Alice Cooper’s Paranormal, his 27th studio album, sees the man who originated “shock rock” collaborating with producer and songwriter Bob Ezrin, U2 drummer Larry Mullen, Jr., Deep Purple bassist Roger Glover, ZZ Top guitarist Billy Gibbons and members of the original Allice Cooper band — bassist Dennis Dunaway, drummer Neal Smith, and guitarist Michael Bruce. In addition to 12 new tunes, the last six tracks are live versions of Cooper classics performed with his touring band.
The album’s title track features Glover’s simple bass lines chunking through the verses, while Gibbons applies a country-flavored strut on “Fallen In Love.” Mullen plays harder and more aggressively than he usually does throughout. “Private Public Breakdown” represents a flair of sardonic wordsmithing Cooper does better than anyone. Ezrin, who helmed the production reins for Cooper’s biggest albums of the 70s, knows how to deliver the music with just enough style, panache and collaboration to make everyone feel right at home.
“Genuine American Girl” and “You and All Of Your Friends” reunites Cooper with Dunaway, Smith and Bruce. The former is a straight-ahead rocker about a brazen and tough, while the latter is a warning that the Alice Cooper is coming to take over your world — just like they did way back in the early 70s. The album’s final six songs are from a May 6, 2016 show in Columbus, Ohio. Cooper and his current crackerjack band run through near-perfect renditions of timeless classics like “No More Mr. Nice Guy,” “Billion Dollar Babies,” and “Only Women Bleed. As a package, Paranormal is heavy, fun, even quite dark at times. The bottom line is Alice Cooper and company — and what a company it is — sound like they’re having a ball.
~ Ralph Greco, Jr.
