Ravenheart's 2011

[ravenheart]

Originally Posted by Epidemic Reign

Just out of curiosity, how would you rank his solo albums? Since I know that you tend to hear a lot of things differently than some of us

Educated Horses
The Sinister Urge
Hellbilly Deluxe
Hellbilly Deluxe II

Different to you, right?

[Epidemic Reign]

Originally Posted by ravenheart

Educated Horses
The Sinister Urge
Hellbilly Deluxe
Hellbilly Deluxe II

Different to you, right?

Yes... as I expected

[ravenheart]

If he'd managed to make twice as many actual songs for Hellbilly Deluxe, and half as much filler, that might be higher. But it's an EP with a load of crap between the actual songs.

And HD2 just has too many bad songs. Educated Horses has none, and is also easily his most creative and varied album, and The Sinister Urge is basically what Hellbilly Deluxe should have been.

[Spiner202]

That Alice Cooper review was just plain wrong in a few parts:

It was the beginning of a truly wide-ranging collection of music which would see him through a very successful period with albums like Goes To Hell and Lace And Whiskey following suit

These albums weren't really successful. They each had a hit single, but I don't see how the albums themselves marked a good period for Alice. Especially since his descent into alcoholism got worse (there was no tour for Goes to Hell, and he had to go to rehab after Lace & Whiskey).

Steven doesn’t even get a mention by name

Does he need to be mentioned? He wasn't until the trilogy of songs on the original, and that sort of thing didn't need to be done again. In fact, I think this Nightmare is about Alice. He has repeatedly said "what would it be like if Alice had another nightmare 35 years later?".

The album feels like it wants to be a sequel to Dirty Diamonds more than it does Welcome To My Nightmare.

Firstly, Alice has said this wasn't supposed to be a direct sequel. It was another nightmare. Also, I've heard way more opinions that it's more of a sequel to Goes to Hell, but I really can't think of another Alice album that sounds like this.

As for the music itself, I could see how someone could dislike it. There are a lot of reasons this album should suck: auto-tune, disco, surf-rock songs, Ke$ha, and the list goes on. I hate all of those things, but I really think Alice pulled it off here. With the exception of Ghouls Gone Wild (it isn't awful, it's just not up to the rest of the album), every track is pretty enjoyable here. For me, it worked really well as a concept, especially if you follow the story that Alice laid out.

[DethMaiden]

Originally Posted by ravenheart

Educated Horses
The Sinister Urge
Hellbilly Deluxe
Hellbilly Deluxe II

Different to you, right?

This is my ranking, though I love Hellbilly Deluxe and third is no slight against it.

HDII on the other hand...

[Epidemic Reign]

Originally Posted by ravenheart

If he'd managed to make twice as many actual songs for Hellbilly Deluxe, and half as much filler, that might be higher. But it's an EP with a load of crap between the actual songs.

And HD2 just has too many bad songs. Educated Horses has none, and is also easily his most creative and varied album, and The Sinister Urge is basically what Hellbilly Deluxe should have been.

Well we agree on HD2 anyway I would rank Educated Horses below HD and Sinister Urge (which are basically tied for me), though you're absolutely right about it being his most creative and varied album. And I kind of figured you would put it first for that reason.

[ravenheart]

Originally Posted by Spiner202

That Alice Cooper review was just plain wrong in a few parts

Nothing in there is factually incorrect.

Originally Posted by Spiner202

These albums weren't really successful. They each had a hit single, but I don't see how the albums themselves marked a good period for Alice. Especially since his descent into alcoholism got worse (there was no tour for Goes to Hell, and he had to go to rehab after Lace & Whiskey).

Read it more carefully. It says there were successful albums, THEN there was Goes To Hell and Lace And Whiskey, which follow suit stylistically. In actual fact, those two albums are every bit as good as the successful ones before it. Especially School's Out, which is actually a pretty shitty record.

Originally Posted by Spiner202

Does he need to be mentioned? He wasn't until the trilogy of songs on the original, and that sort of thing didn't need to be done again. In fact, I think this Nightmare is about Alice. He has repeatedly said "what would it be like if Alice had another nightmare 35 years later?".

Firstly, Alice has said this wasn't supposed to be a direct sequel. It was another nightmare.

This is purely a point of whether or not you care about the lack of continuity. If it's not a sequel, don't call it 'Welcome 2 My Nightmare'. He tried to make a sequel. Whether or not he really wanted to continue the story, or he just wanted to re-access the cache of the original, only he could say.

Incidentally, it's not another nightmare. It's a collection of nightmares, like the first one was. And I don't agree it's auto-biographical in any way. Except that in a sense the character of Alice was always Steven's sub-conscious or alter-ego anyway.

Originally Posted by Spiner202

Also, I've heard way more opinions that it's more of a sequel to Goes to Hell, but I really can't think of another Alice album that sounds like this.

It doesn't sound like any others per se, but that's not what I was saying. It's taking the same approach as Dirty Diamonds, which is to say he's trying to be varied for the sake of being varied, not because he needs to be. Dirty Diamonds had the benefit of some good songs, which W2MN doesn't have, but both are purely attempts to recapture what made him big in the first place.

Originally Posted by Spiner202

As for the music itself, I could see how someone could dislike it. There are a lot of reasons this album should suck: auto-tune, disco, surf-rock songs, Ke$ha, and the list goes on. I hate all of those things, but I really think Alice pulled it off here. With the exception of Ghouls Gone Wild (it isn't awful, it's just not up to the rest of the album), every track is pretty enjoyable here. For me, it worked really well as a concept, especially if you follow the story that Alice laid out.

And there are lots of reasons parts of it do suck. The disco track is awful. Ghouls Gone Wild is awful (actually, probably the worst Alice Cooper song of the last 30 years, at least). The Ke$ha track is good, but Alice has proven before that he can do those kinds of cross-over tracks well before, so that's not really a surprise. When Hell Comes Home and I Am Made of You are brilliant. The rest is, at best, boring, albeit catchy. I'll Bite Your Face Off is fine live - it really benefits from being much heavier - but otherwise it's just a weak rock track.

It's annoying how catchy things like The Last Man On Earth are, and I can't really fault it for that, but the way he makes upbeat music then pretends to be this evil character singing about nightmares really irks me. If you want to make an upbeat rock 'n' roll album then fine, do it, but stop pretending to be something else at the same time.

That's why for me Brutal Planet worked so much better. It was about negative subjects and it sounded like it.

[ravenheart]

Originally Posted by DethMaiden

HDII on the other hand...

Have you heard the extra tracks he did for the limited edition? Those are better.

[DethMaiden]

Originally Posted by ravenheart

Have you heard the extra tracks he did for the limited edition? Those are better.

Yeah, I heard they were but I haven't gotten around to hearing them yet.

[ravenheart]

Top 5 EPs of 2011

This will be dominated by doom metal (1-3), and particularly by tiny doom label Eyes Like Snow (1 and 3), because they're just awesome at EPs, frankly.

Can't be bothered with mini reviews for these. Links provided where they've been reviewed previously.

And y'all can bloody well find links to listen to it yourself. I'm not Google

5. Pharaoh
Ten Years
Cruz Del Sur Music



4. Voodoo Johnson
Black Powder Mother Loader



3. Lord Vicar/Funeral Circle
Split
Eyes Like Snow



http://www.jukeboxmetal.com/2011/lor...-circle-split/

2. Gallow God
False Mystical Prose
PsycheDOOMelic Records



http://www.jukeboxmetal.com/2011/gal...ystical-prose/

1. Apostle of Solitude/Rituals of The Oak/The Flight of Sleipnir
Split
Eyes Like Snow



http://www.jukeboxmetal.com/2011/apo...leipnir-split/

I have no doubt the new Cynic EP would have made my list had I heard it, but I haven't.