Artist: Cooper, Alice
Label: Eagle Records
Release: 2001
Dragontown, a title that makes you think this is a Cooper joint. The album is the final part of a trilogy that kicked off way back in 1994 with The Last Temptation. The second part was the unforgettable Brutal Planet. The trilogy is the period when Alice moves into heavier sounds.
The album kicks off with the punchy, fast-paced Triggerman and rolls on with a gravelly, rasping voice on Deeper. Cooper’s darkness begins in the town called Dragontown and carries on into the tongue-in-cheek classic rock number It’s Much Too Late, where he figures out it’s long been too late for his soul. The album also looks back to the past, which is where Sister Sarah comes from, a continuation of (or a piece of) the story from his rehab days, where Sarah (Rozetta) is a nurse at that clinic. Sex Death And Money, Somewhere In The Jungle, The Sentinel and I Just Wanna Be God are tracks typical of him, like fables full of the dark and ghastly cruelties of everyday life. Despite being a hard-hitting hard rock album, whose signature track is the excellent Fantasy Man, there’s still room for a mellow ballad with dark emotions like Every Woman Has A Name. Alice wouldn’t be Alice, of course, if he didn’t poke fun at some American icon, and this time it’s Elvis who takes the hit in Disgraceland, where you actually have to stop and ask yourself: is that really Alice singing? The track is fascinating and funny at the same time, a proper satire.
One of the heavier-hitting albums of his career and a successor to its predecessor, since the album was made in parallel with Brutal Planet. This time the tracklist has 12 songs of pure Cooper. The album didn’t really produce any big hits, and radio stations got a taste with Triggerman and It’s much Too Late, though of course here in Slovenia nobody has a clue about any of it. Definitely an album for the collection, especially if you’re a fan. Alice has once again proven he’s a true one-of-a-kind when it comes to writing and performing.
During the European tour, a special edition of the album also came out with the bonus track Can’t Sleep, Clowns Will Eat Me, which is yet another typical Cooper moment.
Lineup
Alice Cooper – vocals
Ryan Roxie – guitar
Tim Pierce – guitar
Wayne Swinny – guitar
Greg Smith – bass guitar
Kenny Aronoff – drums
Sid Riggs – keyboards
Bob Marlette:
guitar, bass guitar, keyboards
Production
Bob Marlette
Tracklist
1. Triggerman
2. Deeper
3. Dragontown
4. Sex, Death And Money
5. Fantasy Man
6. Somewhere In The Jungle
7. Disgraceland
8. Sister Sara
9. Every Woman Has A Name
10. I Just Wanna Be God
11. It’s Much Too Late
12. The Sentinel
Album length: 50:56
