Give him points for persistence: Alice Cooper just won't quit. He's seen it all from the bottom to the top — and done the trip more than once — but still continues on his merry-morbid way, punching out albums like a spry young'un. The first thing one has to say about The Eyes of Alice Cooper is thank Jehovah and all his witnesses that the Mascara'd One has grown out of his metal/industrial phase. That look just never took.
Discs like Brutal Planet (2000) and the somewhat better Dragontown (2001) offered little to his legacy or his legion of fans — aside from nascent headbangers discovering the Coop for the first time. Eyes harks back to Alice's overly maligned early-'80s discs Special Forces and Flush the Fashion — albums that suffered by comparison with his landmark '70s releases but remain far more musically appealing than the aforementioned new-millennium fare. It takes a couple of listens to "get it," but there is some very good material here: largely derivative, yes, but energetic and entertaining nonetheless. And the old sneer-and-wink is back and comes through in lyrics that, unlike the sonics, are distinctive.
The punkish "Man of the Year" is a tragicomedy rip on button-down-collar types who climb life's ladder only to end up putting a gun in their mouths. "Novocaine" (the very word brings back memories of Billion Dollar Babies and "Unfinished Sweet") has, believe it, a Bruce Springsteen guitar sound. The best rocker of the pack is "Detroit City," a quasi-anthemic, mid-tempo grunter fuelled by a slapping, tom-tom beat and a fist-pumping chorus. (MC5's Wayne Kramer adds an extra axe on this one.) The classically Cooper-esque ballad "Be With You a While" is another scene-stealer ("I wish I could tell you/Something you didn't know/I wish I could give you/Something you didn't own") and shows that the ol' snake-twirler still has a sensitive side. The most autobiographical moment comes with the second track, "Between High School and Old School." To wit: "I'm stuck somewhere between high school and old school." Ah, but was it not always thus?
For more than three decades Alice has been everyone's favorite grown-up in teens' clothing. And that's why he's loved. Alice being Alice. It's tried and true and it works again here. Not exceptionally, but more than acceptably. In the sweeping context of his legendary career, one could say that The Eyes of Alice Cooper is far from his best album and just as far from his worst.
Friday, November 16, 2007
Friday, October 26, 2007
The Go Gos - God Bless the Go Gos
The release of God Bless the Go-Go's evokes the spirit of those movies where beloved fictional characters from another time period (The Brady Bunch) or far-off galaxy (Star Trek) find their way to modern-day America. These characters never quite fit in with their new surroundings, but that is the fun of it. The best films of this genre tend to put people in their place. They let viewers know that they're not, and will not for long be, the ruler of this world, for these roads have been walked down time and again. Nowhere is this a more disregarded lesson than in the pop and rock music industry, where yesterday's stars are tomorrow's clearance bin.
In the 21st century, it is a most unlikely surprise that the Go-Go's should pop up again, having traded in their water skis for saint wardrobes. They may be the premier all-girl band of the '80s, but even with their occasional summer tours, only loyalty extremists can keep excitement going over a group that has only released three albums in the distant past. So here, dear fans, is the long-hoped-for number four. Don't be fooled by technological blurting like "hyperspace," "vision of nowness," or the haphazard lyrical palette on "Sonic Superslide," which states "We are solar sisters here to make you shine." Sounds edgy and new, but the group took the familiar route with tracks that sound every bit as Go-Go's as their previous records. Every bit as Go-Go's, that is, as their non-hits and less remarkable material. While the Go-Go's sound is intact, there is not a "We Got the Beat" or a "Head Over Heels" to be found.
It is feasible that in this age of pop rebirth, the Go-Go's decided it was now or never. The result makes little sense, since God Bless is in good company with alternative music from the 1990s. The first single, "Unforgiven," was even co-penned and features vocals and guitar by Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day. The album lacks modernity aside from its production and stylish vocals by Belinda Carlisle (not as perfected as on her 1996 album A Woman and a Man, but should astonish unfortunate MTV worshipers who have not heard anything from her since the late '80s.) The songs flow together a little too perfectly due to heavy, monotonous guitar use — listen to it once, and then without looking at the track listing, try to make them out by their musical intros. Good luck.
There are very nice intersections amid the musical gruffness, like the ballads "Apology" and "Here You Are." There are spots where the guitar serves them well, as on "Unforgiven" as well as "Stuck In My Car," a wonderful fast-paced song about a slow-motion traffic jam. The album finishes with "Daisy Chain," which will go down in Go-Go's history if only because it is the history of the Go-Go's. It is memorable, sporting lyrics like "At number one not doing so fine, still having some fun spilling the wine," graced with a sticky sweet melody. Such a beautiful song it is — transporting listeners back to the reason they love the Go-Go's in the first place — that it is easy to give the whole album the benefit of the doubt. Yes, there has been effort put into the making of God Bless the Go-Go's. Yes, it is great to see a group of five 40-year-old women proving that aging is not the same as dying. Yes, it is exciting to hear something new after 17 years. The fun should be that the Go-Go's fit awkwardly into their new surroundings, that they show up from out of nowhere with their silly Go-Go's music to shake up all the "zero size" girly singers who they poke fun at on this album. Hopefully, fans won't have to wait another 17 years for that fun.
In the 21st century, it is a most unlikely surprise that the Go-Go's should pop up again, having traded in their water skis for saint wardrobes. They may be the premier all-girl band of the '80s, but even with their occasional summer tours, only loyalty extremists can keep excitement going over a group that has only released three albums in the distant past. So here, dear fans, is the long-hoped-for number four. Don't be fooled by technological blurting like "hyperspace," "vision of nowness," or the haphazard lyrical palette on "Sonic Superslide," which states "We are solar sisters here to make you shine." Sounds edgy and new, but the group took the familiar route with tracks that sound every bit as Go-Go's as their previous records. Every bit as Go-Go's, that is, as their non-hits and less remarkable material. While the Go-Go's sound is intact, there is not a "We Got the Beat" or a "Head Over Heels" to be found.
It is feasible that in this age of pop rebirth, the Go-Go's decided it was now or never. The result makes little sense, since God Bless is in good company with alternative music from the 1990s. The first single, "Unforgiven," was even co-penned and features vocals and guitar by Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day. The album lacks modernity aside from its production and stylish vocals by Belinda Carlisle (not as perfected as on her 1996 album A Woman and a Man, but should astonish unfortunate MTV worshipers who have not heard anything from her since the late '80s.) The songs flow together a little too perfectly due to heavy, monotonous guitar use — listen to it once, and then without looking at the track listing, try to make them out by their musical intros. Good luck.
There are very nice intersections amid the musical gruffness, like the ballads "Apology" and "Here You Are." There are spots where the guitar serves them well, as on "Unforgiven" as well as "Stuck In My Car," a wonderful fast-paced song about a slow-motion traffic jam. The album finishes with "Daisy Chain," which will go down in Go-Go's history if only because it is the history of the Go-Go's. It is memorable, sporting lyrics like "At number one not doing so fine, still having some fun spilling the wine," graced with a sticky sweet melody. Such a beautiful song it is — transporting listeners back to the reason they love the Go-Go's in the first place — that it is easy to give the whole album the benefit of the doubt. Yes, there has been effort put into the making of God Bless the Go-Go's. Yes, it is great to see a group of five 40-year-old women proving that aging is not the same as dying. Yes, it is exciting to hear something new after 17 years. The fun should be that the Go-Go's fit awkwardly into their new surroundings, that they show up from out of nowhere with their silly Go-Go's music to shake up all the "zero size" girly singers who they poke fun at on this album. Hopefully, fans won't have to wait another 17 years for that fun.
Thursday, March 01, 2007
Willie Nelson- Outlaws and Angels
Outlaws and Angels is the audio counterpart to the Willie Nelson Special that aired on cable television in the summer of 2004. Here, Nelson is surrounded by friends who also happen to be fans. Among them are Keith Richards, Lucinda Williams, Merle Haggard, Carole King, Al Green, the Holmes Brothers, Toby Keith, Kid Rock, Shelby Lynne, Jerry Lee Lewis, Los Lonely Boys, Toots Hibbert, Joe Walsh, Ben Harper, Rickie Lee Jones, and Lee Ann Womack. Interestingly, Bob Dylan, who was part of the broadcast, is absent here, though he has top billing on the advert for the DVD that comes in the package. That said, this set is for the hardcore only: the first irritating thing is that the announcer for the evening introduces each guest — sometimes the middle of a song! While this could have been easily edited, the fact that it was left in for the audio CD is inexcusable. Secondly, the material, while compelling, is rarely executed in such a way. The ease that Haggard and Nelson display with one another is rarely achieved elsewhere. Williams' duet with Nelson on "Overtime" is truly beautiful, and the pair share an affinity for delivering ballads without overstatement. Likewise, Keith Richards' appearance with Nelson on "We Had It All carries with it real authority, and Nelson's own delivery on the tune is stellar and deeply and oddly, Richards' own vocal, despite his limited range, complements Willie's well in a roughshod way. But these are the clear highlights. The rest, with Haggard, Lewis, Kid Rock, and Richards, is just plain embarrassing. This is a mixed bag to be sure, but it's not without some charm. If only the presentation were better.
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