered this guy back on November 11, and he only just arrived today. His name is Ratbat, and he is the Decepticon fuel auditor. In the Marvel comics series, Ratbat emerged as a bureaucrat on Cybertron who eventually came to Earth and took leadership of the Decepticons, a title he held for 11 issues of the series. For this reason, and for the reason that he transforms into a cassette, he is always high on my collecting priority list. I have a Masterpiece edition Soundwave figure, and I had five of his cassettes. All but Ratbat. Ratbat was only available with a special black Masterpiece Soundwave figure called Soundblaster. Although I would love to, I can’t afford to buy the same toy over again in a different colour just to get Ratbat. So I figured I’d never get one.
My buddy Jason then suggested I check out some the sellers on eBay, selling KO (knock-off) Ratbat figures. Knock-off figures are exactly what the sound like. Somebody copied the mold and made their own figures. Some are shit quality. Some are much better. Ratbat is one of the figures. There are two flaws in the paint of the cassette, but I’ve bought official Hasbro and Takara items new out of the package with similar flaws, so I can’t that’s particularly troublesome. There was also a teeny tiny extra bit of plastic in the jetpack assembly that I had to lightly shave down in order to transform nice and straight. Again, this can happen with a KO toy, but it can also happen with official Hasbro toys too. Ratbat (KO) came with no box, but did come with a microcassette case, and only cost me $20 plus shipping from China. MP13B Masterpiece Soundblaster, the official Takara release including Ratbat, is “on sale” right now at Big Bad Toy Store for $129.99, plus shipping. I think I made a good choice. Here’s Ratbat with Soundwave and all his cassette buddies!
I sure hope I don’t get “trashed” for this review! Incidentally, this is the first CD I ever bought, in December of 1989. I still have it.
ALICE COOPER – Trash (1989 Epic)
After the strictly heavy metal n’ horror sounds of the previous two albums, Constrictor and Raise Your Fist And Yell, Alice decided it was time to get back to more diverse hard rock sounds. This time, he immersed himself in everything that was cool in the late 80’s, and created a “theme album” about sex. Cooper albums usually have themes — Alice Cooper in school (School’s Out), Alice Cooper in hell (Goes To Hell), or Alice Cooper insane (From The Inside). Sex was a new theme for this character.
Alice teamed up with Desmond Child, champion of many Bon Jovi and Aerosmith discs, as well as Mr. Jovi and Mr. Tyler themselves, among others. The result is unfortunately what I consider to be a weak disc, dated to the times, and with only a few strong songs that have held up over the years. It is certainly a creative low, though it did sell oodles of copies and was a sort of “comeback” album for Alice.
The first track and first single, “Poison”, is by far the best song. It is strong because it is based on the riff, and though it is commercial it is not blatantly so. It has a unique vibe to it, something authentic that other bands couldn’t touch. Sadly it’s mostly downhill from there. “Spark In The Dark” is unremarkable (though it does boast a killer riff), and so is the second single “House of Fire”. “House of Fire” at least has a catchy chorus, but it is simply too cookie-cutter. You could exchange it with virtually any single from any band’s albums in 1989. Just look at the writing credits: Desmond Child, Joan Jett, and Alice. Who was this song written for?
“It’s Only Heart Talking”, which was not written by Alice, is a decent ballad made more special with Steven Tyler’s duet. Otherwise, it is forgettable and inferior to later Alice ballads such as “Might As Well Be On Mars” and “Stolen Prayer”. Smash hit, though, so there’s that.
The lyrics to “Trash”, a duet with JBJ himself, are so bad it’s not even funny. “If my love was a lollypop, would you lick it?” Did Jon Bon just say that? “I’m Your Gun” is hardly better. I just can’t bear to listen to those songs. If you’re in the mood for some absolute dreck, check out “This Maniacs’ In Love With You”.
One of the more interesting songs that didn’t make the album was “The Ballad Of Alice Cooper”, written by Jon Bon Jovi. There is a poor quality demo of Bon Jovi doing it in his best Alice voice out there. I think it might have been better than most of the tracks on the CD. The Japanese version, however, does have great live versions of “Cold Ethyl” and “Dwight Fry” recorded during this era. (They can be found on the Alice Cooper Extended Versions CD today.)
This album like its sequel Hey Stoopid was loaded chock full of cameos. Just scanning the credits, besides Bon Jovi and Steven Tyler, I see: Kip Winger, Hugh McDonald, Joe Perry, Richie Sambora, Steve Lukather, Joey Kramer and Tom Hamilton. I think these cameos are very little more than hype.
Cooper’s albums tend to go in similar pairs (Nightmare/Goes To Hell, Constrictor/Raise Your Fist, Brutal Planet/Dragontown). Trash is no exception. Although Cooper realized that Trash was too soft and weak, Hey Stoopid is essentially a brother record to this one. I find it to be much much stronger by comparison.
I would tell casual fans instead of picking up this CD, to pick up something like Cooper’s Classicks. You’ll get the major tracks from this as well as some rare live ones.
RECORD STORE TALES Mk II: Getting More Tale #335: Musical Archaeological Discovery!
A couple weekends ago, I had a chance to dig through some old boxes looking for musical memories. I found that, and a lot more.
I discovered a complete inventory of my entire music collection, that I had made as a kid. Most of it was on cassette. There’s no date on it, but thanks to my photographic memory of musical life events, I can easily date this to within +/- a couple months. Let’s have a look and figure out when I made this inventory.
The first thing I noticed was there are 24 CD titles on this list. I received my first CD player for Christmas of 1989. That would place this list a fair bit after Christmas of ’89.
In the section for “Videos”, I only had four VHS titles at the time: Kiss, Def Leppard, Judas Priest, and Warrant. I know I received a Faith No More (You Fat Bastards) video for Christmas of ’92. So we’re well before December 1992.
Back to the CD section. The presence of the Led Zeppelin box set helps me narrow it down further. I know I received that box set for Christmas of 1990. I also remember getting Slaughter’s Stick It Live tape on December 28th of that year, and that cassette is on this list.
I distinctly recall my birthday in July 1991. I received Alice Cooper’s Hey Stoopid on cassette (thanks sis), and Van Halen’s For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge on CD (thanks Bob). Neither are on this list. Therefore, this was made sometime between Christmas of 1990, and July of ’91. Just over six months. To narrow it down as tightly as possible, I need to look for purchases that I know I made in early 1991.
In April or May of ’91, I can remember getting the new Mr. Big (Lean Into It) on cassette, and the first Raw M.E.A.T CD. Neither are on here. Most definitively however, missing on this list is David Lee Roth’s newest, A Lil’ Ain’t Enough. I know I got that for Easter of 1991. Now we’re really close. Somewhere between January to March of ’91!
I know I bought the uber-rare cassette single for Helix’s “Good to the Last Drop” really early in 1991. Snow was still on the ground, and that cassette single is not listed here. Therefore: I conclude that I created this list after Christmas 1990 or early in 1991, but probably during Christmas break 1990! I would have had the spare time to work on it during break.
Some additional observations:
1. Apparently I hadn’t yet discovered alphabetizing.
2. The dollar values printed represent approximate guesses as to retail value. I later made a revised list that replaced this with 5 star ratings, but I have not as yet found that version.
Here it is, now preserved digitally forever! And look — I only owned one CD single!* Final interesting note: Most of the items on this list are long gone. I’ve upgraded to CD on all the cassettes and only kept a handful. I have most of the vinyl, but I gave away my ’45 of the Wrestlers. I have some of the CDs, but others (Kiss, Bon Jovi, AC/DC, Van Halen, Slaughter, Maiden, Motley Crue) have long been replaced by remasters.
* Iron Maiden’s “Holy Smoke”, bought at Dr. Disc in the autumn of 1990.
Second review from Mike and Aaron Go to Toronto…Again! I paid $2.99 for this CD at Sonic Boom. A steal.
PLATYPUS – Ice Cycles (2000 InsideOut)
Platypus are: Ty Tabor – Guitars & vocals (King’s X). John Myung – Bass (Dream Theater). Derek Sherinian – Keys (Dream Theater, Alice Cooper, Kiss). Rod Morgenstein – Drums (Dixie Dregs, Winger).
From the information above, you already know several things: 1. Platypus is a supergroup. 2. This is going to have plenty of incendiary playing on it. 3. It’s gonna be progressive. Much like their first album (this is their second), it’s also gonna be fun!
If you’re a fan of any of these guys, you will love to hear them in this band’s context. There are plenty of King’s X-isms, but the personalities of the players have their own influences. Nobody plays drums like Rod Morgenstein, and I always enjoy the chance to hear him work.
The opening track, “Oh God” is quite heavy, with quieter keyboard moments. The track has some serious weight to it. Ty of course is a melodic singer, so that balances it. It’s just one of several standout tracks. “Better Left Unsaid” has a pleasant aura, similar to Faith Hope Love-era King’s X, but with Sherinian’s keyboards lending a completely different sound. Myung doesn’t play bass like Dug Pinnick does, but he does create a thick sound. Morgenstein’s drums have marching band precision.
The heavy melody-driven “The Tower” really gets the engine running during the chorus. The verses lack a bit, but that chorus section is furious, as is the guitar solo. The piano tinkle of “Cry” has a moment that is playfully lifted from Alice Cooper’s “I Love the Dead”, but the chorus is like Alice In Chains! This is a complex track, not instantly likable. Give it some time to sink in. Morgenstein, once again, leaves jaws on the floor.
My favourite tracks are two: the brief “I Need You”, which has the lush Tabor vocals that we know and love. This track is probably the most like King’s X, coincidentally. Then there’s the smoking hot “25” with its Dream Theater keys and Zeppelin guitars. There’s also a Rush riff in there somewhere. This is one of only two instrumentals on the album, but it sure is a corker! Just stunning.
The final track can only be called an epic. “Partial to the Bean (A Tragic American Quintology)” is a instrumental that goes all over the board, in seven parts. If you’ve heard instrumental epics by these players before then I’m sure you know what you’re up against. A challenging but rewarding listen.
That can be said for the album in general. It’s a rewarding listen that will, at times, challenge you. I like that.
When this album first came out, the local music geeks and I spent a lot of time discussing it. The foremost argument was, “What influence did grunge have on The Last Temptation?” While this is by no means a grunge album, I think there is a subtle grunge influence, and The Last Temptation is all the better for it.
The Last Temptation was heavier…more serious…more raw in production. These are all trends that grunge helped usher in. Alice had taken a bit of a slip, quality-wise, in the late 80’s and early 90’s. The Last Temptation was the album he needed to release in 1994. While it was not a commercial success, it excited the long time fans. It was the kind of thing we’d really missed from Alice, since the 1970’s.
The most obvious grunge influence is that Chris Cornell of Soundgarden wrote two songs and co-sings one. “Stolen Prayer”, the best song on the album, is Cornell’s, and his pipes have never sounded so good. Grunge forced a lot of hard rockers to drop the glossy production sheen of the 80’s, get serious a little bit on the lyrics, and write harder songs. This is evident in the world of Alice. This album spends a lot of time on the temptation of drugs, and while many rock fans might cringe at the idea of Alice delivering a “message” to us, this really is nothing new for our favourite masked rock star. He’s been serious before, on some of his finest moments in fact, but he always makes his messages fun to listen to and sing along with. West Side Story has always been a huge influence on Alice as fans know, and The Last Temptation is another album that shows this Broadway influence. “Bad Place Alone”, for example, has a chorus that sounds influenced by musicals.
Alice is nothing if not ambitious. The Last Temptation was Alice’s first “true” concept album since DaDa in 1983. In fact there was a even three-part Neil Gaiman comic book available at the time to help flesh out the story. One edition of the CD came with issue #1. Here you can find images from all three issues.
Marvel went all out on these comics. The covers are hard stock, and the artwork inside by Michael Zulli is detailed and, at times, horrifying. The colour palette evokes autumn (the story is set in October). Even Alice himself appears as the Showman character, but the protagonist is (of course) Steven. These comics were later reissued in a trade paperback, but all are affordable today, running at about $4 each. The most desireable edition is probably the rare one that came backed with the CD: issue #1, with a white border.
Musically, Alice is at the very top of his game here. Gone is the gloss. In fact, the opening track “Sideshow” sounds so much like the 70’s that you could swear it’s from the original Welcome To My Nightmare record. Awesome horn sections, great riff, killer lyrics; you’ll be singing this one for days after hearing it. “Nothing’s Free” rips off “Billion Dollar Babies” somewhat with the opening drum hook, but you won’t be complaining when you hear it. Most likely you’ll be pumping your fists to it. The first single “Lost In America” is a fast, tight rock song with insanely catchy lyrics, very different from a lot of stuff Alice had done in the 80’s.
The rest of the album is strong, with “It’s Me” being the sole ballad. “Stolen Prayer” is an absolute diamond. Chris Cornell sings on the choruses with that classic, incredible 90’s Soundgarden voice. Although the song is largely acoustic and mellow, the best word I can use for it is “epic”. It’s a classic, and I believe that to be the reason that Alice used it to close his comprehensive box set, The Life and Crimes of Alice Cooper. (Cornell also wrote the track “Unholy War”, solely — even the lyrics, which Alice used without modification.)
Overall the direction of the album is dark and catchy, with great playing from the entire cast and Alice spitting out the words as only he can. The fact that most of these songs were played live on tour is a testament to the strength of the material and Alice’s confidence that he had made yet another classic album.
The Last Temptation is a record that is sadly unknown to many casual rock fans. However, anybody who loved Welcome To My Nightmare would be well advised to pick this up. They might find that Alice has built a musical time machine, an album that sounds timeless despite its 1994 release date. It may not be a grunge album, but I think we owe a thanks to the grunge movement for helping Alice make the strongest record he’d done since 1975.
What happens to Steven? You’ll just have to listen and find out.
First of an Alice Cooper double shot! Tomorrow, The Last Temptation!
ALICE COOPER – Hey Stoopid (1991 Sony)
When Hey Stoopid first came out in ’91, fans were still reeling from the disappointment (but commercial success) that was the Trash CD. Fans wanted Alice to get heavier and drop the cheese, and Hey Stoopid was a step in the right direction, to be fully realized on his next album The Last Temptation.
It was the era of the virtuoso, and Cooper certainly knows a good musician when he hears one. To me it was a stroke of genius to have Steve Vai and Joe Satriani record a guitar solo together for the first time, and on a song called “Feed My Frankenstein” no less! Guest shots by Ozzy (barely audible, though), Nikki Sixx, Vinnie Moore, and Slash provided enough hype for the fans to salivate.
Songwriting-wise, Hey Stoopid was a step up from Trash. The title track with its lyrical warnings of drug abuse was a fun catchy rocker with a tasty Satriani solo. The solos on this album are all too brief. Still the players being as good as they are create solos that enhance each track. Other standouts include the mindblowing “Might As Well Be On Mars”, an epic Desmond Child song that just aches before it explodes on the choruses. “Die For You”, written by Alice with Motley Crue’s Sixx & Mars, as well as Jim Vallance, has a chorus that bores its way into your brain and stays there like a parasite.
There’s still a lot of filler, something that plagues almost Alice album from Goes To Hell through to Hey Stoopid. “Snakebite”, “Hurricane Years”, “Little By Little” and “Dirty Dreams” are all songs that Alice will never play live in concert, and for good reason.
Yet there are still lots of hidden gems on this CD, all the way through to the final track “Wind-Up Toy”. A song about insanity, as only Alice can do, it is something that really hearkens back to Welcome To My Nightmare. What’s this about “Steven”?
There are also a couple lesser known tracks that aren’t on the domestic CD that are worth tracking down: “It Rained All Night” is a slowy, groovy track that was a B-side but better than some of the ballads on the actual album. “Fire” was a Jimi Hendrix cover with some fiery (pun intended) guitar playing.
The most disappointing thing about Hey Stoopid is the production by the normally excellent Peter Collins. Yes, Trash was too glossy, and yes, Hey Stoopid toughens the sound with more guitars. However the background vocals in particular are so dense, so saccharine, that even Def Leppard would blush. They are credited to different groups of people, and clearly there are a lot of voices here creating this gigantic mush of sound. It’s too much. I much preferred when Alice stripped it down on Dirty Diamonds, an album that deserves much praise. In 1991, production values just seemed to go to this extreme — witness Europe’s Prisoners In Paradise CD for a similar sounding album.
Hey Stoopid was Alice attempting to find his footing again, and while it stumbled, it did pave the way for Last Temptation. If grunge didn’t wipe out hard rock later that year, maybe Hey Stoopid would be regarded more fondly.
3/5 stars. Not great, but certainly not a failure.
RECORD STORE TALES Part 264: Garbage Removal Machine
The year was 2004. I had always been an active on various “social media” but back then the place to be was called IAM. Iam.bmezine was the full name, but it was where I spent most of my time, and where some of the journals that appear here today originated.
I had joined an IAM book exchange group and specified that I was interested in collecting Stephen King. Someone sent me The Stand and I was hooked, so I wanted to get more into the mythos. This girl from Thunder Bay, Ontario sent me a few more as well. A little bit later, she moved to Waterloo for school. We met at William’s coffee pub to exchange some more stuff. She was wearing a Motley Crue – Girls, Girls, Girls T-shirt.
One thing led to another and we ended up going out. She came over to my place and we watched a couple rock movies. She was into all things “retro”, so I decided to give her all my old cassettes. Everything that was duplicated on CD, I gave to her. All my Iron Maiden, all my Judas Priest, Motley Crue, Van Halen…everything that I had on disc. She gladly took them, and I gladly took back my storage closet.
In return, she gave me her copy of Motley Crue’s DVD Lewd, Crued & Tattooed – Live. “It sucks,” she said. “Vince Neil sucks now. I was so disappointed.” I didn’t have the DVD, and it wasn’t especially high on my radar because yes, the Crue had been sucking as of late. However the presence of Samantha Maloney on drums (filling in for the terminally ill Randy Castillo) meant that it was the kind of one-off that I enjoy owning.
One of the better performances
A couple of weeks went by with Thunder Bay Girl, but my guard was up; my spider senses were tingling. I felt like she was obsessing a bit. A bit later she told me that the reason she sent me the Stephen King books in the first place was just to contact me; she went out to a used bookstore, bought a couple Kings and sent them to me. I know, not exactly So I Married An Axe Murderer behaviour, but there were other factors that made me start to feel uncomfortable. When she asked me what I wanted for my birthday that year, I decided to pull the plug before it got too far.
I did the manly thing, and dumped her by email. I know, I know. All I can say in my defense is that I was right. My spider senses detected something alright. Although it didn’t happen immediately, she eventually exploded like a powder keg. We chose to “remain friends” (not a good idea) but friendship soon turned to a hateful obsession. She exploded on me one day — something about a ferret? Eventually she moved back to Thunder Bay, and I never heard from her again. I like to think that she took my tapes with her, and dumped them in a Thunder Bay landfill out of pure spite. Although I wish I had kept some of those cassettes, I’ve decided to maintain a safe distance from Thunder Bay at all times. It’s the only way to be sure.
Here’s Uncle LeBrain with a dose of reality: This DVD sucks. Truly. It sucks. The New Tattoo album wasn’t great to start with, but this is awful. The awfulness can be boiled down to one factor: Vince Neil, the laziest singer in rock. Here, a breathless Neil does his thing: lets the crowd sing half the song, skips every other word, and weasels his way out of the tough notes. Set-list wise, this relies heavily on the Motley hits with very little deviation. Which is good, can Vince even remember the lyrics to obscure tunes?
So embarrassing is Vince Neil’s performance on this DVD that I have only managed to watch the whole thing twice. The main reason to own it is Samantha Maloney. Diehard Crue-heads will remember that drummer Randy Castillo had replaced Tommy Lee, but himself had to sit out the tour due to the cancer that eventually killed him. Ex-Hole drummer Samantha Maloney, the first and only girl to be in The Crue, took his place and did admirably well. It all came to an end when she hooked up with Nikki Sixx. You knew these guys just could not be in a band with a girl.
A second reason for me to keep this in my collection is “Nobody Knows What It’s Like To Be Lonely”. This is an audio-only track, and also the first-ever official release of one of the earliest Motley songs. To date, the only official release. It was recorded in May 1981 at the same session that yielded Motley’s first single “Toast of the Town” / “Stick To Your Guns”. I believe the song used to be known as “I Got the Power” and was written by Nikki Sixx for his old band, London. It does piss me off that this audio track is only on a DVD, not a CD, but I’m sure those more tech-savvy than me can rip it to an mp3 file.
Music, movies, and books! I’ve been very occupied these last couple days.
I get the Guiness’ Book of World Records, and the Ripley’s Believe It Or Not books every year. I imagine my surprise when I discovered a friend of ours in both books! Apparently, Sweet Pepper Klopek holds the world record for “Most Baking Sheets Buckled Over the Head for One Minute.” This is a guy who has been on my living room couch! Lemon Kurri says:
“He’s in there a couple times. Most mouse traps sprung on a tongue in 1 min too.”
HURRICANE – Over the Edge (1988 Enigma)
mikeladano.com 