keepin' halloween alive

[Si]

And I was ABOUT to say I didn`t really see the point of the Kareoke version.... but now I'll go back into my corner...

[Nev]

This is awesome. Its my sons birthday today as well who is named after Alice (Cooper). So its somewhat fitting.
Cant wait for another way to listen to the song outside of itunes.

[daytripper]

Good to see you Nev !
I love it. It sounds so "Alice".

[Dragonlady]

Si, you will never see me at karaoke.
Ask me to dance no problem, but sing *shudder*

But I found it interesting to have an instrumental version as well for once, for such a small price it is well worth the purchase.

[TeresofBlood]

I agree Dragonlady. Since I didn't like the chorus the first time I heard it, I listened to the instrumental a couple times to really get myself into the music, plus creating my own karaoke version could be kind of fun. I can't sing, but that will make it all the better! I hope other people will do it too.

My review of the track for those who haven't heard it (or for those who have):

http://danlovetere.tumblr.com/

It’s not every day that Alice Cooper releases a non-album single. It’s not everyday that Alice Cooper releases a song about Halloween. When news of this single popped up on Alice’s myspace, you can’t imagine my excitement. I read the press release at around lunch time yesterday and by midnight, I had purchased Alice’s new single, “Keepin’ Halloween Alive”. Proof that you just never know what life will throw at you.

Everything about this track screams Alice. The guitar riff is awesome - it rolls, bounces, and burns. It reminds be a bit of Hendrix’s rendition of Rock Me, Baby. It sounds crisp and sharp. In fact, the guitar work is outstanding throughout the song, especially on the mini-solo after the first chorus. The drums, however are almost non-existent, which is likely due to over-compression. They are audible enough to keep the song moving, but not enough to be enjoyable on their own. The bass is there, but feels stretched. It doesn’t distinguish itself from the other instruments very well, but once again this could be due to compression. The verses are exactly what you’d expect from Alice:

Trick or Trick or Treat,
Gimme somethin’ to eat.
She put razors in my apples
And they tasted so sweet.

The humor, the wit, the use of conventions are all there. The intro of the song, features Alice saying “I’ll keep my jack o’lantern light on for everyone tonight” in a tone close to what an Elvis Impersonator singing “Monster Mash” would sound like. It is campy and funny in all the right ways. The lyrics are trite, yet the song is so short it works, at least enough to appear on one of those “Listen to your favorite rock stars sing holiday songs” CDs. The chorus is kind of lame, but I’ll be damned if it hasn’t been stuck in my head all day.

In terms of sound, it is a vast improvement and return to form after the overproduced “Along Came a Spider” album. Sonically, it falls somewhere between Catch Me If You Can and Woman of Mass Distraction. The perfect mix of punk, hard rock, humor, and an overall feeling of nostalgia for Alice’s and my favorite holiday.

Also available is the karaoke version. If you buy both as a package, you get a bonus digital booklet in PDF form, which is pretty neat.

Do Alice and yourself a favor… go to the iTunes store and buy this now.

[Parish]

I love how Si has this Freudianly posted on the front page as..

'Keepin' Halloween Alice'

I actually like that better!

[Dragonlady]

I actually nearly made the same typo earlier today

Pfew that song is so deliciously danceable! I am bopping around the room listening to it!

Just wondering, why 3-6-5? I'm missing something here.

[SickThings]

Just wondering, why 3-6-5? I'm missing something here.

365 days a year....

[TonyfromNH]

WOW! Very Catchy! We like this sooo much we may even buy it again!

[trickijen]

I like it well enough. Sounded really familiar when I heard it, though, and in my opinion, it reminds me a lot of "I'm So Angry" in a lot of respects, rhythm and such. I may be way off but that's how it sounded to me anyways. Anyone else get anything like that?

I do like a special Halloween song done by Alice -- high time!!

[Lisacooper91]

have to admit... as I don't have iTunes I got this song through other ways..
but hell yeah! it rocks love it!

[Swinger]

Pretty good.
Sound a bit like The Hives in my opinion, which isn't a bad thing since I like them.

[Dragonlady]

Ah thanks Hunter!

BTW just read your blog entry on AC.com, cool!

[SickThings]

Thanks!

Hunter

[Cozzie]

For some reason the first time I listened to it I thought the quirkiness was reminiscent of For Britain Only. Maybe I'm just comparing it that way because FBO was also a non-album release...

Not too bad, I didn't like it much at first but it has grown on me!

[NotSoPerfect]

Yay for crossover Cheap Trick/Alice Cooper fans. I went over to the forum there just now, and in the "plug your other bands" section, the top thread was promoting this single!

[RemarkablyInsincere]

Got home today after being out-of-two for a few days to this surprise.... immediately downloaded it and it's a cool little novelty song. I like the artwork too.

[sammysausage76]

Love the artwork and I really enjoy the song! Well worth the $1.99.

[TeresofBlood]

My mother told me they played it on ZLX today, which is a Boston-based classic rock station, and one of the affiliates for NWAC.

She said the DJs talked a bit about the song too. I wish I got to hear it.

[NotSoPerfect]

I wonder if this might make it into the set list around Halloween-time....perhaps in the encore. That'd be cool.