I’ve often talked about legends and icons here; the artists who started it all, just as likely to pick up a pension as they are an instrument these days…let’s be honest (and without meaning to sound disrespectful) you’re as likely to find early Rolling Stones records on an episode of Time Team as you are in HMV…but, these bands did pave the way for music as we know it after all. I’ve mentioned several bands that defined eras in these pages, the usual suspects like Sabbath and Maiden etc…but rarely have I touched upon specific individuals. Well, all that is about to change…Vincent Furnier was born in Detroit, Michigan way back in 1948 and would grow up to become one of the most iconic rock ‘n’ roll stars of all time under the moniker ALICE COOPER…with a career in both music and movies spanning nearly 50 years, he’s become a pop-culture icon far surpassing his status as “The Godfather Of Shock Rock”, but it’s that very gimmick that kick started it all, giving the world of rock ‘n’ roll one of its most charismatic and theatrical performers of all time, influencing the likes of ROB ZOMBIE and WEDNESDAY 13 and recently, he released his 27th (Twenty seventh!) studio album…”Paranormal”…has the shock rocker still got it in him or like and episode of Most Haunted, will all we get be a series of questionable noises…let’s find out…
We get underway with the title track and it simply oozes nostalgia through its guitar tone alone, it’s got a proper classic feel through its riffs and melody, the slow build…there’s an air of drama to the whole thing despite its general simplicity, and in keeping with the theme its quite the haunting love song, an unobtainable love after death, a mere memory and in ways it’s quite sad, however the song comes to life itself with a rather slick old-school solo…it’s very emotive and provides good contrast, and furthermore a solid opening track…speaking of solid tracks, Cooper proves he still has enough to offer at this stage in his career with several enjoyable offerings dotted throughout the album; “Paranoiac Personality” has a slow, plodding build just like the opener, the bass is very prominent here, it’s quite groovy this one but lyrically insecure, talking about a target on his back and there’s a brief inclusion of the “Psycho” shower score which adds character, it’s well done.
“Fallen In Love” is rich in blues tones paying homage to rocks southern roots with another quality solo and it’s no wonder, as ZZ TOP guitarist Billy Gibbons is at hand to lend his services and it shows…while “Holy Water” includes some wonderfully cheery brass elements, it’s got another catchy chorus and the jazz-infused up-tempo approach works well, mixing things up nicely, but the highlight has to be “Fireball”; it’s bass heavy, scruffy, riff-driven raw energetic guitar is full of attitude and sounds like it was plucked straight out of the 70’s in a good way, this is a track with heritage and it’s a pleasure to listen to. The album isn’t without its minor faults however…”Dead Flies” struggles to inspire over its two minute play time plus vocally its far poorer, and “The Sound Of A” could pass for a discarded BLUE OYSTER CULT track…however, any faults here are minor and overall we have a pretty solid album from the veteran rocker. He might be way past shocking in this day and age, I don’t even think shock rock exists anymore quite frankly, everyone is so desensitized, but here he proves he can still deliver after all these years. Who the fuck is Alice?! Alice Cooper…that’s who… [7]
We get underway with the title track and it simply oozes nostalgia through its guitar tone alone, it’s got a proper classic feel through its riffs and melody, the slow build…there’s an air of drama to the whole thing despite its general simplicity, and in keeping with the theme its quite the haunting love song, an unobtainable love after death, a mere memory and in ways it’s quite sad, however the song comes to life itself with a rather slick old-school solo…it’s very emotive and provides good contrast, and furthermore a solid opening track…speaking of solid tracks, Cooper proves he still has enough to offer at this stage in his career with several enjoyable offerings dotted throughout the album; “Paranoiac Personality” has a slow, plodding build just like the opener, the bass is very prominent here, it’s quite groovy this one but lyrically insecure, talking about a target on his back and there’s a brief inclusion of the “Psycho” shower score which adds character, it’s well done.
“Fallen In Love” is rich in blues tones paying homage to rocks southern roots with another quality solo and it’s no wonder, as ZZ TOP guitarist Billy Gibbons is at hand to lend his services and it shows…while “Holy Water” includes some wonderfully cheery brass elements, it’s got another catchy chorus and the jazz-infused up-tempo approach works well, mixing things up nicely, but the highlight has to be “Fireball”; it’s bass heavy, scruffy, riff-driven raw energetic guitar is full of attitude and sounds like it was plucked straight out of the 70’s in a good way, this is a track with heritage and it’s a pleasure to listen to. The album isn’t without its minor faults however…”Dead Flies” struggles to inspire over its two minute play time plus vocally its far poorer, and “The Sound Of A” could pass for a discarded BLUE OYSTER CULT track…however, any faults here are minor and overall we have a pretty solid album from the veteran rocker. He might be way past shocking in this day and age, I don’t even think shock rock exists anymore quite frankly, everyone is so desensitized, but here he proves he can still deliver after all these years. Who the fuck is Alice?! Alice Cooper…that’s who… [7]
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