Alice Cooper - Along Came A Spider
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Free Music Notes for Along Came A Spider
Free Music Review: Spider-Man
Hit: 4 Stars
If Disney made an animated movie about a serial killer, the soundtrack would be something like Along Came a Spider, the new album by Alice Cooper.
Despite the murky subject matter, the album is relentlessly cheerful and upbeat, with solid guitar work by Danny Saber, Greg Hampton and Keri Kelli, and great drumming by Eric Singer. Cooper is in fine voice throughout, and the tunes recall his sleazy glam-rock of the '70s mixed with the hair-metal of the shock rocker's early '90s release, Hey Stoopid.
Because Cooper is singing from the vantage point of a demented killer, his trademark wordplay and self-winking sense of humor have been replaced by repeating choruses and whispered breathing that are supposed to sound creepy, but don't. Actors are sometimes warned never to play characters dumber than themselves; maybe the same injunction applies to singers. The Spider is a little dense, and that hobbles Cooper, who offered much more diversity on From the Inside, a 1979 concept album that was like The Canterbury Tales set in a mental hospital; each song showcased a different patient and told a compelling story.
All concept albums -- from classics like The Who's "Tommy" and Queensryche's "Operation Mindcrime" to cult favorites like (no pun intended) Blue Oyster Cult's "Imaginos" -- suffer from the same weakness: It's hard to figure the storyline from the songs, which are often arranged out of sequence with whatever threadbare plot the artists piece together. Cooper addresses this with spoken dialogue at the beginning and end of Spider, but the lyrics don't advance the story -- each song is about the killer Spider watching women, thinking about killing women, or thinking about letting one go free. "Salvation" is the obligatory born-again Christian P.O.V. tune, a power ballad that's actually pretty good. It's best to forget the story -- something about the Spider cutting one leg off each of eight victims to create his own arachnid -- and simply enjoy the songs.
The weakest tune is the first single, "Vengeance Is Mine," a plodding metal-by-numbers piece that is only somewhat redeemed by ex-Guns `N Roses' guitarist Slash soloing throughout. "Wake the Dead," "Wrapped in Silk" and "I'm Hungry" are much better.
Along Came a Spider will serve as the centerpiece for Cooper's 2009 tour, and the songs will probably be fleshed out on the road and will sound great live. As it stands, Along Came a Spider is eminently hummable, with a little twist at the end which is the perfect Cooper denouement. It's probably the prolific Cooper's best work since The Last Temptation, and one that is fully worthy of comparison to his greatest solo album, Welcome To My Nightmare, with a guest appearance by one of that record's famous denizens. (No, not Vincent Price.)
Free Music Review: Why isn't he in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame????
Hit: 4 Stars
OK, this isn't so much a review but a huge gripe to get off my chest...
AC belongs in the Hall of Fame!!! How can a rock and roll legend be ignored for so long? Cooper has sold millions of records, opened the door to theater and staging in rock, and has influenced countless bands from Kiss to Marilyn Manson. He is noted as "universally recognized as one of the most accomplished and influential artists in rock music, inspiring many later musicians and helped shape the sound and look of punk rock and early heavy metal, and is credited as being the first to bring story-lined theatrics to the rock/pop concert stage" (Wikipedia)
Considering some of the early punk and heavy metal acts that are already in the Hall Of Fame, Alice Cooper should clearly be among them. (Johnny Rotten sang Cooper's "I'm Eighteen" when he auditioned for the Sex Pistols)
He had rock hits (Under My Wheels, Billion Dollar Babies, etc... ) and even soft rock hits (Only Women Bleed, You and Me, etc...). Billion Dollar Babies was a #1 album. School's Out was a #2 album. What other artist had such defining-moment life soundtracks such as "I'm Eighteen" and the one of the greatest rock anthems of all time: "Schools Out"?
His 1973 U.S. Tour broke box office records previously held by the Rolling Stones. His promotional video for "Elected" was one of the first story line MTV-type videos. His "Welcome To My Nightmare" -album, video, and TV special(!) - was way ahead of Michael Jackson's "Thriller" idea by years.
He is still performing to this day. I saw his Halloween show just a few years back in Cleveland - the place was packed.
Also interesting is Alice Cooper was heavily featured in an article in Golf Digest recently as being the rock star who opened the door to golf and made it cool for other musicians.
No less than Bob Dylan publicly proclaimed in a January 26, 1978, Rolling Stone cover story: "I think Alice Cooper is an overlooked songwriter."
There is just no denying that Alice Cooper is a groundbreaking artist. He's still working, recording, and his celebrity has not changed. Why isn't he in the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame? What does Jann Wenner from Rolling Stone and the other recording industry types have against The Coop??????? WTF!!!!
Free Music Review: Love Him, Yes We Love 4 Stars
We all know Alice has the knack for telling an intriguing tale within the confines of a single song. This time out he goes all out in rock opera mode, using the entire album to tell his story. Alice has had many "concept" albums that revolve around specific themes, but it's rare when he actually uses the whole album for one particular story. The Last Temptation was probably the only other album to actually do that(that album even had a graphic novel to go with the story).The results are quite impressive. Along Came A Spider reunites us with "Steven", the childlike alter-ego to the murderous and insane "Alice Cooper"(or is it the other way around? We may never know. Hoo Hoo Ha Ha!). Steven was introduced to us on the Welcome To My Nightmare album, and would pop up here and there throughout Alice's career. Steven now calls himself, "The Spider" and is a serial killer. Alice handles his plot, lyrics and storytelling duties wonderfully. Also with a dash of humor, as to be expected from Alice.
Musically it seems that many folks have different ways they've interpreted it. I'd have to say that to my ears, the sound of this album is a cross between Dirty Diamonds and The Last Temptation. The ballads remind me of the kind of tunes you'd hear on Alice's mid to late 70s period albums like From The Inside or Lace and Whiskey. Alice is still using a few guys from his Dirty Diamonds/Eyes of Alice Cooper band lineup, but with a few new musicians. Slash also makes a guest appearance on "Vengeance Is Mine". These songs are very good, but need a few listens to get their fangs into you. For me, on the first listen I did find the album overall enjoyable, but nothing really seemed to jump out. On the second listen, that all changed and the songs really began to take hold. It really hasn't been out of my cd player for the last two days.
The cd booklet is a nice touch as well, designed to look like Steven's diary. Each page of the booklet features the lyrics to one song, and each song has it's own photo image which are designed to look like old movie posters. Very cool.
In the end, Alice has done it again. I felt that with Dirty Diamonds he was heading in a pretty good direction, and Along Came a Spider is definitely a winner.
Free Music Review: Another great Steven album
Hit: 4 Stars
I've loved Alice Cooper since I was just 15 years old (about 1986), which is well after his first wave of success in the '70's, and in the middle of his "comeback" days of heavy metal and just shortly before his next big wave of success of the '90's. This guy has had so many comebacks and the critics still just write him off every time.
I don't own every Alice album, but I own several (about 12) from every era, and I like them all, from the '70's rock (and even a little disco)to the '80's punk then metal to the '90's hair metal and now seemingly back to the '70's sound of pure radio rock--with a gruesome twist. I must say I think this sound fits him well. In fact this whole album seems to fit him like a glove, Alice has a penchant for concept albums,the macabre, and dry humor all of which appear here on Along Comes a Spider, which is his third concept album about his alter-ego's alter ego, Steven. Continuing the story from "Welcome to my Nightmare" and "Alice Cooper goes to hell", Steven is all grown up here and as twisted as ever. I don't see any deliberate attempts at a hit single here (Trash, Hey Stoopid) he seems to have written this album for the longtime fans. Some great tracks include Track 1-I know where you live, Track 2- Vengeance is Mine, track 3- Wake the Dead, Track 10-Salvation, which sounds like it would fit on either Nightmare or Goes to Hell and Track 11 the Title track, I am the Spider.
I've enjoyed his last few releases, all of which have been a return of sorts to his '70's roots, but I like this latest release better than any of the last several albums. This may well be his best since "Goes to Hell".
Not unlike other albums, he has some guest stars here including song-writing credits from Ozzy, and guitar playing from Slash. I can't wait to see the live show--it's gonna rock as always. I wonder if he'll bring back the giant spider from the nightmare tour.
Free Music Review: The sound is far from modern, but that's what makes it work
Hit: 4 Stars
The Good
For his latest album Cooper decides to go the concept route. The story revolves around a murderous psychopath named Spider, who wraps his female victims in silk. What is truly bizarre is that Spider removes one leg from each victim in his quest for eight legs. Things start to get complicated as Spider falls in love with his eighth potential victim. There's also a shocking twist at the end.
"I Know Where You Live" immediately establishes the kind of character Spider is. He's watching his victims in the car, he's in their house enjoying their prized possessions, and he's following their every step. Fuzzy riffs and guitar runs set the soundtrack for "Vengeance is Mine." "Wake the Dead" has a classic Cooper vibe as he explores more of the demented psyche of Spider. "Wrapped in Silk" is creepy and sinister as Spider picks out his pray. On "Killed By Love" Spider starts having second thoughts about one of his victims. The track has a ballad feel. "The One That Got Away" is a heavy rocker that makes you wonder if it was the one Spider loves that got away, or his next victim. "I Am the Spider" brings this horror tale to it's conclusion with a happy ending of sorts that's met with a classic movie twist.
The iTunes version of the album includes three bonus tracks; "Shadow of Yourself," "I'll Still Be There," and "Salvation" (unplugged with string section).
The Bad
I wish iTunes offered a booklet on this one.
The Verdict
Along Came a Spider is presented as a musical horror movie. The sound is far from modern, but that's what makes it work. The sound is reminiscent of a 70s vinyl rock record that synchs perfect with classic horror pictures of that period (Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Maniac come to mind). It's dark, macabre, and eerie. Another feather in the cap of the Legendary Alice Cooper.