What is there to say? For over 6 decades, one of the pinnacles of Shock Rock & Heavy Metal has carved a niche for himself, and he’s never left it. From the more humble times when a chicken was killed in the crowd, to hitting rock bottom when drugs & alcohol gripped him completely, to regaining control and embracing faith, & all the way to now, our dear Alice has lit the stage with the ultimate example of showmanship & scares. It didn’t matter what record you were listening to (Save for a rare few), as the myth & mystique from Mr. Cooper surrounded you, and wouldn’t let go until it wanted to.
In recent memory, Alice has put out 2 albums since the start of this decade: Detroit Stories back in 2021, and the subject of today’s review, Road. Released on the 25th of August in 2023, this album is also something of a concept/personal record. Whereas the previously mentioned release was all about the musical history of the city he came from, Road was about.....the Road! In the man’s own words:
“The concept’ll be, where do we know’ em? The road. That’s when we see each other all the time,” Alice explained. “I want you guys to write anything about the road. I don’t care if it’s funny, tragic, silly, horrific — it doesn’t matter. And then we’re gonna take it and we’ll mold those songs into an Alice Cooper album. So it’ll be 13 songs, different stories that tell one big story.”
And it wasn’t just the stories & themes that gave Road it’s character, but the musicians as well. Unlike prior release, Alice got his touring band in on this, which included guitar wiz Nina Strauss (She was also on Detroit Stories if I recall correctly). However, even with a proven group of musicians, Mr. Cooper had a strict requirement when it came to recording the album. More specifically, he wanted everybody in the studio together when it came time to record. In Mr. Cooper’s own words:
“I want everybody to play at the same time. No beds. I don’t want to put a bed track here. I said, ‘You guys are good enough to just play it live,'” he recalled. “What this does, though, is it doesn’t give the song a chance to get old.”
The end result of all this work is Road. A highly personal album about life on the road, and all of the struggles & optimism along that path. Alice himself has lived this for an incredibly long time, and plenty of the musicians in his touring band as well. On top of that, Road is the kind of album you put in your car’s stereo system (If it still has that kind of thing), put the windows down as the sun is setting, and just letting the music play as you drive. The music is really good stuff, and in comparison to my review from last week (As well as my final no. 1 review in November), it’s perhaps the most optimistic out of the three.
So as to what I think is the best track off of Road, it’s gotta go to the first single revealed for the album, I’m Alice. While some of the lyrics might come across as goofy to some, it’s also a fun look into the mind of Alice as a character: the showmanship, the personality, the fact that he knows what you want, and that you & him won’t forget the other. Alice’s singing is still on point, and everybody in the band is doing a damn good job as well. Nina Strauss shows that girls can kick just as much ass on the guitar as guys can, and I hope she stays in the band until things end. As a way to open Road & to show off what it’s about, I couldn’t think of any other song than this one.
I’m Alice
So, if there aren’t any bad songs on this album, does that mean it has any issues? Well, it does have one problem, but it actually took place after the record came out. I hinted at it last year when I did my top 5 albums list (Read Here), so I’ll summarize it here: in an interview, Alice was asked about the issue of transgender people (Kids & Youth more specifically). He said that he understands it in some cases, but basically said that more often than not it feels like a “Fad”, and then said something about “Wokeness” (Which immediately dispelled whatever fake conservative point he was trying to make) or whatever. This caused a minor stink among the metal community, though the only real damage that was done was a deal with a makeup company was ultimately cancelled causes of what he said, and the stink in question didn’t really last all that long. Now on the one hand some of the stuff he said was really stupid, and really disappointed me since Alice was one of the good ones, but on the other hand he didn’t go into a wild rant in his answer.....so I guess that’s okay?
Road gets a 10 out of 10. One political fo-pa post release aside, it’s a testament that the classic king of shock still manages to put out consistent, well-produced, meaty albums filled to the brim with fantastic songs. If he can get one more album out before he retires or passes away (Hopefully it’s the former), then he’ll have cemented himself as an eternal icon of Metal & Rock.
And that was my review for Alice Cooper’s 2023 release, Road. An absolutely wonderful release, it’s further proof that the old-schoolers of Heavy Metal & Rock still know how to put on albums that will stand the test of time until the world ends. So, now I have my honorable mention & no. 1 album reviews locked in for November, but we have quite a ways before then. See you all next week!
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If you’d like to listen to this album, then click on the link below:
Road
Also, if you'd like to read the interview where I got the quotes I used above, check out the link below:
Alice Cooper Didn’t Want Concept Album ‘Road’ to Sound ‘Perfect’ like Supertramp (SiriusXM)
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