Thoughts On And Ranking The New Album

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mr.barlow

Re: Thoughts On And Ranking The New Album

Post by mr.barlow » Sat Jul 29, 2017 9:20 pm

After a day of listening to the album, I think it obliterates every one of his albums since Brutal Planet! It does have a few potholes but so do even the best of his solo albums.

Paranormal--a great track that would have fit right in on Zipper Catches Skin with a middle solo section lifted from RFAY era. A song that grows on you.

Dead Flies-top notch lyrics and a great song

Fireball-this song is going to end up being an Alice classic. The best song on the album. Succeeds on all levels.

Paranoiac Personality--the intro makes no sense at all but the song itself is not bad. Somewhat corny.

Fallen In Love--another incredible song and Billy Gibbons is great as usual. This one will end up being in my favorite Alice songs.

Dynamite Road--Alice does Charlie Daniels but all in all it's not that bad. I think they got what they were aiming for--a humorous song that serves it's purpose. Used to fill up the album and a few laughs with some pretty good lyrics.

Private Public Breakdown--another okay song--some filler to fill up the running time. Could have been trimmed down a bit.

Holy Water- This song is the "You Gotta Dance" of Paranormal. Politely listen and smile and hope that Alice wraps it up quick until the next song begins!

Rats--I would donate BOTH kidneys to have Alice don the Special Forces era character make-up and perform this one live!

The Sound Of A--this one could have been off of Dada. Gives me hope that Alice may have another Dada left in him!

Genuine American Girl--Alice's catchiest song since "No More Mr. Nice Guy" and that's saying a lot! I can't get it out of my head. It's my opinion that this song could break into the Top 40 if given the right push on social media etc. The subject matter is perfect for the current culture, the lyrics are great. In all honesty, if they work this right, this song could bring Alice and the original band members some HUGE attention. I hope he is smart enough to work this into the current live set. I'm telling you--this song could be HUGE!

You And All Your Friends--for whatever reason all I could think about was Public Image Ltd.

The live tracks--how many more live versions of any of those songs do we really need?? I think if Alice and Shep were smart and wanted to milk some more royalty money off of the old songs, they should pick top live versions of these songs performed by the various solo-Alice live bands over the years, from 1975 to present.


Now--to me there was no need for a double cd. The two original band songs should have been on the album itself. "Holy Water" should have been relegated to the bonus disc or a B-Side as should have "Private Public Breakdown".

With that aside--I am thrilled with this album. It's amazing to think that at 69 years old Alice can still keep up with kids who could be his grandchildren! Also, it sounds like all involved had a blast doing it. Also, I hope Dennis keeps writing with Alice. I am looking forward to more.

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Re: Thoughts On And Ranking The New Album

Post by pitkin88 » Sat Jul 29, 2017 9:48 pm

Very nice review Mr B. Rat's just thunders along and would have been a stunning album opener. Fireball gets better with every listen ( God the original was bad ) and Dynamite Road is actually growing on me.

The live tracks are just stale and redundant. They could have easily had his band show up in the studio and play six obscure songs ( Give The Rats what they want ) Roses on White Lace or whatever in half a day and make the hardcore feel good about buying a double cd.

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Re: Thoughts On And Ranking The New Album

Post by pitkin88 » Sat Jul 29, 2017 9:53 pm

Looking forward to hearing a review from Toronto Bob and Si. Even wouldn't mind one from you know who.

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Re: Thoughts On And Ranking The New Album

Post by Feezle-Nuts » Sun Jul 30, 2017 12:31 am

I changed my mind. I like the album now. Took some time. Wife listened to it in the car and suprisingly she said she doesn't think it is bad and really likes Dynamite Road.

Can't believe they included that B$B track though. That was bad. Wish World Needs Guts was on it.

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Re: Thoughts On And Ranking The New Album

Post by darkmenace » Mon Jul 31, 2017 6:08 am

Finally got around to listening to the album the last two days. I usually want to like new Alice albums so my first impressions are sometimes too positive, but even with that in mind P is at least in the top half of Alice albums.

Paranormal is one of my favorite Alice opening songs in his whole career. Great start!

Fireball is an all-time Alice classic. I say this with no reservations. I think it compares favorably to his best work. Thrilled to hear Dennis was involved, which actually says a lot.

Holy Water is also great and (as I said elsewhere) this version is much better than the original. The song fits Alice perfectly, good choice.

Genuine American Girl could become a transgender anthem! It straddles the line with camp very nicely. Another great Alice song by any standard.

Also like Paranoiac Personality and Sound of A. There are several songs I don't care for but don't actively hate, such as Rats and Fallen in Love.

Overall a solid collection and this album is simply on a higher level than some of the last ones. Great atmosphere. I like that the "concept" was broad and the individual songs could fit in somehow instead of a formal story with a beginning and end.

Some real curve balls on P in terms of song arrangements. Good energy on this album and quite impressive given that Alice and Bob are no spring chickens.

More on where I place this album in Alice's discography in my next post...

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Re: Thoughts On And Ranking The New Album

Post by darkmenace » Mon Jul 31, 2017 6:20 am

I divide Alice's career into 4 stages:

Classic Band - Obviously PFY to MOL. My favorite of this era is B$B.

Alice Solo Drinking/Drugs: WTMN to Dada. Dada is my favorite.

Alice Clean, Comeback Era: C to TLT. I like these albums the least except for TLT which isn't a comfortable fit but my criteria is he was still on a big label. Also the 6-year gap to BP. TLT easily my favorite of this era with no competition.

Alice Lately Independent: BP to P. P sounds like it could wind up being my favorite of this era.

I still have to give it a few spins and some time, but right now I put it ahead of BP although it's close. It's also ahead of everything in the Comeback Era except maybe TLT.

P has the potential to be a Top 10 Alice album in my book. Will need more time to listen and enjoy and in a few months I'll be able to give a more complete verdict.

My biggest complaint remains the lousy cover art which undermines the solid music on the album. Better would have been something more subtle, dangerous, mysterious, but not so over-the-top cartoon-like! Harder to appreciate Alice as an artist when he cuts corners that way with his image.

Having said all that, a great surprise and some great songs on this album!

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Re: Thoughts On And Ranking The New Album

Post by padre_sliprat » Mon Jul 31, 2017 9:21 am

I'm thinkin' Paranormal mebbe the best thing he's done since Zipper Catches Skin. Yes, I'm serious.
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Re: Thoughts On And Ranking The New Album

Post by RemarkablyInsincere » Mon Jul 31, 2017 11:16 am

After multiple listens, I do think the album is a grower. There's a lot more depth here, than on W2MN. A far superior to W2MN.
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Re: Thoughts On And Ranking The New Album

Post by VinceRaven » Mon Jul 31, 2017 12:41 pm

pitkin88 wrote:The live tracks are just stale and redundant. They could have easily had his band show up in the studio and play six obscure songs ( Give The Rats what they want ) Roses on White Lace or whatever in half a day and make the hardcore feel good about buying a double cd.
Excellent idea, that would have been brilliant, despite the fact that it would have triggered a year-long argument on here as to the merits of the songs they did and the ones they should have done instead.

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Re: Thoughts On And Ranking The New Album

Post by Alma Mater » Mon Jul 31, 2017 2:33 pm

Love it!! Best AC album for decades. Got to back to the days of Zipper and Dada for the last time I played a new Alice album to death on repeat. Funny how we've all got such different tastes, for me the top tracks are Holy Water, Fallen In Love and Dynamite Road. I just can't get into Fireball though, plods along.

A good diverse style of songs like all classic Alice albums.

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Re: Thoughts On And Ranking The New Album

Post by RemarkablyInsincere » Mon Jul 31, 2017 3:21 pm

pitkin88 wrote:The live tracks are just stale and redundant. They could have easily had his band show up in the studio and play six obscure songs ( Give The Rats what they want ) Roses on White Lace or whatever in half a day and make the hardcore feel good about buying a double cd.
You're totally missing the point of why they're on there in the first place. It's so the casual buyer will see hit songs... recognize them... and then be motivated to buy the disc for those alone.

Putting obscure songs on there doesn't serve that purpose.
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Re: Thoughts On And Ranking The New Album

Post by rtbuck » Mon Jul 31, 2017 4:06 pm

I like the album a lot...I'll give it a solid 7.5....the song I can't stop listening to is Rats! I love the drive in that tune and when the solos kick in near the end it reminds me a bit of a cross between Zep's Rock & Roll & one of my favorite Stones tunes of All-time...Respectable(from Some Girls). I dig what Pitkin says when he says it Thunders along.... For some reason I thought the live tracks were going to be with the Original band but whatever....I'm still happy with the release

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Re: Thoughts On And Ranking The New Album

Post by Maaki » Mon Jul 31, 2017 5:16 pm

The album is still good. Rats is the weakest song, but ok - with one exception.

Fallen in love is no longer greyed out to me, and it's something out of a ZZ TOP b-side. And I love Billy Gibbons.

Everything else is even better than it was. Fireball is still awesome.

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Re: Thoughts On And Ranking The New Album

Post by RemarkablyInsincere » Mon Jul 31, 2017 5:41 pm

Maaki wrote:Rats is the weakest song, but ok - with one exception.
"Rats" is one of the best songs.
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Re: Thoughts On And Ranking The New Album

Post by darkmenace » Mon Jul 31, 2017 6:26 pm

RemarkablyInsincere wrote:Putting obscure songs on there doesn't serve that purpose.
I agree with this comment but think they could have included 1 or 2. There are 6 songs and 4 could have been well-known favorites with 2 more for fans like us. Including a couple lesser known songs also increases their visibility so that Alice doesn't get into a rut with the same old songs getting attention.

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Re: Thoughts On And Ranking The New Album

Post by darkmenace » Mon Jul 31, 2017 6:26 pm

As it is now the second disc is a complete waste of time for me except for the excellent Genuine American Girl.

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Re: Thoughts On And Ranking The New Album

Post by guttertrash » Mon Jul 31, 2017 10:03 pm

I wish Henriksen would have had more songs with him the dominant songwriter over Denander. Denander's tracks are all too closely inspired by some other band or musician. It does nothing for me. Dennis and Henriksen's half of the album is far superior. Still not a fan if the production, but the songwriting on the DD and TH songs are undeniable nonetheless.

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Re: Thoughts On And Ranking The New Album

Post by pitkin88 » Tue Aug 01, 2017 1:34 am

RemarkablyInsincere wrote:
pitkin88 wrote:The live tracks are just stale and redundant. They could have easily had his band show up in the studio and play six obscure songs ( Give The Rats what they want ) Roses on White Lace or whatever in half a day and make the hardcore feel good about buying a double cd.
You're totally missing the point of why they're on there in the first place. It's so the casual buyer will see hit songs... recognize them... and then be motivated to buy the disc for those alone.

Putting obscure songs on there doesn't serve that purpose.

I'm not missing the point at all I know that's what they were thinking though I don't have faith in the casual fan picking it up for that whorey lot. Be bold for once and stop with the tired re-treads ( or at least have the original band playing live ). Then I might be it.

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Re: Thoughts On And Ranking The New Album

Post by pitkin88 » Tue Aug 01, 2017 1:36 am

darkmenace wrote:As it is now the second disc is a complete waste of time for me except for the excellent Genuine American Girl.


Yes it is a total rip off. The two band songs fit in seamlessly with the rest of the studio cuts. Shameful padding.

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Re: Thoughts On And Ranking The New Album

Post by mr.barlow » Tue Aug 01, 2017 2:32 am

pitkin88 wrote:
darkmenace wrote:As it is now the second disc is a complete waste of time for me except for the excellent Genuine American Girl.


Yes it is a total rip off. The two band songs fit in seamlessly with the rest of the studio cuts. Shameful padding.
I agree that the two songs belong on the original album. They could have jettisoned "Holy Water" and "Private Public Breakdown" or trimmed the running time on a few of the songs to fit them in.

If they wanted to still include a bonus live disc that is fine. But I also agree with Pitkin it should have included some tracks recorded live with the original band, or at least a few rarities recorded live--like say "Zorro's Ascent" or "Scarlet & Sheba".

Also, Alice often spoke of re-recording a few songs from the "blackout" period. I'm not too fond of the idea but adding a few of those would have been a novel idea. I for one would like to hear a few songs off of Constrictor re-recorded (The World Needs Guts & Teenage Frankenstein) as that whole album was ruined by the drum machine. He could have used Nita and the current band and would have made his metalhead base happy in the process.

We have countless live versions of the same old songs included on the second disc. It's quite boring and utterly pointless.

Also, in this case I think it somewhat diminishes the two songs by the original band and Genuine American Girl is one of the best songs in the package!

All in all--I am still very happy with the album. I think Alice has a hit record on his hands--at least by today's standards.

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