"Road" - Reviews

[Rod]

New review

https://metalstorm.net/pub/review.php?review_id=18891

[Saint&Sinner]

Both are light-years ahead of Nita in abilities and in versatility.

Wow. this is just nonsense. I get you dont like nitas primary form of guitaring "shredding" but nita has just elevated the standard on stage. From a skill basis and from a performance basis.
I have been at a ryan solo gig and he tried to do arpeggio run on the guitar and it was embarrassing for all concerned. Tommy, tommy, tommy knows he is not a lead player and he is fine with that. neither ryan or tommy, tommy, tommy (always have to say it thrice) have a recognizable sound it is standard basic rock and roll licks. In my opinion Ryan has never been good enough for the alice band. he is fine but no more. he does not even enter into the conversation when talking about good guitarists alice has had.....
Dick Wagner, Steve Hunter, Davey johnstone, kane roberts, al pitrelli, steff burns - ryan just doesnt fit in that conversation.
Its no surprise that since she joined the band we started getting the more complex 80s rock/metal stuff

playing the new album to my dad, he had a few comments.
"Who is that guitaring?" (i explain it is nita) he says, "wow, she can really play. "
(Listening to rules of the road) "im surprised this is alice, this sounds like anyone could do this."
"there is some good songs but not better than brutal planet is it? doesnt seem dark enough to me"

[mr.barlow]

I think it was duke Ellington that said ...and I'm paraphrasing..." sometimes you can say more with one note than an entire page of notes".

Clapton I think expressed a similar statement when commenting on shredders back in the day.

Music is not music when it lacks feeling and I find most shredders play for speed and not emotion.

Look at greats like Eddie van Halen and Michael Schenker....there was speed but more importantly melody and emotion. Listen to Dick Wagner on Dada....listen to him rip on Enoughs Enough and then play that heart wrenching solo in Pass The Gun Around....Nita could never pull that off...but to be fair not many could.

Kane noodling is even a bit much for me but the guy has pop sensibilities. I don't see that with Nita.

Tommy obviously has what Alice wants as he's a full blown member of hv.

Ryan Roxie has been around forever and has a tone and feel for they heyday of rock.

Nita to me is adequate...but still limited to shredding...she does have a great stage presence and has a bright future ahead of her. If I had to choose between her and Kane I'd go with Kane everytime. Underneath that shredding is a musician who has range. I think if it were not for the rise of grunge, kane would have been a star seguing into mainstream rock. At any rate it looks like he's coming back, which to me is great news.

[cooperrocks]

New review

https://metalstorm.net/pub/review.php?review_id=18891

Interesting, that review 100 percent was exactly my thoughts on the new album. I love solo Alice and legitimately like or love almost all the albums but this one fell short. It has some moments here and there and I have tried giving it several chances but it just has never clicked with me.

As far as the continued discussion on Nita Strauss. Her playing is outstanding and she adds so much to the show. Might be my favorite Alice guitarist ever. Just my two cents.

[patrick]

Thanks for the review. I don't agree on several statements, but ...a review is only... a review

to prove my point :https://www.rollingstone.com/music/musi ... es-255394/
would we agree with those statements now ?

[Rod]

Thanks for the review. I don't agree on several statements, but ...a review is only... a review

to prove my point :https://www.rollingstone.com/music/musi ... es-255394/
would we agree with those statements now ?

I do agree with some statements - e.g. Raped & Freezin just doesn't click for me, but that's besides the point of this thread, which was about reviews for the new album. A review is always just that, one person's opinion. Just like the comments posted here...

[mr.barlow]

The version of "Road Rats" on "Road" is a pretty good re-hash but it is RUINED by Alice taking out the 'Leave It To Beaver" tv show reference where he removed the word "junk" and replaced it with "props". To me that always added to the song knowing Alice's love for tv shows and to see how many fans caught it.

[Rock10]

W2MN was amazing,

It has a few bad songs on it.

[Agrophile in Texas]

W2MN was amazing,

It has a few bad songs on it.

Yeah, the 2 back-to-back novelty songs -Disco/Ghouls- are m'eh, (I'd rather have had "Under the Bed") but there are no out-and-out bad songs for me, nothing I skip. And there are so many songs that knock my socks off, I mean, it's one of those albums where I get so locked into the music, just drift away and lose myself in it, that I still consider it amazing - despite those 2 dips in the middle. (I guess the ballad is kind of vanilla, but I can't hate it, it's Dick and Alice from the 70s, it touches something sentimental in me, that "bye, bye" at the end)

[Dragontown]

It's obvious that Ryan it's great for what Alice wants to do, which is this current style of garage rock. We could argue that this is a limit, and that Nita could have expanded the musical scope but it did not turn out this way with Road.

[Saint&Sinner]

When you are doing slow/emotional/bluesy numbers etc of course you need a bit more pacing , more room to breathe.
But when you are rocking, you need to bring the energy.
I 100% prefer kane to nita, roses on white lace is still one of my all time fave solos. But i dont want to take away from the talent that nita has. Her solos on road are much more memorable than anything ryan or tommy, tommy, tommy come up with. I couldnt tell you a single great solo that ryan has ever done, he does serviceable solos for sure but never listen to his solos and come out enthused.
Nita has an energy and verve when rocking ("go away" is a great example of stepping it up and stomping all over ryans opening salvo while pushing the energy higher) when you need emotion and melody when slowing it down (listen the sublime "scorched" on call of the void) and then listen to "consume the fire" off the same album which bridges the gap with slow and fast stuff - ryan would never have the skill or chops to write and release a instrumental album.
tommy, tommy tommy is not a lead guy, when he played for warlock he was only a rhythm player and obviously these days he is a producer, song writer and good back up singer.
I have a few ryan albums and none of it is memorable to me, just pedestrian rock aping better stuff from years gone by.
I like ryan but he has never been talented enough to be memorable.

Its all in the eye of the beholder. the one thing i am adamant about tho, is that this album should be the opening salvo in a duo of albums and the next one they can properly reach deep down and bring it on - just like with kane and constrictor/raise your fist - i think they have a great album in them, this just isnt it. I like this album and to be honest it has improved the more i listen but its never gonna be upper tier.

[mr.barlow]

After this epic dud it will never happen. I can see some personel changes coming in the new year.

[mr.barlow]

Alice is going to go out with a tour heavy on original group stuff....when that happens who knows but 80 years old is approaching rather quickly.

You'll see him bring back kane for the 1980s stuff and the focus will be on tommy and Ryan. Or he may bring in a few new players (highly doubtful).

Nita will be the one jettisoned but she may have made that choice herself already.

[mkayers]

Honestly to me (and I'm sure I'll get flamed for this) I'll be so happy to see Nita gone. In my opinion she's nothing but the standard shredder & a poser. I'm so tired of her staring into the crowd and flipping her hair all over. Sickening to watch. If she wasn't a good looking lady she wouldn't be memorable at all.

[mr.barlow]

Honestly to me (and I'm sure I'll get flamed for this) I'll be so happy to see Nita gone. In my opinion she's nothing but the standard shredder & a poser. I'm so tired of her staring into the crowd and flipping her hair all over. Sickening to watch. If she wasn't a good looking lady she wouldn't be memorable at all.

There is more of thar sentiment among fans that is not talked about in public forums. You are a brave man as in today's world anyone critical of a woman is a misogynist or a fascist.

I think change is coming.

[mkayers]

And I'm not saying she's not talented by any means, hell I'm a guitar player too and I can't play the stuff she does. I get annoyed by it being like "The Alice & Nita Show". I wouldn't be really pleased if I was one of the other guys.

[Saint&Sinner]

Honestly to me (and I'm sure I'll get flamed for this) I'll be so happy to see Nita gone. In my opinion she's nothing but the standard shredder & a poser. I'm so tired of her staring into the crowd and flipping her hair all over. Sickening to watch. If she wasn't a good looking lady she wouldn't be memorable at all.

Not at all. She garnered allot of attention for several things in my opinion:
Brilliant energy on stage with boundless enthusiasm for the material. She definitely shows up the "old hands" who were going through the motions when she joined.
Very talented player with a nice style of play and a great attitude. Again this opened up the setlist in a way ryan and tommy were not able (and didn't want) to open up.
She is also a good looking woman, this helps in the same way it does for men. But unlike some people she doesn't "tart" herself up or try to be someone she is not (like simone from epica does)

it is nothing to do with it being a woman as to why so many people like her, the same way kane roberts has allot of fans (such as myself) for many of the same reasons as the ones mentioned above. Likewise i like steff burns and al pitrelli - again due to the energy and talent. i suppose the best way of saying it is, it doesnt matter she is a woman, but it may help

[cooperrocks]

Outside of Alice himself, Nita is the main reason I still enjoy going to the shows. Her playing allowed songs from Constrictor and Raise Your Fist and Yell (Two of my all-time favorite Alice albums) to be played. I love her playing style which has a lot more "feel" in it than people realize but some of us do enjoy more of a shredding style of playing and the energy she brings adds so much to the show. Kane is awesome and one of my favorite guitar players Alice has ever had but when I saw Alice with Kane replacing Nita for a few months, myself and those that went with me all had the same thoughts. The show didn't quite have the energy I had gotten used to in recent years. And once again, a lot of the publicity Alice has gotten in the last 10 years has to do with her and her various projects. It has brought attention not only to herself but to Alice. I hope she is with Alice another 5-10 years and her new album is probably my favorite album of 2023.

[mr.barlow]

Outside of Alice himself, Nita is the main reason I still enjoy going to the shows. Her playing allowed songs from Constrictor and Raise Your Fist and Yell (Two of my all-time favorite Alice albums) to be played. I love her playing style which has a lot more "feel" in it than people realize but some of us do enjoy more of a shredding style of playing and the energy she brings adds so much to the show. Kane is awesome and one of my favorite guitar players Alice has ever had but when I saw Alice with Kane replacing Nita for a few months, myself and those that went with me all had the same thoughts. The show didn't quite have the energy I had gotten used to in recent years. And once again, a lot of the publicity Alice has gotten in the last 10 years has to do with her and her various projects. It has brought attention not only to herself but to Alice. I hope she is with Alice another 5-10 years and her new album is probably my favorite album of 2023.

In 5 years Alice will be nearly 81
In 10 years he will be near 86.

Fans have to start getting realistic about Alice's advancing age.

[cooperrocks]

Outside of Alice himself, Nita is the main reason I still enjoy going to the shows. Her playing allowed songs from Constrictor and Raise Your Fist and Yell (Two of my all-time favorite Alice albums) to be played. I love her playing style which has a lot more "feel" in it than people realize but some of us do enjoy more of a shredding style of playing and the energy she brings adds so much to the show. Kane is awesome and one of my favorite guitar players Alice has ever had but when I saw Alice with Kane replacing Nita for a few months, myself and those that went with me all had the same thoughts. The show didn't quite have the energy I had gotten used to in recent years. And once again, a lot of the publicity Alice has gotten in the last 10 years has to do with her and her various projects. It has brought attention not only to herself but to Alice. I hope she is with Alice another 5-10 years and her new album is probably my favorite album of 2023.

In 5 years Alice will be nearly 81
In 10 years he will be near 86.

Fans have to start getting realistic about Alice's advancing age.

Yes very true and of course all of this is dependent on how much longer Alice decides to go. However, he has made it clear he has no intention on retiring so if he is still in good health, I definitely could see him go at least another 5 years. 10 may be pushing it but you never do. Considering how good his voice still is and how well he still moves around, there has not been much of a decline at this point.