Alice Cooper Working on Both Solo Record and Alice Cooper Group Project
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Reunion and The Revenge of Alice Cooper
Back in July, Alice Cooper reunited with his original bandmates for The Revenge of Alice Cooper. It marked the first full album he, Michael Bruce, Dennis Dunaway, and Neal Smith recorded together since Muscle of Love in 1973. Through studio technology, the late Glen Buxton was also part of the project. While the group had appeared on several of Cooper’s albums over the last 14 years, this release was their first complete work in decades.
The album performed well, reaching the Top 20 on both Billboard’s Independent Albums and Top Rock & Alternative Albums charts. Critics also praised it widely. Buoyed by the response, Cooper suggested the reunion might not be limited to just one record.
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Possibility of Another Album
“I think we’ll probably do another album,” Cooper told UCR while on his Too Close For Comfort tour with Judas Priest and Corrosion of Conformity. “I can’t see why we wouldn’t. This one did so well, we might as well do another one. I talked to (producer) Bob Ezrin the other night, and he said, ‘What do you think about…doing another album?’ It’s great with me. We haven’t talked to the guys about it yet, so it’s certainly not a done deal. But I’d be willing to do it, for sure.”
Dennis Dunaway also echoed that excitement. “It’d be great,” he said before the release of The Revenge. “When I was with Alice recently, he mentioned he didn’t think (the album) was a one-off. He thought we had more albums to do together…That perked me up.”
Touring and Special Appearances
Cooper’s solo schedule has limited what the original lineup could do after the release. Still, they managed a livestreamed Q&A in London on July 24. The next night, Bruce, Dunaway, and Smith joined Cooper at the O2 Arena to play “School’s Out” alongside Johnny Depp, Cooper’s Hollywood Vampires bandmate.
Dunaway has since joined a few shows, and the full group will reunite on November 15 for Cooper’s annual Christmas Pudding concert in Phoenix. The event supports his Solid Rock Foundation teen centers, a cause he has championed for years.
A Sound from the Past
Looking back on the project, Cooper laughed about how the record captured their classic style. “It was interesting the album took off as much as it did…which is great for an album that’s 53 years old,” he said. “The funny thing was we accidentally made a 1975 album. We didn’t try to make it sound like 1975, but when we all got into the studio and started writing and started doing it, it just turned out 1975.”
He added, “There’s so many young bands trying to sound like 1975, or the 70s sound, and we weren’t even looking to do that. But it ended up being that, ’cause that’s what we sound like when we get together.”
Expanding the Setlist
Though his solo shows don’t feature material from The Revenge, Cooper has expanded his setlist with rare tracks. Inspired by his Alice’s Attic radio program, the new stage production includes “Who Do You Think We Are,” “Spark in the Dark,” “House of Fire,” “Caught in a Dream,” “Dangerous Tonight,” and “Brutal Planet.”
“Everybody loves the fact that we’re doing those songs,” Cooper explained. “We just kind of went through and said, ‘What about this? What about that?’ Somebody said, ‘What about ‘Dirty Diamonds’ and I went, ‘Oh, that’d be good. That would be a great stage song. let’s try it,’ and it was just perfect.”
Energy on Stage and a Tribute to Ozzy
Cooper said revisiting unexpected songs adds energy. “It’s great for us. It’s just one of those things where the band loves getting into music they haven’t played before…Of course we’re doing ‘Poison’ and ‘I’m Eighteen’ and ‘School’s Out,’ but I dropped a couple of the standards just to put some new stuff in.”
Some shows also featured a cover of Black Sabbath’s “Paranoid” to honor Ozzy Osbourne. “We felt that for at least a week or two weeks (after his death) we should do a tribute to Ozzy, and we made sure we did the song really, really well,” he said.
Remembering Ozzy Osbourne
Although Cooper couldn’t attend the Back to the Beginning Sabbath farewell on July 5—he was booked at Scorpions’ 60th anniversary show in Germany—he spoke warmly about Osbourne.
“It’s a brotherhood,” he said. “You’re both lead singers. You both know the ropes. We know how it all works. When you see each other, the funny thing is you never talk about music, just, ‘How you doing? How’s the family?’ Of course I’ve followed his kids; I’ve known Jack (Osbourne) for awhile. I think basically we talk like fathers more than we talk like rock stars, which is cool. Everybody’s proud of their family.”
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Life on the Road with Judas Priest
Touring with Judas Priest has also been rewarding. Cooper and Rob Halford, both Phoenix residents, have long been friends. The bands alternate closing duties each night, which he says doesn’t matter.
“We get along very, very, very well. It doesn’t matter who opens and who closes; they’re two different things. They’ve got their own theater, the way they do it. They’ve got their own image. they’ve got their own army (of fans) out there, and luckily both armies like both bands. So it doesn’t matter to anybody who opens or closes; they’re gonna get a double barrel shotgun blast of both of us.”
At one stop, Cooper’s team even surprised Priest with a full English High Tea backstage, complete with scones and china. “They’re on the road and they miss England…(so) we made it very pleasant for them,” Cooper recalled.
Looking Ahead
The Too Close For Comfort tour runs through October 26, finishing in Houston. After his Christmas Pudding benefit, Cooper will head to Germany for Night of the Proms in December. He then takes a holiday break before starting another European run in January. Along the way, he’s working on new solo material and leaving open the chance of another project with the original Alice Cooper group.
