Alice Cooper - A Fistful Of Alice

This album begins with Alice Cooper wanting to make up for how much he thought The Alice Cooper Show sucked. So well down in Cabo San Lucas, at Sammy Hagar's Cabo Wabo Cantina, Alice recorded this little gem of an album. Well it's sort of a gem. If I owned the Japanese release of this album it would be a gem. Instead I get a shitty American release, with less tracks. Could someone please explain to me how Japan get's a better version of this CD than North America or Europe. Better yet, what the hell is with Europe getting more songs than North America?

Also, after all these years I have not been able to get my hands on the Japanese copy, but I haven't really tried either. The album's good but not good enough to have to pay some stupid import fee, unless I can find a good used copy.

Now the first thing about this album that is so interesting is how it opens with School's Out. That's normally the closer, if not the opener and closer. Now as I've already mentioned this was recorded at Sammy Hagar's club, which is uber cool because that different sounding guitar on this track is him playing. It is great to hear Sammy get to just play, instead of singing. Most people forget that he's a decent player, because he's such an awesome vocalist. Also a decade of dealing with Van Hasshole being the only guitarist didn't help.

From there we move on to I'm Eighteen, which it seems that Alice was anxious to get those two over played ancient tracks put to bed early. Which is okay, because some of us are thinking the same thing.

After that comes Desperado, a song that Alice "Wrote for Jim Morrison." It starts off with a great little spanish sounding playaround on the opening riff, until the introduction is done, and then it moves into the classic that so many love and know.

Then much to my happiness Slash comes out to play Lost In America. This was the only hit from The Last Temptation, which is very sad. However, Slash's take on the song, while both different and yet the same, is a fresh blast of fresh air, to a song that I thought overly praised.

Now, I must say that it was really cool to see that Teenage Lament '74 was on here. That's where my opinion stops being positive, since I don't like the song normally even. I also feel the same way about I Never Cry being on here. It's my favourite of the 70's ballads, but I only really ever liked one Alice Ballad and it's from the 90's, and not on here.

Then we continue with songs that Alice performs live that I don't care for. I understand that Poison is the reason so many people my age got into Alice Cooper, and I also understand that those people are morons. I've only ever heard one version of this song that I've liked and it was from Alice's Live at Montreaux. I always thought the lead guitar sounded weak and too held back. That thing should have been allowed to roar.

Finally we get back to the stuff I like. Billion Dollar Babies is always wicked cool when the drums are played right. In this case they are okay. Jimmy Degrasso, is a decent Metal drummer, but this song is not Metal. This is some deranged backwards Swing Beat Rock song that is pretty much built upon a continous Jazz fill. His playing of it is basic and does the trick more or less. In all honesty the only drummer besides the original (Neil Smith) that can play this song even close to right live is Eric Singer.

After that we are treated to a little tease of Steven right before moving into the classic Welcome To My Nightmare. This is one of those songs that only seems to sound right when Alice is actually performing the song. Not the case here. This sounds like he's standing at the mic just singing along. Also the abience that makes the song eerie isn't there either.

I've already mentioned my dislike for Alice Cooper ballads, and chances are you've already read my ragging on Only Women Bleed before. I will say that Slash plays the lead on this live one, but even that doesn't make me feel better about it. Still can't stand the song.

Normally I would rip on Feed My Frankenstein as well. The most over rated song on an excellent CD full of prime cuts. This version has Rob Zombie dueting with Alice instead, and that is cool. It's like listening to two monsters battling over the same scrap of meat. A welcome change from the normal treatment of this song.

The last live song on the album is Elected. Which of all the tracks on this particular collection, is probably one of the best. I've seen this song performed live in person multiple times, and this version is just as good as all those were. Hell I'm a big fan of the original even. But it get's even better when Rob Zombie and Slash are performing too! This is actually the most energetic sounding performance on the entire CD, and a great way to end any show.

The album ends with a new studio track, well new at the time. Is Anyone Home? sounds a bit like your standard Alice Cooper crazy song. Which it is and it isn't. Sure it's all about a guy suffering from a lonely depression, but it's brought on by his loss of internet access. A bit of an old story with a modern twist if you like.

All in all A Fistful Of Alice is not that much of an impressive apology. If it had been the full version that Japan recieve then maybe, since that album also had Clones, No More Mr. Nice Guy, and Bed On Nails. Two out of three of those songs Alice barely plays live even, so it would be something special. Instead we get an album full of the same basic standards, with to many ballads.

7/10 - content

7/10 - production

7/10 - personal bias

Iron Maiden - Ed Hunter (music only)

Ed Hunter is in fact a video game, but it came with a double CD greatest hits collection which spanned Iron Maiden's entire career at the time. It's literally a list of the band's Top 20 songs, as selected by the fans on the official Maiden website, in December of 1998.

The only reason I'm reviewing this as an album is that my copy of Best Of The Beast is in such rough shape it needs to be replaced. Why does that matter? I listen to the albums as I write the reviews, and I can't listen to it, to write the review. And if you are wondering why review a greatest hits package, they are always the best place to start a collection with a band when you don't know much about them. Also Maiden can have an impressive best of or greatest hits if it's put together right.

Now, as I said these songs were selected by the fans, and they appear in order based on the number of the votes they recieved, according to the CD. I was part of the selection process when this happened, which is also why I find it so easy to bitch about the songs that make up this collection.

This spans the band's entire "official album" career, which means four guitarists, three vocalists, two drummers, and one bassist needed to be represented. The problem is when they set up the website for voting they didn't do it fairly. The listed each album and then asked you to pick a certain number of songs from that album. You can actually figure out the breakdown based on which songs appear on this album. Which also means the first thing you will notice is that the album Iron Maiden is barely on here at all.

A live version of the song by the same name starts this collection, but it's the version from Live After Death, so it's Bruce instead of Paul Di'Anno. I don't like this version, and never have. There are many better live versions of the song, with Bruce performing them. However, I would have liked to have had more Di'Anno on this album then there is. Also I really like Paul's performance of this song, which is why it bugs me that's it's not here.

Going to the other side of the spectrum, we have way too much Blaze Bayley. Nothing against Blaze, he's a good vocalist, but one song from each album he was on would have been more than enough, and there was no way that Virtual XI deserved two songs, eventhough I did like the album in an off-beat way.

Just like I don't understand how Powerslave got three songs, which is the same that Number Of The Beast has, but more than Piece Of Mind, which is a better album as far as I'm concerned. Then there's the fact that the only live track is the already mentioned Iron Maiden. There were two other full length live albums that didn't even get an option to appear on this collection.

However, I'm going to stop bitching about how they opted to run their song selection process and get back to the songs.

After the live version of Iron Maiden kicks off the album we move on to The Trooper. The only one of my top three songs to make the cut for this collection. Now I'm just going to cut and paste the write up I've already done for this song on the Piece Of Mind album, and tweek it a bit.

The Trooper's the quintessential Iron Maiden gallopping riff song. That insane gallop that only Steven Harris can so perfectly play is what this entire song is all about. Then the lryical content is real fun. With a verse like "You'll take my life but I'll take yours too / You'll fire your musket but I'll run you through / So when your waiting for the next attack / You'd better stand there's no turning back / The bugle sounds the charge begins / But on this battle field no one wins / The smell of acrid smoke and horses breath as I plunge on into certain death", a chorus of "Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh" is all you need to make this song perfect. Oh yeah, it makes me very happy this is the second favourite fan voted song.

Just as a little side note, so I don't have to keep mentioning it in this article, every song review on here either comes from a review already written, or will end up in a later album review. This is a greatest hits package, I feel I can be as lazy as the band was putting this album together. That's not a dig either, just a statement of facts as I see them.

Number Of The Beast is probably the most well known song from the band. It's a surprise that it's number three instead of one.

This is the song that made Satanic Heavy Metal a real thing for many religious groups, just waiting to raise a whole lot of stupidity. The song is an arrangement of complex changes and textures, with a little Vincent Price for added fun. Which once again has me thinking of another great showman, that also used Mr. Price's vocal majesty. I'm not talking about the King of Pop either, because he did it after Maiden, who did it after Alice Cooper.

The fourth song on the album is Wrathchild, one of two vocal contributions from Di'Anno on this album. Let me start with I've never been a big fan of this song, and I think the only reason it ever become as popular of a song as it was, was due to the fact that there wasn't too much Maiden to listen to yet. I really just don't understand the appeal of the song. It does have great groove, but that's about it. Now as I've said, two songs were included from the Virtual XI album, and somehow beyond my ken one of them made it to number five on this list. Futereal which was not one of the songs I liked off that album is on here instead of the single The Angel And The Gambler. How the fuck that happened I will never figure out. I don't understand why anyone thought this was single material.

Song six is the live crowd favourite Fear Of The Dark. Sadly they went with the studio version instead of a live one on here. It's the only song from it's respective album you can guarantee the band will play live. In fact it's always one of the best "crowd" songs on any given night. It is a magnificently crafted epic, that is just beautiful. It takes you on a journey that is full of wonder and intrigue, and of course there is fear. "Have you run your fingers down / The wall / And have you felt your neck skin crawl / When you're searching for the light? / Sometimes when you're scared / To take a look / At the corner of the room / You've sensed that something's / Watching you / Have you ever been alone at night / Thought you heard footsteps behind / And turned around and no one's there? / And as you quicken up your pace / You find it hard to look again / Because you're sure there's / Someone there".

It's no surprise that Fear Of The Dark would be number six on the list, but it is surprising that Be Quick Or Be Dead, from the same album, follows at track seven. When I wrote the original review for this song this is all I had to say, "The lead off track Be Quick Or Be Dead, is a prime example of this. Not to say that it's a bad song, it's very good, just dated." It's an early 90's song, that sounds very much like everything else from many bands at that time. However, it's still good, and I feel the need to stress that.

One of Iron Maiden's biggest hits has got to be 2 Minutes To Midnight. Everyone I know that likes Maiden, right down to my 12 year old son, loves this song. Except for me. I can't give you a good reason. Musically the song is sound (which I know reads funny), with it's catchy chorus and razor sharp riffs, but I have no use for the song. Actually when I look at the album that it's from (Powerslave), I notice that I don't care for most songs off that album.

After that we come back to another Bayley song. Man On The Edge, from the X Factor album, is luckily the only song from ths album. It's not a bad album, but it wasn't as imaginative as the Virtual XI album, and didn't have the musical majesty that one would normally expect from Maiden. How this song made it to number nine I'll never figure out either. Then again if you can only pick one song from the album and everyone picks this song, it will get a lot of votes.

From there we move on to Aces High, the only song from the Powerslave album I really enjoy. This is one of those songs that I think it's all about Dickinson's performance. "There goes the siren that warns of the air raid / Then comes the sound of the guns sending flak / Out for the scramble we've got to get airborne / Got to get up for the coming attack. / Jump in the cockpit and start up the engines / Remove all the wheelblocks there's no time to waste / Gathering speed as we head down the runway / Gotta get airborne before it's too late. / Running, scrambling, flying / Rolling, turning, diving, going in again / Run, live to fly, fly to live, do or die / Run, live to fly, fly to live. aces high." There's a lot of production in his voice on this song, however his live performances are just as good. The song was designed for stadium performances.

After that it's on to The Evil That Men Do which is the only song from Seventh Song Of A Seventh Son. Which brings me back to, Powerslave has three songs on here? I digress.

I don't care for the weak sounding opening to the song, but once that famous gallop starts going it sends it into motion so the guitars can build up speed and take flight. The chorus is also really catchy and easy to sing along with.

Number twelve is another one of my absolute favourite Iron Maiden songs, and it was written by Adrian Smith. Wasted Years is this astounding fast paced straight rocker, sans gallop, from the Somewhere In Time album. Now, as much as I love the chorus and the message in the verses, which one can easily guess from the song title, it's the guitar that makes this song. The way Smith opens up and let's it fly is fucking amazing!!! The main riff itself is a marvel of talent, skill and sound, but the solo is a wet dream.

One again back to Powerslave, luckily this is the last time I will bitch about it. The last song included from that album is the title track itself. This song has great energy live, and I will not deny that. However, I have no use for the song. The first disc finishes up with Hallowed Be Thy Name, unless you have the special 1999 U.S. edition, which I don't.

Hallowed Be Thy Name, is long, epic, and Iron Maiden's story of a man walking to his death at the gallows. So many bands have done this story, but very few have done it with such unique style and presence. It brings to mind Alice Cooper's Killer, which makes sense because of the showmanship of Dickinson's vocals and the surprisingly intricate muscianship.

Now this track registers as being 7:15 on my computer. I swear the computer, the liner notes and every other counter in the world is lying. Somehow Maiden managed to magically cram at least ten minutes of song in there, and it's all worth it. The second disc opens up with Run To The Hills. This is another favourite of mine. For a while it was my favourite even.

The story of the British invading, killing and slaughtering Native Americans, because "The only good Indians are tame." I learned something from this song. Metal bands have brains. I also learned the difference between screaming and singing. That insane high note I scream, thus ripping out my vocal chords, can only be sung by Bruce. Oh yeah, what about that crazy gallop that only Maiden can do!? HELL YEAH!!!

I must say I'm a bit upset that it's technically number fifteen on the list of twenty.

After that we got to The Clansman, the last Bayley song on this collection. From Virtual XI, this is a song inspired by Mel Gibson's Braveheart. This is a really good song, and I actually feel bad that I like Bruce's performance of it live better. The fact is that Dickinson is a performer.

Now, I have no clue how Phantom Of The Opera ended up at number seventeen, it should have been much higher. Especially since it's the only song from Iron Maiden (the album) on here. I am willing to overlook the fact that it beat Running Free, but I will not accept that it ended up so low on the list.

Killers is one of those songs that is wicked cool, but much like the album that it is from, I don't care for most of the songs. I can understand why it was Di' Anno's last album.

Stranger In A Strange Land is the second track from Somewhere In Time to be on this collection. I have nothing against this song, but I'm not sure why it's as well recieved as it is. Even odder is that it may be the only Smith song that I don't care for. I think it's because the song sounds so typically Maiden.

Tailgunner is the only song to appear from No Prayer For The Dying. This is not the greatest Maiden album, but I liked it. Which is why I'm surprised this song is on here instead of Holy Smoke or Bring Your Daughter... To The Slaughter. I have nothing against Tailgunner, it's just that there's better. I also find it a shame that it's the last song on this colelction. Really? This song got less votes than any of the Bayley stuff? Seems odd to me.

At the end of it all this is a good collection when you consider that it's actually the bonus to a video game. However. I really would have liked to have seen different songs and in a much different order (in many cases). In fact my top twenty list would have read, and in order, 1) Running Free, 2) Flight Of Icarus, 3) The Trooper, 4) From Here To Eternity, 5) Wasted Year, 6) Fear Of The Dark (live), 7) Run To The Hills, 8) Iron Maiden (studio version), 9) Bring Your Daughter... To The Slaughter , 10) The Evil That Men Do, 11) Can I Play With Madness, 12) Number Of The Beast, 13) Heaven Can Wait, 14) Children Of The Damned, 15) Aces High, 16) Man On The Edge, 17) Angel And The Gambler 18) Gengis Khan 19) Transylvania 20) Santuary (live).

8/10 - content

8/10 - production

7/10 - personal bias

Iron Maiden - Fear Of The Dark

My first real introduction to Iron Maiden came with 1992's Fear Of The Dark. Specifically it came with the video for From Here To Eternity, but we can just summerize it as being the actual album.

In the grand scheme of things this is a good album, but it's very dated. It's very much a period piece, sounding like much of the music coming out of the late 80's early 90's. The lead off track Be Quick Or Be Dead, is a prime example of this. Not to say that it's a bad song, it's very good, just dated.

The second track and my introduction to Maiden, From Here To Eternity, is cheesy on so many levels that make up Metal from that time, with lyrics like "She fell in love with his greasy machine / She leaned over wiped his head / kickstart clean / She'd never seen the beast before / But she left there wanting / more more more / But when she was walking on / down the road / She heard a sound that made / her heart explode / He whispered to her to get on the back / 'I'll take you on a ride / from here to eternity'", but it doesn't matter because this song will get The Drewcifir and I in "the pit" if they play it live at any show we see it at. (Please play it at Bayfest I'm begging!!!) This is also considered the third installment in the Charlotte The Harlot series, and I love a good trilogy. Even if that trilogy is a bit B-Movie.

I'm not sure how much I care for Afraid To Shoot Strangers. It is a fantastic song that is beautifully crafted in that epic Maiden way. I think that's part of the problem I have with the song though. There are two songs on this album that are like that and this is the weaker of the two. But once again I must stress that this is a really good song, I just don't care for it much.

After this point I find that the album gets kind of fillerish. Most of the filler is enjoyable, but it's filler. Some of it is due to song content not doing much for me. Some of it is from the production sounding so 1992, and in a cliche overdone kind of way.

Fear Is the Key was a drone away from sounding like an Alice In Chains song, which just isn't for me. When the song starts going like this it's easy to see why Bruce Dickinson stepped away from the band after this album, which is silly since this was one of his songs. But it's not a Maiden song. That could even be because it was Gers that was the co-writer and his musical expression wasn't working for me.

The next song pretty much continues the same idea I was talking about. It's not so much a little grungy as a little too Power Metally. Childhood's End is pretty much a lot of rapid fire music with textured lyrics. Musically it is a good tune. It's a bit Iron Maiden stock, but still enjoyable.

Wasting Love is once again Dickinson and Gers doing a song that sounded too cliche of it's time. It's a very typical ballad that would sound just at home on a Tesla album. Skip it. It's not even good filler. It's a snoozer, that seems to last way too long.

The next track on the album is a bit of a nice welcome back to classic Iron Maiden. The Fugitive is a bit typical of Harris, but it's one of the better songs in a collection of filler. I enjoy the bit of a jam in the middle as well, instead of the basic solo.

I also enjoy the swinging Chains Of Misery, which was done by Dickinson and Murray (the guitarist with the least number of writing credits?). It's not anything special, but it's good filler. In fact part of me thinks they ripped off Spinal Tap on this one.

The Apparition is more filler. It does nothing for me, so feel free to skip it. However, I suggest you listen to Judas Be My Guide and make up your own mind with that song. I'm still on the fence 20 years later. Weekend Warrior also falls into that same catagory. It's pretty standard Metal for the time, but there's a sense of Detroit Rock in there that catches my attention.

The album finishes with the title track, which is the only song from this album you can guarantee the band will play live. In fact it's always one of the best "crowd" songs on any given night. Fear Of The Dark (the song) is a magnificently crafted epic, that is just beautiful. It takes you on a journey that is full of wonder and intrigue, and of course there is fear. "Have you run your fingers down / The wall / And have you felt your neck skin crawl / When you're searching for the light? / Sometimes when you're scared / To take a look / At the corner of the room / You've sensed that something's / Watching you / Have you ever been alone at night / Thought you heard footsteps behind / And turned around and no one's there? / And as you quicken up your pace / You find it hard to look again / Because you're sure there's / Someone there".

I wouldn't call this a great album, it's barely a decent album. It's an album that is typical. Full of filler and if it weren't for the title track, From Here To Eternity, and maybe a couple choice filler, I would almost consider this album a fail. Not a fail like X-Factor and Virtual XI were, due to experimenting, but a fail in the sense that it was a very basic, boring Maiden album.

5/10 - content

7/10 - production

6/10 - personal bias

Alice Cooper - The Alice Cooper Show

In 1977, right on the heals of the Lace And Whiskey Tour, the nice people at Warner Bros. Records asked Alice to go out and record a couple more shows for a live album. Alice, the band, and the performers were all tired and burnt out, not to mention this was right before Cooper went into rehab for the first time as well.

Does that mean that this is a crappy album? Does that mean this album gives a lack luster performance? Does this mean that you are going to be reading a bad Alice review?

The answers are no, yes and depends on how you take my opinion. For starters, as I've mentioned before live recordings prior to the 1990's tend to have crappy production, just because of the technology at the time. However, since this was recorded on purpose as a live album, the production is better than many. My biggest complaint is Alice's vocals are pushed too far forward.

Now, I don't think that this album reflects an actual set list. It totally doesn't reflect the length of an Alice concert either. In order to do that it would have had to have been a double vinyl release. Instead the track list reads more like a hastily thrown together greatest hits package.

The album opens with Under My Wheels. This is a great song, and the live version isn't a let down either. A great way to kick off an album, or a concert. Then from there it's on to Eighteen, which is just another basic live performance of that song.

The third song to appear is Only Women Bleed, a song I've never cared for. It's got great meaning, but I just don't care for the speed. It makes me wanna go sleepy. I also didn't need an almost six minute live version either, in which Alice sounds like poop.

I didn't care for the fact that Sick Things was shortened down to 1:01 either. It makes it more of a filler and less of the creepy cool song that it is. I do like the little laugh he gives right before kicking into the tad more danceable than normal, Is It My Body. I think it's the keyboards that add something of an almost Disco feel to the song, that makes it more upbeat groovy than before.

I have no clue why they felt a need to include not one, not two, but three ballads in the live set, forget wasting the valuable space on this live record. Don't get me wrong, I'm okay with the fact that I Never Cry is on this album, and it's a respectable 2:51, but when you include the already mentioned Only Women Bleed and the upcoming You And Me, it's too much. I Never Cry is my personal favourite of the three and I would have been much happier if it had been the only one on here.

Billion Dollar Babies follows that up. Good song, decent live version; however, Pentti (Whitey) Glan is not Neil Smith, and therefore can not play the song quite right. He plays the more simplified version, that I myself have to use.

From there we move on to Devil's Food/The Black Widow. I'd like to point out that for some reason Alice doesn't like performing these songs in their entirety since the actual Welcome To My Nightmare tour. They do a quick lead into the chorus of Devil's Food, which leads to the tape of Vincent Price's classic performance, and then on to The Black Widow. The second half was performed pretty much the same as the album, but Alice's vocals were rather weak.

Of all the songs to include from Lace And Whiskey I don't understand why You And Me was the one they chose to go with here. First off, over the years I've discovered that women are less likely to buy Live albums. Not to say that they don't, but Live is more of a guy thing, at least with Rock. Therefore three ballads is just stupid, and this one is the worst of the lot, luckily this is also the shortest of the bunch. In fact the only time I will listen to You And Me in any version, is when Alice performs it on The Muppet Show with Miss Piggy.

From there we move on to a medley of I Love The Dead/Go To Hell/ Wish You Were Here which is the only track from this album that ever goes on my Mp3 player. I would like to start by saying that 6:31 is nowhere near long enough to do justice to three songs that run about one to two minute shorter than this medley on their own. I Love The Dead, which is a favourite of mine and the best live song for performance purposes, takes up almost half of the song. Then finally Go To Hell kicks in, which feels rushed, and when it should go into the awesome breakdown it turns into Wish You Were here. Each song should have been on here separately, and could have been if it weren't for the three damn ballads sucking up valuable space. However, as far as medleys go, this one is actually pretty decent.

The album then finishes the same way every concert more or less finishes to this day. School's Out comes cranking out in a wickedly short and sped up 2:19. For a song that had been played so much by this band, it seems very disjointed and all over the place. Not anywhere as good as future live versions.

All in all this album is pretty blah. Alice sounds off, which I'm sure was thanks to the heavy drinking. The bands feels like they are rushing everything. The sound quality of the production is good for it's time, and the mixing for the album was done well, but neither are enough to save this albums meh overall sound and attitude.

5/10 - content

7/10 - production

5/10 - personal bias

Iron Maiden - Piece Of Mind

My absolute favourite Iron Maiden album is Piece Of Mind. This was the album that cemented the classic Iron Maiden line up of Steve Harris, Dave Murray, Adrian Smith, Bruce Dickinson and Nicko McBrain. As well as the first Maiden album to make me turn my head and go "Holy shit, Dickinson has a voice that could only have been personally handed to him by God." Religious views aside, I do believe that his voice came from Heaven. It could possibly be The Choir Of Angels all put into one man's voice. However, let me move on.

Is this my favourite album because it is Maiden's best? That's a matter of opinion. Typically Number Of The Beast is considered their best, and I tend to agree with that. However, this album has my two favourite songs, plus a bunch of others I love. I must acknoweldge this album does have a bit of filler, which is why it isn't as good as Number.

The album opens with Where Eagles Dare, which believe it or not I would consider a weak start to the album. It's a decent tune, but pretty stock for Maiden.

From there it moves into Revelations. This song is actually better live than it is on the album. It's odd how slowly this albums starts up. It's almost like the band said "Let's put all the shite at the beginning of the album, so when it starts going they can't stop listening."

If I'm listening to just this album, I normally skip straight to track 3 and then continue from there. Why track three? It's my favourite Iron Maiden song.

Let me start by saying that I don't know if there is an Adrian Smith/Maiden song I don't like. However, Flight Of Icarus does not have just Adrian (my favourite Iron Maiden guitarist) writing, but also Bruce Diskinson has a credit as well.

Now the story is simple enough. It's about the flight of Icarus. Not that you'd be able to figure that out from the title or anything. However, for those that don't know what that story is about, the fastest way to learn is by listening to this song. So, stop reading this and go listen to the song on Youtube or something, then come back when you know the story.

Now, musically speaking the guitar work in this song gets me off. One of the reasons it's so magnificent is that while being an Iron Maiden song, it's still uniquely different in its delivery. For starters, the gallop isn't there.

I do believe this is Bruce's best vocal performance to date. The super length held note for "Fly" at the 3:02 marker is an orgasm for the ears. Of all the songs I need to see Maiden performe live, this is the highest on my list. Sadly, Bruce doesn't seem to try risking it much anymore.

After that it's on to Die With Your Boots On, which is a bit typical, but still totally kicking. I also only call it typical, because it's just so awesomely stock Iron Maiden. Plus how can you argue with lyrics like "No point asking when it is, / No point asking who's to go, / No point asking what's the game, / No point asking who's to blame. /'cos if you're gonna die, if you're gonna die, / 'cos if you're gonna die, if you're gonna die, / If you're gonna die, die with your boots on. / If you're gonna try, just stick around, / Gonna cry, just move along, / If you're gonna die, you're gonna die."

Now if you are kind of paying attention you might think that Die With Your Boots On is supposed to go with the next song.

Let me start by saying there are only two songs I like more than The Trooper. I've already mentioned one, and the other, Running Free, which isn't on this album. First off, this is the quintessential Iron Maiden gallopping riff song. The insane gallop that only Steven Harris can so perfectly play is what this entire song is all about. Then the lryical content is real fun, especially the simple chorus of "Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh" repeated twice. Why such a simple chorus? With a verse like "You'll take my life but I'll take yours too / You'll fire your musket but I'll run you through / So when your waiting for the next attack / You'd better stand there's no turning back / The bugle sounds the charge begins / But on this battle field no one wins / The smell of acrid smoke and horses breath as I plunge on into certain death", a couple of"Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh's" is all you need.

I mentioned in the past that to this day I always think that Still Life is called Peace Of Mind. I can't offer a logical reason for this except for that the words Still Life appear nowhere in the song, but the words Peace Of Mind do. It's like they didn't want to make this a title track. I also like the little bit of vocal effects they use in the studio version. It's not much, but it's effective.

Quest For Fire is another great stock song. This one sounds a bit like a leftover from the albums Iron Maiden or Killers, but not a bad left over. Just one of those songs that wasn't finished and then was forgotten about for a while. It has that vibe and groove found especially on the first album. I also have to mention that Iron Maiden is one of the best story telling bands, and this song goes right along with that. A Metal Opera about cavemen questing for fire. Simply beautiful.

Sun And Steel is a bit filler. It's okay, but I find it about as weak of a song as the first two on this album, which leads into the last track from the album. To Tame A Land, directly inspired by Dune, has a sound that eventually would become the Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son album, only five years earlier. Not a song that I care for much, but it's still a fantastic song, like many Iron Maiden epics are.

As I said in the beginning, this is not Maiden's best album, It's just my favourite. How could it not be, it has Flight Of Icarus and The Trooper, plus a bunch of other good stuff. This is the type of album that's great for when you just need to listen to an album with some intellectual substance behind it.

7/10 - content

8/10 - production

10/10 - personal bias

Alice Cooper - Love It To Death

The first Alice Cooper album released on a major label was Love It To Death in 1971. This album featured the classic line up of Alice Cooper (Vincent Furnier), Dennis Dunaway, Glen Buxton, Michael Bruce, and Neal Smith, as well as being produced by Bob Ezrin.

This nothing album, recorded by a bunch of weirdos that relocated from California to Detroit, was produced by a nobody that thought this band was going somewhere. Bob Ezrin was very right, and on his way to becoming a major name himself.

Let me start with the only reason Alice Cooper (which was actually the band's name at the time, not the vocalist) was famous. "The Chicken Inccident" was when a chicken somehow found itself on stage with Alice, during a point when they use to shower the audience in feathers from pillows. The vocalist picked up the flightless bird, and being some type of moron, threw it back into the crowd thinking it would fly. The audience instead tore the animal apart.

Now, if you have ever owned a copy of Pink Floyd's The Wall, Kiss' Destroyer and Revenge, and Lou Reed's Berlin to name just a few, you'll know hat Bob Ezrin produced some of the best albums Rock ever released. However, this was the album that started it all.

What you might not know is that Bob Ezrin and Alice Cooper (band and artist) released not only Love It to Death (1971) together, but also Killer (1971), School's Out (1972), Billion Dollar Babies (1973), Welcome to My Nightmare (1975), Alice Cooper Goes to Hell (1976), Lace and Whiskey (1977), The Alice Cooper Show (1977), DaDa (1983), and Welcome 2 My Nightmare (2011). Bob also was the executive producer for Brutal Planet (2000) and Dragontown (2001). But, I digress.

This is the album that made Alice Cooper famous, and it's all thanks to a song that Bob originally thought was called I'm Edgy, or something to that effect. It was actually I'm Eighteen, which I'm sure if you are reading this you know exactly what song I'm talking about. This song was made famous by CKWW in Windsor, Ontario. Long before it became a completely crap talk station. Why would a song like I'm Eighteen get so much airplay in 1971? Because the words were clear and they could easily appeal to the masses. "I got a / Baby´s brain and an old man´s heart / Took eighteen years to get this far / Don´t always know what I´m talkin´ about / Feels like I´m livin´ in the middle of doubt / Cause I´m eighteen / I get confused every day / Eighteen / I just don´t know what to say / Eighteen / I gotta get away." This song is so good that for the longest time it was a go to song when I would perform live.

Now that I've covered one of the weakest songs on the album, I'm going to go back to the beginning of the album. It opens up with Caught In A Dream, this is a great garage rock song about dreams and ambitions. Simple teenage day dreaming. "Well I'm runnin' through the world with a gun in my back tryin' to catch a ride in a cadillac / Thought that I was livin' but you can't really tell been tryin' to get away from that success smell / You know I need a houseboat and I need a plane I need a butler and a trip to Spain / I need everything the world owes me I tell that to myself and I agree / I'm caught in a dream so what you don't know what I'm goin' through / I'm right in between so I'll I'll just play along with you". In fact the song is so awesomely simple that the lyrics pretty much just repeat themselves in various ways, with Glen Buxton throws out some kicking lead lines.

From there we move on to the already discussed classic that everyone should know. After that we move on to Long Way To Go. This song pretty much picks up where Caught In A Dream left off. One way that you could actually take it is the first three songs on the album are supposed to go together to create a story teenage angst struggling to become famous.

The longest song on the album is Black Juju, which at 9:09 is a bit longish. This is Alice Cooper's version of The Door's The End. Not to say that Alice was ripping off Morrison and crew, but this song was clearly inspired by them. Which is also understandable since they were all friends back in California. This is a good way to finish off side one on the original vinyl as well. I personally tend to skip this song myself, it's one of the only songs on this album I like less than I'm Eighteen. The other is Sun Arise, which I will get to.

The second side of the original vinyl opens with Is It My Body. This is one of the best slow sexy groove rock and roll songs of all time. Dennis Dunnaway's bass playing is what drives this song, the guitars just add that little bit of dirty charm. What's even better is listening to a guy sing "What have I got / That makes you want to love me / Now is it my body / Someone I might be / Somethin' inside me / You better tell me / Tell me / It's really up to you / Have you got the time to find out / Who I really am". This was just the start of Alice's now famous gender bending. As a side note. I love Is It My Body even more when my significant other/sexier half/writing editor sings the song. It get's me uber hot. Thank-you Alice!!!

Hallowed Be My Name is sort of like Alice taking a pot shot at the church, or Alice reflecting his religious upbringing by pointing the finger at the sinners. It could be taken either way. Either way it makes this song a bit dark and music makes it a bit creepy, which makes the oddly weak song seem so much more than it is.

The next song is my second favourite song on the album. Second Coming, unknown to almost anyone, is my absolute favourite Alice Cooper song to sing. "I couldn't tell / If the bells were getting louder / The songs they ring I finally recognize / I only know / Hell is getting hotter / The Devil's getting smarter all the time / And it would be nice / To walk upon the water / To talk again to angels / On my side / Time is getting closer / I read it on a poster / Fanatical exposers / On corners prophesized / It would be nice / To walk upon the water / To talk again to angels / At my side / I just come back to show you / All my words are golden / So have no gods before me / I'm the light". Yeah, that's right. My Favourite Alice Cooper song to sing is a simple ditty about the second coming of Jesus. This was also in 1971, long before everyone got offended by Alice being a born again. Dumb asses!

Second Coming flows right into my favourite Alice Cooper song, if I have to absolutely pick one. Ballad Of Dwight Fry was the first insane song. It was the first time Alice Cooper introduced the world to the madman hiding inside. "I was gone for fourteen days, I could've been gone fore more, / Held up in a intensive care ward, I was lying on the floor. / I was gone for all those days, but I was not all alone. / I made friends with a lot of people, in the danger zone. / See my lonely life unfold I see it every day, see my lonely mind explode, when I'm gone away / I think I lost some weight there, I'm sure I need some rest! / Sleeping don't come very easy, in a straight white vest. / Sure like to see them little children, only four years old. / I'd given them back all their play things, even the ones is stole. / See my lonely life unfold, I see it everyday.. / See my lovely mind explode when I've gone insane!" There are only three other Alice Cooper song's I have ever performed live more than this one, I'm Eighteen, Sick Things and Dead Babies. I still perform bass renditions of the last two by myself. If I could give this one the same treatment I would. Ballad Of Dwigth Fry is the song!!!

Sun Arise finishes off the album. Originally it was the fourth single released by the Australian singer-songwriter Rolf Harris (1962). I have no use for this song and normally stop the album after Ballad. This song is a nice happy ending to the album which is fine, but really it just sounds like a bunch of hippy filler.

This is not the best Alice Cooper record. The production was a bit shakey and thin, a problem with anything recorded prior to 32 channel mixerboards being part of the norm. Also normal for a guy working on his first album.

However, this is a very, and I do mean very, powerful album. I bought this album originally just for Ballad Of Dwigth Fry, and that alone made it worth every cent. When you add in everything except for the last song on both sides of the vinyl, I could have lived without those, this is a great album.

9/10 - content

7/10 - production

8/10 - personal bias

Alice Cooper- Along Came a Spider

* - This article is composed, in part, with an aticle I published September 15, 2008 on facebook. The article was a comparative between two different albums that came out around the same time. I felt that changing much of the original text in the first two paragraphs wasn't nessessary.

In the last month and change, Alice Cooper and Metallica have released new albums and both have gone back to older styles. It's interesting how one instantly got me off and I call it a crowning achievement in a long career and the other is just another album for the most part.

Alice Cooper's Along Came A Spider is pure evil and insanity from begining to end, with only one or two songs kinda leaving you going WTF!?! But if you love classic Alice this is a must get album, and if you like newer Alice this album is also a must get. If this does end up being Alice's last album, he left me dying for more. I could never rave about this album enough, so I'll stop drooling over it now, because this could turn into a 1000 word essay on the genius of Alice Cooper.

Those were my thoughts when this album came out. I still stand by all of them, but now I'm going to ramble on.

Let me start by saying that this album is psycho killer Alice. The same Alice that can be found on the second half of Raise Your Fist And Yell. This is the Master returning for another round of shocktreatment.

The album opens with Prologue/I Know Where You Live which set the mood for the album. Setting up the story of a grizzly tale, discovered after the fact. As well as the revelling in the stalking his victims.

The single from this album was Vengence Is Mine, I think that's mainly do to the fact that Slash was the lead guitarist, and you can tell. Slash's trademark guitar sound and style just rip through this entire song. I mean he just really opens it up and let's it all fly out. It's so beautiful, easily one of his best performances. That mixed with a finishing chorus of "Vengeance is mine, mine, mine / To forgive is divine / Not as rewarding I find / Because vengeance is mine..." it's pure Alice Heaven.

Wake The Dead is the big WTF?! song on this album. Every Alice album always seems to have some type of bubble gum pop with whatever flavour to current "Sound" is using. The nice thing about this song is that it's lyrically so fun and entertaining. Nothing like singing about killing to a song that sounds like it was written for current Lady Gaga or Britney Spears, if they use real instruments.

Every serial killer likes to taunt the police. Catch Me If You Can is the Garage Rock song that does that. At times it voyages out of that sound, for effect and dramatics, but it totally works.

Now, before I heard (In Touch With) Your Feminine Side I thought it would be the albums customary ballad. I was so wrong. This is more classic Detroit Rock detailing the little horrors of the chase, the catch, the kill, the dismembering, the sweet elation of a Psycho Alice on the loose.

The sound continues right into Wrapped In Silk, which is an awesome surprisingly danceable number. The chorus section of the song is such a great set up for the story of a spider enthusiast. "You should be wrapped in silk / You should be bathed in white / You should be wrapped in silk / I'll make that dream come true tonight / Wrapped in silk / Dressed in white / Bathed in milk / I'll make that dream come true tonight / Yes tonight / Yes tonight / Tonight's the night / I'll turn off your lights (turn off your lights)".

From there we go into the customary ballad of the album. What's more of a cheap Alice ballad than a song called Killed By Love. "I've got more to lose, more to lose than you / Cause I'm the only one in love between us too / I know that I've been struck by lightning from above / Cause I've been killed by love / I got a longer fall, a longer fall to take / Cause I'm a bigger fool with a bigger heart to break / You pushed me way too far, a push became a shove / And I was killed by love / Drop me off in a crowded lonely city / Everybody there was crying / Drop me off in a town without pity / And let me be the one that's dying" then it just repeats "Killed by love", until "Killed by love oh yeah / Killed by love, I'm thinking fast baby / Killed by love, you know you're killing me baby / Baby, baby / Oh bye bye love". Take into consideration that he's talking to the spider he's made out of female body parts. I also love that it sounds like it should be performed on The Muppet Show. That's followed up by I'm Hungry, which is basically the classic "Need to kill" story, you could even go a little canibalistic with the interpration if you want. A great tune the whole way around.

My favourite song on the album is The One That Got Away. It has one of the best song intros ever. "You look like you'd fit in the trunk of my car", sung with not a single instrument but the second the line finishes, those chunky guitars come slamming in. This song is so Villian of Rock & Roll. I can't stress how much of a great Rock song this is, without the completely twisted lyrics, about "the one that got away."

The only song on the album that's a skipper is Salvation. I understand the purpose with the idea of finding salvation and searching for redemption, but that's not what Alice Cooper is. The character of Alice Cooper is a monster of nightmares that enjoys the sick twisted behaviour too much to ever want redemption. I think that had Bob Ezrin produced this album, this song would have been left out. It's not Alice. Alice would only seek redemption as a ploy to take over Heaven and rule defiantly over his Master.

"I'm your lover / I'm your brother / I'm your killer / I'm your friend / I'm your teacher / I'm your preacher / I'm the reaper in the end / I'm your healer / I'm your dealer / I'm your angel, lets pretend / I'm your jailer / I'm your failure / I'm the reaper in the end / Along came a Spider / Crept up beside her / Spun his web deep inside her /My darkness will guide her / I am the spider / I am the spider / I am the spider / I am the spider / You're my sinner / You're my dinner / My little puppet, let's pretend / You're the cure to my affliction / My addiction to the end / Along came a Spider / Crept up beside her / Spun his web deep inside her / My darkness will guide her / I am the spider / I am the spider / I am the spider / I am the spider / I was born to it (?) / Not something to strive for / Not something to even admire / Unless it was / it's done with the greatest of taste / Conviction and expertise / I am the spider / Along came a Spider / Crept up beside her / Spun his web deep inside her / My darkness will guide her / I am the spider / I am the spider / I am the spider / I am the spider / 'Well, they found my diary today. / They were appropriately appalled / at the discovery of the eight victims / They're now putting it all together. / Women wrapped in silk / with one leg missing / Eight legs, one body, silk, / spider, brilliant!' / 'We've been in this cell / for 28 years Steven / We couldn't have done all / those horrible things / Yes, I know / I know what you always say / You trap, you kill, you eat / That's what a good spider does / You trap, you kill, you eat. / You trap, you kill, you eat.'" The ultimate serial killer note.

I'm not totally sure about the 28 years reference. Time line wise that would put it at 1980, which would be the Flush the Fashion album, which seems like an unlikely reference. Unless it's meant that the character was locked away after From The Inside, which would make more sense. However, I can only speculate, and that I have.

I consider this album a top five Alice Cooper album. With the surprising and very personal exception of DaDa, Along Came A Spider is the best album since 1975's Welcome To My Nightmare. I really liked a lot of albums that came out over the last 30 years, but this one I think is the best. Also with only one song I have no use for, that makes this a very full album.

9/10 - content

10/10 - production

10/10 - personal bias