Detroit Stories-Alice Cooper Album Review:

 

Alice Cooper has been consistently making music since he hit the music scene in 1960’s, and since 2003 he has come out with album pretty much every year or two, as this is his 21^st album but 28^th overall. This album “Detroit stories” which went #1 on the billboard top album charts his first ever is a tribute to Detroit, Michigan a place he was born but had moved away to Arizona at a young age.  He does do a few covers of bands that actually come from the state like Bob Seger’s “East Side Story”, MC5’s “Sister Anne” that is odd but has harmonica/he plays harp, Outrageous Cherry’s “Our Love will change the world” which he actually does the vocals well, and the first track on the album “Rock & Roll” from Velvet Underground which rocks out to the nth degree.

Songs like “Go man Go” (which sounds like “Thin Lizzy” like you are in a mosh pit amped up to 100), “Hailmary”, “Detroit city 2021” (a blues bar sound) and “Shut up and rock” sound like songs he would be doing in his youth at the local clubs/bars where they amp up the rocking out part more than the words.

Then he has some odd songs which doesn’t mean they are all bad since a few like “Social Debris” rocks out and “I hate you” which should be viewed as comedic more than anything. The song “Independence Dave” is the worst song as it sounds like he is trying to rap fast or talk really fast. “$1000 High heel shoes” has a funk-jazzy feeling to it while it rocks out and “Drunk in love” is him just singing the blues to you with a harmonica.

The songs will real emotion and passion are “Wonderful world” and “Hanging on by a thread". “Wonderful world” sounds like one of his classic hits like “Under my Wheel” or “Election”, which is good you can sound like in your heyday. While “Hanging on by a thread”  which does rock out was released last year during Covid19 times with a different title. “Don’t give up” with some altered lyrics and now it’s a plea to hold on to your life even if things are bad. It ends with him stating his name and giving you the suicide hotline if you need to call it.

Alice Cooper is one of the more famous rockers ever but coming out with music essentially ever year seems like he is lazily putting out formulaic albums, which only his diehards will love it as this is kind of all over the place. It is a tribute to Detroit with some classic tracks but then many genres like blues, Jazz, hard rock and comedy mixed throughout. This isn’t his worst album or even his best album just another addition to his long collection of stories. 

In Another World-Cheap Trick Album Review:

 

    Cheap Trick is back with another rocking album “In Another World” their 20^th album and their first new album of material since 2017. They still show they are one of the world’s greatest Rock bands ever as lead singer Robin Zander still has his amazing tenor voice that made them famous, and Rick Nielsen is still out there with amazing guitar riffs that are synonymous with Cheap Trick.

The album starts off with a great rock-anthem “The Summer Looks Good on you” with catchy lyrics and amazing guitar work with a Beatles quality but with a harder edge. In “Quit Waking Me Up” it has a nice blend of amazing guitar riffs with Zander singing about a woman he loves that is bothering him and has a little bit of horns mixed in too. While “Boys & Girls & Rock N Roll” has an old school sound to it like they are playing the local scene in the Midwest especially with Daxx Nielsen on drums matching his father Rick on the old school style of rock. Songs “The Party” & “Light up the Fire” are the shorter tracks on the album but still rock out like the others do.

            The song “Final Days” has a different vibe to their rocking out as it has a very groovy feel to it and has harmonica from Grammy Award-nominated singer and Wet Willie frontman Jimmy Hall playing of Nielsen’s great rifts as they go back and forth. It has a very retrospective view to it has they are looking at their past and what is next to come. Also “Here’s Looking at You” has that groovy feel a little different from the other tracks as it has some keyboard in it.

            “In another World” the title track has this mellower feel to it compared to the others with amazing vocals by Zander about the state of the world we live in that no matter what he will be there for you. They then decided to do another version of this a reprise which is a harder version that sounds like a more sped up version of it. “Passing through” is also another track with a mellower feel to it with acoustic guitar being noticeable and is a love song of sorts. While “So it Goes” is also a quieter acoustic guitar song about a relationship ending with amazing vocals by Zander. “I’ll see you again” is also a quieter acoustic song about their hope to see this person again, something we all can relate to after this past year.

            They end this album with a cover of John Lennon’s “Gimme Some Truth” which has been done by others but this is one really rocks out with help from Stephen Jones of Sex Pistols on guitar. For a rock band out of Rockford, Illinois that started in the 1970’s you can’t say they are getting older/slowing down but you can say they are getting better, as music is what holds the band together.  They snagged their first #1 album with this one and they deserve it as this is one of the their best albums ever, so blast this album just like it’s one of their old ones as we are all now living in another world.