Band:	Alice Cooper
Album:	Detroit Stories
Style:	Hard rock, Glam rock
Release date:	February 26, 2021
A review by:	ScreamingSteelUS

01. Rock 'N' Roll [The Velvet Underground cover]
02. Go Man Go
03. Our Love Will Change The World [Outrageous Cherry cover]
04. Social Debris
05. $1000 High Heel Shoes
06. Hail Mary
07. Detroit City 2021
08. Drunk And In Love
09. Independence Dave
10. I Hate You
11. Wonderful World
12. Sister Anne [MC5 cover]
13. Hanging On By A Thread (Don't Give Up)
14. Shut Up And Rock
15. East Side Story [Bob Seger And The Last Heard cover]

Ever in search of a change of vestments, Alice Cooper dives back into a long-dead world for an album that threatens to exchange personality for nostalgia.

Alice's hometown, Detroit, is at the root of this album (hence the title), and therefore Detroit Stories includes several covers of songs by noteworthy Detroit-area artists. The Velvet Underground, who supplied opener "Rock & Roll," were about as New York a band as you can get this side of the Ramones, but Steve Hunter - who appears on this and many other Alice Cooper recordings - did famously cover the song with Mitch Ryder's Detroit back in 1971 (thus bringing his total recording count for this song to at least three, as he and fellow Alice alumnus Dick Wagner also performed on the version featured on Lou Reed's Rock 'n' Roll Animal). Maybe I'm pushing too hard for a connection (or maybe that's exactly it), but as much as the theme of Detroit Stories is Detroit itself, it is also rock and roll, and there are few songs that better encapsulate the spirit of the streets from which the original Alice Cooper band emerged. That right there is the unifying thesis: a return to the basics, a return to the rough-and-tumble glory days when bands fought to tough each other out onstage.

Music fans (or fans of anything, really) should know to be wary when artists promise to return to their roots, as this is a stock phrase that often conceals less promising sentiments such as "we're out of ideas" and "we just need something to sell." I was also under the impression that Alice had done this before on The Eye Of Alice Cooper and Dirty Diamonds, which were exactly the type of punky, stripped-down, Motor City garage rock that Detroit Stories touts as its goal; one of the five covers on this album is even of Alice's own song from Eyes, "Detroit City." The results sound much like compositions from those albums run through the more conventional and heavily produced rock tracks on Paranormal, accentuated by horn sections, driving snare rolls, grooving bass lines, and omnipresent backing choirs. While the lengthy list of personnel does create the impression of a citywide celebration and the thick, lumbering sound of the band does put a powerful emphasis on the collaborative musicality that makes this type of rock music come alive, Detroit Stories often feels overproduced and underwritten.

Part of this is undoubtedly because Detroit Stories seeks to encompass not merely that hard rock/proto-punk sound, but a wider variety of sounds associated with Detroit, including soul, blues, and pop (not ICP, though). I can't say I don't dig the funkiness of "$1000 High Heel Shoes" or that the cover of Outrageous Cherry's "Our Love Will Change The World" isn't worth a wink and a smirk, but there is a persistent feeling of sluggishness and confusion as to the album's overall tone. Sometimes it's the sensation of the band lagging in the groove; sometimes it's a breeze-in, breeze-out chorus that leaves a song incomplete; the album almost entirely lacks the usual bite of Alice Cooper, concentrating more on jamming on a heavy rhythm than on being evil, or at least shifty. Though the 50-minute length is not inordinate, the inclusion of 15 tracks of inconsistent quality makes Detroit Stories feel somewhat lacking in charm and inspiration.

On occasion the Billion Dollar Babies revival movement pays off with a few fun and listenable tracks, particularly the faster tunes; "Social Debris" won't be remembered as one of Alice's most infectious singles, but it achieves its aim better than most tracks. Where the album really comes into its own are two tracks on the latter half: "Wonderful World," a nasty, snarling stomp that for one dark, shining moment reignites the vicious vigor of vaudevillian villain Alice, and "Hanging On By A Thread (Don't Give Up)", an unusually dire single initially released in May 2020 as an entreaty to those feeling the strain of imposed isolation and all of the medical, social, and financial hardships thrust upon the world by the pandemic. Its message has remained unfortunately relevant, but the song also broadly encompasses mental health, ending with a message from Alice with the number of the US National Suicide Prevention Hotline. It's a gesture that I appreciate, and the fact that it is appended to a pretty good tune suggests something important: Detroit Stories, whatever its flaws, was not born of lazy obligation.

There is a lot of spirit behind Detroit Stories. It tests out many styles, welcomes many guest musicians, and is sufficiently different from Alice's most recent efforts that it appears to be yet another of his many grand experiments. This time it does not pay off with destined fan favorites or an invigorating sound the way that other stylistic adjustments have, but Alice's career has had many ups and downs over the years; we can be assured that, however much of a decline this might be from Paranormal and Welcome 2 My Nightmare, this is not a sign of age or a permanent slump. The man could just as easily turn around with another masterpiece next time.

Alice Cooper has recorded an excellent album of back-to-roots rock'n'roll with lots of attitude, energy, and great songs. That album is The Eyes Of Alice Cooper. Detroit Stories revels in its concept more than its execution, and how much fun that can be will very much depend on the patience of the listener.