Breadcrumbs
Alice Cooper is a name that needs no introduction. Alice has been in the music business for some fifty odd years, he has released countless albums, become a Hollywood Vampire and even hosts his own radio show, plus he’s heading out on the road next month on the Ol’ Black Eyes tour. So, how on earth does he find time to release any music? Well, he’s Alice Cooper, and aren’t I glad he did.
The six track EP ‘Breadcrumbs’ is actually Alice Coopers first EP. It features four punchy covers as well as a reworking of an old Alice track and a completely new song. But more on that later…
The EP opens with ‘Detroit City 2020’. This is a re worked version of ‘Detroit City’ from the ‘Eyes of Alice Cooper’ album. The song is a punchy raucous song with all the character of the original, but with a slightly modernised chorus. A great opener, it really does grab the attention of the listener.
With my attention well and truly grabbed, the next track is the new song. ‘Go Man Go’ is a fast punchy punk number. Harking back to those 70’s punk bands, think the Ramones meets the Sex Pistols. A great track, I particularly enjoyed the guitar solo in the middle. Strangely, on an album of covers from largely the seventies, this song feels the oldest. It really does have that classic vibe, more so than the other songs, they feel more modern in comparison.
Talking of covers, up next is ‘East Side Story’, originally a Bob Segar number. This features a real crunchy guitar riff and in fact has much more energy and angst than the original. The original is actually quite tame compared to this. I could imagine this becoming a staple part of Alice’s live shows, it has scope for an almighty amount of theatrics… watch this space!! Following on from ‘East Side Story’ is the Suzi Quatro song ‘Your Mama won’t like me’ – yet another great version. Its quite funky, with a real funk driven guitar riff running through the song. A great cover of a great song.
A change of pace now, with ‘Devil with a Blue Dress/Chains of Love’, beginning almost in the style of a musical theatre ditty. Think West Side Story, but it grows into an all out soulful assault. The song segways really smoothly into the equally soulful, perhaps even more so, ‘Chains of Love’. You can imagine the old guys of Motown singing this. This is Alice Cooper proving to us that he can sing absolutely anything. The song resolves towards the end and finishes with a repeated chorus from Devil with a blue Dress. This is a really nice moment, and I think my favourite song of the EP.
Finally, the albums closer, the MC5 track ‘Sister Anne’ – MC5 are mentioned in Detroit City so it’s quite a nice touch closing with this. This is good quality, old style rock and roll and Alice Cooper does it so well. Yet another killer guitar solo. I guarantee your head will be bobbing and your feet tapping to this one. It’s great, its lively and feel good rock and roll!
What a great EP! Coming in at just over 20 minutes, this personally has wet my whistle now and I can’t wait to hear Alice’s new album, rumoured to be released at some point next year. This is the very tasty starter, now I need the main course. Some great cover versions and the new track ‘Go Man Go’ feels like its straight out of the punk era in the seventies! And that is a very good thing indeed. This EP is Alice’s tribute to all his favourite garage bands of the sixties and seventies, but in fact, it’s more than that. It’s Alice Cooper really enjoying himself and that really comes through. And Alice, if you’re reading this… I really do hope you include ‘East Side Story’ in your live sets next month! It’s a great track and one I would love to see live!
Released By earMusic
Released on 13th September 2019
