Music review: Alice Cooper – 鈥楶aranormal鈥�
Welcome once again to the nightmare that never ends. Following 2011鈥檚 鈥淲elcome 2 My Nightmare鈥� with the equally disturbing 鈥淧aranormal,鈥� instead of being dead and buried, the chilling showmanship antics of Alice Cooper are alive and well.
The title track opens the creepy festivities with a calming guitar introduction that soon enough bleeds a darker tone as the shock-rock icon sings, 鈥淲hen the night is all cool skin and bones/And you lie wrapped in sheets on your own/There鈥檚 a ring on your dead telephone/Don鈥檛 be scared when there鈥檚 nobody home.鈥� The sinister number also features assistance from Deep Purple鈥檚 Roger Glover.
On 鈥淒ead Flies,鈥� Cooper steadily pounds out a warning to stay clear of the propaganda spewed by the numerous false prophets demanding our attention and asking us to join together in the consumption of the tainted lies being served.
ZZ Top鈥檚 Billy Gibbons adds a smooth blues-rock boogie to Cooper鈥檚 comical look at romance gone wrong on 鈥淔allen In Love.鈥� The album also showcases the drumming of U2鈥檚 Larry Mullen Jr. on the majority of studio tracks.
鈥淒ynamite Road鈥� and 鈥淧rivate Public Breakdown鈥� detail the excesses of being a rock star and the demons that attempt to attach themselves to the fast-paced lifestyle that many performers have fallen victim to.
As an added treat for longtime fans, the new release includes a second disc with two arrangements written and recorded with original band members Dennis Dunaway, Neil Smith and Michael Bruce.
鈥淕enuine American Girl鈥� shows the lighter side of Cooper as we realize that appearances can be deceiving, while 鈥淵ou and All of Your Friends鈥� provides a descriptive warning about when to expect when Cooper arrives in your hometown for a little bit of madness and mayhem.
The bonus disc also features live performances of 鈥淣o More Mr. Nice Guy,鈥� 鈥淯nder My Wheels,鈥� 鈥淏illion Dollar Babies,鈥� 鈥淔eed My Frankenstein,鈥� 鈥淥nly Women Bleed鈥� and 鈥淪chool鈥檚 Out.鈥�
Only Cooper can make his nightmares this entertaining on stage with a little help from a guillotine, menacing black widow spider and boa constrictor, electric chair, straitjacket and a giant Frankenstein.
One thing is for sure, I鈥檒l be in the crowd when Cooper and fellow Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Deep Purple roll into Pittsburgh for a performance at KeyBank Pavilion on Sept. 1. The nightmare continues indeed.