If you'd said to me this time last year that Therapy? would be on my Top 10 albums list for 2015 then I'd probably have laughed at you - suffice to say that their output over the last 7-8 years has been patchy to say the last. But they came back with possibly their strongest album for a decade in "Disquiet". Coming on like "Troublegum"'s older more cantankerous relative it had the sort of riffs and tunes that we all assumed Andy Cairns had long since given up on writing. Welcome back lads, it's good to have you with us again.
9FAITH NO MORE - "Sol Invictus"
Speaking of comebacks..."Sol Invictus" could have been a disaster but it was a timely reminder of everything that made Faith No More such a vital band back in the 1990s. Owing more to their later years more offbeat albums such as "King For A Day, Fool For A Lifetime" and "Angel Dust", the likes of "Matador", "Superhero" and "Sunny Side Up" were fantastically addictive slices of weirdness while only Mike Patton could end up calling the most obvious single on the album "Motherfucker". Again, it's good to have them back with us.
8 DARRELL BATH - "Roll Up"
A storming comeback from the former Crybabys/Dogs D'Amour guitarist, "Roll Up" was 35 minutes of good simple knockabout rock 'n' roll in the vein of the Stones, the Faces and Johnny Thunders with great tunes and riffs overflowing from it. If you need something to cheer you up through the cold winter months, this should cure whatever ails ya.
7THE MEN THAT WILL NOT BE BLAMED FOR NOTHING - "Not Your Typical Victorians"
Third album from Britain's premier steampunk band and it shows that they're continuing to grow in confidence and ability all the time. From the straightforward punk of the title track (albeit with a serious message about stereotyping behind the humour), "Not Your Typical Victorians" takes in everything from lurching Tom Waits style observations through British invasion style pop rock to thundering doom metal in one weird, wonderful and warped package. Lord only knows where they go next but we're sure as hell looking forward to finding out.
6THE SICK LIVERS - "Mid Liver Crisis"
First full length effort from Rumney's answer to Turbonegro and it proved that they're a band getting leaner, meaner and just out and out better all the time. Dark, deranged and full of killer riffs and tunes, make no mistake this was the Sick Livers announcing their arrival as serious players on the scene in the sort of fun 'n' filthy way that only they can.
5MICHAEL MONROE - "Blackout States"
Solo album number three from Mr Monroe and it's up to the same high standards of his previous two - tight as you like garage rock 'n' roll from the heart. While the likes of "The Bastards' Bash" and "This Ain't A Love Song" were pure in yer face rock 'n' roll, "Old Kings' Road" and "Dead Hearts On Denmark Street" were a regretful look at a London that doesn't seem to exist any more and all the more poignant for it. All in all, Monroe hit a hat trick with all the ease of Phil "The Power" Taylor netting 180 on the dartboard with this 'un.
4IMPERIAL STATE ELECTRIC - "Honk Machine"
Having previously established a reputation as being raw stripped down garage rock 'n' rollers, Imperial State Electric's fourth album proved that they've got more strings to their bow than folks were giving them credit for. From the Monkees style pure pop of "Maybe You're Right" to the big Elvis style gospel singalong of "Walk On By", this was a good varied effort and the band's strongest album to date.
3THE ROLE MODELS - "The Go To Guy"
One of those bands who seem to have been doing the rounds on the London rock club circuit for ages, few would have predicted that the Role Models would have come up with such a high quality debut album. Coming on like the midpoint between Hanoi Rocks, the Replacements and Tom Petty, the likes of "Cherry Dear", "Where They Half Know My Name" and "Nowhere" mix the riffs of the Wildhearts with a more laid-back attitude akin to prime time Soul Asylum while the acoustic led closer "Leave Tonight" is simply the icing on the cake.
2MOTOCHRIST - "Chrome"
Motochrist are that most rare of bands in that they remind you of a time when sleaze rock bands genuinely did sound decadent, delicious and dangerous before the run of watered-down post-"Dirt" wave of bands in the early noughties watered the whole genre down. The scuzzed-up likes of "I Don't Ride, Bitch", "Heads Are Gonna Roll", "Brunch, Nap And Complain" harked back to when groups like the Black Halos and the Heart Attacks were doing the rounds while the big singalong country ballad "If You Leave Me" to finish the album off was as unexpected as it was triumphant.
1DANKO JONES - "Fire Music"
Truth of it is that any of the top three could've taken this year's award but in the end, it had to go to Danko. "Fire Music" is a lean, fat free 35 minute album of pure rock 'n' roll from Misfits style slasher punk ("The Twisting Knife") through more ominous Danzig style goth rock ("I Will Break Your Heart") to pure two minute punk rock fury ("Piranha"), all played tight, energetic and powerful. To say the guy is on a roll at the moment would be to state the bleedin' obvious but yeah, if I was gonna recommend one album from the last 12 months then "Fire Music" would definitely be it.
20FRANK TURNER - "Positive Songs For Negative People"
Another solid album from Frank, "Positive Songs..." could almost be seen as the 'picking yourself up' postscript to 2013's heartbreak album "Tape Deck Heart" with songs like "Get Better" and "The Opening Act Of Spring" carrying the message to get off your feet and start trying to enjoy life again. Even the dark "Silent Key", a story of a boat sinking at sea, contained the message of there being hope in death. Proof that he may have been in the game for over a decade now but he's definitely not losing his touch.
19THE CRUNCH - "Brand New Brand"
Now expanded to a five piece, the Crunch's second album "Brand New Brand" saw them concentrating on their strengths as a band as it veered from fired up gutter-punk through laid back country rock with even the odd reggae rhythm turning up. Overall it was a solid and consistent album and a worthy follow up to its predecessor.
18THE SONICS - "This Is The Sonics"
Definitely the oldest group on this list by quite some way, what's perhaps the most surprising thing is that the Sonics returned almost 50 years after their debut album and still sounded just as relevant as ever. In fact, in the wake of the Jim Jones Revue's sad demise a couple of years back, the distorted and fired up garage rock of "This Is The Sonics" went a long way to filling the hole they'd vacated. Just for its sheer energy alone, this should be way up your shopping list.
17DIAMOND DOGS - "Quitters And Complainers"
Unfortunately, "Quitters And Complainers" would turn out to be the Diamond Dogs' final album after a twenty year plus career but at least they went out on a high note by delivering something well up to their usual standards. Good time bar room rock 'n' roll with a bluesy tint and songs aplenty. They will be missed.
16ELECTRIC SIX - "Bitch, Don't Let Me Die!"
Eleven albums in and there's still no sign of Dick Valentine and co growing old gracefully or getting even remotely sensible. And let's be honest, we wouldn't have 'em any other way. From demented rockabilly to glammed up stadium rock, Electric Six pretty much covered all the bases in their own inimitable style. Did I mention there's a concept rock opera on there about a Santa imitator falling to his death on a bed of spikes called "Big Red Arthur" on there? Well, now you've got another reason to go and buy it.
15ATOMIC SUPLEX - "14 Inches Of Fist"
14 tracks in 22 minutes, I'm not even sure what you'd compare "14 Inches Of Fist" to. 22 minutes of electroshock therapy? Being repeatedly whacked in the face by a big plank of wood. Whatever it is, Atomic Suplex delivered one hell of a brutal album here but in a really good way. There's something undeniably addictive about the sheer insanity in here and you really are missing out if you've not heard it yet.
14THE QUIREBOYS - "St Cecilia And The Gypsy Soul"
Returning with a more stripped down acoustic approach following 2014's "Black Eyed Sons", "St Cecilia And The Gypsy Soul" showed a more reflective side to Spike and co's work. The Quireboys seem to be turning into torch song specialists in their old age and the likes of "The Best Are Not Forgotten", "Adaline" and "Land Of My Father" bear that out nicely. And as with its predecessor, it was released as a 4CD set featuring a double acoustic live album and the long deleted "Halfpenny Dancer" album as bonuses giving you full value for your money.
13THEE CEE CEES - "Solution Songs"
Featuring some time Frank Turner sideman Chris T-T and Bluetones guitarist Adam Devlin, Thee Cee Cees' debut album was a fiery slice of politically motivated new wave with songs like "Vote!", "Better Than Wages" and "Deft Left" being the sort of call to arms that the music scene has badly needed for a while now. It almost gave you hope in the run-up to the general election before it was dashed again by the result...
12THE AMORETTES - "Game On"
Barrelling out of the northlands like there's no tomorrow, the Amorettes set themselves up as Scotland's answer to first album Airbourne with a stormer of a second album. The song titles are almost AC/DC level obvious but when you've got such a knack for killer riffs and tunes, that really doesn't matter. What does matter is that this is a damn good rock album and if it doesn't induce you to nod your head and grin like an idiot then you're probably dead.
11EUREKA MACHINES - "Brain Waves"
Whisper it quietly but if I'm completely honest, "Brain Waves" was maybe a bit of a victim of the standard of previous Eureka Machines albums in that it didn't quite manage to measure up to its predecessors. But it's still a more than worthy addition to their back catalogue with the likes of "Paranoia", "Sleep Deprivation", "Welcome To My Shangri-La" and epic closer "We're Going To The Future". One that takes a few listens to get into but it's definitely more than worth it when you do.
Healthy Junkies are one of those bands who seem to have been slowly getting better and better through their career and with their third album "Box of Chaos", they've delivered their strongest offering to date. Fired along by a snotty punked-up energy and featuring some of the best tunes they've put their name to so far, these guys are definitely starting to fulfil their potential. On this evidence, album number four could be a real stormer.
29THE MUTANTS - "Tokyo Nights"
One of the more bizarre things you'll hear this year, the Mutants' second album saw them abandoning the straight-up punk of their debut and relocating to the Orient to make a J-Rock album. Herein you'll find a mix of frenetic pop punk, wildman rockabilly, slow-burning torch songs, harmonica honking blues rock and insane surf instrumentals. Madder than a box of stoats in other words but they do it with such enthusiasm that you can't help but get swept along with the ride.
28THE KINGCROWS - "Funland"
Debut album proper from Leeds' Kingcrows after two competent EP's and they definitely announced their arrival in style with this one. Thirty minutes of fun, fast and furious rock 'n' roll that comes across like Yorkshire's answer to Dirt Box Disco, there's nothing here to suggest that this lot won't be around for quite some time to come. Good stuff.
27BLACK STAR RIDERS - "The Killer Instinct"
Second album from the former Thin Lizzy Mk2 and it's a worthy follow-up to their debut, 2013's "All Hell Breaks Loose". It contains all the fist-pumping rock action you'd expect with a couple of unexpected curveballs thrown in there to keep things interesting such as the dark balladry of "Blindsided" and the Slash 'n' Axlisms of "Sex, Guns & Gasoline". Well worth a listen.
26THE SCARAMANGA SIX - "The Terrifying Dream"
One of the weirdest and most complex albums you'll hear all year from these Leeds experimental rockers but there's no denying that they definitely peddle a very alluring brand of weirdness. Sounding like Ginger Wildheart's more experimental moments rubbing shoulders with the Cardiacs and the Fall while Nick Cave looks on morosely, "The Terrifying Dream" is anything but easy listening but it's definitely a grower.
25 ANGELIC UPSTARTS - "Bullingdon Bastards"
First album in over a decade from the Upstarts and "Bullingdon Bastards" was a ferocious clarion cry from Mensi's men. Packed full of the sort of call to arms invective that the Upstarts do so well with the band sounding tight and focused throughout. Welcome back lads, we've missed you.
24DIRT BOX DISCO - "Only In It For The Money"
The fact that this album contains songs called "Fat Twats And Scumbags" and "If You Want A Sexy Bird, Join A Fuckin' Band" should tell you all you need to know that Dirt Box Disco are doing anything but growing old gracefully. And what's equally undeniable is that their knack for an earworm of a tune and a big Buzzcocks style shoutalong chorus is just as intact as ever as well. Now with an added seal of approval from none other than Ginger Wildheart, 2016 could just be a very big year for these Midlands madmen and if it is then Lord knows, they've earned it.
23FROM THE DEEP - "From The Deep"
Sadly the final recordings from Flesh For Lulu/Urban Voodoo Machine man Nick Marsh who tragically left us in June this year. "From The Deep", a collaboration album with his long time paramour Katharine Blake (Medieval Baebes/Miranda Sex Garden) was a fitting epitaph to the man, veering from gothic folk to Voodoos style scuzziness without losing its step once. Like Marsh's "A Universe Between Us" album, it's perfect to listen to with a glass of red wine watching the stars from your window at 3am.
22KILLING JOKE - "Pylon"
35 years into their career and there's no sign of Killing Joke mellowing. "Pylon" was a big bruising beast of an album, clocking in at 50 plus minutes for ten songs but keeping you interested every second of the way. From the pummelling riffs of "Dawn Of The Hive" to the almost "Love Like Blood" style pop sensibilities of "Euphoria", "Pylon" is another impressive addition to the Killing Joke canon.
21RADKEY - "Dark Black Makeup"
For once, a band where the mainstream music press hype was justified. Radkey's debut album sounded like a collision between Danzig, the Foo Fighters and a pre-shark jump Queens of the Stone Age, veering from dark melodrama ("Evil Doer") through sleazy goth rock ("Best Friends") to full on punk fury ("Glore", "Soloman's Song"). Given their young age, it's scary to think how good this lot could potentially get with time.
Formed by ex-Sigue Sigue Sputnik guitarist Neal X, the Montecristos came up with a competent debut album featuring sky-surfing rockabilly guitars and gloriously OTT attitude. Reworkings of Sputnik's "Love Missile F1-11" and "Jayne Mansfield" plus a version of "Brand New Cadillac" featuring Marc Almond were good fun but originals such as "Hotel Pelirocco" suggested that this band had enough good material of their own to hold their heads up as well.
39HONEY - "Weekend Millionaire"
Blasting out of Falmouth and recalling the early days of grunge, Honey are a band with a lot of promise. "Weekend Millionaire" was raw, angsty and packed with lurching riffs, sounding like the Breeders covering Therapy?. An assured debut - hopefully there'll be plenty more to come from this lot.
38JD & THE FDC's - "Anatomy Of A Wolf"
Returning after a three year break, the FDCs' second album was a much darker affair than their first with the angry likes of "Hoying Bottles At The Moon" and "Stop, Look And Fuckin' Listen" being the sound of a band confronting their demons head on. Not comfortable listening by any stretch but definitely an album to listen to in your darker moments.
37WEDNESDAY 13 - "Monsters Of The Universe"
Now this I definitely did not expect. The last Wednesday 13 album I genuinely liked was the Gunfire 76 "Casualties And Tragedies" effort way back in 2009 but with "Monsters Of The Universe", he proved that he still has the energy of yore with a full-on metal effort that showed him breaking out of his cycle of going through the motions for a wild and enjoyable ride. If he can keep building on this, who knows what his next album could be capable of?
36DEAD DAISIES - "Revolucion"
Another one which took me by surprise a bit as I thought the first Dead Daisies album was terrible quite frankly - tired '70s retread rock which was just dull. However, the addition of the very under-rated John Corabi (singer on the best Motley Crue album that isn't called "Too Fast For Love" or "Shout At The Devil") to the line-up seems to have given them a new impetus and there's a real energy behind "Revolucion" that just wasn't there before. Fair play to 'em.
35THE SPITFIRES - "Response"
A confident first volley from this Watford four-piece. There's a definite Jam influence there (not least due to the Weller-esque vocals) but the Spitfires are at least canny enough to not be mere copycats and "Response" contains elements of ska ("When I Call Out Your Name") and even psychedelia ("Spoke Too Soon", "Relapse"). Expect big things from this lot.
34LOS PLANTRONICS - "Surfing Times"
A band describing themselves as "Mariachi death surf rock"? Sure, why the hell not, we seem to have had pretty much everything else round here in 2015. In fact, this was no less than these Norweigan nutters' sixth album and contained a mix of high-octane surf instrumentals and insane '50s cover versions which hit home to good effect. Just shows that sometimes the best music comes from the weirdest of places...
33RICHARD HAWLEY - "Hollow Meadows"
Returning to the more wistful end of his repertoire after the much heavier stylings of 2012's "Standing At The Sky's Edge", "Hollow Meadows" was another good album from Richard Hawley. Not so much one to rock out to as to listen to on a quiet evening in with a drink but let's be honest we all need something like that sometimes and they didn't come much better than this one in 2015.
32DESPERATE JOURNALIST - "Desperate Journalist" A good first offering from this North London four-piece which owes a debt in its sound to early '80s goth and post punk (Siouxsie and the Banshees and New Order especially). In an era where a lot of indie music has simply sunk into a post-ironic complacency, Desperate Journalist's spiky energy sticks out like a sore thumb and they fully deserve the plaudits that have come their way this year.
31THE SKINTS - "FM"
An album which in a just world would've been the soundtrack to the summer this year. A bit toned down in terms of volume compared to the Skints' previous offerings but "FM" was chock full of laid back reggae rhythms and top drawer tunes all round. Definitely a group thinking outside the box and they deserve a lot of credit for that.
So 2015 then. As with last year, it was a case of whittling down everything I've listened to and reviewed for Pure Rawk down to one list which I actually managed to do without too much of a problem. The list came to 47 albums this year in total, four of which were disqualified due to being released in 2014 (due apologies to Straight To Video, Vice Squad, the Idol Dead and Ricky Warwick's double release) and three of which only just missed out (due apologies to PIL, Oh Gunquit and Motor Sister).
But first, I figured I'd add something else on this year. And, if I'm honest, this is going to be the most controversial bit of my end of year review. Unfortunately while there's been several cracking albums that I've heard this year, there's also been a few disappointments and this is what I'm gonna cover in this introductory section.
Please note that I've worded this very carefully - it's not a "Worst Of" chart because I'm pretty sure that if you played me some dross like that shit-awful Adele album then I'd find it far less edifying than these. But the difference is that when it comes to that sort of bland manufactured music I wouldn't expect anything different so it wouldn't really count as a disappointment.
The folks below, on the other hand, should all really know better as they've either delivered great things in the past but have come up with some woefully under-par material this year or they've promised a lot and simply fallen flat on their faces. Either way, the results haven't been good. So here we go, let's get this over with shall we?...
ASH - "Kablammo!"
Aw man, I really wanted to like this as well. Touted by the band as a return to the awesomely addictive pop-punk of "1977" and "Free All Angels" that they made their name with, the truth was that a combination of terrible echoey production and a general lack of top drawer tunes all round combined to make the sixth album from Downpatrick's finest probably their weakest to date. Must do better next time lads.
BACKYARD BABIES - "Four By Four"
I'll admit to approaching this one with trepidation - the reviews were pretty savage across the board. But the truth is, "Four By Four" actually gets off to a decent start - the opening trio of "Thirteen Or Nothing", "I'm On My Way To Save Your Rock 'n' Roll" and "White Light District" were all decent tracks if a bit poppier than we're used to. The trouble is that, ironically enough with its fourth track, a horrible saccharine ballad called "Bloody Tears", "Four By Four" stumbled headlong into the fog never to return and the rest of it is pretty dismal to put it mildly. BYB badly need to rediscover the fire that they had on "Total 13" and "Making Enemies Is Good" next time out.
BITERS - "Electric Blood"
The ingredients all seemed to be there with Biters and they were hyped to high heaven by the mainstream rock press. Unfortunately "Electric Blood" was a total damp squib, sunk by over-polished soulless production and a totally forgettable set of tunes. All the more annoying when you think how many far superior bands (the Chelsea Smiles, the Black Halos, American Heartbreak) have mined this sort of music to little or no interest from the press over the last decade or so. There's a couple of half-decent tracks in the second half of the album if you can be bothered to persevere that far but really, Biters need to get a different producer in next time and get a lot nastier and more in yer face.
BRIAN JAMES - "The Guitar That Dripped Blood"
Okay, let's make no bones about it, Brian James is one of my favourite guitarists ever - not content with being the driving force behind the Damned's classic first album, he was also the man behind a lot of the razor-sharp riffs that powered along the Lords of the New Church, surely one of the '80s' most under-rated bands. Unfortunately, this album was a big disappointment, mainly because of the vocals - Brian may be an awesome guitarist but a singer, unfortunately, he is not. Hopefully if he gets a guest singer in next time he should be capable of delivering something much better.
BUCKCHERRY - "Rock 'n' Roll"
A band who, if I'm honest, have been treading water for a very long time now. The last album of theirs that I really dug all the way through was 2005's "15" and it's been law of diminishing returns time ever since. "Rock 'n' Roll" had a couple of decent songs on it ("The Feeling Never Dies" and "Sex Appeal" are both decent) but elsewhere it was a mix of poor retreads of past glories ("Wood" was basically a Vauxhall Conference version of "Crazy Bitch"), downright embarrassment ("Tight Pants" is every bit the sub-Crue cringefest you'd expect) and songs that were just plain dull. Part of me wants to believe that one day they'll produce something up there with their first three albums but the longer this goes on, the less convinced I am that it's gonna happen.
THE DARKNESS - "Last Of Our Kind"
Okay so you've made your name as a camp, entertaining British rock band coming on like the missing link between AC/DC and Queen and after reforming, you've managed to deliver an album (2013's "Hot Cakes") that was really a lot better than it had any right to be. How do you follow this up? Well, in the Darkness' case, it was with a charmless plodding battle-metal album that eschewed the tunefulness and enthusiasm of its predecessor in favour of sounding like Manowar with a few ill-fitting acoustic ballads thrown in. NEXT!
MARILYN MANSON - "The Pale Emperor"
Speaking of people who've been subject to the law of diminishing returns..."The Pale Emperor" really didn't do anything to dispel the notion that old Mazza's best days are now long behind him. Over-long, overwrought and over-egged, this was a dreary drawn-out mess with only a couple of redeeming moments mixed in with tiresome trip-hop metal and mumbled drugs confessionals. A sad fall from grace for the one time Antichrist Superstar.
W.A.S.P. - "Golgotha"
W.A.S.P.'s last two albums were decent enough workmanlike politico-metal efforts with a couple of standout moments. Blackie Lawless decided for "Golgotha" that a change was needed from the earnestness which is fair enough. Unfortunately the change involved churning out a hollow soulless arena rock album which sounded like Bon Jovi. And there's never any need for that. A couple of the later tracks at least showed some life but really, we expected a lot better.
If any of the above need a crumb of comfort, there's at least two bands on my Top 40 best albums list for this year who I'd previously written off as being well past their sell by date only for them to comeback with an unexpected Lazarus style revival in 2015 so it shows that this sort of situation can be rebounded from. So maybe the best advice I can offer is this - take a look at Therapy? and Wednesday 13's efforts this year and how they've turned things round and make some notes then apply it to your next album.
So it's been a while since I covered wrestling on the blog but I thought I'd do a bit of a review for my thoughts on the last 12 months. We'll do this show by show so let's kick off with the obvious...
WWE RAW/SMACKDOWN: Well, the year started with a babyface Royal Rumble winner being given the Rock's seal of approval and still getting booed out of the ring and, apart from a couple of decent moments, it really didn't get much better from there. For the majority of 2015, Raw and Smackdown (let's be honest, they're pretty much interchangable nowadays) have been a convoluted mess of bad booking, misused characters and storylines that nobody cares about.
Credit to WWE, after a horrendous Royal Rumble mis-step, they did come up with two solid PPV's in Fast Lane and Wrestlemania (which was way better than I was worried it was gonna be) but the trouble is that they stumbled off into the fog without a compass straight away afterwards. Seth Rollins winning the title should have been the catalyst for him to finally become the man to carry the company on his back but awful booking saw him pretty much get cut off at the knees due to the terrible "Corporate Champion" character they saddled him with (yeah, that old chestnut...more on that later).
It did look like things were getting better in the run-up to Survivor Series - even before Rollins' injury threw the whole title scene into chaos, Raw had a couple of episodes which were the best for months. And the title tournament, combined with several of the old guard taking time off through injuries, gave a lot of people hope that this was a golden opportunity for WWE to give someone new the ball and see if they could run with it but the end result at Survivor Series was an absolute mess - Roman Reigns winning the title wasn't the end of the world as at least he'd been built up a bit better than 12 months ago but for him to then instantly lose it to Sheamus (a decent wrestler but so far from being over as a heel that he might as well be under) was a total turn-off.
Speaking of injuries...I will give WWE some leeway and say that the number of wrestlers being put on the sidelines over the last 12 months really hasn't helped them at all - Rollins we've dealt with already but 2015 also saw Daniel Bryan's injury woes continue and it looks as though we may now have seen the last of him in a WWE ring. Likewise, John Cena ended up having to take time off on the back of probably his best year in wrestling to date and add to that the likes of Randy Orton, Tyson Kidd, Cesaro, Sting, Sami Zayn, Hideo Otami (yeah I know the last two are technically still on NXT but you're seriously telling me they wouldn't have been called up to the main roster by now if they'd stayed fit?) all being absent for long periods (not to mention the part-timers like Undertaker and Brock Lesnar) and it leaves you at a serious disadvantage.
But even an injury crisis is still no excuse for some of the abysmal booking from WWE in the last year. The main problem is the continuation of the Authority storyline that has been running for close on two decades now and which I think I can safely say that 95% of WWE fans are sick to the back teeth of. Evil authority figures worked in 1999 because Vince McMahon was awesome in the role but it's got so watered down now that nobody buys it anymore. Seriously guys, just drop the whole thing and let the lead heels on your roster try to get over on their own. Add to this a mix of good workers being held down in the midcard (Dolph Ziggler, Cesaro, Adrian Neville), the title scene being clogged up with has-beens like Big Show and Kane and the fact that a lot of the upper card feel as though they're in the wrong roles (I've already mentioned about Sheamus bombing as a heel, I'd add to that that I would turn Dean Ambrose heel as he just seems to have a natural knack for playing the bad guy which is being wasted in his current role. I'd also turn Wade Barrett face - his Bad News gimmick was starting to get him over last year before WWE dropped it and gave him the dreaded King gimmick which is doomed to fail unless your name's Jerry Lawler). Even guys who do start to get over like the New Day faction get their heat killed off when creative tries to take credit for something that's been created naturally and try to take charge of it themselves, usually failing. Even a reboot of the Divas division, which was badly needed, somehow got screwed up by creative as they introduced too many new faces at once leading to the likes of Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks simply getting lost in the shuffle.
I don't think there's any quick fix to WWE's problems going into New Year and with ratings currently at a two decade low, it's gonna take time to turn things around. My suggestion would be that the creative team badly needs to be cut from the 20-odd people who are currently on there to just one or two - giving the storylines a bit of clarity would be a good first step to the ship being righted. My suggestion would simply be to give the book to Paul Heyman but unfortunately he's gone on record as saying that becoming a booker again doesn't interest him.
I guess we'll see but as the Royal Rumble approaches I can't say I'm exactly optimistic about Raw getting much better in 2016...
NXT
Raw's parlous state is even more mind-boggling when you consider how well the junior arm of WWE, NXT, has been booked in the last 12 months. Every week they put on an hour of television that's fast-paced, well-told and with good wrestling to boot. The main contenders are made to look like serious threats and they're getting the sort of rabid following that's reminiscent of ECW back in the day. And the fact that they've got such a talented roster down there with guys like Finn Balor, Sami Zayn, Bayley, Hideo Otami and Samoa Joe, may just be the key to saving Raw.
The trouble is that when NXT stars get called up to the main roster, they often get abandoned to mid card purgatory - just look at Adrian Neville, Sasha Banks, Tyler Breeze and the Ascension. The fact that this could happen to the likes of Balor, Zayn and Bayley in the near future is worrying and unless WWE realises the goldmine they've got in their developmental territory, they're doomed to continue making the same mistakes again and again.
For now though, let's just enjoy NXT and hope that it doesn't get crippled from above in the near future. They've put on at least four classic PPV's in the last 12 months (Revolution, Rivals, Brooklyn and London), all of which would be in my Top 10 for the year (well, Revolution technically took place in the dying days of 2014 but you get my drift). Long may the quality continue.
IMPACT
Impact/TNA have had a weird 12 months. They've not done anything massively earth-shattering...but at the same time they're making steps forward after a calamitous few years financially. I wouldn't say their booking has quite got back up to the standard it was in early 2012 yet but they're definitely moving in the right direction.
The good stuff - the title scene this year has been generally pretty solid with a now face Bobby Lashley having a better than expected second run with the belt to start the year off before a rejuvenated Kurt Angle won it and finally EC3 (definitely the company's star performer this year) taking it in June up until Bound For Glory and the Title Series that followed.
The Wolves have definitely been a huge plus for TNA this year as well with some very entertaining feuds against the likes of the Revolution, Bobby Roode & Austin Aries and the Hardys. The only problem is that the tag team division at the moment is basically just them and TNA really needs to bring in some extra numbers to give them new challengers.
The Knockouts division has also come on in leaps and bounds this year with the likes of Gail Kim and Awesome Kong delivering as usual but even some of the less gifted members of the roster really raising their game to the point where I genuinely think TNA now (just to say) has a more solid and well-rounded womens' division than WWE, not least because it's booked well (with one exception which we'll come to in a bit).
The bad stuff - every faction that has appeared this year seems to have backfired massively. The BDC was a decent idea until everyone associated with it left within a few weeks of each other and just left it looking like it was hobbling along on its last legs for several weeks until MVP's departure from the company finally brought it to a merciful end. Likewise the Dollhouse have been a misfire in what was otherwise a decent year for the Knockouts' division. The original idea of them being creepy voodoo girls had potential but over the year they've just been watered down into a poor man's Beautiful People (not helped by Taryn being injured so much). Really, come 2015, the whole idea needs to be quietly abandoned and the four girls in question, all of whom unquestionably have talent, should be allowed to try and get over on their own without some hokey gimmick like this holding them back. There's also been a couple of goofy storylines which should have been deep sixed like James Storm pushing Mickie James in front of a train and Eric Young (who's otherwise had a very good year following his heel turn) stealing Chris Melendez's leg.
I think the main problem with TNA is the continuing uncertainty over their future and the closing days of 2015 see them exactly where they were a year ago, about to move to a new network and facing the prospect of a total creative reset. It's cost them a bit in terms of talent departures (Samoa Joe, Austin Aries, Low Ki, James Storm, MVP, Magnus) and they're gonna need to do a bit of roster rebuilding in the new year. Getting Mike Bennett and Maria Kanellis in from ROH is a good start - we shall see what else follows...
OTHER STUFF
I can't really say too much about ROH as I haven't seen a lot of their stuff but the one PPV I did catch ("Best In The World") I really enjoyed. They've got a good roster with the likes of AJ Styles, Jay Lethal, the Briscoes, Adam Cole, ReDragon, the Kingdom and the Addiction but like TNA they're currently facing cutbacks after losing their TV deal and going to an Internet only broadcast. Hopefully they can keep hold of a lot of their best wrestlers and keep moving forward in 2016.
I haven't seen too much of GFW other than their appearance on Impact over a few weeks in the summer. Jeff Jarrett has assembled a decent roster there with the likes of PJ Black, Magnus, Shelton Benjamin and Sonjay Dutt on board and I'll be interested to see if they manage to get some shows out there for people to see in the new year.
Others who deserve an honourable mention are House of Hardcore (I watched a couple of PPV's over the year and really enjoyed them) and PWG (their "Battle of Los Angeles" is definitely well worth a watch). Over here in the UK, I've seen good shows by RPW and Southside this year and would definitely recommend both to anyone who likes decent wrestling.
So there ya go - 2015 wrestling in a nutshell. Hopefully the New Year will see Raw finally pull out of its creative tailspin, TNA finally get their ship properly steadied, NXT continue to be its usual awesome self and ROH and GFW both get deals to put their programming out there. It should be interesting as always either way...
"I have seen every mountain I'm expected to climb...but they're not mine" - "Change Every Lightbulb"
Okay so I'm cheating slightly here. I suspect most people my age know the Wonder Stuff - those happy bouncy Brummie lads who charmed the nation with "Size Of A Cow" and "Welcome To The Cheap Seats". What this particular instalment of "Flashback Friday" is about is a reappraisal of possibly their most under-rated album. And yeah, I'll say it, my favourite Wonder Stuff album.
We're all familiar, I assume, with the concept of break-up albums. Those collections of songs you sit in your room listening to moodily for days when the girl/boy you lost your head over has upped and left you for reasons as yet unexplained. When you're questioning whether it's all fucking worth it and where the hell you're supposed to go next. Those albums where the songs seem to speak to you and make some sort of sense in the darkest of hours.
"Construction For The Modern Idiot" is a distant cousin of that sort of album in that it's a band break-up album. Bitter and angry odes to when that group of lads who got together as teenagers has reached the point where they can't stand the sight of each other, where dreams have been soured, friendships twisted apart. Where you realise that the whole "last gang in town" mentality that the Clash sung of is unfortunately complete and total bullshit when you've all been stuck in studios and tour vans with no escape for several years. Where you realise that you're basically slaves to a record company wage that's dependant on you sticking with something you've long since lost the enthusiasm for but you're not sure you actually know how to function without. You know it's all unravelling, you can see the crash coming miles off but are powerless (even unwilling) to stop it and you're scared as hell as to what's going to happen next.
I'll be honest, I've never been anywhere near the levels of success that the Wonder Stuff enjoyed but even as someone who's only ever been in bands playing local gigs and maybe very occasionally opening up for a band that a few people might have heard of at 7pm in front of an audience of about ten while every other bugger's still in the bar, I've still been in the situation where you come to the horrible realisation that the ship has sailed. When the optimism of when it started and it felt as if you had the world at your feet and it was just a question of when, rather than if, your big break came gives way to the sinking feeling two years later that you're still stuck at the same level as you were, going round and round in circles with no way out in sight, eventually coming to the conclusion that it's probably best to just end the whole thing with no hard feelings.
Those sentiments are scattered all over "Construction..." and indeed, the Wonder Stuff would split within a year of it being released. From the panicky opening riff of "Change Every Lightbulb", you can hear frontman Miles Hunt's disillusionment with the situation he's in - the general gist of the song is that you can do everything you can to change your surroundings but when you know the game's up, it makes no difference. There's the odd diversion off with the ferocious anti-paedophile fury of "I Wish Them All Dead" and odes to Diana Dors ("Hot Love Now") and Mickey Rourke ("Full Of Life (Happy Now)") but for the most part, this is the sound of a band who are opening the musical equivalent of Pandora's Box.
"Cabin Fever" is self-explanatory as is first single "On The Ropes" and its tale of trying to reconcile the ideals you had when you first started out on this road with what you've become ("Take this time to lie about everything/About who you are and who you've been, don't let the world get in..."). The truth is, the Wonder Stuff had had these sort of sentiments slipping into their songs for years (even big hits such as "Caught In My Shadow" and "Size Of A Cow"'s line about "These should be the best years of my life/But life is not what I thought it was" drop some pretty big hints that the band weren't happy) but here they're really laid out in a quite brutally raw fashion.
"Hush" is a ferocious tirade about the compromises of fame ("If this is a prize, it feels like a threat/It hangs like a fist over my head") while "A Great Drinker" and "Storm Drain" (probably my favourite track on the album as the lyrics are uncomfortably similar to the fate of at least one of my old bands) see Hunt voice his sadness about how easy it is to fall into a self-destructive cycle over booze and hash to try and forget about things when life is going against you.
The mournful "Sing The Absurd" which closes the album sums it all up perfectly - "And I can reflect on the days when respect had nothing to do with behaviour/And I can recall a time when we'd all just laugh in the face of our failure/But I'm old enough to know, old enough to know.../And guess who just threw up when he learned that he grew up/And guess what he learned when his fingers got burned/That we'd all sing the absurd".
I loved "Construction For The Modern Idiot" when it first came out but it seems that as I grow older and wiser (and possibly more weary and bitter) that it seems to resonate more each year. It was swiftly disowned by the band and only "On The Ropes" still survives in their live set nowadays (though they've been known to play "Sing The Absurd" on occasion and the excellent B-side from this era "Room 512 (All The News That's Fit To Print)" is still played regularly by Miles at his acoustic shows). Personally, I think they're being way too hard on it - I very nearly interviewed the Stuffies in Hertford a few years ago (unfortunately I couldn't get the afternoon off work and ended up just going to the gig instead) and was planning to ask Miles about his thoughts on the album. I guess maybe it's that when an album had a difficult genesis (as that one obviously did) that people maybe prefer not to talk about them. I guess if I ever do meet the guy I'll ask him - we shall see...
As for me? Well, I'm still out there and still trying to get a band working even though I'm well into my late thirties by now. Once the music bug bites you it's a bugger to get rid of. Suffice to say that my expectations these days are quite a bit lower than they used to be - just getting it together to the point where we're a regular fixture on the local scene and hopefully getting an EP or two out would do nicely - anything above that would be a bonus really. Watch this space. In the meantime, as I said at the start, I think it's high time "Construction For The Modern Idiot" got the critical reappraisal it deserves. Give it a listen and see for yourself, you might just be pleasantly surprised...
For a few months in 2011-12, I worked for a goth webzine called Sinzine. I only did a few articles for them before they did a full reset and all the content I put on there was deleted in the relaunch.
I didn't contribute a lot to the 'zine as I was only there for a few months but one thing I did enjoy doing was a retrospective on the one and only Mr Alice Cooper to tie in with his big Halloween gig at Ally Pally in 2011 and the then-new "Welcome 2 My Nightmare" that had just hit the shops at the time. I'm still a huge Coop fan and thought that this blog would be a good place to re-print the article along with a few audio links to spice it up a bit. I've also brought it up to date to include Alice's "Hollywood Vampires" collaboration album from this year. Hope you enjoy...
40 YEARS OF SHOCK ROCK - A BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO ALICE COOPER As Alice's big Halloween gig at Alexandra Palace approaches, Sinzine's Andy James takes a look back at 40 years of albums from the man who wrote the book on Shock Rock and assesses the good, the bad and the downright weird...
Alice Cooper is, of course, a man who needs no introduction. As well as being the man who invented shock rock and, arguably, goth as well, it's fair to say that he casts a shadow over nearly any alternative musical genre you'd care to mention. 2016 will mark the fifty year anniversary of Alice's first single and what better way to honour the Grand Lord of all things Dark and Twisted than by doing a retrospective on his albums. No easy task as the title suggests, it's now 46 years since the Alice Cooper band (as they then were) made their recording debut and when you've made close to thirty albums, not all of them are going to be stone cold classics. But from the classics to the good, the bad and the plain insane, this has been one mammoth but incredibly fun feature to compile. So here it is a full guide to the musical history of the Coop complete with handy ratings. Enjoy...
The Alice Cooper band rose up out of San Francisco in the late '60s under the tutelage of Frank Zappa under whose guidance they released 1969's "Pretties For You"(4/10) and 1970's "Easy Action"(4). They're not without a curious trippy sort of charm in places but they really don't bear any relation to what came afterwards and there's an awful lot of filler on both. The story really starts with the group's 1971 album "Love It To Death"(9) and the spooked out single "I'm Eighteen" that brought the band into the public consciousness.
Even forty years later the sheer darkness of songs like "Black Juju" and "The Ballad Of Dwight Fry" send shivers down the spine so Lord only knows what it must have sounded like to a world which had never really experienced anything like this before the Doors had the darkness but were much less heavy while the Stooges had the chaos but not the sinister themes at its core. Mix in some killer rock anthems like "Caught In A Dream", "Hallowed Be My Name" and the deliciously sinister "Is It My Body?" (which still contains one of the best riffs to an Alice song ever) and you've got a stone cold classic.
And as if that wasn't enough, it only took them a matter of months to follow up "Love It To Death" with the equally awesome and aptly named "Killer"(9). Bursting into life with the sheer power of leadoff single "Under My Wheels" and the laid back cool of "Be My Lover", this album really is all killer no filler. "Halo Of Flies" took the prog rock template and twisted it into all kinds of nasty new shapes while the haunting Wild West ghost town lament "Desperado" and the downright ominous closing duo of "Dead Babies" and "Killer" still sound thoroughly vicious today. Want to know where shock rock all started? This is the place.
1972's "School's Out"(7) was a concept album of sorts (the first of many that Alice has done over his career as we'll see through this article). The title track officially put the band in the big time, reaching the top of the charts both in Britain and the States and remains a classic of its time. Elsewhere, there's a bit of filler here and there but the skulking "Luney Tune" and the ferocious "Public Animal #9" show that this isn't a one-track album by any means and a worthy addition to your collection.
It would be 1973's "Billion Dollar Babies"(10) though that would make up the final part of the Holy Trinity of early Alice albums. A chart-topper on both sides of the Atlantic, pretty much every track on this one could have been a single (as it turned out, it spawned four Top 10 hits in Britain in "Elected", "No More Mr Nice Guy", "Hello Hooray" and the title track, all with killer singalong choruses to match). Elsewhere, the sheer chaos of "Generation Landslide" and "Unfinished Sweet" shows that the unhingedness that made the band great was still running unchecked through the band and the ultra sick but wonderfully camp "I Love The Dead" which closes the album are all highlights as well. If you only listen to one Alice album, it really should be this one.
Fair to say that any group would have problems following an album like that and by 1974's "Muscle Of Love"(5), the group were on the verge of imploding. The weirdest thing about this album is that it sounds like it should have been made about four years earlier (somewhere between "Easy Action" and "Love It To Death") as it contains a lot of the same style of garage rock that the group were specialising in around this time but lacks the spookiness that made the latter stand out so much. It's not entirely without its charm (lead-off single "Teenage Lament '74" is the best of an otherwise unremarkable bunch), it just sounds rather tame in comparison to what's gone before.
Following disappointing sales of "Muscle Of Love", the group would splinter with Alice keeping the name and the rest of the group going off to form the Billion Dollar Babies. It would be the singer who'd emerge with the gold though in the form of his first solo album, 1975's "Welcome To My Nightmare"(8). A return to the sinister showmanship of "Billion Dollar Babies", it saw Alice adding a much wider variety of sounds to his repertoire, ranging from the almost jazz-funk title track through the Broadway musical stylings of "Some Folks" (one of the album's high points) to the straight down the line rock of "Cold Ethyl". It also gave Alice another monster hit with the AOR balladry of "Only Women Bleed" (ironically, probably one of the weaker songs on here). Sure, it doesn't always hold together as well as some of the earlier albums but, as the man himself has often said about it, that's the thing about nightmares, they rarely make any sort of coherent sense...
1976's "Alice Cooper Goes To Hell"(6) is effectively "Welcome To My Nightmare" only minus the best bits. It's another themed album, this time revolving around Alice going to hell (funnily enough) and meeting the Devil. However, it's hobbled by lacking the twisted variety of its predecessor and by the presence of too many ballads for its own good, presumably trying to follow up the success of "Only Women Bleed" though lead-off single "I Never Cry", a reflective look at the Coop's growing alcoholism at the time, isn't too bad. Elsewhere, the content ranges from the spooked out lounge rock of "I'm The Coolest" through to a couple of ill-advised attempts at disco in "You Gotta Dance" and "Wish You Were Here". Hit and miss basically.
Which is a good summary of 1977's "Lace And Whiskey"(6) as well (another concept album but this one doesn't really sit together as well as the previous two did). On the one hand, opening track "It's Hot Tonight" swaggers in on an absolute stormer of a riff and is a fine song while the vaudeville "King Of The Silver Screen" shows that Alice was still willing to try and branch out a bit as does his cover of the rockabilly classic "Ubangi Stomp" (which the Stray Cats would hit paydirt with a few years later). On the other hand, lead off single "You And Me" is a ballad by numbers and there's another abortive attempt at disco in "No More Love (At Your Convenience)". It's not quite the disaster that some people paint it as but it's really only average.
By now, Alice's alcoholism was running out of control and the early days of 1978 saw him thrown in a mental institution to get his head straight. The drying out process was actually fairly brief and he opted to stay around for a few more weeks writing about his observations about the place and its inmates. On his release, he teamed up with Elton John's co-songwriter Bernie Taupin to put these observations to music and came up with his best album since "...Nightmare" in "From The Inside"(7). Reclaiming a lot of the oddball charm that had been slightly absent from its two predecessors, it veers from the pure rock 'n' roll showmanship of the title track and the awesome "Wish I Were Born In Beverly Hills", an ode to broken down Hollywood socialites that you can almost imagine Elton singing in one of his rockier moments (and which Alice savvily reintroduced into his set some 25 years later when the mental breakdowns of the likes of Britney Spears and Paris Hilton were hitting the headlines) to ballads such as "The Quiet Room" and the heartstopping "How You Gonna See Me Now?" (written about Alice's nervousness at his wife seeing him sober for the first time) which had an added heart lacking in some of the slower songs on Alice's previous albums.
"From The Inside" would also be the last sighting for some years of the old mascara clad monster that was '70s Alice. 1980's "Flush The Fashion"(5) saw him doing an almost full 180 degree turn and entering the world of synth swamped new wave with a toned down image to match. This really is an album of two halves as the first five songs are generally pretty dreadful wishy washy synth rock which just doesn't leave any lasting impression. However, side two sees a bit of attitude and guitars return to the mix and "Nuclear Infected", "Grim Facts" and the hilariously wry "Dance Yourself To Death" (poking fun at the same synth-heavy new wave music that Alice was now semi-embracing) are well worth a listen.
1981's "Special Forces"(7) sees Alice getting to grips with the formula a bit better as he mixes his new musical stylings with some of his old school ferocity. It doesn't hit the target every time but the snarling likes of "Who Do You Think We Are?" and "You Look Good In Rags" are solid efforts and rock much harder than anything on "Flush The Fashion" as does the lead off single, a high-powered electro-rock cover of Love's "Seven And Seven Is". Elsewhere, there's the typical twisted Alice sense of humour with the hilarious stiff upper lip English vocals of "You're A Movie" and the tale of a transvestite vice squad policeman that is "Prettiest Cop On The Block". It's far from typical Alice but it's well worth a listen all the same.
If there's one album in Alice's back catalogue that deserves the title of being something of a lost classic, it's 1982's "Zipper Catches Skin"(8). By this point, Alice was firmly back off the wagon to the extent that he claims to not even remember making it due to his booze intake, record sales were circling the bowl and yet somehow he managed to really hit the mark with this album. Marking a semi-return to his rock roots, it contains some of the most bizarre yet fun songs in the Coop's back catalogue with subjects as diverse as the death of Zorro (the storming "Zorro's Ascent"), tightwad millionaires (the ultra-camp "Make That Money (Scrooge's Song)") and directing slasher movies ("Tag, You're It") all getting the Alice treatment. There's also a real playful sense of humour at work on the likes of the pop-punk one-two of "I Like Girls" and "Remarkably Insincere" and the hilariously sarcastic "I Better Be Good" (probably the album's high point). And really, how can you honestly dislike an album which has both a semi-acoustic ditty about aliens ("No Baloney Homosapiens") and a song called "I'm Alive (That Was The Day My Dead Pet Returned To Save My Life)"?
1983's "Dada"(6) is another album that Alice claims to have been too far gone on alcohol to remember making. Much darker than its predecessor, it's unfortunately not quite of the same quality. It has its moments "I Love America" sees the classic Alice sarcasm in full flow for the album's highlight while "No Man's Land" (a tale of a man working as Santa in an Atlanta department store who encounters a girl with a rather handy sexual fantasy while working on the job one day) is similarly entertaining. Elsewhere though, while the darker subject matter works in some places such as "Former Lee Warmer", other moments such as "Enough's Enough" and "Scarlet And Sheba" just sound dull.
Alice would finally kick the booze in the wake of its release and take a three year break from recording. Unfortunately, his comeback, 1986's "Constrictor"(4) remains probably one of his weakest albums to date. It has one standout moment, the teenage angst rock of opener "Teenage Frankenstein" but elsewhere it's hobbled by a mix of dated '80s production and below par songs. In retrospect, it's a bit of a bridge between the synth rock of early '80s Alice and the late '80s metal version but unfortunately it just combines the worst bits of both.
1987's "Raise Your Fist And Yell"(8) is a big improvement. Drawing heavily on the mid'80s shock rock bands who'd claimed his band's early work as an influence such as WASP and Twisted Sister, it's the sound of the scumbag Alice of old confidently announcing his return. The ferocious anticensorship ode "Freedom", the sneering "Lock Me Up" and the storming "Give The Radio Back" make for a fantastic opening one-two-three while elsewhere the sicko thrills of "Chop Chop Chop" and "Roses On White Lace" see him gleefully pushing the boat out to get a reaction from the Tipper Gore-led pro-censorship brigade. It could've been the start of a new dawn but unfortunately what followed it makes it more of a false dawn...
While 1989's "Trash"(4) gave Alice a massive radio hit in the form of rock club mainstay "Poison" (still a great track), it also contained some horribly over-produced mush-rock of the worst kind (then again, it was produced by Desmond Child so maybe not that much of a surprise). Follow up single "Bed Of Nails" and the Joan Jett co-penned "House Of Fire" both just about rock hard enough to earn a pass but elsewhere, the title track is dumbed down hair metal of the worst kind which is only outdone in the bloatedness stakes by the corpulent balladry of "Hell Is Living Without You" which stinks like a graveyard during a heatwave. It may have been a commercial highpoint for Alice but it was definitely a creative low.
1991's "Hey Stoopid"(5) was a small step back in the right direction but still not great. On the one hand it produced two killer Alice singles in "Love's A Loaded Gun" and his cover of Zodiac Mindwarp's "Feed My Frankenstein" and the epic "Might As Well Be On Mars" but there's an awful lot of filler on there even if it does suffer a lot less from the overproduction issues of its predecessors. Which makes what followed it all the more remarkable...
1994's "The Last Temptation Of Alice Cooper" (8) was arguably the best album Alice had done for over a decade. A return to the concept albums of late '70s Alice but with a much darker mid-'90s twist to them (the man who helped him with the ideas for the central story was none other than Neil Gaiman). Bursting into life with the driving "Sideshow", it's the story of a boy growing up in '90s American trying to stay true to himself and avoid the temptations of self-destruction. Songs such as the punky lead-off single "Lost In America", the almost musical-style "Bad Place Alone" and the unsettling "Unholy War" combine to make it a solid, varied and above all, very good album. Hell, there's even that most rare of beasts a good quality Alice ballad in the form of "It's Me" for you to enjoy.
Unfortunately, while "Last Temptation" was a good album, it didn't save Alice from the grunge backlash and failed to sell. Losing his record deal, he took a sabbatical from the music business, returning in 1999 with "Brutal Planet"(5). A much heavier affair than anything Alice had previously done, it owed a debt in its sound to Alice's late '90s successors like Marilyn Manson. Lyrically, it was incredibly stark with songs about the genocide in Rwanda ("Pick Up The Bones"), spousal abuse ("Take It Like A Woman") and neo-Nazi thugs ("Wicked Young Man") although "It's The Little Things" does at least allow a bit of Alice's trademark humour to shine back through. It's an intriguing listen but a bit lacking on the killer tunes front.
2001's "Dragontown"(6), while stylistically similar to its predecessor, at least adds a bit more melody to the proceedings as evidenced by the driving opener "Triggerman" which keeps the ferocity of "Brutal Planet" but adds a bit more nous to it. It's not all plain sailing the likes of "Deeper" and the ominous title track drift a bit too close to the best-forgotten nu-metal sounds of the time for comfort. However, you can at least see glimpses of the old Alice trying to break through the guitar swamp on this one such as on the sarcastic "Fantasy Man", the surprisingly poignant ballad "Every Woman Has A Name" and the hilarious Beatlesesque "It's Much Too Late" (about a righteous man who ends up in Hell through an administrative error). It was a sign of what was to come the following year when nu-metal collapsed and Alice was free to return to his roots...
The reinvention duly came with 2003's "The Eyes Of Alice Cooper"(8) which saw Alice returning to the garage roots which originally brought him to the public attention in the early '70s. Bursting with shit-kicking rock 'n' roll stormers like "Between High School And Old School" and Alice's ode to his hometown "Detroit City", it sees his trademark sense of humour and playfulness returning on the stormingly sarcastic "Man Of The Year" and the brilliant pisstake of manufactured pop that is "The Song That Didn't Rhyme". No question, this one definitely saw the Coop back on top form.
Realising he was on to a good thing, the follow up, 2005's "Dirty Diamonds"(7) was pretty much a straight continuation of its predecessor. Although this one's not quite as good, it's still a solid offering with the frenetic "Sunset Babies (All Got Rabies)" and "Your Own Worst Enemy" and the storming title track definite highlights while the countrified tale of a transvestite jailed for shooting up a redneck burger bar "The Saga Of Jesse Jane" is well worth a listen. It's only real problem is that it sounds a bit contrived in places especially when put against its predecessor.
2008's "Along Came A Spider"(6) saw Alice returning to the concept album theme that had served him so well in the mid-'70s, this time about a serial killer with an arachnid obsession. Unfortunately, this isn't in the same league as its other post-1980 equivalent "The Last Temptation". It's a bit like a bridge between the previous two garage Alice albums and what would come next but it just doesn't sit together as well as it could and also strays a bit too close to the humourless bludgeoning of "Brutal Planet" at times. That's not to say it doesn't have its charm though the storming "Vengeance Is Mine" (complete with a guest spot by Slash on guitar), the lean mean "Wrapped In Silk" and the Stonesy "I'm Hungry" are all well worth a listen but this feels like a bit of an opportunity missed.
Which is not something you could say about the follow-up "Welcome 2 My Nightmare"(8). Probably the most ambitious album that Alice had done in quite some time, it was a great musical present to the fans drawing on influences throughout his career but quality-wise it harked back to his '70s heyday. From the opening sinister slow-building ballad "I Am Made Of You", this takes in ferocious rockers like "Caffeine" and "Runaway Train" (which featured the four surviving members of the original Alice Cooper Band reunited at long last), slinky garage rock ("I'll Bite Your Face Off"), music hall pizazz ("Last Man On Earth") and even a well-aimed piss-take at disco kids ("Disco Boogie Bloodbath Fever"). It basically does what you'd have put good money it'd fall short on and proves itself to be a worthy follow-up to the original "Welcome To My Nightmare". Well worth your time and money in other words.
Since then, a new Alice album outright has been slow in coming although this year did see him put a supergroup together along with co-collaborator and longtime fan Johnny Depp to put out the self-titled "Hollywood Vampires" (6) covers album (albeit with a couple of new originals in the form of the storming "Raise The Dead" and the seasick "My Dead Drunk Friends") and featuring a guestlist of everyone from Paul McCartney through Brian Johnson to Christopher Lee. The quality of the covers is variable as you'd expect - on the one hand their versions of "My Generation" and "Cold Turkey" are both done well. On the other, their butchering of the Small Faces' "Itchycoo Park" is brutal to put it mildly.
So where does this all leave Alice as 2016 and the fiftieth anniversary of the forming of the original Alice Cooper band approaches. Well, put it this way, I'm pretty sure we've not seen the last of him. As the man said himself in an interview many years ago, he's like one of those sharks that lurks just below the surface letting the other smaller ones splash about and grab the limelight. Then, when they're least expecting it...BANG! I think I can safely say that I'll continue to roll with the guy as long as he's around - hopefully a new album of originals should be coming soon and when it does rest assured I'll be right at the front of the line to buy it. Respect.
