Alice Cooper - Breadcrumbs EP
Few frontmen of rock will ever be as enigmatic and as timeless as Alice Cooper
For a large number of Alice Cooper fans who didn't experience everyone's favorite snake-adorned shock rocker at the height of his powers through the '70s, most probably were introduced to Cooper through 1989's hair-metal infused generational breakout album Trash. That was at least, my introduction to Vincent Furnier, at the age of 9 years old, seeking for something to satiate my love of hair metal and shock rock. Trash was everything Bon Jovi's New Jersey was- big, radio-friendly- but had that added sense of danger and darkness that didn't come with the pretty side of hair metal. However, as sure as songs like "House of Fire", "Bed of Nails", and the ubiquitous hit "Poison", are still great today, long-time Alice Cooper fans know that Cooper is at his most enthralling is when he taps into his garage rock lineage, cut from the same mold that was paved by bands like the MC5.
So for those born in the early 80s like myself, the initial foray into the world of Alice Cooper meant that you had to work your way back into this long-running discography to find the rich, often timeless work Cooper is best known for. In 2019 Alice Cooper himself is working his way back on his latest EP, the aptly titled Breadcrumbs. The 6-song EP finds Cooper revisiting music and artists connected thematically by what ties them all together- the Motor City. This Detroit-centric EP features Alice Cooper's take on songs by Suzi Quatro, The Dirtbombs, Motown soul singer Shorty Long, and of course, The MC5 (the EP also features guest guitar and vocal work from Wayne Kramer). Included in the mix are a reworked version of the 2003 Alice Cooper song "Detroit City" and one new cut, "Go Man Go".
On his reworked "Detroit City", the song is given a rawer makeover, sounding far less produced than the original. Gone are the orchestral overdubs with the song relying more on the loud bluesy guitars- perhaps the way it was meant to sound. Suzi Q's "Your Mama Won't Like Me" stays fairly faithful to the original, but Quatro's vocal sneer is replaced with.. well, Alice Cooper's vocal sneer. MC5's "Sister Anne" is almost as great as the original 1971version, with the added benefit of today's production qualities.
The EP's one new track, "Go Man Go", is very much Detroit, and very much Alice Cooper. It's rock n' roll roots are coated with a little bit of rockabilly, a little bit of garage, a lot of attitude. Like this EP, the track should be a precursor of Alice Cooper's anticipated next album. The hope is that he continues this work of keeping things dirty rock n' roll as the results are more often than not, pretty great.
Few frontmen of rock will ever be as enigmatic and as timeless as Alice Cooper. Breadcrumbs is a noble effort meant to tease and build anticipation than satisfy your craving for all new Alice Cooper material. It's done just that, hinting at what could be around the corner. On top of which it shows that there are few rock stars who will ever reach the status and longevity of everyone's favorite rock n' roll snake charmer.
(earMUSIC)