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Throw a dart at a calendar and chances are that it will land on a date that Alice Cooper is performing in concert, or on the road travelling to the next gig. Showing zero signs of slowing down in his seventh decade as a live performer – why should he? – Alice Cooper is still knocking them dead worldwide. Having just completed a lengthy EU & UK tour with the Hollywood Vampires, Cooper and his incredible band headed out for a few dates on the joint Def Leppard/Mötley Crüe US stadium tour, and are gearing up for the imminent ‘Freaks on Parade’ co-headliner tour with Rob Zombie. Once this run of dates ends, Cooper has a 9-day break before another month of headline shows takes him up to the last date in his 2023 schedule: Mexico City, Mexico. So, if anyone is qualified to create a loosely based concept album about being on the road, then it is Alice Cooper.
Considering how strong his longtime touring band is, it’s always been baffling that Alice has never recorded a studio album with them: guitarists Ryan Roxie, Nita Strauss, and fellow Hollywood Vampire Tommy Henriksen, bassist Chuck Garric (who has been with Cooper for 20 years), and powerhouse drummer Glen Sobel. The ringmaster of the Grand Guignol has this to say:
“For Road, I wanted the band to be involved in the foundation of all the songs. I only see these guys when we’re on the road. So, I wanted them to be as tight as they are for the show but on all new material. That’s what we did for this record. When you have a band this good, I believe in showing it off.”
And on ‘Road’ Cooper does indeed show it off.
Having been on a recent run of form that other similar acts can only dream of, Alice always had a tough job on his hands trying to better 2021’s studio album ‘Detroit Stories’. But with tried and trusted producer Bob Ezrin alongside him once again, and the small matter of the hard rock equivalent of the E-Street Band being involved, ‘Road’ tops ‘Detroit Stories’. A great deal of this is down to the “band” vibe that is splattered over the 13 tracks featured within. Purchasing a physical copy of ‘Road’ is going to be mandatory, purely to devour the liner notes to see who brought what to the party, and hopefully the notes will go into details of which of the three lead guitarists plays each solo. Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello guests on the gnarly riff-rocker ‘White Line Frankenstein’ (which deals with a fictional truck driver who lives on the road) but the rest of this sumptuous well of guitar-driven rock and roll is down to Roxie, Strauss, and Henriksen.
Opener ‘I’m Alice’ is a grandiose modern-day younger, faster brother of the original AC band classic ‘Hello Hooray’, and is steeped in so many Cooper-isms including a spoken intro, ‘Elected’-like guitar melodies, a chorus to scream at the top of your lungs, a humourous spoken mid-section that is pure Alice Cooper, and a drum sound from Glen Sobel that swings. A sure thing for the setlist on the forthcoming live dates? Yeah, most def. Ditto ‘Welcome To The Show’ which rips, and will rip even more when played live. Same with the horns-infused ‘All Over The World’ which tips a few top hats to ‘I’m Eighteen’. ‘Dead Don’t Dance’ also raises its hands to be included in the setlist; fantastic snarl about this one, the combined work from Garric and Sobel is crucial (as it is on the ‘Constrictor’-era-like ‘The Big Goodbye’) and builds an almighty set of foundations for the flash lead guitar work that follows.
The slide-heavy ‘Go Away’ is tailor-made for a juke joint where the sweat drops from the low ceiling (fantastic Blackmore-like riffs ala ‘Burn’ on this one), ‘Rules Of The Road’…“…rule number one: always get the money, rule number two: remember to always get the money, and rule number three: never forget to remember to always get the money…” sparks images of Dr. Feelgood (the Canvey Island outfit, rather than the Crüe song) jamming with ZZ Top. The creepy, atmospheric ‘100 More Miles’ is a real slow-burner that gets better with each listen and gradually burrows into the listener’s psyche – especially if played through a decent pair of cans that make Cooper’s trademark rasping vocals especially pop out. Fantastic arrangements on this one. And speaking of decent cans; turn up the volume dial on ‘Road Rats Forever’ (a stunning reimagining of the ode to Cooper’s road crew from 1977’s ‘Lace and Whiskey’…“We’re the men behind the man/We’re the backbone muscle clan/We do a thousand one night stands…”) and drool with delight as the opening guitar licks constantly switch from left to right.
Misses are few and far between; with ‘Big Boots’ being the weakest track amongst the baker’s dozen. ‘Baby Please Don’t Go’ takes a few listens to rise above standard ballad fare, but if you stick with it then you will be rewarded with what is a gorgeous piece of music.
Alice Cooper is in killer form right now and with ‘Road’ The Coop has another hit on his hands. Expect to see ‘Road’ feature heavily in end-of-year best-of polls, and the end result is conclusive proof that he has one of the finest bands assembled today (Glen Sobel out-Moons Keith Moon with a rip-roaring drum solo on closing track – a cover of The Who’s ‘Magic Bus’). At least 4 or 5 of these tracks could easily slot into the setlist, but what does Alice drop to make way for them? Something to chew on; how about a run of small theatre shows with none of the production that Alice Cooper is famous for, and instead the band simply just plays a stripped-back rock show? A bit like Cooper did back in 2011 at the legendary 100 Club in London.
‘Road’ is available on multiple formats on August 25th via earMUSIC. Pre-order here.
Review – Dave
All images copyright earMUSIC, Alice Cooper group shot – credit Jenny Risher
