Alice Cooper - Along Came A Spider

Published August 16 2008

*=Staff's pick	Prologue/I Know Where You Live Vengeance Is Mine* Wake The Dead Catch Me If You Can (In Touch With) Your Feminine Side Wrapped In Silk* Killed By Love I'm Hungry The One That Got Away Salvation I Am The Spider/Epilogue

Genre	Theatrical rock	Alice Cooper	Vocals
Tracks	11	Keri Kelli	Guitar
Runningtime	44 Min.	Jason Hook	Guitar
Label	SPV	Chuck Garric	Bass
Release	25 July 2008	Eric Singer	Drums
Country	USA	-	Keyboard
Similar artists	---

In most cases I, as well as the most of us, want my old, fading metal favourites to go back and try to recreate their glorious past. Alice Cooper is an exception. He has, strangely enough, always done his best when he has put his wet finger in the air and gone with the latest wind - still always with his own very characteristic touch. This attempt to do another Welcome To My Nightmare, or something else from his ancient past, is therefore literally a few step backwards.

But that is not the whole problem. He has lost it altogether. The magical, mystical, mythical… almost frightening appearance is somewhat unmasked and deranged. Alice Cooper should be more than just hit songs. I want to be afraid of the serial killer Spider, who makes up the concept of this album, but I cannot say that he brings me any nightmares whatsoever.

Speaking of hit songs. I cannot find one single track here that really enters the top 100 of Alice Cooper songs. I Guess Vengeance Is Mine comes closest, but it is still a rather standardised composition in the broader context of the career. Where are the theatrical mysteriousness of the 70s, the hits of the 80s, the heaviness of the 90s and the dirty rock of the latest couple of records?

Wrapped In Silk actually sticks a bit too, but only for the passage stolen from Twisted Sister's S.M.F. It is bad when composers need to steal from their own followers and fans. I have never fully taken in Alice Coopers more pretentious sides, but without the above-mentioned ingredients it becomes rather unbearable. He seems to have wanted too much with the whole concept and has forgotten the simple, dirty work to make a great record of it.

Performance	Originality	Production	Vocals	Songwriting
6	7	6	5	4

Summary
5 chalices of 10 - David