Some people, most of them are probably artists, when they reach a certain advanced age, decide to stop working and relax by enjoying life. There are, of course, some musicians who dilute their activities a lot, mainly as far as their discography and live performances are concerned. Very few, however, are those who continue as if time is not important at all.
Alice Cooper has truly driven the universe crazy! A few years ago, we believed most of us; the common mortals, that the Hollywood Vampires were just a project in order to make some change or desire to work with some musicians who Alice chose (I really can’t tell) but at the ripe age of 75, Cooperman working double time.
“Road” is his 29th studio album and it’s clear that it’s something of a continuation of “Detroit Stories” at least from a musical standpoint. It’s the rock and roll of the road. Most of the thirteen tracks that make up the album are written in up tempo rhythms with the guitars by Nita Strauss, Ryan Roxxie and Tommy Henriksen playing both in the riffs but mainly in the solos that are scattered throughout the album. Compositionally, “Road” has plenty of moments of rock and roll apotheosis. Starting with “I am Alice”, a track that may very well open up the next Alice Cooper shows, and continuing with “Welcome To The Show” (or is this one, the new show opener?), it’s not hard to figure out what’s next. With “Go Away”, “White Line Frankenstein”, “Rules Of The Road”, “The Big Goodbye” (perhaps the best of the album) and more, Alice Cooper takes everyone down his own road, a road of eclectic passers-by like Steven, Frankenstein, poisonous spiders, Siamese babies, crackpots from the madhouse, a road where the danger is not the oil on the tarmac but the blood.
Also noteworthy is the participation in the composition of “Road Rats Forever” of an old acquaintance, Dick Wagner.
The guest appearances are as always many and interesting. Here we have Roger Glover, Kane Roberts, Bob Ezrin who apart from the production has taken over almost all the backing vocals, Tom Morello and others.
“Road” closes with a cover of The Who’s “Magic Bus” and all it promises is a continuation of the frenetic course of a tremendous artist, tireless to an “irritating” degree and always healthy on all levels and in every sense of the word. Personally, I can’t stop enjoying him!
