Sometimes it’s a great feeling to repeat yourself. This is not the first time that I am given the task to present a box set by the Prince of Darkness and as you had gathered so far I have nothing but the best things to say about the man himself.
This time around, even with a slight delay, here comes the deluxe edition of the Alice Cooper live show at Wacken that took place on the 3rd of August, 2013. This is a really beautiful and complete edition that includes all things related to the aforementioned concert. Triple white vinyl (with red marks on it (could it be blood…I wonder!), double CD, a hardcover 80-page book, DVD and Blu-Ray…how about that?
I will focus on the audiovisual aspect of this box set…in other words, on the DVD. At the age of 65, Alice Cooper puts on yet an awesome show –quite honestly, one of the best we’ve ever seen- having on his side a cast of some of the most brilliant musicians in the scene. Alice shares the stage with Ryan Roxie, Orianthi, Henriksen, Garric and Glen Sobel…not bad at all! Of main interest is also the song selection, the set list of that day as we are treated –for the very first time on an official release- with the anthemic “He’s Back” (The Man Behind The Mask) and “Hey Stoopid” (quite a rarity). Also, Alice throws a few cover songs in there like “Break On Through” (The Doors), “Revolution” (The Beatles), “Foxy Lady” (Jimmy Hendrix), “My Generation” (The Who) while at the encore the melody of “Another Brick In The Wall” wonderfully blends with “School’s Out”.
Naturally, the basic elements of the famous Alice Cooper Show are not absent and needless to say that it is a sheer bliss of excitement to see once again the guillotine, the straight jacket, the Frankenstein and…lots of blood!
In the extra chapters of the DVD, we can see a good interview by Alice Cooper where he speaks about his recent activities and the logic behind the inclusion of all these cover songs on the set list.
“Raise The Dead – Live From Wacken” is an extraordinary although expensive package that is aimed towards the die hard Alice Cooper fans but also to all those who are into those kind of box sets. As for the rest, I’d recommend the standard CD/DVD edition…trust me, you won’t be disappointed…not even a bit! Quite the contrary, actually…
