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Alice Cooper - Along Came A Spider review



Reviewer:
8.0

125 users:
7.01
Band: Alice Cooper
Album: Along Came A Spider
Release date: July 2008


01. I Know Where You Live (Prologue)
02. Vengeance Is Mine
03. Wake The Dead
04. Catch Me
05. (In Touch With) Your Feminine Side
06. Wrapped In Silk
07. Killed By Love
08. Hungry
09. The One That Got Away
10. Salvation
11. I Am The Spider (Epilogue)

In 2005, "Dirty Diamonds" was a great come back to the Garage Rock period of Alice Cooper and "Along Came A Spider", his new album, follows a bit this way with however some good modern musical orientations. One more time Alice produces a great album of Rock N Roll with a delicious old school attitude but with a modern spirit nonetheless. The fans of Alice Cooper shouldn't be disappointed one more time, even if "Along Came A Spider" is not so easy of access but with time and patience I'm sure that you'll love this new album.

"Along Came A Spider" is a conceptual album which will tell you the story of a serial killer, named Spider, who wants to create a spider with the legs of height victims (I know serial killers and? Alice Cooper are weird?). Everything will be perfect until that Spider falls in love of his final victim, a beautiful girl. During the eleven songs Alice "is" Spider and his vocal performance his simply amazing. The monster of Rock was really inspired during the writing process and recording of the album because there is a real soul behind each song. You'll not simply listen to music, you'll live this story and believe me, you'll "trust" what Alice will say to you. "Along Came A Spider" is not a really easy of access album and its main problem maybe is its lack of real hits, except maybe the great dark "Vengeance Is Mine". But this is not so problematic actually because "Along Came A Spider" is dark and this is the great side of the album. Alice Cooper wanted to produce something disturbing and horrific and he managed to do it. "Along Came A Spider" with this serial killer story is probably one of his most depressive album but of course one more time you'll have a part of dream and humanity too. Also I like the fact that the album can sound modern like on the tracks "Wake The Dead" or "Catch Me If You Can" but always with a cool old school attitude. Don't expect anything a la "Trash" here, we're not in front of a new Hard FM release, "Along Came A Spider" is full of old school sonorities which were the mark of Alice Cooper during the 70's but with a smart and intelligent process Alice Cooper and his musicians have managed to do something which really sound modern. As an example, "(In Touch With) Your Feminine Side" has a good Rock N Roll chorus but the riff sounds Hard Rock nonetheless. "Along Came A Spider" is not a commercial album and I suppose that some people who just listen to Alice Cooper for the "party" songs will be disappointed but I hope that they will try to give some time to the release because its deserves it and the songs are deep really.

Even if the musicians are the "live" musicians of Alice Cooper, I have the feeling this time that we have a real band harmony and it doesn't sound like some simple studio interpretations. Co-Produced by Danny Saber, Greg Hampton and Alice Cooper himself, the sound of "Along Came A Spider" is just fantastic and marry perfectly vintage and modern days of Cooper's long career. This new release is among the best production of Alice Cooper, a way better than the one of "Dirty Diamonds", and when you know that we have some guests like Slash?

As you know now, "Along Came A Spider" is a special album. Really well done but really dark and naughty, the music of this new release will be disturbing for a lot of people. But one more time believe me when I say that "Along Came A Spider" is a really good album. After 40 years of music, it's great to see that Alice Cooper is still able to write great albums, and even if "Along Came A Spider" is maybe not his best releases, this is a honorable and intelligent album. Alice Cooper is still the prince of darkness, let's hope that he will reign again during a long years.


Rating breakdown
Performance: 9
Songwriting: 7
Originality: 7
Production: 9

Written by Jeff | 26.08.2008




Comments

Comments: 13   Visited by: 250 users
27.08.2008 - 00:41
jupitreas
hi-fi / lo-life
Im afraid I need to disagree with this review. This album is sadly quite poor and forgettable. This is coming from a lifelong Alice fan too... Dirty Diamonds was far better than this and even that album wasnt Alice at his best. There are some decent songs here (Vengeance Is Mine, Catch Me If You Can, some others) but the album as a whole is very mediocre. The lyrics here are also very subpar considering the numerous gems Alice has penned over the years.

Disappointment of the year for me...
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27.08.2008 - 10:13
DrunkenFuck
Thrasher!
I might actually buy this.
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THRASH!!!
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27.08.2008 - 11:54
Shadowcross
The Summoner
gimmick music?
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27.08.2008 - 15:10
VPeter

heh, the exact same rating I would give it.
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29.08.2008 - 04:31
Kap'N Korrupt
Account deleted
It's not that great of an album...I listened to it and thought of it as pretty damn mediocre...
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29.08.2008 - 22:14
LeChron James
Helvetesfossen
Written by Shadowcross on 27.08.2008 at 11:54

gimmick music?

why? cuz hes old?
----
Kick Ass, Die Young

Less is More
Stay Pure
Stay Poor

Music was my life, music brought me to life and music is how I will be remembered long after I leave this life. When I die there will be a final waltz in my head that only I can hear.
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31.08.2008 - 02:25
iaberis
Advice Troll
Along came a spider??? There's no way I'm gonna buy, not even listen something with such stupid title...
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Bitch! Please
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31.08.2008 - 08:02
Kap'N Korrupt
Account deleted
Just because it has a stupid album title doesn't mean the music itself is stupid
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31.08.2008 - 16:03
Rating: 2
Damned-In-Black

I listened to this with high hopes and reasonable expectations, but sorry, but I've never heard a worse release from an artist / band that I respect and enjoy listening to, than this one. It's utterly abysmal in almost every way.

I disagree with generally the entire review, but what I really can't get, is where you say that the songs are 'deep'. Alice has, at times in the past, come up with some rather silly lyrics - but this album takes the cake. Horrible.

2/10.
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01.09.2008 - 03:16
M??aLWaRrIöR?

i think this is a good cd
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17.12.2008 - 01:49
=maD.Doc:.
Melodeath Master
Ozzy Osbourne is the prince of darkness, not Alice Cooper! Good review, still have to listen to the album though.
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07.10.2010 - 01:05
JohnDoe
Account deleted
A good album, I feared for worse reading some comments here; I've heard better albums from AC but unfortunately i have heard worse than this.

a more than decent album, I would rate it a 7.
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05.11.2016 - 07:11
Arc333Angel

Old School Alice...groovy and sinister. Haven't enjoyed an Alice Cooper album like this since the 70s. Same vibe as earlier albums, but with better production. Tells a disturbing story, with a few unexpected twists. A couple of the songs are sublimely beautiful. Highly recommended for anyone who likes songs like "Devil's Food," "Black Widow," "Welcome to my Nightmare" etc. Been listening to Alice since I bought my very first album with hard-earned allowance money as a kid. Got "The Alice Cooper Show." Opened up a whole new world. Been following Alice ever since, into the Darkness and into the Light.
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