Gather ’round children and listen. Today’s story is a true one. Once upon a time, there was a young boy named Alice. Alice was born in raised in a town called Detroit: a once thriving metropolis of American ingenuity. When Alice grew up, he became the singer of his own rock n’ roll band. And that rock n’ roll band was a reflection of the environment Alice grew up in: hard working, unrelenting, and uncompromising. He’s carried this ethic with him throughout his entire career. It’s all chronicled on his latest studio venture, Detroit Stories.
The premise to Detroit Stories is a rather simple one. Following the success of the 2019 Breadcrumbs EP (its three tracks being thrown on this album), Alice decided to embark on a full length release that explored his musical and geographical roots. In the 1960s, Detroit was a melting pot of fresh, exciting music. Berry Gordy was cranking out singles every other week as the head of Motown. The burgeoning garage rock movement planted the seeds for hard rock, with bands like The Stooges and MC5 capturing the public’s eye by the latter half of the decade. This musical evolution is documented on what’s a well rounded, yet inconsistent, collection of songs.
There are some tracks on here that feel unorthodox for a hard rock album. Then again, what is “orthodox” for the Coop? In his over 50 years in the business, he’s explored just about every style imaginable. That’s why Detroit Stories showcases not only hard rock, but punk, blues, R&B, and even power pop. Having a preference for the classic Cooper sound, my favorite cuts are the no frills hard rockers, like “Social Debris” (featuring the original Alice Cooper band), “Hail Mary”, and “Shut Up and Rock”. They’re short and simple, but with that signature Cooper quirk and sleaze. All of the songs I just listed would fit somewhere in between Love It to Death and Killer.
When Cooper deviates from his tried and true formula, the results are interesting at best and forgettable at worst. For example, “$1000 High Heel Shoes” is both interesting and entertaining. This blatant homage to Motown features a horn section, funky guitars, and backing female “shoo-do-wops”. It’s one of my favorite tracks on the album. On the contrary is an ill advised cover of Outrageous Cherry’s “Our Love Will Change the World”. While the cover itself is rather safe and by the numbers, there’s something eerier about hearing the Coop tackle power pop than seeing him get decapitated nightly. Other tracks that just don’t work are the industrial tinged (dare I say Manson-esque) “Wonderful World” and “Hanging on by a Thread (Don’t Give Up)”. The latter was released last year in response to the COVID pandemic and its devastating effects on society’s psyche. While I respect its purpose, the song itself is mediocre and didn’t need to be thrown on an album of retro flavored rock songs.
Detroit Stories isn’t all bad. If you cut through the fat, you’ll have a fine piece of shockingly succulent steak. There’s just a lot of fat to cut through. Let’s face it: When you’re in the game for as long as Cooper has, a creative misstep here and there isn’t the end of the world. Besides, it could be worse…and by worse, I mean Lace and Whiskey.
5 out of 10
Label: earMUSIC
Genre: Hard Rock
For fans of: Aerosmith, AC/DC, MC5