| Dragontown, the third and final chapter to his rock morality series, finds Alice Cooper unfurling more grim tales of life before the apocalypse, but does it with the same wit, ferocity and genius that was first heard in his 1971 classic, Killer. Marilyn Manson may have stolen some of Cooper's thunder a few years back, but there is more to this old rock warrior than smeared mascara and ripped tights. On his 40th album, he's eschewed most of his comic shtick and self-parody of years past, employing a harder, guitar-saturated industrial sound that can compete with the best of agro rockers such as Korn and Rob Zombie. And while there aren't any teen anthems such as "Eighteen" or "Under My Wheels", lurking on the disc, "Mr Fantasy", his paean to self acceptance, comes close, as Cooper's menacing cartoon voice thunders, "I don't read books / I don't French cook or stroll around in galleries / I hate opera / I hate Oprah / Don't fill my head with poetry." Listeners will be aghast when Cooper serves up sacred cow in "Disgraceland" as he croons in a flawless Elvis Presley imitation that the fallen King "Ate his weight in country ham/ Killed on pills and broken dreams" and proves once again that this city ham still has what it takes to shock and rock. --Jaan Uhelszki |
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