Trash - Cooper, Alice (CD 1989)

Easily considered one of the most important figures in rock music, Alice Cooper has been cranking out his unique and highly emulated brand of Shock-Rock for well over three decades. From humble beginnings as young Vincent Furnier (born February 4 1948), a ministers son, no less, Alice had the usual influences one would have at the time, The Who, The Rolling Stones & of course, The Beatles. These bands would provide the fuel for Alice s fire, his burning passion to be a huge name in the music industry. Fast-forward to today, and he is one of the most revered, copied and legendary figures in rock n roll.

He wasn t an overnight sensation, spending his early years in bands such as The Spiders , The Nazz & The Earwigs . By the tail end of the 60s, Alice was in the Alice Cooper Group , a name that struck a chord with one of the band members to such an extent, it became the inspiration to officially change their name from Vincent. The early 70s saw such Cooper classics as Schools Out- A song I suggested for the end of year 12 break up ceremony- , No More Mr Nice Guy -with its painfully distinctive riff- & I m Eighteen-which became an anthem of sorts for 18 year old kids-. But by 74, the group had split, but Vincent still used the Alice Cooper alias -which by then he had legally changed to his real name- and released his first solo album, Welcome To My Nightmare.

Long story short, since then, Alice has had a roller coaster of success, with some well received albums and some commercial blunders. In fact, the 1980s were largely unsuccessful for Alice, apart from what many consider to be a revival of his career in the form of Trash (1989), which spawned one of Alice s biggest hits in his entire career, Poison.

With a laundry list of guest musicians ranging from Richie Sambora & Jon Bon Jovi, to Steven Tyler to Kip Winger, this could be considered a dream album for the time period, but how good is this album? Is it Trash or Treasure? In my opinion, it s a combination of both.

Whether you will like this or not depends on several things:
Are you a die hard fan of Alice s early 70 s albums, and can t handle him doing something different?
Are you such an huge Alice fan that whatever he does is solid gold?
Are you the kind of person who takes things for what they are, not what YOU think they should be?

Well, loyal readers, this will make you early 70 s Alice fanatics cringe because the music itself is your typical 80s rock riffs -some better than others, mind you- and pretty uncharacteristic lyrics -for Alice, NOT the 80s!-.

Well if you are such a huge fan of Alice that everything he does is gold, well this will be like platinum compared to some of his other work!

And finally, if you don t give a hoot about what is expected of Alice, you will find many good to great songs with some Trash scattered here and there.

Unfortunately, the title track, Trash is worthy of that name, thanks to a riff so uninspired you ll long for the sounds of the garbage truck complete with that constant clatter of bottles, plastic bags and and sputtering of a 23 year old diesel engine-, the riff itself, in theory atleast, is decent, but it has never made me want to hear it againg, not only this, but Alice sounds terribly strained singing this, especially during the chorus. Only My Heart Talkin seems to be popular with most folk, but personally, I find it to be a bit too average for a ballad which even before the end of your first listen, you ll most likely find it to be very repetitive. Only three songs on this album don t appeal to me, and the last one to wear that (dis)honour is I m Your Gun. It isn t annoying to hear like the last few songs I mentioned, but it sports a generic riff, and the melody does little to save it. Your basic rock song

Luckily, 7 out of 10 is a pretty decent figure. That s right, 7 good to great songs, and I should begin with arguably the great track on the album, Poison. This mid tempo rocker keeps you captivated with fantastic riffs and Alice runs through a list of issues he has with a woman which leads him to the conclusion that she is Poison .

Your cruel device,
Your Blood like ice,
One look, could kill,
Your pain, my thrill,
I want to taste you but you lips are venomous.

The second ballad of the album is Hell Is Living Without You, and thankfully, it is leaps and bounds above the quality of Only My Heart Talkin . The song keeps a nice, steady pace, while building up to the Bon Jovi-esque chorus, which is expected because both Richie & Jon of Bon Jovi are credited along with Alice as the song s composers.

In life s big parade,
I m the loneliest spectator,
Cuz you re gone without a trace,
In a sea of faceless imitators.

Keeping the ongoing trend of big name, guest contributors rolling is House Of Fire, which has Joan Jett giving Alice a hand in the song writing department. This was a minor hit, commercially at least, but from the opening chant of House Of Fire to the final chord, you, the listener is treated to an energetic and extremely catchy rocker. The music is kept simple, but this works brilliantly to make this tune instantly likeable.

Lets build a house of fire, baby,
Not one of wood or stone,
Walk through my door of desire, baby,
Come on in and make it your own.

This Maniacs In Love With You features some over the top synth work, which gives it a unique sound from the rest of the album think The Final Countdown by Europe, but not as dependant on the synthesizer- which help make an average song good. The lyrics aren t that captivating, but the great hooks more then make up for it. This song is reeking with 80s clich d music and an over the top chorus, that is sure to make any leg warmer hating friend of yours seek solace by jumping out the window. Do not to play this song in a high rise apartment & your friend will owe you their life!

It takes all I ve got to survive,
This madness will eat me alive,
There s nothing more I can do,
This maniac s in love with you.

The award for quickest riff on the album goes to .Spark In The Dark. While not quite as fast as a supped up Corvette, this little song still packs the most adrenaline out of any other tune on the album. The best part is, there is a method to the madness so to speak, or in english, the speed of the song in no way faulters the arrangement and the melodies remain sweet and intact.

We ll be crawling on the floor,
Burnin with the fever,
And crying out for more,

Don t matter where we sleep,
Don t matter where we park,
All we need is a spark, spark, spark
In the dark

If my memory serves me correctly and it better, because next time I forget something, I ll give it to Cash Converters for free! - Bed Of Nails had a video clip made for it back in the day. It packs some good mid tempo, crunchy riffs and some average lyrics, that I swear I ve seen before, oh yes, of course, on this very album, just on different songs. Well, this song must have been recorded in a power plant because it has plenty of energy, that ll make sure it ll be well received at your next drunken shindig

Unlike most of Alice s work, the lyrics won t challenge you to do anything but yawn, which is because Alice doesn t exactly stray and cover many topics other than sex. How many times have you heard in a song, the singer compare a girls smile to that of a crocodile ? Personally, many times, but this might just be an 80s thing so correct me if I m wrong. Like just about every song on the album, the lyrics are your typical story on a woman being untrustworthy, but is saved by a pretty decent melody and well played music. Why Trust You is a perfect example of what I just said

Alice Cooper has made a lot of classic music in his lengthy career, some of which can be heard on this album. With only three dud songs, and plenty of energy & some serious party all night vibes, fans of Alice may be interested in this album, but really, this CD is best for your general rock fan who just wants something to strut to at a party or just throw on in your car for something to nod your head to.

It s catchy, it s energetic, It s called Trash, by Alice Cooper. Keep atleast one eye open for it!

Album Statistics:
Released: August 1989
Produced by: Desmond Child
Length: 40 minutes, 38 seconds

Great Music to Play While you are not up to solving the worlds problems, but totally cool with spending the night with some nameless person who shares your views.