New Alice Album in 2 or 3 months

[pitkin88]

The album should be Side one Alice solo and Side two ACG.

Kinda hard to pull off properly on a CD

After the last track on side one there is a hidden track that plays the sound of a needle at the end of a record. This lasts about 8 seconds which would be about how long it would take to turn the record over to play side B. Voila.

[pitkin88]

Zero effect? Try taking the ACG songs out of set list and the whole thing would collapse like a house of cards. Or would it.....

Take Trash out of history and Poison out of setlist..

Can you see how this goes both ways?

The same applies to "you don't know what kind of material" Ted Sallis wrote. Yes, we do not know. Some people seem to assume that it would be brilliant. History tells us that very few bands managed that. History also tells us that those bands adapted - as solo Alice did.

History also tells us that get together records are 99,9% crap.

It is true that we do not know. But let's not pretend it is not true when it is about what ifs regarding the original band. Let's not also pretend that bands getting back together are most of the time terrible let downs for people that have been waiting for it.

The Stooges live wasn't. On record it was bad though.

I'd very much like to see Alice drop all the ACG material to be honest. Watched a few songs on YT and this band doesnt play then too well. Stretched out and no edge.

[A_MichaelUK]

From mr.barlow:
"Alice wrote the lyrics to those songs"

To be more accurate, that applies to most rather than all of the material but other that that, both of your posts were accurate, knowledgeable, reasonable and presented very well.

[A_MichaelUK]

From Maaki:
"It is true that we do not know. But let's not pretend it is not true when it is about what ifs regarding the original band. Let's not also pretend that bands getting back together are most of the time terrible let downs for people that have been waiting for it."

Although I am quoting from only a part of it, the entire post is completely accurate.

[Ted Sallis]

Zero effect? Try taking the ACG songs out of set list and the whole thing would collapse like a house of cards. Or would it.....

Take Trash out of history and Poison out of setlist..

Can you see how this goes both ways?

The same applies to "you don't know what kind of material" Ted Sallis wrote. Yes, we do not know. Some people seem to assume that it would be brilliant. History tells us that very few bands managed that. History also tells us that those bands adapted - as solo Alice did.

History also tells us that get together records are 99,9% crap.

It is true that we do not know. But let's not pretend it is not true when it is about what ifs regarding the original band. Let's not also pretend that bands getting back together are most of the time terrible let downs for people that have been waiting for it.

Okay, maybe if you took Trash out of history and Poison out of the setlist it would have an adverse effect, but Poison is 1 song versus taking every ACG song in the setlist out.

I for 1 don't assume the material the ACG would have come up with had they stayed together would have been brilliant but I think there's a good chance it would have been clearly superior to Alice's solo material. There is a clue in this regard: listen to the Battle Axe album and compare it to Alice's solo stuff from around the same time.

Regarding your last paragraph above, I believe bands getting back together can be either terrible or less than terrible let downs for people that have been waiting for it but it falls short of their expectations (which in some cases are unrealistic).

Ted

[A_MichaelUK]

From Ted Sallis:
"Okay, maybe if you took Trash out of history and Poison out of the setlist it would have an adverse effect, but Poison is 1 song versus taking every ACG song in the setlist out."

This is getting ridiculous. How about nothing from "Welcome To My Nightmare"?! Again, people want it both ways, as we have had numerous people here complaining that Alice doesn't perform enough obscure solo material, now we're being asked to consider a show with no solo material.

>There is a clue in this regard: listen to the Battle Axe album and compare it to Alice's solo stuff from around the same time.

I did. It stunk the place up almost as much as "Lace And Whiskey" did.

[Ted Sallis]

This is getting ridiculous. How about nothing from "Welcome To My Nightmare"?! Again, people want it both ways, as we have had numerous people here complaining that Alice doesn't perform enough obscure solo material, now we're being asked to consider a show with no solo material.

From Ted Sallis: There is a clue in this regard: listen to the Battle Axe album and compare it to Alice's solo stuff from around the same time.

I did. It stunk the place up almost as much as "Lace And Whiskey" did.

In all honesty, the only way we're ever getting an AC show with no solo material is if it's an ACG show. Which is the only AC show I'd pay to see.

Regarding comparing the Battle Axe album to L&W, I'll have to force myself to listen to the latter in full. Then I'll let you know if my view has changed.

EDIT: the only way I can see my view changing is if I consider L&W to be almost as good as Battle Axe after listening to it in full. Then I'll agree with AMUK that there's not much difference in quality between the two.

Ted

[A_MichaelUK]

From Ted Sallis:
"In all honesty, the only way we're ever getting an AC show with no solo material is if it's an ACG show."

Of course, but I don't understand what your point is, unless you're saying he should only perform other people's songs or that he should stop performing.

>Which is the only AC show I'd pay to see.

That is your choice but in all honesty, just as there some people who prefer the band stuff, there are some who prefer the solo stuff and neither position makes any sense to me but at least that's down to personal taste. With some people intent on creating fake divisions though, those of us who like both get caught in the middle which is weird.

>Then I'll agree with AMUK that there's not much difference in quality between the two.

They are both terrible, if that helps.

[guttertrash]

From guttertrash:
"At the end of the day, Alice Cooper's solo albums have always chased trends of the moment."

That really is an exaggeration.

I feel like it is a lot more true than not.

FTF to Dada heavy shift to a punk/new wave/synth sound.
Constrictor and RYFAY shift to hair metal
Trash and Hey Stoopid shift to pop/metal particularly Bon Jovi influenced.
TLT mix between pop/metal and Seattle scene.
BP and Dragontown shift to a detuned/nu-metal style.
Eyes and DD shift to the neo-garage rock style.

It's not a bad thing, but the point that I was making is that the ACG albums all had the same major elements. Alice's solo years have taken many shifts that make it less cohesive, and it kept touch of the current trend at that moment. I'm not saying the ACG would not have done such. Considering Deadringer in the 80s, we could have seen AOR Alice Cooper. Ugh. for me though, ACG and solo Alice marks a major difference. I still really love songs from all of it, but for instance when I make a playlist, I do not put solo era songs in it except for more rocking songs from the first three solos albums (i.e. Cold Ethyl, Dept. of Youth, Escape Guilty, It's Hot Tonight), because the rest takes wind out of the playlist for me just as Poison does in a setlist for a concert for me. I understand the necessity of it for his career and love some of the shifts (i.e. Dada), but my preference leans to the pure rock asthetics of the ACG.

[del]

I'm with AMUk. I have favourites from across the whole career. From Caught in a dream, through Luney Tune, Hard Hearted Alice, WTMN, Model Citizen, World Needs Guts, Brutal Planet, Novocaine (don't know why but that one stuck from the first listen) right up to I am made of you. Just a selection of many favourites along the way. Wouldn't be my ideal set list though.

I'd love to see the ACG back for a few gigs but in all honesty that part of the magic died with MoL. I just cherish what was a golden era and am thankful that things have gone on so long since then, albeit with some highs and lows along the way. I've no idea what the spread of ages is on this forum but it's clear that a good number picked Alice up along the way as his sound changed through the years. For that I am delighted. Keeps things fresh and allows people to look back and discover the old stuff.

[Babysquid]

I think in most cases where artists have achieved a degree of longevity there comes a time when they start chasing trends rather than setting them.
Regarding the original group I love them but I also think there is some fantastic music in his solo career that wouldn't exist if they'd stayed together. The simple fact is they did split and no amount of debating here can change history.

[Babysquid]

Mrbarlow said something like
"Trash" sold as many if not more albums than the ACG albums.

I'm not disagreeing but I'd be interested to know how well it's sales have continued since it was released compared with the original albums and WTMN. I know it was huge at the time and certainly introduced Alice to a new audience.

[A_MichaelUK]

From guttertrash:
"I feel like it is a lot more true than not."

Apart from "Constrictor" and "Trash", I don't think your examples bear scrutiny because while Alice was indeed chasing "trends" with those albums, that was because he was trying to get a hit record with each of those albums. With the others, he had no real expectations of any commercial success (with the possible exception of "Hey Stoopid" and that was hardly a replica of "Trash" although there are some similarities) and was doing something that interested him because believe it or not, he actually does like music. He is a fan of different "trends" at different times and will try to add those elements to what he does because he might find them exciting. It isn't like he's desperately trying to jump on every bandwagon going just to get a hit record. Also (and you're not the only one not to notice this),many of the "trends" he is accused of following were actually directly or indirectly influenced by the original band or his solo career. On that basis, he has every right to do that. If he jumped on a trend that was totally alien to him just to get a hit, then you and I would be in agreement but I can't think of any examples of that.

[A_MichaelUK]

From babysquid:
"I think in most cases where artists have achieved a degree of longevity there comes a time when they start chasing trends rather than setting them."

Exactly. How we laughed when David Bowie released the "Earthling" album but when we stopped laughing, it was actually a very good album. This is the problem artists who have been around a long time can have and I am slightly surprised that people who (as fans) take music seriously (maybe too seriously) don't understand that most music isn't created in a vacuum and if you're someone who has a distinctive sound or image, you have to make a choice. The choice is between making a great album irrespective of the style, or you can stubbornly insist that you will only make an album that sounds like you but might not be as good if you weren't open to other influences. There are quite a few examples of this. I think "The Eyes Of Alice Cooper" is one of the best albums in Alice's entire career but I also have to be honest and state that a lot of it doesn't have the 'classic' Alice Cooper 'feel' whereas an album like "Along Came A Spider" has tons of 'classic' Alice Cooper 'feel' and atmosphere but is actually a weak and dull album. In other words, the first album in years to really sound like a 'true' Alice Cooper album was an artistic failure whereas an album full of the influence of Cheap Trick, The Sex Pistols and The Rolling Stones (disguised as Ryan Roxie and Eric Dover) is one of his best albums. What is he supposed to do?

[The son of Don Quijote]

That was a great post Andy Michael. I completely agree. Some people here act like it is almost a cardinal sin to stay current and keep up with the trends, when quality of the album should be all that matters. Alice has and he definitely should follow his artistic instincts and make the kind of music that is exciting to him.

What Andy said applies to all forms of art, be it music, movies or literature. Art is very rarely created in a vacuum and it isn't an ideal place to create the art to be honest. I give you little insight.

I have written poems for 15 years and my first poem book will be released later this year. I started writing poetry almost accidentally. I was constantly bullied at school, very shy and didn't have a very lively social life. I needed an emotional outlet and writing poems turned out to be fun. I wasn't even a fan of literature at that point and had not read one single poem book. My poems were often very surrealistic and weird.

But years later when I became an active reader the quality of my poems went leaps and bounds ahead. I started taking influences, became more sophisticated and even retro and old-fashioned in some ways. But I take any of my current poems over that more surrealistic and "original" crap I was writing during my teen years.

[JoeyBananagoose]

Eyes was a solid album until the last couple of tracks which were, frankly, crap. If you've listened to I'm So Angry or Backyard Brawl more than 10 times...well, I don't know whether to pity you, respect you or just say sorry.

What should an Alice album sound like in 2017? Well rock is so far from being a dominant musical trend...what's left, hip-hop, lightweight pop, electronica, drum n' bass? Does anyone here think a man pushing 70 can pull any of those genres off with any credibility?

May as well just make an Alice Cooper album.

[Si]

Eyes was a solid album until the last couple of tracks which were, frankly, crap. If you've listened to I'm So Angry or Backyard Brawl more than 10 times...well, I don't know whether to pity you, respect you or just say sorry.

I'm so Angry's my Fav track on the album.

[While Heaven Wept]

I still think Eyes and Last Temptation are the best albums he's done since From The Inside.

[JoeyBananagoose]

Eyes was a solid album until the last couple of tracks which were, frankly, crap. If you've listened to I'm So Angry or Backyard Brawl more than 10 times...well, I don't know whether to pity you, respect you or just say sorry.

I'm so Angry's my Fav track on the album.

Fair enough. Had to be someone's!

[The son of Don Quijote]

While Alice Cooper has experimented with very different musical styles like disco, country, pop, jazz, psychedelic etc. his albums as a whole can all be categorized as rock or some of its sub genres like industrial metal or hair metal. He has never completely abandoned rock music and gone electronic, ambient or big band jazz. And nothing currently suggests that the next album will be an exception. Even his softest albums have rocking songs like Go To Hell, Wish You Were, It's Hot Tonight, Serious and Wish You Were Born In Beverly Hills.

Alice Cooper is a very diverse lyricist at least in terms of topics covered. He has done social commentary, horror, pure humor, heartfelt confessions and weird tales in his lyrics. I personally hate the label "shock rock" because it is very misleading. Most of his lyrics aren't horror related and even fewer of his songs have haunting and dark vibe musically. He is brilliant in making character portraits and sketches and creating unusual situations.