SOUND CLIPS

Shoesalesman · Post by **Shoesalesman** » Tue Jul 08, 2008 2:24 am

RemarkablyInsincere wrote:I learned after the last 3 Star Wars movies that George Lucas is an insane man and he will not get anymore of my money.

That's okay, I'm shelling out enough to George to cover your loss and a few others.

steven_crayn · Post by **steven_crayn** » Tue Jul 08, 2008 9:51 am

While Heaven Wept wrote:I just can't get past the lyrics as i feel they're lacking any of Alice's usual flair and creativity. Some of them are just plain childish.

I dont want to heap all the criticism on Alice though, i'm mostly disappointed with the actual song-writing from these new guys.

What lyrics do you feel are lacking flair and creativity and are childish?

I think the songwriting is an improvement on anything Alice has done this century.

Even if you go back to 1994 the writing on Last Temptation was really good but as an album it didn't rock hard enough for me in the way say Hey Stoopid did.

This album meets the hard rock and great songwriting criteria and just gets better, I can't put it down.

steven_crayn · Post by **steven_crayn** » Tue Jul 08, 2008 10:03 am

Nev wrote:
My complaints:
I do find some of the songs almost repetitive in the sound, but only a couple. Some of the lyrics at times seem a bit to basic for Alice's mind. A lot of simple rhymes like "Pain and Brain and Train" in a couple songs. The last song I am the spider is ok but Im not sure he could sing it well in concert. Too high for him with out any help from sound technology.

Never underestimate Alice as a vocalist, as Al Pitrelli once said people don't realise how good Alice's pitching is.

He may not have the range he had in the 1970's as with age singers often lose a semi tone or so in their pitch but Alice will be able to pull off every song on this album live, I can't wait for what will be his best show since the 1970's for what is already for me a great album.

steven_crayn · Post by **steven_crayn** » Tue Jul 08, 2008 11:01 am

criss wrote:Ok people here s my quick review

The coop set this album up with a fantastic theme and quotes like lots of hits

Ok like most people at sickthings im buying the album no matter what as its a coop album and im digging the whole idea of the album .

But this album falls short , very short of what i was thinking it would and could have been .

The theme and lyric content just scream for some eerie twists maybe a dash of the coop weirdness we all love . To my ear much of the music seems very disconnected to the theme and lyrics . Many of the tunes are for the lack of a better word , bland basic rock tunes that go nowhere , there s no tension and release etc . A few tunes like slavation and i am the spider are good but overall to me most tunes sound like they've been rushed and are just there as filler .

I love every coop album even the misunderstood works of art like Da Da , special forces , zipper , goes to hell etc .

So i hate to say this , but imho as an overall album , for me its easy one of the coops worst efforts . uninspired material , average hooks , it s almost as if the coop knew he had a great theme and thought that would be enough to carry the album .

In the end i guess the coop got what he was aiming for , and many people will enjoy the album so thats all that matters

With respect criss I have to disagree.

I don't think their are any fillers.

You say there are bland basic rock tunes that go nowhere, no tension and release, one of his worst efforts, uninspired, average hooks as if Alice knew a great theme would be enough to carry the album.

I don't see it that way at all

Looking at the album track by track

1. Prologue/I Know Where You Live

The scene is set " we found his diary today etc...."

First twist (as Alice has said never be afraid of throwing a curve ball)

I didn't expect a seemingly non dark track like 'I Know Where You Live' to follow the menacing prologue, but the subtlety of the music hides a menacing lyric that isn't disconnected; take the lines:

"I don't like the guy in the suit or that street punk in the combat boots, you may not see them again ...."

This song is a building block to what is a great album

2. Vengeance Is Mine

We have all heard this and it has that tension and release Alice does so well with the middle section

Slash playing like their is no tomorrow, I love it!

3. Wake The Dead

Incredible song, reminds me in parts of a sick version of The Beatles 'Tomorrow Never Knows" melodically

Love the line

"when I unwind I'm colour blind they're all the same to me"

Our hero the serial killer showing he has no prejudice in who he kills!

4. Catch Me If You Can

Love the instrumental section halfway through, once again tension and release is evident

5. (In Touch With) Your Feminine Side

The backing vocals on this are classic remind me of the Rolling Stones, a great rocker!

6. Wrapped In Silk

Interesting vocally, Alice singing flatted fiths! Love it!

7. Killed By Love

A truly great ballad with a bluesy touch of Eric Clapton about it

8. Hungry

A touch of an Is It My Body influence with the riff great backing vocals again, love the Stones influence on this track but still has that Alice menace

"Give me something to chew, something soft and tender how about you"

Building at the end to the next track that for me is one of my favourites

9. The One That Got Away

"Hi I was just wondering if you could help me out, my hands are full can you just help me open the door to my van..." straight out of Silence Of The Lambs

The refrain at the end "away, away, away, the one that got way"

I love it!

10. Salvation

A little light relief for our serial killer which leads nicely to the finale

11. I Am The Spider/Epilogue

Cooper classic! Steven is back

great album folks

While Heaven Wept · Post by **While Heaven Wept** » Tue Jul 08, 2008 12:56 pm

Ok, i have listened to it a few more times. There are some nice moments but as a whole I am still massively disappointed. I'll write a full review on the weekend when i can sit down and give it my proper attention.

My biggest annoyances are the following..

The songwriting and arrangements are weak and predictable.

The lyrics rank among some of his worst to date.

The production is flat and uninspiring.

Thematically, the actual sound of the album bares little resemblance to the imagery - This is hugely disappointed for a Coop album when we have been used to such great themed albums such as WTMN, TLT and FTI

Sorry to sound so negative, but i've gotta be honest. I'll still buy it when it comes out, as i'm sure 95% of the people on here will. It's still great that Alice is releasing music and i treasure each and every time i see him live. We're very lucky to still have him, it's just a shame he didn't work with better people on this record.

grim fact · Post by **grim fact** » Tue Jul 08, 2008 1:41 pm

While Heaven Wept wrote:
Thematically, the actual sound of the album bares little resemblance to the imagery...

...it's just a shame he didn't work with better people on this record.

Good points WHW.

Still, I'm assuming Alice was the chief song-writer, and I wonder if working with other musicians and/or producers would have made that much difference overall.
The song remains the same, so they say. Although it's hard to think that Ezrin would not have made same positive difference.

I also wonder what songs Alice rejected when deciding on the final selection, assuming that a double album was seriously considered at one stage.

A little Alice hype from last year:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKZqDzIA ... re=related

TeresofBlood · Post by **TeresofBlood** » Tue Jul 08, 2008 2:36 pm

I wish the unused songs were bonus tracks on the disc. With our luck, there will be a double dip deluxe edition with all the extra tracks.

RemarkablyInsincere · Post by **RemarkablyInsincere** » Tue Jul 08, 2008 4:55 pm

While Heaven Wept wrote:Thematically, the actual sound of the album bares little resemblance to the imagery

Alice did this on purpose in order to make it seem even more twisted and strange... upbeat songs directly in contrast to the imagery.

Similar to many horror movies (House of 1000 Corpses, etc) where there are upbeat old 60s/70s songs played against scenes of horrific violence. Somehow it makes it seem even *more* twisted that way.

I think it also represents that the killer is only truly happy when he's killing and the songs signify that.

I think that's what Alice was shooting for here... and the more I am listening to this album, the more I think that's part of the brilliance of it.

TeresofBlood · Post by **TeresofBlood** » Tue Jul 08, 2008 4:58 pm

RemarkablyInsincere wrote:Similar to many horror movies (House of 1000 Corpses, etc) where there are upbeat old 60s/70s songs played against scenes of horrific violence. Somehow it makes it seem even *more* twisted that way.

Last House on The Left

Stuart · Post by **Stuart** » Tue Jul 08, 2008 5:30 pm

Hi, I don't have a speaker on ym computer at the moment so I'm just reading along to the posts with interest until I get the album at the end of the month.

A lof of people say the lyrics are poor, childish etc. Could someone please expand on this, are we talking about Zipper Catches Skin / Thrill My Gorilla silly? Thanks

Stuart · Post by **Stuart** » Tue Jul 08, 2008 5:32 pm

TeresofBlood wrote:I wish the unused songs were bonus tracks on the disc. With our luck, there will be a double dip deluxe edition with all the extra tracks.

What might happen, with all of these extra songs floating about (if there are any) is another album out next year. Maybe along the lines of Dragontown which came out quite soon after BP.

RemarkablyInsincere · Post by **RemarkablyInsincere** » Tue Jul 08, 2008 5:44 pm

TeresofBlood wrote:
RemarkablyInsincere wrote:Similar to many horror movies (House of 1000 Corpses, etc) where there are upbeat old 60s/70s songs played against scenes of horrific violence. Somehow it makes it seem even *more* twisted that way.
Last House on The Left

I was just imagining how cool the live show will be when they're playing something upbeat like "I'm Hungry"and the action on stage is mirroring the lyrical content.... "I got some chloroform and handcuffs, just for you... I'm hungraaaaaay."

That's exactly like a lot the Alice style stage show he's been doing for years....

This could be the creme de la creme of Alice shows in 2009!

WickedYoungMan · Post by **WickedYoungMan** » Tue Jul 08, 2008 7:55 pm

Stuart wrote:A lof of people say the lyrics are poor, childish etc. Could someone please expand on this, are we talking about Zipper Catches Skin / Thrill My Gorilla silly? Thanks

Read them here:

http://www.sickthingsuk.co.uk/lyrics/acas.php#1

Alicehunter2000 · Post by **Alicehunter2000** » Tue Jul 08, 2008 10:00 pm

Well, I have to say that the lyrics are pretty dark. A little bit straitforward....but dark. Seems to repeat lines quite a bit.

From the 30 second clips and reading these lyrics....I'm finding that this might be a pretty decent album. Even if there are only a couple of really good songs....it will still be worth it IMO. Can't wait to give it a full listen and review.

While Heaven Wept · Post by **While Heaven Wept** » Wed Jul 09, 2008 7:35 am

Alicehunter2000 wrote:Well, I have to say that the lyrics are pretty dark. A little bit straitforward....but dark. Seems to repeat lines quite a bit.

From the 30 second clips and reading these lyrics....I'm finding that this might be a pretty decent album. Even if there are only a couple of really good songs....it will still be worth it IMO. Can't wait to give it a full listen and review.

The lyrics are simply bland and uninspired. They do little to set the scene and create the mood. I've lost count of the amount of times he repeats himself or ruins a half decent song by spitting out some ridiculous lyric such as 'I'm Hungry' or the completely predicatable 'Run For Your Life' which ruins an otherwise good song in 'Wake The Dead'.

It's funny, i didnt like 'Vengeance Is Mine' when it was available as the first taster for the album, but now I realise why the record company chose to use this track to promote it. It's probably the best song on the album.

Such a shame

WickedYoungMan · Post by **WickedYoungMan** » Wed Jul 09, 2008 8:14 am

BTW, just want to point out (in case it wasn't pointed out and sorry if it was) that "The One That Got Away" is apparently the "Saints Of The Underground" track just based on some other reviews.

steven_crayn · Post by **steven_crayn** » Wed Jul 09, 2008 12:15 pm

While Heaven Wept wrote:
The songwriting and arrangements are weak and predictable.

Such as?

While Heaven Wept wrote: The lyrics rank among some of his worst to date.

You still haven't said why you think the lyrics are weak, how about some quotes?

While Heaven Wept wrote: The production is flat and uninspiring.

How do you come up with that conclusion?

While Heaven Wept · Post by **While Heaven Wept** » Wed Jul 09, 2008 1:01 pm

steven_crayn wrote:
While Heaven Wept wrote:
The songwriting and arrangements are weak and predictable.
Such as?

While Heaven Wept wrote: The lyrics rank among some of his worst to date.

You still haven't said why you think the lyrics are weak, how about some quotes?

While Heaven Wept wrote: The production is flat and uninspiring.

How do you come up with that conclusion?

Do I really have to give examples?! If you ask me, the answers to those questions are glaringly obvious!

Anyway, people on this forum know that i don't enjoy these long debates so i think i'll just finish my dialogue about this album now. I don't wish to taint anyone elses view of this album but i am genuinely interested in what everyone else thinks about it.

steven_crayn · Post by **steven_crayn** » Wed Jul 09, 2008 1:19 pm

While Heaven Wept wrote:
steven_crayn wrote:
While Heaven Wept wrote:
The songwriting and arrangements are weak and predictable.
Such as?

While Heaven Wept wrote: The lyrics rank among some of his worst to date.

You still haven't said why you think the lyrics are weak, how about some quotes?

While Heaven Wept wrote: The production is flat and uninspiring.

How do you come up with that conclusion?
Do I really have to give examples?! If you ask me, the answers to those questions are glaringly obvious!

Anyway, people on this forum know that i don't enjoy these long debates so i think i'll just finish my dialogue about this album now. I don't wish to taint anyone elses view of this album but i am genuinely interested in what everyone else thinks about it.

Yes, if you are saying the lyrics are weak etc...tell us why, or the only thing that will be glaringly obvious is you don't like to debate your point as you can't back up your statements.

While Heaven Wept · Post by **While Heaven Wept** » Wed Jul 09, 2008 2:18 pm

steven_crayn wrote:
While Heaven Wept wrote:
steven_crayn wrote:
Such as?

You still haven't said why you think the lyrics are weak, how about some quotes?

How do you come up with that conclusion?
Do I really have to give examples?! If you ask me, the answers to those questions are glaringly obvious!

Anyway, people on this forum know that i don't enjoy these long debates so i think i'll just finish my dialogue about this album now. I don't wish to taint anyone elses view of this album but i am genuinely interested in what everyone else thinks about it.
Yes, if you are saying the lyrics are weak etc...tell us why, or the only thing that will be glaringly obvious is you don't like to debate your point as you can't back up your statements.

It's not that i can't back up what I say, it's simply that i dont have the time to devote to responding properly (i'm at work so shouldnt really be on the net anyway!! haha). When i get a spare moment on the weekend i'll write a full review to fully explain my criticisms.