THE REVENGE OF ALICE COOPER Alice Cooper (earMUSIC) ****
It had to happen sooner or later… after getting together here and there for a few tunes on Cooper records like Welcome 2 My Nightmare and Paranormal, the original group finally got together for a full album. With producer Bob Ezrin at the helm, architect of the band’s sound in the 70’s, The Revenge Of Alice Cooper is a better set than we have a right to expect.
Revenge unites surviving band members Alice, guitarist Michael Bruce, bassist Dennis Dunaway and drummer Neal Smith along with Gyasi Heus, a surprisingly suitable stand-in for Glen Buxton, who died in 1997. In every way that counts, this disc sounds like it belongs next to classic Cooper discs like Killer and Billion Dollar Babies. That’s hardly surprising, given how close these guys are in spite of Alice’s solo success. “These guys are my oldest friends” Alice told Apple Music. “We went to high school together, ran cross-country track together- all before The Beatles came along. We’re part of the generation that went if The Beatles can be a band, so can we.” Getting producer Ezrin involved was critical as he sat in the producer’s chair starting with the band’s third album, 1971’s Love It To Death. Loudersound.com’s review calls it “a convincing recreation of an old landscape”, high praise for a bunch of guys in their mid-70’s.
There are some cool touchstones to the past on The Revenge. Glen Buxton’s playing is heard thanks to an old demo on What Happened To You and the track Kill The Flies is a sequel to The Ballad Of Dwight Fry off of Love It to Death, a song about the actor that played Renfield in 1931’s Dracula. “I thought, what would he be doing now?” Cooper says, “well, he’s still in the mental institution.” The first single Black Mamba, typically dramatic Cooper fare, features Doors guitarist Robby Krieger.
Is The Revenge Of Alice Cooper as good as the classic stuff? It would unrealistic to expect that, but it gets close. It does have that swagger and some of these songs are catchy as hell. I bought my copy on I Tunes and consider it money well spent.
HOT TRACKS: Wild Ones, Money Screams, Black Mamba
COUSIN HARLEY PLAYS THE BLUES VOL.1 Paul Pigat Presents (Cellar Music) *****
Here is a delightful set of jump-blues classics from Vancouver guitarist Paul Pigat. Cousin Harley Plays The Blues finds Pigat leading his rockabilly combo through a pile of swingin’ numbers that will have you tapping your feet and snapping your fingers in no time flat.
“When I left Toronto and discovered the West Coast Jump scene, which is definitely blues but dance oriented with an obvious rhythm and blues influence, more harmonic changes and a hotter tempo, I was hooked” Paul says. “Best of all, it is a tradition that has never really ended but has continued to put out great music and great players from the 40’s til today.” Cousin Harley Plays The Blues is swanky and swingin’ and recalls a time that feels like- and probably is- a lifetime ago for some of us, timeless and authentic, and that suits Paul just fine. “With most of the music I perform with Cousin Harley, which is either repertoire from the 1950’s or 1960’s, or originals in that style, I sometimes feel that I’m not nostalgic enough with things” he says. There’s something fresh and innocent feeling in this particular style of music being played here in 2025. As I listened I found myself thinking of scenes from favorite old movies, like the high school scene over the covered pool where Jimmy Stewart first dances with Donna Reed in It’s A Wonderful Life. That kind of music, this disc in particular, just makes you smile and feel good.
While a big fan of slow, dramatic blues, represented here by I’m Still In Love With You, there’s something about the energy of the upbeat tunes on Blues Vol.1 that just gets to you, feeling like a sock-hop or under the sea dance from the 50’s. Nostalgic? Yeah. Evocative? Sure. Irresistible? Definitely. Cousin Harley Plays The Blues Vol.1 will be staying on my playlist for a long time.
HOT TRACKS: You Upset Me Baby, I’m Still In Love With You, Down In Mexico
DRESSED All Things Swamp (Little Village) *** ½
If you want the sound of New Orleans in your house, this is the way to go. From tuba and trombone solos lively percussion and punchy horns, Dressed is a pile of good time jazz fun.
There are 9 members of this band, all fluent in jazz and have played with big time artists like George Benson, Chick Corea, BB King and Van Morrison to name a few. The 2 musicians of note or fame here are tenor sax & guitarist Dean Parks (Steely Dan, Michael Jackson, Bread, David Foster, Gordon Lightfoot) and B3-ist Jim Pugh (Boz Scaggs, Etta James, Robert Cray). Nothing particularly bluesy about Dressed but it sure sounds like they’re having a grand time.
Although there is some blues buried in here I think it’s fair to call what All Things Swamp does as jazz. I’m loving the trombone solos (used to play a lifetime ago) and it feels like there’s a kind of telepathy happening between the musicians. Drummer Gary Novak keeps the backbeat flexible as everyone else plays in, on, and around what he’s giving them to hang the songs on. We have 8 tracks to dance with here, including Take It to The Street by Rebirth Brass Band, and when you’re ready to slow down and get close Hoagy Carmichael’s Rockin’ Chair does the trick. It’s the 5th of 8 songs on the album, and the first with a vocal; piano player Dillon O’Brien sounds a bit like Louis Armstrong.
Dressed has no bass guitar, with Luke Kirley supplying the bottom end and ultimate groove on the Helicon, described as ‘a kind of tuba’. All the other musicians aside, perhaps this is what gives the album such a playful vibe; not something you can say about a lot of jazz records. This may not be something I would have gravitated towards on my own, but I’m sure glad it landed on my desk.
https://littlevillagefoundation.com/all-things-swamp/
HOT TRACKS: Sidewalk Strut, Rocking Chair, How Much Fun
SHADES OF TROUBLE Kyle Culkin (Tonebucker Records) ****+
The latest from Kyle Culkin ( no, not THAT family) is a barn burner of a record. Shades Of Trouble is blues powered rock & roll, a rootsy sound that just makes itself felt instantly.
When I reviewed his Shotgun Ridge album a couple years back I noted some country influence and mojo and the same goes for Shades Of Trouble, but isn’t that an Americana trademark? His warm, expressive voice is like an old friend and I enjoy his tight, economical guitar playing, with a taste of funk on numbers like She’s Evil. He’s been called ‘The Americana Shotgun’ because of his musical style, plus he’s got the history and talent to draw top shelf musicians to come out and play. Kyle brings a sense of humor to songs about the struggles of everyday life, no doubt picked up from a lifetime spent on the road… hard earned sardonic wisdom I suppose.
That’s a great album cover too, not something I can say about every disc that crosses my desk; pouring a whiskey on the rocks as you notice the silhouette of a woman in the bedroom window, it says a lot about what to expect from Shades of Trouble without saying a word- except the album title of course. It’s a great sounding album, not too clean or fussy, produced by Culkin himself, mixed by Ryan Williams and mastered by Chris Collier. The band includes Buford T. Shagnasty on bass, Jamieson Trotter on keys, Karl Hunter on sax, drums by Adam Gust, BG vocals from Jade McRae and Bek Jensen, plus a handful of special guests.
Kyle wrote or co-wrote 9 of these 12 songs, with Shades including covers of Ophelia (The Band), Have A Littler Faith In Me (John Hiatt). Shades Of Trouble is an agreeable way with great groove to spend a steamy summer evening here on Vancouver Island. Tres cool.
HOT TRACKS: Shades Of Romance, She’s Evil, Love You My Way
