"Road" - Reviews

[KeithGale]

Though Road is not a classic Cooper album, it is to my ears an enjoyable listen, which is the least I would hope for. I have listened to this more times than Detroit Stories, which was okay, but suffered with sounding uninspired. I think the band pull off great and credible performances and shows that brainstorming ideas makes for more interesting songwriting. When I first heard Big Boots, I liked the riffs and the energy, I immediately took the lyrics as being mischievous Alice trying to satirise the stereotyping that appears in many rock songs, the only problem is, the idea is stretched too thin, so the joke after the first chorus has run of juice. Alice needs to drop the idea that every album needs a concept, in this case, the idea of telling stories from the road literally runs out of road. Lyrics seem to be an issue for some people regarding Road, though not his best, it seems the restrictions of the concept reduce the imagination. I don't wish to go on and list each track, if you follow the lyrics as the album plays it seems to work, but I enjoyed it more by just letting it play. I like the reworking of Road Rats, but it's not essential for the album, nor is Magic Bus required, but it's there.

[Saint&Sinner]

I think the album is mid tier again. Better than detroit stories but that album was too incohesive.
Top tunes for me are :
Dead dont dance - great downtuned beast with a good hook of a chorus
Welcome to the show - modern day lock me up (tho obviously not as good) just a great enjoyable rocker, initially i didnt like the spoken word bit, it has grown on me now and the cut to the solos is awesome.
White line Frankenstein - simple great rock tune. tho why morello and not nita?
The big goodbye - real sleeper hit, heavy and hook laden - nice to have some good gang vocals
100 more miles - this song is great, an alice classic for sure. but it screams that there should be an extended end/outro solo.

Bad songs:
Magic bus - a) yet another cover b) i hate the original c) i hate this version d) why record a drum solo and why record a rubbish one? it really is a bad solo. so bad. Why does everyone love glen, he is just not good enough.
Big boots - not funny and a weak song all round.
Rules of the road - just dull, so so dull and uninspired.

Overall thoughts:
This is the first ballad i dont mind, its not great but considering the tripe from 2000 onwards its a bonus hahaha. Its a stripped back rock and roll album which if they cut the three songs above id really love it i think.
His lyrics are the weakest he has ever delivered in my opinion.
I think he really backed himself into a corner lyrically with the Road aspect. Its good overall but lacking that spark to elevate it above mid tier.

[patrick]

Blabbermouth: https://blabbermouth.net/reviews/road
Ultimate Classic Rock: https://ultimateclassicrock.com/alice-c ... um-review/
Associated Press: https://www.bigrapidsnews.com/entertain ... 307268.php

a 9 out of 10...
https://rocknloadmag.com/news/alice-coo ... um-review/

[SickThings]

White line Frankenstein - simple great rock tune. tho why morello and not nita?

Morello co-wrote the song:

White Line Frankenstein (Cooper, Ezrin, Morello)

[Rod]

A few thoughts now having listened to it a few times
- I quite like the album, I thought I would not, but on first listen it was better than expected and after more listens it has grown on me. -Better than Detroit Stories and probably somewhat better than Paranormal (although nothing here stands out as much as Fireball did)
- Fully agreed with the point that certain songs should have been allowed to breathe - if part of the objective was to showcase the band, then a few opportunities were missed.
- I thought the lyrics would be more annoying being all about the same topic. In the end it's like Si said...if the feel of the song is good, you don't mind it so much.


Best songs
- Welcome to the Show: This is one of the standouts to me, simple but catchy. To my mind it would have made a better first single. Don't particularly like the spoken word part but I don't hate it either.
- Dead don't Dance: Nice heavy sound on this one
- The Big Goodbye: Probably my favourite music wise and the lyrics are better than some other songs
- 100 More Miles: Another favourite. Could definitely have used a big outro and would have been a better closer.

Middle of the road
- I'm Alice: Not bad, but nothing special either
- All over the world: Something about this doesn't fully click
- White Line Frankenstein: Good heavy riff but I still can't get into this one, the whole Frankenstein thing sounds forced and reminds me too much of some other songs
- Baby Please don't Go: Better than most recent ballads (Every Woman has a Name, Something to Remember me by...) but far from the best in the catalogue

Worst songs:
- Rules of the Road: meh
- Big Boots: the now obligatory "funny" song, the joke wears thin very quick. Could have been decent otherwise.
- Go away: too generic

Unnecessary: Road Rats rework (why is it even here? doesn't add much to the original...at least not as hideous as the Detroit City remake) / Magic Bus

[Saint&Sinner]

Morello co-wrote the song:

I get he wrote it but nita doing the solo would have been so much better, Morello's solo was too abstract for the song in my opinion.

[Dannorama]

I think the album is mid tier again. Better than detroit stories but that album was too incohesive.
Top tunes for me are :
Dead dont dance - great downtuned beast with a good hook of a chorus
Welcome to the show - modern day lock me up (tho obviously not as good) just a great enjoyable rocker, initially i didnt like the spoken word bit, it has grown on me now and the cut to the solos is awesome.
White line Frankenstein - simple great rock tune. tho why morello and not nita?
The big goodbye - real sleeper hit, heavy and hook laden - nice to have some good gang vocals
100 more miles - this song is great, an alice classic for sure. but it screams that there should be an extended end/outro solo.

Bad songs:
Magic bus - a) yet another cover b) i hate the original c) i hate this version d) why record a drum solo and why record a rubbish one? it really is a bad solo. so bad. Why does everyone love glen, he is just not good enough.
Big boots - not funny and a weak song all round.
Rules of the road - just dull, so so dull and uninspired.

Overall thoughts:
This is the first ballad i dont mind, its not great but considering the tripe from 2000 onwards its a bonus hahaha. Its a stripped back rock and roll album which if they cut the three songs above id really love it i think.
His lyrics are the weakest he has ever delivered in my opinion.
I think he really backed himself into a corner lyrically with the Road aspect. Its good overall but lacking that spark to elevate it above mid tier.

Rubbish drum solo? Not good enough? You are absolutely wrong. Opinions are opinions, but that statement is ridiculous.

[Saint&Sinner]

Rubbish drum solo? Not good enough? You are absolutely wrong. Opinions are opinions, but that statement is ridiculous.

Fair enough, I'm glad you like it. I can only speak from my view, I'm a drummer and its technically not that good and too hap hazard (especially the random hi hat hits)to be in keeping with the spirit of the song.
But regardless of that, why would you include a drum solo in the first place!? Carr jam 81 it isnt hahaha

[Dannorama]

Rubbish drum solo? Not good enough? You are absolutely wrong. Opinions are opinions, but that statement is ridiculous.

Fair enough, I'm glad you like it. I can only speak from my view, I'm a drummer and its technically not that good and too hap hazard (especially the random hi hat hits)to be in keeping with the spirit of the song.
But regardless of that, why would you include a drum solo in the first place!? Carr jam 81 it isnt hahaha

I am also a drummer. Discovering that you are as well makes me even more curious about your stance. To me, Glen’s power, accuracy, and technique (not to mention showmanship!) are incredible. Those random hi-hat hits are actually on time, just in a different time signature. Personally, I find that to be the true mark of a solid musician. I always credit Neal Smith for showing me the way to play triplets inside quarter notes, which he did during “Halo of Flies.” Sorry that you don’t appreciate Glen, but hey. Them’s the breaks!

[Dannorama]

Maybe THIS CLIP will Thrill Your Gorilla. This is the year before Glen joined Alice. Maybe it's even part of the reason Alice wanted him? Either way, this is a great example of his numerous strengths. (The audio is substandard by today's definitions, but his timing is impeccable!)

[vince_raven]

By tracking the album on the Last.FM app, currently "Big Boots" has the most plays of any song on the album. Could Alice accidentally have a novelty tune become an hit song? Stay tuned........


Personally, this song has grown on me as well as as real others on the album. The piano on this is what does it for me. Also, through the album, while the lyrics may not be Alice's best, the music is stellar. The tight unit that the band is live really shines through and the background vocals from them really sell the songs.

TBE only song I could do without is" Go Away". Not a horrible song, but just unnecessary and bland.

[Saint&Sinner]

I'm not sure what to say about the drumming, its a decent hot for teacher, but hardly earth shattering. Its perfectly fine and he has good control, and he could be good for a lesser band. But his drumming just doesn't seem to have any flair. Just very pedestrian - granted this may be what alice wants (kinda like matt sorum for GNR, i appreciate that) but given the caliber of some of his previous drummers (ken mary, whitey glan, John mover, jimmy degrasso etc.) i just dont get him as a choice.
Tracks like Welcome to the show would be so much better with some interesting drum work. He just seems to get into a gear and not change it up. The only other stuff i have heard him do was shark islands second album (which wasnt good by any stretch) and again the drumming is very basic. Like i say maybe its what alice wants but it just doesn't get me excited let alone air drumming

[cooperrocks]

I'm not sure what to say about the drumming, its a decent hot for teacher, but hardly earth shattering. Its perfectly fine and he has good control, and he could be good for a lesser band. But his drumming just doesn't seem to have any flair. Just very pedestrian - granted this may be what alice wants (kinda like matt sorum for GNR, i appreciate that) but given the caliber of some of his previous drummers (ken mary, whitey glan, John mover, jimmy degrasso etc.) i just dont get him as a choice.
Tracks like Welcome to the show would be so much better with some interesting drum work. He just seems to get into a gear and not change it up. The only other stuff i have heard him do was shark islands second album (which wasnt good by any stretch) and again the drumming is very basic. Like i say maybe its what alice wants but it just doesn't get me excited let alone air drumming

A few years back he won best hard rock drummer of the year. Glen Sobel is considered one of the best drummers in hard rock.

[SickThings]

https://bravewords.com/reviews/alice-cooper-road

[Spiner202]

Am I crazy or is this the first time everyone is referring to a new Alice studio album based on the number of solo albums, rather than total? I keep seeing that this is his 22nd solo album everywhere, rather than his 29th total album.

It doesn't really matter at all, as both are true, but I just find it weird because I'm pretty confident they are going to milk the next album for being his 30th (even though it is a band album).

[Si]

Am I crazy or is this the first time everyone is referring to a new Alice studio album based on the number of solo albums, rather than total? I keep seeing that this is his 22nd solo album everywhere, rather than his 29th total album.

Possibly the fact is just mentioned in any press release that went out.

[nrc]

Nice review wind_up_toy. I agree with a lot of what you say.

One thing: I have to admit to actually liking "The Song That Didn’t Rhyme." The punchline saves it for me.

I love "The Song That Didn't Rhyme." It's all the things that it talks about but somehow it still works. That's a brilliant piece of song writing.

[nrc]

I wasn't disappointed by "Road" but I didn't have high expectations based on recent output. On first listen, it's at least better than Detroit Stories. I'll need a few more plays to decide where it stands vs Paranormal.

I agree that the lyrics are subpar in a lot of places. I know the band shares writing credit and I wonder if there's been any discussion of the lyrical contributions. Sometimes I wonder if Alice is just not putting in the effort these days. One of his greatest talents has always been honing the work of other songwriters but I wonder if he's just enjoying life and doing less of that work.

Alice has taken ideas that were borderline cheesy and painful and made them smart and funny in the past but "Boots" misses the mark so widely that I'm surprised that it made the cut.

Criticism of misogyny doesn't bother me. Alice and the band are just speaking the truth of their lived experience, as the kids like to say. Things get bawdy on the road even when there are women in the mix. But at this point it's so cliche that you need to write something an order of magnitude better than this to make it worth including.

For me, there's too much of the "spoken lyrics" kind of stuff. That has always been part of his vocals but it feels like age combined with constant touring have him leaning on it too heavily.

Ezrin's production is great, as usual, but at this point I wonder if it has become a crutch and Alice is fading in the mix.

[pitkin88]

I'm not sure what to say about the drumming, its a decent hot for teacher, but hardly earth shattering. Its perfectly fine and he has good control, and he could be good for a lesser band. But his drumming just doesn't seem to have any flair. Just very pedestrian - granted this may be what alice wants (kinda like matt sorum for GNR, i appreciate that) but given the caliber of some of his previous drummers (ken mary, whitey glan, John mover, jimmy degrasso etc.) i just dont get him as a choice.
Tracks like Welcome to the show would be so much better with some interesting drum work. He just seems to get into a gear and not change it up. The only other stuff i have heard him do was shark islands second album (which wasnt good by any stretch) and again the drumming is very basic. Like i say maybe its what alice wants but it just doesn't get me excited let alone air drumming

A few years back he won best hard rock drummer of the year. Glen Sobel is considered one of the best drummers in hard rock.

Sid Vicious won best bass guitarist in 1977.

[dadascot]

This review pretty much sums up how I feel about the album.

https://brutallyhonestrockalbumreviews. ... oper-road/