I DON'T LIKE THE ALBUM, AND I'M NOT AFRAID TO TELL

[lon coopfire]

Very produced, too cold, the band doesn't play as a band (as one), the lyrics aren't brilliant.... what can I say? Some people say they don't like the two albums before. But I disagree, a lot. If you had grown witht he classics from the 70's, it's impossible to feel soemthing with this album. Alice needs a new partnership to do the writing of the songs. It's time check real rock songwriters in the present, and not to look the new sounds. People like Patterson Hood or even Rick Rubin as a producer could do a better job.

Remember the Coop, anyway!
LC.

[lattss]

I can respect your opinion but I don't think anyone else is afraid to admit their own opinions.Also, is it really necessary to type in all caps?

[WickedYoungMan]

Edited to lower caps.

[steven15322]

I like the album and I'm not affraid to say it ...matter of fact I've been voicing my big mouth opinion about it alot lately ..

Also alot of people hate the New Judas Priest Nostradamus album too. Well guess what I like it alot too

Also alot of people love the new Motley Crue album....Guess what? I hate it

We all have out opinion


Oh and Rick is taken for a while as he's gonna be producing ZZ top..BTW their new DVD Live From Texas ain't bad

[TeresofBlood]

A lot of people have said that the album is not as dark as they would have hoped. This is an ironic statement. Before I heard WTMN for the first time, I figured it would be dark. I had heard Only Women Bleed, which didn't lead me to believe otherwise. When I first listened, I was a bit disappointed, because I was hoping for something darker and less theatrical, but now I love WTMN. It just took some time to get over my expectations.

This teaches me a few lessons. First of all, don't have expectations, but who the hell could do that. Second of all, I should not have expected such a dark album, after WTMN. Third of all, the more I get over the initial disappointment of it not being what I expected, the more I like it.

For anyone who has listened and not liked it, listen to it again on July 29th. Now you know what to expect. Your mind may be more open.

[HORRORHOLIC]

You didn't think Welcome To My Nightmare was very "dark" I get what you are saying but have you read the lyrics ?

[rgallie]

Personally i think its the strongest album since hey stoopid or last temptation

[revinkevin]

I have only heard the 30 second clips and they filled me with anticipitation, unlike most 30 seconds clips I preview before buying a cd. But for those who were looking forward to a more darker disc, may I suggest the Wednesday 13 new release, Skeletons. It is heavy glam/metal/goul rock and it is his most focused release IMO. He even sounds like Alice on many tracks. They did tour with Alice on a few dates last Fall. Maybe that will fill the void a little.

[TeresofBlood]

You didn't think Welcome To My Nightmare was very "dark" I get what you are saying but have you read the lyrics ?

I don't mean in terms of lyrics. If we're talking lyrics then ACAS is his darkest album ever. I mean in terms of sound, WTMN isn't very dark: Devil's Food, Some Folks, Department of Youth, Cold Ethyl, Escape are far from dark. That isn't to say they are bad songs, because they aren't.

[DaveJay]

....I hear it in my head already.....and if t turns out to be "Trash"....then so be it....
Like most Coop albums I have got,......they eventually turn out to be favourites....eventually.....Hell, I'm addicted......

[HORRORHOLIC]

You didn't think Welcome To My Nightmare was very "dark" I get what you are saying but have you read the lyrics ?

I don't mean in terms of lyrics. If we're talking lyrics then ACAS is his darkest album ever. I mean in terms of sound, WTMN isn't very dark: Devil's Food, Some Folks, Department of Youth, Cold Ethyl, Escape are far from dark. That isn't to say they are bad songs, because they aren't.

Ok, I agree with that

[mestreech]

Hi,

I also don't like this new album.
Lyrics are brilliant as always but the music sucks.
terrible drums, no great guitars, poor ballads and no humor.
There is NO group here.
There are some great songs on it and the concept is perfect but it never makes it to one great sound or album.
Personal I liked the two albums before this one.

I listened at least 40 times to it but still no songs to remember.
I am an old (50) fan from the first days and I know those days will never come back but I think Alice needs a better group/producer.

But that's all my opion.

Eric.

[TeresofBlood]

Hi,

I also don't like this new album.
Lyrics are brilliant as always but the music sucks.
terrible drums, no great guitars, poor ballads and no humor.
There is NO group here.
There are some great songs on it and the concept is perfect but it never makes it to one great sound or album.
Personal I liked the two albums before this one.

I listened at least 40 times to it but still no songs to remember.
I am an old (50) fan from the first days and I know those days will never come back but I think Alice needs a better group/producer.

But that's all my opion.

Eric.

Your opinion is dead on. The lyrics/vocals/concept are brilliant, but the band never shines. Still though, it isn't enough for me to condemn the album. Look at it this way. Last House on the Left is one of my favorite movies. The execution is so cheap, flawed and gritty, but the story is so effective that it transcends the crap technical aspects of the movie. I feel the same about ACAS

I've said this before. Tracks 1-3 are solid and cohesive. "Catch Me if you Can" is where it begins to lose steam. This and "Wrapped in Silk" are recycled riffs from "I Know" and "Wake the Dead". I enjoy "In Touch" and "Killed By Love" very much. "Hungry" suffers the same fate as "Catch Me" and "Wrapped". The closing three tracks are rock solid - as rock solid as the first three.

This album would have worked better for me if there was another ballad between "Wake" and "Catch Me". Or the inverse, if the album lost one of those three tracks. For an album with so little variety, this should not have been 44 minutes. 36-40 minutes for this concept would have worked. It would be much tighter.

Regardless, I think most people can agree that it is better than the vast majority of his solo stuff.

[WickedYoungMan]

Hi,
back but I think Alice needs a better group/producer.

Just a note on the "group," thing... as has been pointed out before, Greg Hampton claims he and Danny Sabre did 90% of the guitars on the new album.

[aliceclone12]

i wonder how they can play some of the tracks live with so many effects...
anyway i love the album a great new one and i also aggree with DD and EOAC being better than people say.

[Jason]

I haven't heard the album yet. I've only heard "Vengence Is Mine" so far and I thought it sounded good. Mind you, it's only one song. But I am looking foward to listening to the whole album when it comes out.

I don't want to listen to it on the computer. I think that computer speakers just don't cut it when it comes to properly hearing and listening to music. So instead, it'll be CRANKED on my stereo as it is intended. I'll just wait it out until the CD is in my hands.

Also, once I've listened to it a few times, I'll do my usual practice of playing the disc on random from there on. Simply because, the album won't have much of a chance to get stale, it'll be in a different order every time I listen to it. There are ways to keep the love alive with your music collection!

Yeah, I know, it's a concept album. Listening to it out of order would mess up the story line but they're all still individual songs.

Catching things out of context isn't always a bad thing. Alice capitalized on that very concept when he heard a character on "The Bowery Boys" TV show, say "School's out". Ding! One of the biggest songs of all-time.

As far as the group aspect, there has to be a "group mentality". I know, I've been playing in bands for years and if the people involved don't have that then it won't come out sounding like a group. In Alice's case, he's been a solo artist for over 30 years. His band is just that, his band. It's not their band. They are hired help. It's been that way since WTMN.

Sure he's had a lot of different lineups over the years and they're always excellent musicians. Live, on tour, the group mentality is there because you're on stage every night and travelling together but it's still not a democratic setup. They are working for Alice as well as working with.

Anyhow, good thread!

[While Heaven Wept]

Regardless, I think most people can agree that it is better than the vast majority of his solo stuff.

I couldn't disagree more, I think this is my least favourite AC solo album since Lace & Whiskey. Every song on this album is flawed, either lyrically, sonically or by the poor arrangements. It really is a shoddy piece of work.

I'm still trying to work out with the vocals sound so 'demo' like. Maybe they were going for a flat retro sound but they just sound terrible. For example, the quiet singing on Salvation is really badly double tracked, someone needs to edit them! And really, what is going on with the chorus on that song?! it's just so bland and unadventurous.

Alice was always a great story-teller but this album just falls WAY short of the mark. Instead of his usual dark, twisted and clever lyrics (often with multiple meanings), this album is more like a paint-by-number affair...i.e..."First I said this, then I did this, then we went there....etc".

I'm just really disappointed by the whole thing, if only Ezrin had got his hands on this, we could have had a little gem on our hands.

[The son of Don Quijote]

I wait 28th July and then I buy the CD and tell you my opinion. I don't judge album by those 30 second clips and I don't let others opinions affect my opinion before I have even heard the album. I will form my own opinion without caring so much about critics and other fans. I will listen to it with an open mind and without extremely high expectations. I am optimistic but I am not anticipating one of the top 5 albums of his career. I have very a varied taste of music. So I like every Alice cooper album to some degree. I listen everything from Elton John and Rolling stones to Megadeth and Frank Zappa to King Crimson and even symphonies. I don't mind if it isn't a dark album and lyrics aren't top notch. Trash and Constrictor aren't dark or lyrically brilliant either but they have some entertaining music to offer. They may not be my favourite AC albums but there is still some good material.

[RemarkablyInsincere]

I'm just really disappointed by the whole thing,

Really? I never would have guessed.

if only Ezrin had got his hands on this, we could have had a little gem on our hands.

Hard to imagine Ezrin could have ressurrected this
"shoddy" album since according to you everything from the songwriting to the engineering is sub par.

[While Heaven Wept]

I'm just really disappointed by the whole thing,

Really? I never would have guessed.

if only Ezrin had got his hands on this, we could have had a little gem on our hands.

Hard to imagine Ezrin could have ressurrected this
"shoddy" album since according to you everything from the songwriting to the engineering is sub par.

Remember guys, this is just my opinion and i'm not forcing it upon you!