Concert Live Ltd. (label)
29 October 2011 (released)
03 January 2012
The original evil that is No More Mr. Nice Guy Alice Cooper returned to Alexandra Palace for his spectacular Halloween 2011 schlock-rock show.
Concert Live (www.concertlive.co.uk) captured the event on three discs, so all those who missed the Coop’s ghoulish extravaganza live can now enjoy it in audio form. Not quite the same I know, but you still get a sense of how awesome a spectacle it was!
After a Vincent Price voice blend-in, Alice Cooper and band snarl straight into ‘Black Widow’ and it sounds as venomous as the actual spider. ‘Brutal Planet’ and ‘I’m Eighteen’ follow next, while a super-fast rendition of ‘Under My Wheels’ gets the creepy party going. If the previous number is fast, then ‘Billion Dollar Babies’ is hard rockin’ but things get even more rockin’ with the title track ‘No More Mr. Nice Guy’ – an eternal Alice classic that here sounds as great as ever. That also counts for ‘Hey Stoopid’!
Musical teamwork and Alice’s still powerful and clear voice come to great effect particularly during ‘Is it My Body’. Next number ‘Halo Of Flies’ kicks off with an attitude-laced instrumental intro, is then broken-up and dominated by Glen Sobel’s percussion play halfway through (ok, so he can drum… but did it have to be such a lengthy solo…) and blends out with yet another instrumental and guitar-driven marathon. Thus is the end of Disc 1.
Likewise, Disc 2 offers utter brilliance with ‘I’ll Bite Your Face Off’ – a killer of a track you just want to listen to again and again! If ‘Muscle Of Love’ reeks of masculinity and adrenalin-pumping guitar spiel, then we encounter a more feminine touch with ‘Only Women Bleed’ – not least thanks to Orianthi’s softer sounding guitar solo. By the way, Orianthi is the new and female guitarist in Cooper’s band – a mega-talented blond vixen who has played with Steve Vai, Carrie Underwood and the late Michael Jackson to name but a few!
More classics include ‘Cold Ethyl’, ‘Feed My Frankenstein’ (sooo perfect for Halloween!), and ‘We’re All Clones’. Later hits like the more melodious ‘Poison’ are also included, only for the vibe to get rock-hard again on ‘Wicked Young Man’. ‘I Love The Dead’ (short version) invites to a sing-along, while the final number is of course the ultimate Alice Cooper anthem ‘School’s Out’ – performed wonderfully vicious and partially blended with Pink Floyd’s ‘Another Brick In The Wall’. No, we don’t need no education!
Finally, Disc 3 holds the encore and consists of ‘Elected’ and the Arthur Brown scorcher ‘Fire’ (which Alice, as a special Halloween treat, performs together with none other than the God of Hellfire himself). Imagine a sonic version of Dante’s Inferno and you get the idea… Meanwhile, Cooper’s musicians Chuck Garric (bass), Steve Hunter (guitar) and Tommy Henriksen (all sorts) go berserk – a worthy finale from the undisputed king of shock-rock!
