Customer Reviews

Along Came A Spider [Vinyl]

5 star:		(57)
4 star:		(36)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Tells a great story, each song stands on its own. People may think Alice wants to be a force in the music business again, but it's more like he wants to be a musical force to his fans & friends--which is what should count these days. Outstanding guitar work & song compostion. Stop torturing us... your hardcore fans need more records like this--more often!

I have had a promo of this CD for a month and it has not been out of my CD player since. This CD brings Alice back to his roots of originality. From the start there are many riffs that will bring the listerner back to such classics as Welcome To My Nightmare. In fact Track 1 reminds me of the classic Department of Youth from that same album. Most of the familiar sounds are from his 70's era. There is not one disaapointment on the entire CD. The 80's were a time that Alice tried to keep up musically with an atempt to get in on the new wave sounds ("Clones..") then the 90's more metal but in 2008 he is BACK to what he does best. Yes I have enjoyed most of the trip from the 70's and just when I thought it was ending Along Came A Spider. Not since he released Alice Cooper Goes To Hell have I been as excited to have a new Alice Cooper album. Older fans will come back and those who have never walked away will be thrilled as am I. The only problem is that FM radio doesn't hold many spots for airing new music from older artists. However, with some luck, this will be aired on XM and Sirius radio. Do not pass on this CD.

First let me say to those that don't think there's a single here....are you kidding? Vengeance is Mine sounds like a hit to me. Slash's guitar work adds that heavy metal edge to this outstanding track. Now that that is out of the way, this is Alice' most complete album in a long time. Far superior to Dirty Diamonds. Who else but twisted Alice could get away with writing a concept album about a serial killer named Spider. I'm on my third listen; first in my home stereo, then in my cd player using ipod headphones, and now with my Bose headphones. The sound is just raw enough to have a knife edge to it and the vocals are vintage Coop. Ozzy Osbourne co-writes and contributes harmonica on Wake the Dead. If there is a weak track I can't find it. Eric Singer plays the most solid I've heard in quite a while. Chuck Garric brings solid bass to every track and Danny Saber more than proves his worth. This is the album I've waited for and, though I've got it on cd, I can't wait for my vinyl copy!

P.S. Marilyn Manson is just a poseur! Long Live Alice!

When most people reach the age of 60, they begin to think about retirement or at least toning things down. The same cannot be said for rock legend Alice Cooper. Along many of his peers such as Ozzy Osbourne, Cooper has found the fountain of youth and continues to put out quality albums and is still a great live act. On Cooper's new release "Along Came A Spider," the original shockrocker decided to do what he does best and release a concept album. Along Came a Spider is about a serial killer named Spider who falls in love with one of his planned victims. In classic Cooper fashion, the album becomes a morality play. What happens? Well you will have to buy the album to find that out. The album is a good blend of a variety of musicial styles. A few of the tracks and riffs will remind you of his Brutal Planet period (one of my favorite later Alice phases) while some of the album sounds like his 70's heyday. There even a few choruses that would fit with the 80's material. In other words, whatever era of Alice you prefer, you will find it on this album. Standout tracks include "Killed By Love" and "Vengenance is Mine." This album should please not only Alice fans, but fans of great hard rock. Don't miss this one.

Only Alice Cooper can sing a lyric like "You Look Like You'd Fit In The Trunk Of My Car" and bring a smile to your face. The original shock rocker has just released a new concept album, just in time for the upcoming Halloween season. Cooper presents the story of an "Archanaphobic Psychopath" out to collect body parts from various victims...basically a horror film, told in song. "Along Came a Spider" covers quite a few bases musically, and shouldn't really be pidgeonholed into one "sound" or genre. There are elements of the classic Alice Cooper Band, touches from Alice's hair metal "Trash" album to his Nu-Metal "Brutal Planet", and even some musical elements that will remind you of Alice's New Wave "Zipper Catches Skin" era.

Prologue/I Know Where You Live - The album kicks off with a cool little "news" report of a serial killers diary being found, and then Alice starts things off with the high energy "I Know Where You Live". Great tune, and there is a fantastic bass line that really grinds the song along. Excellent tune.

Vengeance is Mine - Great guitar work by Slash, and an instantly memorable chorus. Alice is still able to tap into that gutteral growl vocally, and does so here to maximum effect.

Wake the Dead - Ozzy makes a guest appearance here and for some reason this tune really reminded me of the Alice Cooper Band days. I could see this being wedged onto "Muscle of Love". The drum work is phenomenal here.

Catch Me If You Can - This is a great tune! This sounds quite a bit like the music found on his "Dirty Diamonds" and "The Eyes of Alice Cooper". I would love to see this one performed live.

Feminine Side - I was expecting this to be a ballad along the lines of "Only Women Bleed", and was surprised at how it rocked out? Really strong tune.

Wrapped in Silk - Alice has the "creepy" vocal kicked up to 10 on this one. This is the kind of song Cooper is known for, and why he still has legions of fans.

Killed by Love - This is probably the weakest song on the album, it doesn't really move the overall story along, and comes off as a hair metal power ballad that wasn't good enough for the "Trash" album.

I'm Hungry - Another great tune, which sounds as though it came from his "Hey Stoopid" era. Another great bass track.

The One That Got Away - As soon as I heard the opening lyric, I was hooked on this song. Just a great rock tune, if you are looking for a single this is it! I would say this is the highlight tune of the record but.....

Salvation - This song is the highlight of the album for me. Cooper's vocals really remind of his 80's New Wave era. I could see this song fitting on the "Flush The Fashion" album perfectly. Just a great song, and well worth the price of the disk.

I Am The Spider/Epilogue - Fantastic song that wraps up the album. And one of the true highlights is when Alice addresses the "Steven" character again, a character introduced on "Welcome to My Nightmare" years ago.

In this day and age of pre-packaged pop, recycled tunes and blatant rip-off artists "sampling" classic songs, it's a genuine breath of fresh air to hear a genuine rock star still producing relevant and enjoyable music.

Say what you will about Alice Cooper. He may be 60 and this is his 25 studio release and his radio glory days may be behind him, but one thing is for sure, he will not go quietly into the night. With close to 40 years in the business he is rocking as hard as ever. The amps are still turned up to 10,the band rocks on and the songs are twisted and demented in a wonderful way. It's like Edgar Allen Poe with a rock band, Alfred Hitchcock with a recording studio or Bella Lagusi on tour. I don't think Alice believes or even cares if his new cd goes gold or plantinum and that is a wonderful thing because it gives him freedom and allows him to do what he wants and he just wants to rock out in his own sinister way. The songs here mix a 70's vibe with a modern sound and they sound so much more refreshing from what is out there today in the hard rock arena. A cd about a serial killer refreshing ?? Yes as weird as that sounds. Give credit to Alice and his band for being able to do that. Alice has always been about humor, even if you did not get it, he did. Alice has been a major influence on so many bands, especially the likes of Rob Zombie, Marilyn Manson and Wensday 13. Along Came a Spider shows them all the master is still the master. The stage is where these songs will shine the most and Alice still puts on one of the best shows in the business, making bands half his age gasping for air trying to keep up with his energy. This release would also make a wonderful horror movie that I would love to see or a fantastic two part episode of CSI. A truly strong release by a long time artist who is still at the top of his game. You just would'nt know it if all did was listen to the radio.

I am a major Alice Cooper fan and I've been awaiting a release of another album since Dirty Diamonds and when I heard this one was to be released I was thrilled but still did not know what to expect. I just purchased the album today and it was awesome! The songs are great with such misleading titles and such a dark story throughout. All Alice fans should buy this one--will not dissapoint.

We all know Alice has the knack for telling an intriguing tale within the confines of a single song. This time out he goes all out in rock opera mode, using the entire album to tell his story. Alice has had many "concept" albums that revolve around specific themes, but it's rare when he actually uses the whole album for one particular story. The Last Temptation was probably the only other album to actually do that(that album even had a graphic novel to go with the story).
The results are quite impressive. Along Came A Spider reunites us with "Steven", the childlike alter-ego to the murderous and insane "Alice Cooper"(or is it the other way around? We may never know. Hoo Hoo Ha Ha!). Steven was introduced to us on the Welcome To My Nightmare album, and would pop up here and there throughout Alice's career. Steven now calls himself, "The Spider" and is a serial killer. Alice handles his plot, lyrics and storytelling duties wonderfully. Also with a dash of humor, as to be expected from Alice.
Musically it seems that many folks have different ways they've interpreted it. I'd have to say that to my ears, the sound of this album is a cross between Dirty Diamonds and The Last Temptation. The ballads remind me of the kind of tunes you'd hear on Alice's mid to late 70s period albums like From The Inside or Lace and Whiskey. Alice is still using a few guys from his Dirty Diamonds/Eyes of Alice Cooper band lineup, but with a few new musicians. Slash also makes a guest appearance on "Vengeance Is Mine". These songs are very good, but need a few listens to get their fangs into you. For me, on the first listen I did find the album overall enjoyable, but nothing really seemed to jump out. On the second listen, that all changed and the songs really began to take hold. It really hasn't been out of my cd player for the last two days.
The cd booklet is a nice touch as well, designed to look like Steven's diary. Each page of the booklet features the lyrics to one song, and each song has it's own photo image which are designed to look like old movie posters. Very cool.
In the end, Alice has done it again. I felt that with Dirty Diamonds he was heading in a pretty good direction, and Along Came a Spider is definitely a winner.

The Last Temptation
Anyone who enjoys hard rock with hooky melodies should buy this and crank it loud. It sounds modern but it has alot of the classic Cooper sound. Some of the songs remind me of his work from Killer and Love it to Death. Standout tracks are Vengeance is Mine, The One that Got Away, Catch Me if You Can, Wake the Dead, Killer by Love, and Salvation. The artwork is the best since his Last Temptation album (buy that too). It reminds me of horror movie posters from the 50s and 60s.
I give it 4 stars instead of 5 because of the production. Alice still has his trademark voice, the band rocks, and the concept is good but I wish it was produced by Bob Ezrin (who produced most of Cooper's best works). He would've given it that certain something extra.
I hope this does well for Alice and more people become fans after hearing this CD, because he is a legend and really deserves it. His influence is seen in all kinds of music and performances but few (including the R'nR Hall of Fame) will admit that. Based on the Amazon sales rankings as I write this perhaps it will sell well.
Buy it and play it loud or the Spider will get you!

I've been a fan of Alice for over 20 years now, and I finally have something to buy again. I'm a huge fans of the 70's albums, and to tell you the truth, I don't think he's put out a really good album since Raise Your Fist. At least until now.
It seemed to me that in the mid-80's, Alice seemed to lose himself. He just sounded like another rock band, nothing special. The personality that made Billion Dollar Babies, Nightmare, and even Goes to Hell great albums seemed to have left in an attempt to change with the times and remain artistically viable. All this started with Trash, and he's been stuck in mediocrity ever since.
I don't know if he's finally reached a point in his life where he stopped caring about what everyone thinks, or he felt like he was missing something himself, but this album is just pure Alice.
Thank you. The times have changed, but it turns out that Alice never really had to. It's a different world then it was in the 70's, so this album may not be considered shocking by some people, but it doesn't need to be. If the original Nightmare was released now, I think it would be overlooked, and by the same token, I think if this album was released back then, it would have been considered another Alice classic.
For everyone who though Alice had gone missing for a number of years, pick this one up.
After years of mediocrity, it's good to see you again, Alice Cooper.