My Review of W2MN

[Billie1966]

Just when Steven thought that it was over.. Ah.. But nothing is ever finished except death. Alice really pulls out all the stops on this anticipated new release that shows Alice in top form. So here we go track by bloody track:

1. I Am Made Of You. Fitting that the album would start with this song. As for the autotune in this.. Works great on this song, Which I believe is Alice talking to God and could be not far from his own life. I love it. His best vocal ever.

2. Caffeine- I keep going back to "Damned if You Do,Damned if You Don't" with this song. Right from the opening line it has that melody if only for a moment. I love the, if you'll pardon the pun "Speed" this song takes on and then towrds the end just fizzles. Brilliant!

3. The Nightmare Returns- This has to be the front-Runner to intro the new coming tour. Here we find Alice drifting off to lala land with some of the best piano work since the first nightmare. There's no hope. the Nightmare's begun.

4. A Runaway Train- Alice in a train wreck. Vince Gill can actually rock. Some of the cleverist lyrics Alice has ever sung. I really dig the rolling drums in this tune that seems to be carrying this train until it finally runs out of track.

5. Last Man On Earth- Absolutely love Alice's voice on this
song, which is a bow to "King Herod's song". Sounds like
nothing I have ever heard from Alice. It's nice to get
the unexpected sometime's.

6. The Congregation- We now find Steven fully engulfed into
this new nightmare. Pretty clever for Alice to have Rob
Zombie as the tour guide. There's no turning back now.

7. I'll Bite Your Face Off- We have all heard this one.
and to me this is classic Alice. Perfect choice for the first single. Harmonies are spot on, and the piano piece is beautiul to this listeners ear. Heavily Stones influenced.

8. Disco Bloodbath Boogie Fever- Where is the worst place you can wind up in a nightmare?? How about a disco. This is clearly meant to be very humerous. And some are missing this point. This fits every part of this nightmare. I love how rock takes over the disco torwards the end. Rock and roll wins out everytime.

9. Ghouls Gone Wild- A little California surf. from the disco to the beach. There also appears to be a bit of "Summertime Blues" injected into this rocker that's full
of zombies. Typical Alice.

10. Something to Remember Me By- Another beautiful ballad.
A bonus, cause we usually only get one. Once again Alice is in great vocal here on a song that I want to hear live. So cool to have the Deacon back!

11. When Hell Comes Home- the original Alice Cooper Group shines like hell on this little story of revenge. Played
live in the studio with no background vocals. Who needs them on this song that packs that 70s feel. I just love inter action between Steven and his father in this song. Alice proves he really is the original evil with lyrics, that could have been implated in Love It to Death or Killer.

12. What Baby Wants- Well it's finally here.. the song that many people have complained about because it features
KE$HA. And guess what.. It really works here. the part where She say's "oh really", is a throwback from "I Like Girls", from Zipper Catches Skin" or least that's what I think of when I hear this. It makes me wonder if Alice has been listening to those four albums he does'nt remember recording.

13. I Gotta Get Out of Here- My second favorite off the album is one that has the great, if brief Duane Eddy guitar riff. Here we find that this nightmare might not be that easy to escape. again this is so reminiscent to "Give The Kid a Break" I mean what part of dead don't you get.

14. The Underture- Bravo Alice! Interjecting various songs into this is pure genius. it works so well in tying together a night of horror. It really gave me chills to hear some of the old songs from the first album.

I always expect the unexpected from Alice. And i have to say that this is by far his best work in years. nightmares are supposed to be wierd, scary and bloody.. And that is exactly what he has given.

Danny~

[James1981]

Great review Billie. Toatally agree with you about Disco Bloodbath. Some people just dont get it. Their loss.

[killer wolf]

excellent review, mirrors my own thoughts. teh voice distortion caught me off guard on first listen, but i'm loving this album the more i play it. LMOE...can't stop raving, i think it's the 2nd best thing he's ever done. i got the Herod vibe too, as well as there's touches of the voice he used on "i love america". Ke$ha sounds good, albeit in a small part, and as i said elsewhere, this album's just chock full of Alice humour, especially the whole "what part of dead don't you get?" routine.
the only thing i flat out don't get, is why Under the Bed is not part of the standard album : fantastic song, it fits the story and everything.

fabulous album. just....fabulous.

[Billie1966]

Thanks guys.. I have not heard under the Bed or Bad Situation yet.. I guess I'll have to wait to review those but i really dig this album.. Alice delivered a great product.

Danny~

[scotty]

sending you high fives Danny! I've told others hearing alice's descriptions and what he was thinking on each track seals my anticipation for this album.If anyone says they think that the story line is muddled on the album,well they just aren't listening...

[killer wolf]

here's another thought : the more i listen to this, the more i think this album could just have easily been called "Goes 2 Hell" ~ anyone else get that?

[A_MichaelUK]

>here's another thought : the more i listen to this, the more i think this album could just have easily been called "Goes 2 Hell" ~ anyone else get that?

Did you not see yesterday's thread?

[HORRORHOLIC]

If I end up liking this album I think I'm even gonna go back and give "Goes To Hell" another shot. I've only ever listened to that album from start to finish once. It was many years ago, I had trouble making it through and hated it.

[GailsFriend]

Sometimes, you have to focus on the story and the characters....Horrorholic, just try to understand the concept that Alice is giving you. It really is amazing....and funny, and twisted. Make pictures in your head to go with the songs...Goes To Hell is fantastic.

"I'm Going Home" should be everyone's theme when they leave work. When you leave work, just pretend it was all a bad dream and you will wake up in your bed.

Like Spongebob Squarepants says,

"I M A G I N A T I O N"

[HORRORHOLIC]

I think when I 1st heard it I was really expecting something like WTMN and obviously thats not what it was. I usually know if I either like or dislike an album after the first listen, although if I didn't I would still give an album like that a few more listens before judging it, but I never did. Either way I think I should listen to it again, knowing what I know now I might "get it" more

[killer_juju]

I have tried looking at this album from the concept point of view, and while the lyrics keep the story on track, they are too straightforward and laughable. They do not create a storyline near as impressive as the original album. They are also all cut from the same cloth (with the exception of When Hell Comes Home and Something To Remember Me By) funny, tongue-in-cheek, sophomoric humor. The original album was based on black humor and cerebral humor (neither having appeared in an Alice song in a long time).

The music on at least half of it is just a letdown. Everybody (as well as I) keeps referring to other Alice songs or other artists most of these songs sound like...in my opinion, that does not make for a masterpiece. As I have already said, Alice was an innovator. The original was innovative and creative, and there was not a song on there that people said was 'lifted' (maybe when it comes to the sound of lot of this album's songs, "blatantly ripped off" is a better fit) from other bands. Sadly Alice only touches on the black humor, macabre, and vaudevillian influences at the end of I Gotta Get Outta Here which made him stand apart from all the other songwriters of rock n' roll, as I in another post, it seems lyrically lazy except on When Hell Comes Home and the last minute of I Gotta Get Outta Here. And the music except when the original ACG takes over is trying to just fit in with a myriad of faceless performs.

For me, the more I listen, the more I dislike, and I spent over $75 ordering the different copies. Sounds like this whole experience might be a dream come true for Alice, but it is definitely turning out to be a nightmare for me. haha

[killer_juju]

As far as Disco Bloodbath Boogie Fever, yes, a disco is a living hell of a nightmare, but it doesn't mean that Alice should rap. The style and delivery falls absolutely on it's face...a big bloody nose and broken teeth...

[Billie1966]

As I said. Some are just missing the point..... Completely.

Danny

[killer_juju]

No, I get the point, but it's a really dumb, stupid, pathetic song. Yet again, it's just another piece of rehashed drivel on an album that has no originality. You Gotta Dance was a disco song comparing Alice's trip to hell as a disco. Well, that makes this new song SO original...oh wait, it's updated to fit into the modern disco world, so Alice must rap...oh my, how wonderful and original a point for a concept.

[While Heaven Wept]

No, I get the point, but it's a really dumb, stupid, pathetic song. Yet again, it's just another piece of rehashed drivel on an album that has no originality. You Gotta Dance was a disco song comparing Alice's trip to hell as a disco. Well, that makes this new song SO original...oh wait, it's updated to fit into the modern disco world, so Alice must rap...oh my, how wonderful and original a point for a concept.

Please let us know what you really think about the new album, I dont think you've made your opinions known clearly enough yet.

[killer_juju]

Would love to, besides When Hell Comes Home, Last Man On Earh, and Runaway Train, this album sucks and blows in a variety of ways.

The only album I will listen to this over in his whole catalog is Constrictor. Constrictor's lameness is more understandable though since Alice was dealing with his new found sobriety and shifting towards a more mainstream 80s approach.

[A_MichaelUK]

>They do not create a storyline near as impressive as the original album.

Even there, the "storyline" was rather vague and open to interpretation though. That is why people are still interested enough to still debate what it all meant, just as people are doing with this new offering.

>The original album was based on black humor and cerebral humor (neither having appeared in an Alice song in a long time).

That depends on whether you think three years is "a long time" or not.

> the more I listen, the more I dislike, and I spent over $75 ordering the different copies.

Maybe you should have waited before doing that.

[Billie1966]

I

Would love to, besides When Hell Comes Home, Last Man On Earh, and Runaway Train, this album sucks and blows in a variety of ways.

The only album I will listen to this over in his whole catalog is Constrictor. Constrictor's lameness is more understandable though since Alice was dealing with his new found sobriety and shifting towards a more mainstream 80s approach.

I think its ok not to like something . But to be down right nasty
about it is really uncalled for. Maybe some would be happy if Alice
Never did another album. This is just my review of this to me.. masterpiece.
I refuse to get involved in a pissing match over an album.
I really enjoy the different styles Alice gives us on this album.
It's nothing I expected... And that suits me just fine.

[andyrew]

>I think its ok not to like something . But to be down right nasty
about it is really uncalled for. Maybe some would be happy if Alice
Never did another album. This is just my review of this to me.. masterpiece.
I refuse to get involved in a pissing match over an album.
I really enjoy the different styles Alice gives us on this album.
It's nothing I expected... And that suits me just fine.

I agree. Some may not think this is Alice's best work...(I disagree) but at least hes making an attempt to continue his career rather than resting on his fame like some bands do for 5-10 years at a time or even call it quits.

Personally, Id love Alice to come up with 2 hard rock/metal albums for his next 2. I've been hearing that a lot of fans have been wanting that. I wouldn't mind either since he has been going the garage rock path for a while now. Then if he wants to call it a career after that, he can make a 3rd nightmare album and combine the black humour element of WTMN and the more humorous W2MN. That could really make a great trilogy and wrap up a great career and complete it by satisfying fans of both styles. (Although, I think Alice is an immortal rock musician even if he goes into his 70s...he can go on forever haha

[elnombre]

There's only one thing I'd change on this album.

I think 'Disco Bloodbath Boogie Fever' and 'Ghouls Gone Wild' in a row is too much goof in one dosage. I'd say drop Disco, use that as a bonus track and slot Under The Bed in. That's it.

'I Am Made Of You', 'A Runaway Train', 'Last Man On Earth' ('but that's okay, I never liiiiiiiked theeeEEEEEEMMMM!' should bring a smile to even the most stony hearted Alice devotee) and 'I Gotta Get Out Of Here' are some of the most creative and most effortlessly old-school Alice we've had in years. 'When Hell Comes Home' is a triumphant return for the original band and up there with 'Dead Babies'.


Musically this album is far more diverse than anything he's done in well over a decade, but what really stands out most to me is the animated, committed, exciting vocal performances. Alice is in full showman character from the outset, and its a joy to hear after ACAS which I thought sounded musically uninspired and much of a muchness despite the cool concept.

Generally Danny, I think you pretty much hit the nail on the head. Great review.