“Get in the car, turn up the volume, and let Alice ride with you!” -With these words, the musician accompanied the release of his 22nd studio album. And already on the 29th in his general discography.
To make Road the successor to 1972’s School’s Out and 1989’s Poison (both of which went platinum), Alice Cooper had to rehire his old producer friend Bob Ezrin. The one that helped him become famous in the early 70s.
After all, the distinctive features of Bob Ezrin’s work (now collaborating with Deep Purple) have always been the following: collecting all the ideas and musical tracks recorded in the studio and removing the excess in them. Making the most of the melodies, guitar riffs and emotions. And to eliminate philosophies, solos and the narcissism of the instrumentalists are not always appropriate.
In some ways, Ezrin’s credo was similar to the one first “introduced” by the sculptor Rodin, who said that to create a masterpiece that people like, it is enough to eliminate everything superfluous. Here Alice Cooper is now as much as possible and trusts Ezrin-Roden. It didn’t really interfere with his work. The end result is a wonderful album. It may be ascetic in some ways, but Road’s emotions and melodies are so heightened, powerful and highlighted that you’ll want to listen to these 13 songs more than once.
More importantly, Eerin doesn’t like to invite famous guest musicians on separate tracks. Perhaps considering that this does not contribute to the integrity of the records, or that the main musicians are a bit lost in the presence of the guests?
So the people who worked on Road are the ones who are touring with Alice Cooper and therefore know best what you need. And this also contributed to the best self-realization of the teacher!
The team is really cool: guitarists Nita Strauss (yes, this beautiful blonde has been playing solo with Alice Cooper for over six years!), Ryan Roxie and Tommy Henrickson, bassist Chuck Garrick and drummer Glenn Sobel.
Three songs from the album became singles: White Line Frankenstein, Welcome to the Show and I’m Alice.
By the way
The name of the album translates as “Road”, and already on August 26 Alice Cooper (by the way, a famous racer and collector of rare cars) toured North and South America with his Road.
The 75-year-old artist’s tour will last almost 5 months, until the beginning of December!
