 ALICE
COOPER
Dirty Diamonds
New West Records 2005
www.alicecooper.com
What’s the 4-1-1?
Rock legend Alice Cooper is back. Instead of putting the final touches
on his Brutal Planet/Dragontown trilogy, Alice once again explores
his roots by going back to the ‘stripped down’ basics.
Genre
Hard rock / metal / classic rock
The Good
On “Woman of Mass Distraction”, Alice shakes things up (literally)
with a little tambourine. Don’t worry; it soon gives way to some jarring
power chords and favorable licks. The king of irony pulls off another little
ditty called “Perfect”. In true Cooper form the tale begins from
one point of view, but then changes to harsh reality. The track is set to fuzzy
riffs and driving drum beats. The ‘whoo, hoo, hoo’ chorus section
of “You Make Me Wanna” is what will draw you in to its acoustic flavor.
“Dirty
Diamonds” is similar to The Alice Cooper Band’s “The Man with
the Golden Gun”. With it’s extra woodwinds and brass section. It
has that whole spy movie theme feel to it. The riff has a real crunch to it as
well. “Sunset Babies” captures that seventies blues-rock sound perfectly,
and judging by the lyrics, would play out well during Alice’s wacky live
show. “Run Down the Devil” uses doubled up vocals and unique guitar
effects to help convey its deep, dark themes. Cooper explores his soulful side
on “Zombie Dance”. The twangy guitars and harmonica help set the
tone as emotional female backing vocals drive it home.
The Bad
The country blues track “Jesse Jane” is funny the first time, but
it wears thin. “Steal that Car” is one of those songs that have a
really cool riff, but could have been used on a better song. Alice tries
to
revisit “Hands
of Death” with the industrial/rap influenced bonus track “Stand”.
It just doesn’t work, or fit in with the rest of the album.
The Verdict
I’ve been a fan of Alice Copper’s for years. I really enjoyed Alice
last ‘back to basics’ album The Eyes of Alice Cooper, but there’s
just something about the ‘stripped down’ production on Dirty
Diamondsthat really didn’t do it for me. I think that it’s a little too raw
and too ‘stripped down’, more so than the latter.
The album feels
a little rushed to me too. That’s not to say that there aren’t any
good songs on Dirty Diamonds, because they’re all classic Alice
Cooper style. Throughout his career Alice has stumbled with a few albums here
and
there, so
this album only convinces me there are great things to come.
Did You Know?
Alice’s daughter Calico is the female lead in his live show.
Rating:  out
of 5
Related Reviews:
Alice Cooper - The Eyes of Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper - Trash
--George Dionne
|
