Posted by Most 75 year olds are living the life of leisure, gardening, nipping down the pub and falling asleep in front of the tele, but not ol’ Vincent. Road is Alice Cooper’s 29th album overall, and it follows on from the back to his roots rock of Detroit Stories – but more raucous and with a concept thrown into the mix.
“With a dagger and a cane and a silk top hat” Mr Cooper purrs on ‘I’m Alice’ as he introduces himself and the concept. The concept in question is life on the road for a rock n roll band, and things kick into life with the rollicking, glam rock stomp of ‘Welcome to the Show’. ‘All Over The World’ is an upbeat rocker with a splash of sax that sounds like it belongs on Detroit Stories. The metallic thwomp of ‘White Line Frankenstein’ tells the tale of a carousing lorry driver who works his way through towns, women and Colombian marching powder. It’s one of the many highlights, and features the guitar work of Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello.
From the bluesy swagger and deep groove of ‘Rules of the Road’, a tongue in cheek guide to the rules of touring, to the hard rock stomp of ‘Dead Don’t Dance’ which includes the nimble fretwork of the muscle bound axeman Kane Roberts – the album sounds great. Recording it live really plays to the band’s strengths and brings out their tour honed chemistry, they sound like they are having a blast. Like all Alice albums, this one has a ballad – the sweetly struck ‘Baby Don’t Go’ hits all the right notes and underlines The Coop’s ability as a balladeer. As well as a few covers – a reworking of his 1977 album cut ‘Road Rats’ (‘Road Rats Forever’) and a nifty cover of The Who’s ‘Magic Bus’ replete with Glen Sobel’s octopus-like drum solo.
Road is another fine addition to the shock rockers oeuvre, and is the sound of a band in full flow serving up lashings of riffs, hooks and humour.
8/10
Lofty Music and Film 