Alice Cooper - Paranormal

Paranormal is the twenty-seventh studio album by American rock singer Alice Cooper, released in July 2017 via earMUSIC.

The Alice Cooper of 2017 is not the Alice Cooper of 1972 (wild-eyed hell-raiser), 1977 (soft-rock dabbler), 1980 (secretly influential new waver), 1989 (hair-metal patriarch), 1992 (Wayne’s World sage), or even recent vintage (Mötley Crue farewell tour appetizer).

This is important to keep in mind when listening to Paranormal. Not because it needs to be approached with managed expectations - on the contrary, Paranormal is a well-crafted, thoroughly enjoyable distillation of the styles Cooper has explored over the years - but to appreciate fully how a classic rocker finds new things to say within the parameters of a well-defined reputation.

With U2 drummer Larry Mullen Jr. providing a reliable rhythmic backbone, Paranormal’s songs touch on glittery glam (“Dynamite Road”), bluesy rave-ups (“Dead Flies”), swampy psychedelic rock (“The Sound Of A”), and horror-kissed hard rock (“Paranoiac Personality”). The other guests also add sizzle: Deep Purple’s Roger Glover plays bass on the appropriately creepy title track, while ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons contributes hot-rodding guitar to the sleazy ’70s hard-rock jam “Fallen In Love”.

Of particular interest are the two studio songs performed by the surviving members of the original Alice Cooper Band, guitarist Michael Bruce, bassist Dennis Dunaway, and drummer Neal Smith. Musically, “Genuine American Girl” is a nod to the group’s ’60s garage-rock origins, between the sock-hop-like backing vocals and retro guitars, while its lyrics are from the perspective of a transgender woman going out for a carefree night on the town. “You And All Of Your Friends”, in contrast, takes a sinister lyrical approach - in a nod to the us-against-the-world vibe of early ACB releases, it’s about a gang of underdogs destroying their oppressors - but its swaggering power pop is also irresistible.

Paranormal has a vibe of unease, whether it’s the title track’s night-stalker main character or the deadly car crash mourned on “Dynamite Road”. “Rats” and “Dead Flies”, meanwhile, are metaphors for the way people are, respectively, manipulated by surface pleasures and exploited by religious fakers. Things aren’t all serious, of course: The self-referential bits of “Fallen In Love” are rather amusing (“I was a Billion Dollar Baby in a diamond vest / Now I’m a dirty desperado and a steaming mess”).

Paranormal is even more intriguing when it delves into heavier territory. The descriptive, almost poetic “Fireball” describes someone who dreams of a biblical apocalypse and then wakes up and realizes that what he’s imagined is coming true. “Holy Water”, a soul-rock revelation with rollicking horns and Cooper’s most expressive, carnival-barker-meets-charismatic-pastor vocal performance, is even better. The song isn’t preachy, but a celebratory howl whose underlying sentiment involves embracing life and all of its joys.

Paranormal is a fantastic reminder of how and why Alice Cooper has endured and continued to thrive: He’s never let the Alice character become stagnant or too cynical.

Check out the tracks: “Paranoiac Personalty”; "The Sound of A"; and “Paranormal”.

This double 45 rpm LP housed in a gatefold sleeve with printed inner sleeves and bonus six track live CD is pressed in Europe on 180 gram heavyweight vinyl.