Album reviews: Alice Cooper Band | Patty Griffin | Dot Allison
Alice Cooper is in great vocal shape on his latest album, writes Fiona Shepherd
Alice Cooper Band: The Revenge of Alice Cooper (earMUSIC) ★★★★
Patty Griffin: Crown of Roses (PGM Recordings/Thirty Tigers) ★★★★
Dot Allison: Subconsciousology (Sonic Cathedral) ★★★★
For his latest shock rock trick, the incorrigible Alice Cooper has got the band back together - literally, the Alice Cooper Band - reuniting with his erstwhile Detroit compadres, Dennis Dunaway (bass), Neal Smith (drums) and Michael Bruce (guitar) for the first time in half a century. Their irrepressible comeback album, The Revenge of Alice Cooper, also features a beyond-the-grave cameo from guitarist Glen Buxton and legendary rock producer Bob Ezrin on the desk, so the gang really is all here.
Still lean and mean from his industrious touring schedule, Cooper is in great vocal shape, both technically and expressively, baring his fangs with relish on opening garage rocker Black Mamba. A key member of the fabled Hollywood Vampires wrecking crew, Cooper has always been one of the best connected rockers on the Sunset Strip, calling in the six-string services of Doors guitarist Robbie Krieger for additional heft on this track.
His ACB bandmates still appear to have it in spades, getting their motors running on the fleet heavy rock of Wild Ones, a celebration of outlaw biker gang culture which has the audacity to rhyme “no caging us” with “rage in us”. The glam rock’n’roll of Up All Night is an obvious throwback to their early days, while Cooper takes a cue from fellow Detroit crooner Iggy Pop on the slasher fantasy One Night Stand.
The rock’n’roll subject matter is as well worn and the execution as schlocky as you might imagine but these guys commit so fully to the reptilian swagger of Kill the Flies and the pugnacious punk of the snottily titled Crap That Gets In the Way of Your Dreams that they own the cliches with alacrity. There is space for snarky social comment on celebrity takedown Famous Face and rollicking glam power rocker Money Screams but also an unexpected trim western swing guitar solo lobbed into Sixties beat strut What a Syd.
In a further nod to their heritage, bruiser boogie What Happened to You is built round an unreleased Glen Buxton guitar part and Ezrin mixes a long lost 1970 recording of fiery blues rock jam Return of the Spiders before the gang ride off with rock bombast on See You on the Other Side.
If you don’t already know the respected work of roots singer/songwriter Patty Griffin, her 11th album is a good place to start. Crown of Roses comprises eight exquisite songs from rockabilly rumble to the most tender old school balladry.
Said rockabilly number Back at the Start muses on stagnation versus forward momentum. Griffin doesn’t appear to have a problem there, transitioning smoothly to the heady Laurel Canyon psych folk of Born in a Cage.
The understated blues of Long Time would fit comfortably with the recent work of her former partner Robert Plant - if you listen closely, he’s there on backing vocals. Less is definitely more on the hushed, poised and soulful Way Up to the Sky while Griffin digs into the country blues of I Know a Way with the hum of Hammond organ rising through the mix and evokes the spirit of Nanci Griffith in the vulnerability and integrity of timeless ballad A Word, with fiddle and guitar in delicate service to the song.
Subconsciousology is a remix companion album to Consciousology, Dot Allison’s 2023 concept album on the rhythms of nature. Fresh from punking up Kathryn Joseph’s latest album, electronica maestro Lomond Campbell beefs up Allison’s originals, pairing her eerie vocals with bassy analogue synths on Shyness of Crowns, contrasting hectic breakbeats and epic synth chords on 220Hz, adding a funereal organ sound to Unchanged to sinister early Eighties horror film effect and even applying a touch of Giorgio Moroder vibrations to Weeping Roses.
CLASSICAL
Mozart: Violin Concertos (Pentatone) ★★★★
Aged only 11, Singaporean violinist Chloe Chua was joint winner of the 2018 Menuhin International Competition for Young Violinists. Further to her subsequent stint as youngest ever artist-in-residence with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, a blossoming international solo profile and several albums, her newest release addresses the Mozart concertos with the SSO under music director Hans Graf. These are refreshing performances, Chua’s easeful dexterity and elegant artistry giving all five solo concerts a sense of curious discovery and sharp but never forced definition. There are ample bonuses in the sweet lyricism of Mozart’s standalone Adagio for violin and orchestra, the spirited B flat and more pensive C major Rondos, and an uplifting Sinfonia Concertante in which she is joined by Austrian-Chinese violist Ziyu He, a pairing that is both exuberant and poetic. Chua may still be maturing, but she’s well on the way. Ken Walton
JAZZ
Peter Johnstone featuring Joe Locke, Tommy Smith, Alyn Cosker: Resistance Is Futile (Own Label) ★★★★★
This dream team assembled by Scottish National Jazz Orchestra pianist Peter Johnstone for his International Organ Quartet’s impressive debut album is indeed pretty irresistible. Johnstone, playing B3 organ, is joined by SNJO drums stalwart Alyn Cosker, tenor saxophonist Tommy Smith and US vibraphone virtuoso Joe Locke, Johnstone’s compositions striking a balance between muscle and delicacy, right from the sharply driving opening title track. The captivating Fleeting Dreams features ethereal organ and vibes, Smith dwelling over them thoughtfully before Locke swirls off and Johnstone embarks on a lively exploration of his own. Elsewhere, pacy walking pedal bass powers some gutsy swingers while When You Were Born, for his baby son, is a gorgeous ballad, magical chimes giving way to tender blowing from Smith, while The Riddler develops into a heady free-for-all, querulous sax, organ and vibes bickering vociferously. Jim Gilchrist
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