Alice Cooper - DragonTown
	Released: 2001 Label: Spitfire Records Cat. No.: 15200 Total Time: 50:48
	Reviewed by: Gary Carson, November 2002 Alice Cooper returns with his 10 millionth album entitled DragonTown. DragonTown is actually the third in a "series" of albums that began with '94's The Last Temptation and on to last year's masterpiece Brutal Planet. Of course, all Alice albums centre around Alice's vocals and lyrics. Vocally, Alice doesn't sing as much as preaches (except on the trying-to-recapture the feel of "Only Women Bleed" on the track "Every Woman Has A Name"). He still holds on to that school kid attitude that reminds me of tracks such as "I'm Eighteen" and "School's Out" from years gone by. In a sense, Alice is very much the teacher and you are his student. He doesn't mix up his "vocals" as much as on Brutal Planet either. Lyrically, well, he's really gone to (Dragon) town on this disc with snipes at such people as Elvis Presley ("Disgraceland" - has to be read to be believed!) and John Lennon and Jimi Hendrix. There are many themes present that include moral decay, retribution, but in general it points the finger at the myth of rock 'n' roll heaven - there is no such thing from Alice's point of view. DragonTown is very character driven and again Alice has been able to tap into the present day teen-angst to fashion an intelligent and irony filled album. It basically features the same line-up as Brutal Planet and it doesn't stray too far from that sound although it is noticeably less heavier in the guitars, a bit less brutal if you will, and that is what the album is missing. There are definite stand out tracks but there's also some average tracks that are personified by a more rock 'n' roll feel with less musical aggression. This is no Trash, no Brutal Planet, no Killer, no Billion Dollar Babies. But it is DragonTown - and it's more than worthy. PPO Rating: 6/10 [This review originally appeared at the ProgPower Online review site -ed.] More about DragonTown: Track Listing: Triggerman (3:58) / Deeper (4:34) / Dragontown (4:34) / Sex, Death and Money (5:04) / Fantasy Man (4:05) / Somewhere In The Jungle (5:20) / Disgraceland (3:32) / Sister Sara (4:33) / Every Woman Has A Name (3:43) / I Just Wanna Be God (3:51) / It's Much Too Late (4:38) / The Sentinel (3:53) Musicians: Alice Cooper - vocals Kenny Aronoff - drums Eric Dover - background vocals Bob Marlette - bass, guitar, keyboards, string arrangements Tim Pierce - guitar Ryan Roxie - guitar, background vocals Greg "Frosty" Smith – bass Contact: Website: www.alicecooper.com Note: will open new browser window Discography Pretties for You (1969) Live at the Whisky, 1969 (1969) Easy Action (1970) Love It to Death (1971) Killer (1971) School's Out (1972) Billion Dollar Babies (1973) Muscle of Love (1973) Alice Cooper's Greatest Hits (1974) Welcome to My Nightmare (1975/2002) Alice Cooper Goes to Hell (1976) Lace and Whiskey (1977) Alice Cooper Show (1977) From the Inside (1978) Flush the Fashion (1980) Special Forces (1981) Zipper Catches Skin (1982) Dada (1982) Collection (1982)   Constrictor (1986) Raise Your Fist and Yell (1987) Trash (1989) Prince of Darkness (1989) Hey Stoopid (1991) Beast Of Alice Cooper (1993)  Last Temptation (1994) The Last Temptation (1994) Fistful of Alice (1997) He's Back (1997) A Nice Nightmare (1998) The Life And Crimes Of Alice Cooper (1999) Fistful of Alice (2000) Science Fiction [TKO-Magnum] (2000) Brutal Planet (2000) Alice Cooper Live (2001) Take 2 (2001) Dragontown (2001) The Best Of Alice Cooper (2001) The Definitive Alice Cooper (2001) The Essentials (2002) Dragontown (2002) Eyes of Alice Cooper (2003) Hell Is (2003) Brutally Live (2003)
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