Customer Reviews

Last Temptation

5 star:		(41)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

....as master shock rocker Alice Cooper takes you down the path towards "Brutal Planet" and eventually "DragonTown". "The Last Temptation" tells the story of Steven, who we first meet in "Welcome to my Nightmare", again in "Goes to Hell", and at the very end of "Hey Stoopid". In TLT Steven starts out as being bored with life. Nothing seems to get his interest. This opens the door for the Lord of Darkness himself, Satan, to come in and help Steven out. Satan makes Steven an offer that is hard to refuse, all the pleasures this world has ("You're My Temptation"). Power, money, sex, you name it and Steven can have it.

What Steven is not told is that there is a price to pay for accepting the ways of the world ("Nothing's Free"). Mean while there is a battle going on. A spiritual battle that Steven is not even aware of. God wants none to be lost but ultimately the choice is up to the individual.

While Steven wrestle's with the idea of all the power, wealth, and women, he knows deep inside that it is not right.

Does Steven make the right choice? Listen to TLT and find out. It is one of the most powerful and awesome albums Alice Cooper has ever put out and you can tell it comes from the heart. It is full of the truth and love of God and the perfect launching pad for the rest of the "Brutal Planet" trilogy.

The Last Temptation just may be the most underrated album of Alice Cooper's long and successful career. The album gets away from the pop metal sound of Trash and Hey Stoopid, and goes in a darker vein. The album brings back the character of Steven from the vintage Welcome To My Nightmare and Goes To Hell days.

The album is conceptual in nature, and it tells the story of Steven battling his own personal demons, and having a battle for his own sanity. Steven is tempted by wordly possessions and ultimately learns about himself and that his enemy is the devil himself.

The album is hard rocking, and standout cuts include Nothing's Free and Cleansed By Fire. There really is not a weak track on the album and is a good introduction to this underappreciated rock legend.

Alice seems to be back on track musically and his last three studio releases are musthaves. Hey Stoopid, the aforementioned Last Temptation, and the continuation of where TLT left off, the critically acclaimed masterpiece, Brutal Planet.

The blisteringly visceral rock music on four Alice Cooper albums - `Love it to Death' to `Billion $ Babies' - accompanied me though many a formative bungle. Alice the snake draped, cataleptic, baby killing, desperado. The razor stealing, dentist abused, attic dancing, victim of domestic pet attack.

But it's now late 2003 and, with the notable exception of `Welcome to my nightmare', and a few lesser hiccups, where has Alice been since? Bulldozed into the ground, and replaced with soulless, inferior imitations, just like so many of my old haunts?

With my expectations of another spectacular album slipping, like the spinning wheels of an accident bound Cadillac, I was introduced to Alice's finest resurgent moment, 1994's `The Last Temptation'.

Sideshow gets off to a melodic, acoustic start, and then rips into an up tempo stadium stomper, reminiscent of `Department of Youth'. The album's central character is bored and wants a kaleidoscopic distraction. Buckle in and enjoy the ride, but save a little thrill for the way the track disassembles itself, and for the sideshow barker's taunt.

Nothing's free sees Alice being cajoled with the freedom imparting benefits of signing a nefarious contract. Deeds without retribution could be yours, but you'll spend your retirement as the devil's butt monkey if you relent. The vocals almost rap along, only in a non nausea inducing way, and include the album's first rhyme of `fire' with `higher'.

Lost in America is, like a smear of black eye make up, simple yet classic. A catalogue of gripes from a disaffected youth drives us (in, presumably, his fantasy girlfriend's car) humorously forward to the intentionally discordant end.

Bad place alone is `Gutter cat' for grown ups, and finds Alice in fine voice, as two deceased, monikered, low lives recount their undignified demise. The chorus tinkles along on a funky/punky electric piano, which strongly suggests that the Jets are sharpening their switchblades in a nearby alley. The change of tempo in the chorus will catch you out and, if you're like me, when you first hear the track right through you'll have to play it again.

You're my temptation seems to be a less heavy outing of the `Deeper' riff from `Dragontown'. It's a cracking track, which extols the attributes of an irresistible siren who will lead you to hell. If her celebrated assets are not being exaggerated, this temptress will unquestionably earn the satanic version of performance related pay. The devil beckons and, I believe, plays the guitar solo from the depths of Hades, reminiscent of Brian May's work on `Innuendo'. Beatles fans will spot similarities with `Blue Jay Way' during part of the track, which terminates with some sinister intonations not discernable to those with aspirations of playing the celestial harp.

Stolen Prayer has the acoustic guitar front and centre again, for a change in tempo. With the devil at the door, it's a litany of desperate hopes spent in silent prayer. The chorus gets in your head and stays there, and there's a choral contribution from kids - always good for a spot of evil inference when done properly.

Unholy war starts with a forlorn guitar, rather like that in Who will save the world?/Groundhogs, but it's not long before Scary monsters/David Bowie take over. Old Nick flexes his muscles threateningly, and lets us know that there's no escape. Not the best track on the album, but it still drops on you like a spider in the dark compared to any other post 1976 Alice album.

Lullaby begins with.....well just what are those demonic voices saying!? Don't play this one when you're alone. Alice and Satan converse with intelligent humour, and the latter gets his marching orders with the belting chorus and the memorable lines commencing `I'll tell ya right now.....' It's so good that we can even excuse the album's second use of the rhyme `fire' and `higher'. This is high camp on the hellmouth - another track with the classic Alice feel.

It's me is a mandolin driven ballad, which has hints of `Every day hurts' by Sad Café. There's nothing offensive about this ode to commitment which, despite its solemn subject matter, is breezy rather than a blast from an open mausoleum door.

Cleansed by fire is a classy piece of work with which to finish the album. In 1974 the Alice Cooper band came up with the rejected `Man with the Golden Gun', and Cleansed by fire shows that Alice can interpret the Bond style better than most non John Barry offerings. This powerful song throbs along, has subtle harmonies, and even wanders in the direction of `I am the Walrus'. Oh yes, and has Alice slamming the gates of hell in the devil's face.

Intended as a morality tale, this concept album was meticulously planned, rehearsed and (pardon the word) executed. The cover features a nightmarishly bizarre collage, carrying through the sideshow theme with Japanese symbols which translate as `Nothing like it in the world', `Honored by being viewed by the Emperor three times', and `Stupendous illusions'.

With this album, Alice blows the funhouse wide open and takes us on a freak show guided tour to hell and back. I've tallied long enough. The sideshow's in town and another scary ride on the `carousel' beckons. You won't find better value for money, so climb on board.

I've been a Cooper fan since the mid-70s but lost track of him in the 80's. His show came through town a few months ago and I decided to go. It was GREAT! Then I relistened to all of the old tunes and I began to realize what geniuses he and the boys really were/are.

I had never heard Temptation but, based on my reawakening, I decided to buy it last week. IT IS INCREDIBLE from start to finish. If you're a Cooper fan, don't miss this one!

I have been an Alice fan for years, own every one of his albums, and this is definitely one of my favorites. I'd probably go so far as to call it "The Welcome To My Nightmare of the 90s". "The Last Temptation" is a concept album- each song tells a piece of the story. There was also a related 3-part comic book series that told the story, and a few panels are included within the CD booklet (some of the CDs even came packaged with book #1). The comics were by Neil Gamon (sp?), the same illustrator of the "Sandman" comics. You might be able to find copies of them if you search aroud.

As for the music, I feel a tint of Alice's old style in it. It doesn't really sound like another "Trash" or "Hey Stoopid" album, but nor does it sound like an attempt at grunge or industiral metal. Just a great, original hard rock album that doesn't sound "alternative" nor dated. Well-produced and includes a duet with Chris Cornell of Soundgarden, and a second song written by Chris but sung by Alice. I highly recommend this album to Alice fans whether they did or didn't like the late 80s/early 90s stuff, and for those who aren't necessarily Alice fans as a great introduction to what he's still all about.

Now this is more like it. Kane Roberts and Kip Winger are out of the picture as Cooper works with a new band that includes "Derrick Sherinian" of Dream Theater fame. "The Last Temptation" is the first of a trilogy of three Christian oriented works that serve as mini morality plays that deal with temptation and redemption. Cooper has always used collaborators when writing his material and on this disc he brings in Tommy Shaw (Styx), Jack Blades (Nightranger, Damn Yankees), and Chris Cornell (Soundgarden, Audioslave). The results are Alice's best album in almost two decades. The album is a concept piece that basically deals with the main character being tempted by the devil (disguised as a circus barker). There is a comic book that accompanies the album telling the story. I have not read the comic so I don't know the story in detail, but musically it works like a charm. The music on the album moves away from the hair metal sound of his last 4 releases and instead turns back to a sound similar to his classic 70's sound, although it still sounds modern and fresh. The single "Lost In America" got some airplay and is still a staple of Cooper's live shows. The song showcases Cooper's sense of humor, something that had been missing for a while. Pretty much every song on the disc is good; "Sideshow", "Nothing's Free", "Bad Place Alone", "It's Me" and the closer "Cleansed By Fire" are all winners. Another highlight is "Stolen Prayer", where Cooper shares vocals with Chris Cornell for a killer performance from both. "Last Temptation" is probably Coopers most underrated album and in my opinion is a must have for his fans.

I really liked 'Hey Stoopid' and when I heard about Alice doing another concept album I got really jazzed! Alice can tell a story through song like no one else! I picked up and loved 'Last Temptation' on the day of it's release.
'Sideshow' and 'Nothing's Free' are exactly the type of music Alice fans live for. The disturbing and exciting visuals Cooper layers in his music are what keeps me coming back. The mix of electric and acoustic guitar, coupled with haunting lyrics will keep 'Sideshow' running through your head all day. 'It's Me' is another great Cooper ballad, along the lines of 'Every Woman has a Name' and 'You & Me'. 'Lullaby' is a creepy little song that should be on your Halloween mix tape. 'Stolen Prayer' is one of those songs that just sneaks up on you and you find yourself humming it throughout the day. Overall, the entire album contains everything you could want in an Alice Cooper release. I have read the 3 comic books that provide the story with Alice's disk, and they are okay, but you don't need to read them to follow the story. And as always, with Alice, the music comes first.

Die hard fans might hate me for saying this, but this is Alice Cooper's hard rock masterpiece! This is a fantastic album, yeah it's not as raw and bluesy as his 70's albums nor is the story eeire or as bizarre as his late 70's/early 80's records went. Alice shows he still has what it takes to be alive and heard in the mid-90's. This cd is filled with great lyrics and music, albeit, most with the help of outside songwriters and studio musicians, that won't even bother you after listening to the first track Sideshow. It rocks, and never lets up from there. The cool-singin' Alice shows up on Nothing Free and turns anthematic on track 3 Lost in America. A teen-age anthem. Aso another great concert album, which Alice is the master in making. Every song is a story in itself, making it great for singles. As a bonus, Chris Cornell, formerly of Soundgarden, writes a track, co-writes a track, and sings back-up on Stolen Prayer. A great concept story and it all finally gels together with terrific songwriters contributing lyrics and music (i.e. Cornell, Shaw, Blades, etc.)...and in my opinion his best "concept" work to date, surpassing the under-rated From the Inside and the over-rated Welcome to my Nightmare.

To keep this review short, this album is a bargain and I will rate each song:
Sideshow- A great piece of rock and Cooper humor 9/10
Nothing's Free- Good hard rock song, not great 8.5/10
Lost in America- Very good, humorous lyrics 8.5/10
Bad Place Alone- Hard Rock Cooper at best 9/10
You're My Temptation- A strong track 9.5/10
Stolen Prayer- Lightens it up a bit in an impressive way 9.5/10
Unholy War- Not the strongest track 8/10
Lullaby- A disapointing Steven song, but it works- 8/10
It's Me- Great AC ballad 9.5/10
Cleansed by Fire- A strong powerful finish with a runthrough of the album at the end of this song 9.5/10
This Album doesn't contain the type of sound of Desperado (on Killer) but is surprising great. It has classic Cooper humor and great one liners. Although when I first heard this album I was not impressed, it becomes great after 2-3 times through. Not a weak song on the Album. OVERALL- 9.5/10

Man, is this a great album! This would have certainly been a major hit like Trash for Alice, but the timing was wrong. In 94, the whole Nirvana/Pearl Jam/Soundgarden Seattle thing was still in full swing, and no one had the time of day for an old fogey like Alice Cooper. Too bad, coz obviously alot of work and talent went into this and it went by pretty much unnoticed. Alice's albums vary, but there's something so unique and different about this one. I can't quite put my finger on what it is, but it's one of a kind. It's actually pretty Savatage-ish. It's also very solid, no filler. Alice must have been very inspired, and the collaboration with Neil Gaiman was a nice touch. I wish more people would have known about this coz it really puts Trash to shame. It's really worth your time.