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Hollywood Vampires started as a simple enough premise – putting together a bar-band to honour dead friends and music legends – but has grown wings into a fully fledged touring and recording outfit that convenes when it can and puts on one hell of a show.
The four main stars are, of course, Alice Cooper, Joe Perry, Johnny Depp, and long-time Cooper cohort Tommy Henriksen, with a host of seasoned players with a lot of road miles alongside them. Whereas the previous live release, ‘Live in Rio’, featured the earlier star-studded line-up that also included guys like Duff McKagan and Matt Sorum, the soon-to-be-released sequel, ‘At Montreux Jazz Festival’, features the same band that will soon blitz their way through the UK & Europe, which gives the album a true “band” feeling.
Recorded at the world-famous Montreux Jazz Festival in 2018, this is a blast. It’s the sound of a bunch of dudes playing music with the pressure off. Okay, not your average dudes. As Alice Cooper once stated, the band had become the “…world’s most expensive bar band.” Tight and well-oiled (the Vampires’ original ‘Raise The Dead’ is a great example of this, as it crackles with energy, as does another original, ‘My Dead Drunk Friends’, which features a stellar performance on the keys from Aerosmith’s Buck Johnson), this is very 70s-like in the sense that it is free of the hi-sheen that blights a lot of modern releases. Raw, unpolished, unfiltered, and above all, great fun.
Alice sounds amazing as he always does, but here, free from the restrictions of being in character, he sounds liberated with the spotlight not solely on him. With the Vampires, he is just the singer in a band. At a Cooper show, he doesn’t speak until the band introductions at the encore; here he introduces most covers with a few simple words, like, “We pay tribute to all of our dead drunk friends…in California…Randy California…dead bloodsucker…” (after a ballsy version of Spirit’s ‘I Got a Line on You’) and as the imperious Glen Sobel (another Cooper band regular) on drums brings the band in on Love’s ‘7 and 7 Is’, Cooper utters in that trademark sneer…“…Arthur Lee…bloodsucker”, all the while Joe Perry is setting the stage ablaze in the way that only Joe Perry can. The Doors pairing of ‘Five to One’ and ‘Break On Through’ is introduced by Cooper declaring, “1968, I moved to Los Angeles, and I met some bloodsuckers there named The Doors, and their lead singer and I used to drink a lot…” As the tribute ends, he utters the understatement of the year, “Jimbo could drink a little bit…” You remember when Charlie Chaplin first spoke onscreen, and the headlines screamed “He talks!”, well, Alice Cooper, he talks!
Joe Perry is normally the cool, silent one. Years alongside Steven Tyler will do that. As part of Hollywood Vampires, he gets to relax and do what he loves most: play the guitar and steal the show. Always the coolest thing about Aerosmith, a smiling Perry onstage is a rarity, but catch him with these guys, and it’s all smiles. Not just when he is paying tribute to one of his favourites, AC/DC, with a steaming version of ‘The Jack’ (with lyrics changed to make it less sexual for devout Christian Alice Cooper), but also when he takes the lead on Aerosmith’s ‘Combination’ (introduced by himself), which has always been one of Perry’s finest moments. Effortlessly playing the role of Brad Whitford alongside him is Tommy Henriksen, who is best described as a silent assassin. Letting the others have the spotlight while he kills in the background. If you are going to watch one of the forthcoming shows, watch Joe Perry. Just, watch Joe Perry. Especially if ‘Baba OReily’ stays in the set and he climbs onto Sobel’s drum riser like he usually does. Poetry in motion.
It seems bizarre to say that in amongst all these superstars and memorable covers, it’s the turn of bassist Chris Wyse in the spotlight that just about steals the show. His version of ‘Ace of Spades’ is a belter. Not an easy job, that’s for sure, but he knocks it out of the park, and if you cannot enjoy the piss and vinegar that the song is performed with, then check your pulse. ‘Heroes’ is another highlight. Led by Depp (and featuring Wyse on upright bass and Perry on EBow), it is a gorgeous, heartfelt tribute. Rough around the edges in some places, but live music is supposed to be like that. Depp also excels on ‘People Who Died’ and nails the post-punk poet-style vocal delivery of the original.
A top-notch live album, a loving tribute to so many fallen comrades, and a true rock and roll jukebox through the decades, and the best part is that everyone involved seems like they are having a blast in what looks like an ego-free zone. A great way to ramp up the adrenaline for the imminent live shows.
‘At Montreux Jazz Festival’ is available August 14th via earMUSIC in the following formats:
*2 CD Digisleeve
*3 LP Gatefold, Black —180g
HOLLYWOOD VAMPIRES ON TOUR IN EUROPE IN 2026:
08/12 — London, UK
08/14 — Cardiff, UK
08/15 — Scarborough, UK
08/17 — Glasgow, UK
08/18 — Manchester, UK
08/19 — Birmingham, UK
08/21 — Colchester, UK
08/22 — Halifax, UK
08/25 — Nürnberg, GER
08/26 — Paris, FR
08/28 — Köln, GER
08/30 — Hamburg, GER
09/01 — Milano, IT
09/02 — Este, IT
09/03 — Pula, HR
09/05 — St. Pölten, AT
09/06 — Praha, CZ
09/08 — Budapest, HU
09/10 — Łódź, PO
Follow the latest news on Hollywood Vampires at: https://www.hollywoodvampires.com
Official socials at: Hollywood Vampires Facebook: / hollywoodvampires
Review – Dave
Black and white live image – Aaron Perry
Colour live images – Callum Scott
