SickthingsUK

Another piece of the puzzle may be that, as time passes, many of us broaden our musical horizons. I didn't care for jazz, country, soul, funk or blues when I was 13. That was the year B$B and MOL came out. Then I heard Blue Turk and began investigating jazz. One thing leads to another and we discover all kinds of great music in many genres. Before long, I owned albums ranging from the Carpenters to Dave Brubeck.

As much as we'd love for Alice to do it all, it's just not possible, but he's sure as shootin' given us a catalog of so many styles, with his own peculiar stamp on them. No matter what anybody says, I think his "The Lady Is A Tramp" is the definitive version. I can't think of any other performer who's come close to the variety of output.

What I think I'm sayin here, he's constantly refining his craft, perfecting what Alice is at this point in time. He's trimmed the fat and everything is done with laser precision. Maybe we miss the danger of the Love It To Death shows. It was a different time. People are so jaded now.

Saint&Sinner wrote:

Ezrin apparently thought it made more sense to ripoff the likes of Jimi Hendrix, ZZ Top, and other classic rockers than create an album that actually sounds like Alice Cooper.

I'm really not getting the bob ezrin hate here. He seems to pull the better stuff out of alice recently in my opinion. I know its all opinion but W2MN and Paranormal are the best things he has done since Brutal planet (which bob ezrin co-produced!)

I think we need a co production by desmond child and bob ezrin, man I would pay for that, given that the two of them co-wrote one of the best alice tunes ever in "I am made of you" (and yes I get that half of you have now just cursed me outloud for mentioning Mr. Child, I know you all love trash but he is an incredibly talented songwriter and producer and Mr. Ezrin is an unmistakable genius)

Th Ezrin hatred seems to mainly from guttertrash who seems to think he is a better producer as he mentions it in nearly every post! Makes you wonder why Ezrin is so successful and highly thought of??

dadascot wrote:

Saint&Sinner wrote:

Ezrin apparently thought it made more sense to ripoff the likes of Jimi Hendrix, ZZ Top, and other classic rockers than create an album that actually sounds like Alice Cooper.

I'm really not getting the bob ezrin hate here. He seems to pull the better stuff out of alice recently in my opinion. I know its all opinion but W2MN and Paranormal are the best things he has done since Brutal planet (which bob ezrin co-produced!)

I think we need a co production by desmond child and bob ezrin, man I would pay for that, given that the two of them co-wrote one of the best alice tunes ever in "I am made of you" (and yes I get that half of you have now just cursed me outloud for mentioning Mr. Child, I know you all love trash but he is an incredibly talented songwriter and producer and Mr. Ezrin is an unmistakable genius)

Th Ezrin hatred seems to mainly from guttertrash who seems to think he is a better producer as he mentions it in nearly every post! Makes you wonder why Ezrin is so successful and highly thought of??

I have it on good authority that guttertrash is actually Phil Spector

dadascot wrote:

Saint&Sinner wrote:

Ezrin apparently thought it made more sense to ripoff the likes of Jimi Hendrix, ZZ Top, and other classic rockers than create an album that actually sounds like Alice Cooper.

I'm really not getting the bob ezrin hate here. He seems to pull the better stuff out of alice recently in my opinion. I know its all opinion but W2MN and Paranormal are the best things he has done since Brutal planet (which bob ezrin co-produced!)

I think we need a co production by desmond child and bob ezrin, man I would pay for that, given that the two of them co-wrote one of the best alice tunes ever in "I am made of you" (and yes I get that half of you have now just cursed me outloud for mentioning Mr. Child, I know you all love trash but he is an incredibly talented songwriter and producer and Mr. Ezrin is an unmistakable genius)

Th Ezrin hatred seems to mainly from guttertrash who seems to think he is a better producer as he mentions it in nearly every post! Makes you wonder why Ezrin is so successful and highly thought of??

Ezrin was a great producer in the 70s. He produced a lot of my favorite albums, and I'd say he is my favorite producer of that era (outside of Jimmy Page's production on the Zeppelin albums), and it has gotten him the accolades and success that he deserves, however as with many others, he left behind what made him great due to the digital age. Digital recording has made it easier to produce material, but it is a double-edged sword when trying to make things sound good, and most music these days suffers from the drawbacks that comes with it and sounds cheapened. Just because somebody was a great producers, it doesn't mean that they are still at the top of their game or able to produce on the newer technology. As much time as it took to release Paranormal. I'd love for him to release an album with Alice that is not pieced together by digital means. I guarantee it would sound great, but his output as of late is bad.

Paranormal is a good album for a 70-year old rocker and aside from that just okay. Alice is leading a lifestyle today that isn't compatible with great creative output. Just comfortable, golfing every day, performing at night, shopping, spending time with family. What kind of creative angst or energy will come of that? Not much. That's why it's important for Alice to work with a musicians that can bring some energy and ideas to the table.

Having said that, Fireball and Sound of A are solid songs, among my favorites of his 21st century output. Also big reasons he should keep working with Dennis Dunaway.

darkmenace wrote:Paranormal is a good album for a 70-year old rocker and aside from that just okay. Alice is leading a lifestyle today that isn't compatible with great creative output. Just comfortable, golfing every day, performing at night, shopping, spending time with family. What kind of creative angst or energy will come of that? Not much. That's why it's important for Alice to work with a musicians that can bring some energy and ideas to the table.

Having said that, Fireball and Sound of A are solid songs, among my favorites of his 21st century output. Also big reasons he should keep working with Dennis Dunaway.

So, Alice may be enjoying everything on his plate & can still bring in an audience but, as far as a definitive musical statement Paranormal is good but he missed the mark?
I'd like him to work with Michael, Dennis, Neal + Ezrin (horrors!) & find that "Killer Vibe" he talked about for Paranormal. I enjoy the album I find it nearly Great & a fine addition to his (ever growing) catalog.

I enjoy the album I find it nearly Great & a fine addition to his (ever growing) catalog

I think that pretty much sums up my feelings on this one. Good statement. A Solid 7/10

Saint&Sinner wrote:

I enjoy the album I find it nearly Great & a fine addition to his (ever growing) catalog

I think that pretty much sums up my feelings on this one. Good statement. A Solid 7/10

..and 7/10 is a very comfortable pass mark in my book! Proves there is more left in the tank and if it provides incentive to do a couple more albums that's fine with me.

Saint&Sinner wrote:

I enjoy the album I find it nearly Great & a fine addition to his (ever growing) catalog

I think that pretty much sums up my feelings on this one. Good statement. A Solid 7/10

I can't argue with that! There no stinkers on this album like Ghouls gone wild and Disco boogie bloodbath fever!

It seems that the songs people seem most drawn to (Paranormal, Fireball, and the Sound of A) are the ones with a bit more of a serious tone. I thought W2MN was too heavy on the camp humor - which really made it unlistenable for me. I'm okay with the new album. I'd give it a solid B.

The album is good. As good as W2MN IMO. Those two album could leapfrog each other on any given day for years to come.

I still like "Private Public Breakdown" and "You And All Of Your Friends" a lot. That hasn't changed since the album's release.

I'm Pain wrote:It seems that the songs people seem most drawn to (Paranormal, Fireball, and the Sound of A) are the ones with a bit more of a serious tone. I thought W2MN was too heavy on the camp humor - which really made it unlistenable for me.

This hits the nail on the head.

I love this album. I think it's one of his very best, honestly. The only track I don't care for is Holy Water.

padre_sliprat wrote: ↑

Wed May 02, 2018 2:35 am

Another piece of the puzzle may be that, as time passes, many of us broaden our musical horizons. I didn't care for jazz, country, soul, funk or blues when I was 13. That was the year B$B and MOL came out. Then I heard Blue Turk and began investigating jazz. One thing leads to another and we discover all kinds of great music in many genres. Before long, I owned albums ranging from the Carpenters to Dave Brubeck.

This is one of the aspects of Cooper's oeuvre that I like best. So many of his albums are "growers." He has a number of songs that I really didn't care for on the first listen, but after multiple listens they grew on me and I came to love them. And, as padre alludes to, Cooper experiments with so many genres that his albums can act as a gateway to whole new worlds of music genres.

The older I get the more I realize how tribalism affects us. Not just in politics and religion, but in music as well. It's ridiculous but true. If you box yourself in by saying "I'm a punk" "I'm a metal-head" or "new music sucks" you're missing out on a lot of great music. It's very silly, but almost all of us are guilty of that type of thinking at one time or another. I think Cooper has done a lot to break people out of that type of thinking.