Constrictor
Release Date: September 22, 1986
Highest US Chart: #59
Tracks: Teenage Frankenstein * Give It Up * Thrill my Gorilla * Life and Death of the Party * Simple Disobedience * The World Needs Guts * Trick Bag * Crawlin’ * The Great American Success Story * He’s Back (The Man Behind the Mask)
Cooper returns after a 3-year hiatus with an album that attempts to get back to basics, and that’s the problem, the music’s all basic. After going from a string of more commercial LPs to the New Wave Punk style, Alice spoke about wanting to do straight forward hard rock and it seems to work as far as getting him some commercial attention. “Teenage Frankenstein” received radio play, and he got a song on the new Friday the 13th film ("He's Back", which wraps things up on a good note). But overall Constrictor is pretty standard fare.
Coops new band mates include guitar shredder Kane Roberts and bassist Kip Winger. The brawny Roberts left an impression on stage, with his size, speedy licks and machine gun guitar, you couldn't help but love him, but his songwriting and musicianship are all the same on this CD, he draws from the same bag of tricks and when you’ve heard him once, you’ve heard all he’s got. It all follows the same pattern, standard verse, predictable chorus, and familiar guitar solo. I did enjoy Frankenstein but after that it fluctuates between the bad (Thrill My Gorilla) or the merely okay (Simple Disobedience – a song that tries to be the next great anthem, but just doesn’t have the muscle to pull it off). In fact, after the first track the record doesn’t grab me again until "The Great American Success Story" (a tune written for the Rodney Dangerfield movie “Back to School” though it was never used.)
Note: I wasn't thrilled with the drums, credited to David Rosenberg (his lone paring with Cooper), they have a programmed feel to them - there's no personality, no sizzle or distinct style (look to Neal Smith for all 3 of those drumming traits). The numbers performed on tour, with Ken Mary... vastly superior. (See, for one, The World Needs Guts, played during the '87 concert in Cincinnati, which transforms an all-right number, into a goodie - Hmm, in truth the entire LP might have been improved, played live)
Oct 2023 Edit: I learned much about the making of this record from Chris Sutton's book on Alice in the 80s, and what a convoluted tale, involving multiple producers, and re-recorded instruments. The who and whys on the limp drums are detailed, and the mouthwatering possibility of a reunion with Neal and Dennis is discussed (and they name titles for demos they worked on... I'd die to hear them). Oh, what could have been.
Purchases: Original vinyl pressing, CD
🐍🐍½
Raise Your Fist and Yell
Release Date: September 5, 1987
Highest US Chart: #73
Tracks: Freedom * Lock Me Up * Give the Radio Back * Step on You * Not That Kind of Love * Prince of Darkness * Time to Kill * Chop, Chop, Chop * Gail * Roses on White Lace
Alice, Kane and Winger return one more time, and the results are more successful, steadier, with less filler. Conceptually it's an odd blend, seemingly random subjects in the middle, bookended first by self-referential rock anthems, then closing on songs about a serial killer.
While the second is the stronger of the two sides, there are noteworthy moments on the first, among them, a track intended for Constrictor, "Step on You"; a decent thumper made better by the fascinating detours (the violent tonal shift at the half-way point, where stabbing, shrieking guitars are coupled to Ken Mary's thunderous drums). And "Not That Kind of Love" with its crunchy, stop start riff, that recalls -in an oblique way- the forthcoming Cult of Personality. I also dig how the rat-a-tat beat follows Alice's vocals on the pre-chorus.
Now, getting the negatives out of the way... as a person who enjoys the sound of a hefty, full bass, I'm disappointed at their lack of a presence here (the fault of the producer?) And AC the wordsmith isn't always at the top of his game. For example, the otherwise musically and vocally gratifying “Prince of Darkness” (heard in the John Carpenter film Alice had a role in) lacks that old clever edge as it simply tells us that the Devil is a bad guy (Uh… D-uh?). It seems Cooper forgot that cryptic phrasing adds mystery which is more effective in creating chills (Sick Things, Former Lee Warmer).
Saying that, “Gail” is an enjoyable return to those gothic spooky songs that Alice does better than anyone. There's eerie imagery (insects within her skeletal jail) and the melody, arrangements and Kip Winger's harpsicord are stellar. Continuing with that train of thought... While I'm not overly enamored with the slasher stuff (not a fan of those types of films, either), the subject does allow Alice to dwell in the darkness, which is preferable to the sex songs that riddle the forthcoming "Trash". And truth be told, the Gail trilogy is the best part of the entire album - beginning with that creepy as hell spoken piece at the end of "Chop, Chop, Chop", and closing with Alice's superb high notes on the choruses of the intense “Roses on White Lace".
Note: The normally nonpolitical Cooper penned a protest song for the collection - "Freedom" is a response to the P.M.R.C.
Purchases: Original vinyl pressing, CD
Alice, Kane and Winger return one more time, and the results are more successful, steadier, with less filler. Conceptually it's an odd blend, seemingly random subjects in the middle, bookended first by self-referential rock anthems, then closing on songs about a serial killer.
While the second is the stronger of the two sides, there are noteworthy moments on the first, among them, a track intended for Constrictor, "Step on You"; a decent thumper made better by the fascinating detours (the violent tonal shift at the half-way point, where stabbing, shrieking guitars are coupled to Ken Mary's thunderous drums). And "Not That Kind of Love" with its crunchy, stop start riff, that recalls -in an oblique way- the forthcoming Cult of Personality. I also dig how the rat-a-tat beat follows Alice's vocals on the pre-chorus.
Now, getting the negatives out of the way... as a person who enjoys the sound of a hefty, full bass, I'm disappointed at their lack of a presence here (the fault of the producer?) And AC the wordsmith isn't always at the top of his game. For example, the otherwise musically and vocally gratifying “Prince of Darkness” (heard in the John Carpenter film Alice had a role in) lacks that old clever edge as it simply tells us that the Devil is a bad guy (Uh… D-uh?). It seems Cooper forgot that cryptic phrasing adds mystery which is more effective in creating chills (Sick Things, Former Lee Warmer).
Saying that, “Gail” is an enjoyable return to those gothic spooky songs that Alice does better than anyone. There's eerie imagery (insects within her skeletal jail) and the melody, arrangements and Kip Winger's harpsicord are stellar. Continuing with that train of thought... While I'm not overly enamored with the slasher stuff (not a fan of those types of films, either), the subject does allow Alice to dwell in the darkness, which is preferable to the sex songs that riddle the forthcoming "Trash". And truth be told, the Gail trilogy is the best part of the entire album - beginning with that creepy as hell spoken piece at the end of "Chop, Chop, Chop", and closing with Alice's superb high notes on the choruses of the intense “Roses on White Lace".
Note: The normally nonpolitical Cooper penned a protest song for the collection - "Freedom" is a response to the P.M.R.C.
Purchases: Original vinyl pressing, CD
🐍🐍🐍
Trash
Release Date: July 25, 1989
Highest US Chart: #20
Tracks: Poison * Spark in the Dark * House of Fire * Why Trust You * Only My Heart Talkin’ * Bed of Nails * This Maniacs in Love with You * Trash * Hell is Living Without You * I’m Your Gun
Alice pulls away from the straightforward hard rock numbers and tries a more radio friendly pop slant by bringing in Desmond Child (Bon Jovi). Child is a hit maker, and that's just what AC and his new label, Epic, was looking for. The opening track, Poison, got Cooper his first top 10 hit since "You and Me" in 1977, and the album was his highest charting since Welcome to My Nightmare.
Getting back to Poison, it crawls under a listener's skin on two points: First, the dramatic modulations, which lends the tune a kind of musical chiaroscuro, going from the low, or darker tones, then gradually ascending to the higher, brighter points, which Alice expertly relays vocally. Second, one doozy of a riff - guitarist John McCurry originally wrote it for John Waites Encircled in 1987, but it's a better fit here. This twin punch contributed to the track becoming one of Cooper's most popular. Beyond that...
Joan Jett helped write “House of Fire”. Jon Bon Jovi sang on “Trash”, Steven Tyler sings on “Only My Heart Talkin”, and Guy Mann-Dude plays some catchy licks on the (more Cooper-like) "This Maniacs in Love with You", all four are solid numbers but it was the last two that delighted my ear the most - the ballad, “Hell is Living Without You”, with its impassioned chant like chorus, and, though lyrically witless (was it written by a 16-year-old?) “I’m Your Gun”, a high-spirited rocker with former band mate Kip Winger adding some solid background vocals. (Oh, and Kane Roberts makes an appearance too, playing guitar on “Bed of Nails”; a song that made me laugh with Alice singing “Ow, Ow, Ow Ow Ow” - I hope that was meant to be funny. lol)
To summarize, Trash is the equivalent of rock and roll cotton candy - sweet and fluffy and full of empty calories. Which is not to say it's bad - cotton candy is a tasty confection after all, but it's not filling - the LP doesn't hold up under heavy rotation (unlike those in my top 10), but it's fine on occasion.
Alice pulls away from the straightforward hard rock numbers and tries a more radio friendly pop slant by bringing in Desmond Child (Bon Jovi). Child is a hit maker, and that's just what AC and his new label, Epic, was looking for. The opening track, Poison, got Cooper his first top 10 hit since "You and Me" in 1977, and the album was his highest charting since Welcome to My Nightmare.
Getting back to Poison, it crawls under a listener's skin on two points: First, the dramatic modulations, which lends the tune a kind of musical chiaroscuro, going from the low, or darker tones, then gradually ascending to the higher, brighter points, which Alice expertly relays vocally. Second, one doozy of a riff - guitarist John McCurry originally wrote it for John Waites Encircled in 1987, but it's a better fit here. This twin punch contributed to the track becoming one of Cooper's most popular. Beyond that...
Joan Jett helped write “House of Fire”. Jon Bon Jovi sang on “Trash”, Steven Tyler sings on “Only My Heart Talkin”, and Guy Mann-Dude plays some catchy licks on the (more Cooper-like) "This Maniacs in Love with You", all four are solid numbers but it was the last two that delighted my ear the most - the ballad, “Hell is Living Without You”, with its impassioned chant like chorus, and, though lyrically witless (was it written by a 16-year-old?) “I’m Your Gun”, a high-spirited rocker with former band mate Kip Winger adding some solid background vocals. (Oh, and Kane Roberts makes an appearance too, playing guitar on “Bed of Nails”; a song that made me laugh with Alice singing “Ow, Ow, Ow Ow Ow” - I hope that was meant to be funny. lol)
To summarize, Trash is the equivalent of rock and roll cotton candy - sweet and fluffy and full of empty calories. Which is not to say it's bad - cotton candy is a tasty confection after all, but it's not filling - the LP doesn't hold up under heavy rotation (unlike those in my top 10), but it's fine on occasion.
Purchases: Original vinyl pressing, CD
🐍🐍🐍
Hey Stoopid
Release Date: July 2nd, 1991
Highest US Chart: #47
Tracks: Hey Stoopid * Love’s A Loaded Gun * Snakebite * Burning Our Bed * Dangerous Tonight * Might as Well Be on Mars * Feed My Frankenstein * Hurricane Years * Little by Little * Die for You * Dirty Dreams * Wind-Up Toy
Stoopid seemingly draws from the same well as Trash, but there are fewer holes in the bucket. While the production is slick and commercial just like the last release, the songwriting is stronger. The hooks are ear catching but substantial (it's not an album I quickly tire of), and there's lyrical improvement on a couple of numbers.
Stoopid seemingly draws from the same well as Trash, but there are fewer holes in the bucket. While the production is slick and commercial just like the last release, the songwriting is stronger. The hooks are ear catching but substantial (it's not an album I quickly tire of), and there's lyrical improvement on a couple of numbers.
The title song is preachy (tackling drugs and suicide) but understanding the road Alice has been down with his own addiction you know he’s not just blowing smoke (“This aint your daddy talking”, he sings, “You know, I know”). Musically it's anchored by those hair band staples... grouped vocals, pulsating, stomping drums, and winding leads.
The second track throws in another characteristic sound, those soaring synths. Love's a Loaded Gun starts acoustically with a G Minor, and follows that with a couple of suspended chords (Fsus4, and a Csus4), which creates an open, pretty sound, that's contrasted by disturbing lyrics about a guy whose become obsessed with -and is stalking a prostitute. Are the bullets a metaphor for her clients, or is our first-person narrator hunting down and killing these men? (the vid gives it another spin)
Then there are the ballads, which break up whatever sameness there is in the anthem-like rockers, of these, Might as Well Be on Mars is the pinnacle, and one of the best collaborations between Alice and Dick Wagner. The words and music are stirring, and the chorus, the way it soars and builds, gets my pulse racing. Eliciting that kind of fervent reaction is something that has been sorely missing from AC of late, and what a joy it is to see him return to that form.
Opening side 2, “Feed My Frankenstein” is childish (“fur teacup” - cripes, that’s pure “Spinal Tap”) but it rocks, and hearing Steve Vai and Joe Satriani playing guitar on the same song is heavenly. (The LP is loaded with guest stars, from Slash to Ozzie. Elvira, Mistress of the Dark provides the female voice on Frankenstein, and Nikki Sixx lays down the steady, driving bass). Though don't let the stars distract you from the fact that the primary band are a force, they're no slouches.
In addition to all the players, there's an army of songwriting partners, which includes Bob Pfeifer, the A&R executive who signed Cooper to Epic Records, and Al Pitrelli (on Bed), the talented guitarist who acted as Alice's musical director on the Trash tour [1], and later took that role with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Jack Ponti & Vic Pepe co-wrote 6, including the first, and the last, a goodie titled “Wind Up Toy”, which is old school Alice tackling insanity. Steven earns a mention, and Calico is noteworthy, and creepy, as the voice of the little girl.
Note 1: Alice and the band was seen performing Feed My Frankenstein in the movie Wayne's World - later, Cooper gives the lads a history lesson... "We're not worthy!"
Note 2: At 56:11 (my calculations), this is currently Alice's lengthiest album.
Memory: At one of my workplaces, we had a Christmas gift exchange, and the employee who drew my name made a present of this on cassette. It got plenty of play on my commute to the job, thanks Jill.
Memory: At one of my workplaces, we had a Christmas gift exchange, and the employee who drew my name made a present of this on cassette. It got plenty of play on my commute to the job, thanks Jill.
Purchases: Cassette, CD
🐍🐍🐍🐍
🐍🐍🐍🐍
The Last Temptation
Release Date: July 12, 1994
Highest US Chart: #64
Tracks: Sideshow * Nothing’s Free * Lost in America * Bad Place Alone * You’re My Temptation * Stolen Prayer * Unholy War * Lullaby * It’s Me * Cleansed by Fire
Alice had reached a point in his career where he was releasing nice, but safe material. There were good albums, but the salad days were behind him… or were they?
An interesting thing happened to the king of Grand Guignol; he embraced Christianity, and he took his newfound faith and was inspired to write a concept album that focused on the devil and temptation (in the form of a woman with the unlikely name of “Mercy”).
This was no collection of sweet “Jesus loves me, this I know” material, but rather it was Alice giving Satan the finger. (And how strange was it, the first time I heard this, and the last song has the character of Steven questioning the devilish showman, asking him, “What about Christ, What about love, What about faith in God above?” I’d never heard Alice express these sentiments before, not so earnestly, and it was quite powerful)
The album came with the first issue of a 3-part comic series written by Neil Gaiman (not his best work unfortunately, it came off like a lesser, "Something Wicked This Way Comes").
Musically, Chris Cornell wrote and sang on two numbers, the decent Unholy War and the exceptional Stolen Prayer, a tune that opens with pretty and dramatic verses, that leads to a child's chorus - it's all around a smartly structured piece. Along with Prayer, the best tracks include Lost in America which keeps up the Cooper humor by using his old trick of inserting the mundane aspects of life. I like the teenager's circular logic (“I can’t get a girl cuz I aint got a car, I can’t get a car cuz I aint got a job. I can’t get a job cuz I aint got a car”). And You’re my Temptation; one of my all-time favorite Cooper tunes. With its urgent lyrics, and plaintive melody, it’s one of those special kinds of numbers that takes me away and draws me into the world and characters within the song.
Alice had reached a point in his career where he was releasing nice, but safe material. There were good albums, but the salad days were behind him… or were they?
An interesting thing happened to the king of Grand Guignol; he embraced Christianity, and he took his newfound faith and was inspired to write a concept album that focused on the devil and temptation (in the form of a woman with the unlikely name of “Mercy”).
This was no collection of sweet “Jesus loves me, this I know” material, but rather it was Alice giving Satan the finger. (And how strange was it, the first time I heard this, and the last song has the character of Steven questioning the devilish showman, asking him, “What about Christ, What about love, What about faith in God above?” I’d never heard Alice express these sentiments before, not so earnestly, and it was quite powerful)
The album came with the first issue of a 3-part comic series written by Neil Gaiman (not his best work unfortunately, it came off like a lesser, "Something Wicked This Way Comes").
Musically, Chris Cornell wrote and sang on two numbers, the decent Unholy War and the exceptional Stolen Prayer, a tune that opens with pretty and dramatic verses, that leads to a child's chorus - it's all around a smartly structured piece. Along with Prayer, the best tracks include Lost in America which keeps up the Cooper humor by using his old trick of inserting the mundane aspects of life. I like the teenager's circular logic (“I can’t get a girl cuz I aint got a car, I can’t get a car cuz I aint got a job. I can’t get a job cuz I aint got a car”). And You’re my Temptation; one of my all-time favorite Cooper tunes. With its urgent lyrics, and plaintive melody, it’s one of those special kinds of numbers that takes me away and draws me into the world and characters within the song.
Nostalgically, the chorus of Bad Place Alone sends me back to School's Out with its West Side Story connections, it's that finger snapping, "Hey blood brother" gang-like chant that does it.
Concept albums usually end with a big anthem that tidies everything up. Strangely this album ends with 3 of them and while each is outstanding, they all have a similar flavor and sound. It might have been better to add some variety. Still, that’s a minor complaint and for an album that utilized several different producers and a bunch of co-songwriters, it is very cohesive.
Note: Speaking of writers, who is Bud Saylor? Can't find a thing about him, but he worked on the first 4 tracks, which gets the CD off to an incredible start, and the fantastic finale.
Purchases: Cassette, CD
🐍🐍🐍🐍½
🐍🐍🐍🐍½
Richard Allen Wagner (12/14/1942 – 7/30/2014)
My Top 10 Alice Cooper/Dick Wagner Power Ballads
1. Only Women Bleed (Welcome to my Nightmare)
2. Might as Well Be on Mars (Hey Stoopid, with Child)
3. Jackknife Johnny (From the Inside, with Taupin)
4. I Never Cry (Goes to Hell)
5. How You Gonna See Me Now (From the Inside, with Taupin)
6. Pass the Gun Around (DaDa)
7. Inmates (We're All Crazy) (From the Inside, with Taupin)
8. Wake Me Gently (Goes to Hell, with Ezrin)
9. My God (Lace and Whiskey, with Ezrin)
10. I Never Wrote Those Songs (Lace and Whiskey, with Ezrin) or The Quiet Room (From the Inside, with Taupin), I'm torn between the two.
