He’s been rightly described as a “chameleon” of rock as he has the ability to change his style from one age to another without caring about trends and keeping things fresh and always up-to-date.
In the last album he pays a tribute to his hometown, the historical Detroit, and its amazing music legacy. Therefore he is including some covers in the album (“Rock’n’Roll” – The Velvet Underground, “Sister Anne” – MC5, “East Side Story” – Bob Seger), while even his own material sounds like it’s coming from the good’ol’days of the late ‘60s – early ‘70s. He doesn’t even hesitate to write a Motown song, which was born in Detroit as well (“$1000 High Heel Shoes”), or even include “Our Love Will Change The World”, which was written from a Detroit band of the younger generation, Outrageous Cherry, in the ‘90s, but of course was “Cooper-ized”.
Actually, in order to make his music sound even more authentic he recruits the original Alice Cooper Band (Michael Bruce, Dennis Dunaway, Neal Smith), as well as some legendary rock figures that left their mark in the town’s music and US culture in general, like Wayne Kramer (MC5), Mark Farner (Grand Funk Railroad) and Johnny “Bee” (Detroit Wheels) – the EP “Breadcrumbs”, which preceded the album showed the way for that. Bob Ezrin, who actually met the band in a barn in Detroit once upon a time, is the architect of the whole “Detroit Stories” construction.
Probably, this album will not be mentioned as one of his best, or even the best of this year, but that doesn’t really matter. Firstly, because Alice Cooper can do whatever he wants without asking anyone’s permission and without loosing his cool ever. Secondly, because he will not sacrifice his artistic expression for anything and after 50 years in music he keeps experimenting, tries new ideas without the fear of failure, or criticism. He is original in a time and age when this is almost extinct. Thirdly, because he is an unstoppable force of creativity and a source of inspiration, even at this age, and he ain’t stopping. Finally, because he is Alice Cooper, he did everything first, he was copied but never bettered. Oh, and he is in great shape too, don’t forget this – I can’t believe how great a song is “Hanging On By A Thread (Don’t Give Up)”…
