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The Eyes Of Alice Cooper - (Eagle)

As the track "Detroit City" reminds us all, Alice Cooper was rocking out in the motor city way back when "The Kid was in his crib" and "Shady wore a bib." With the help of guitarist Wayne Kramer, formerly of Detroit's MC5, he serves notice here that the Coop can still crank it up to 11. Even so, there are moments during this vitality-validating release from Mr. Cooper where the singer lets on that he's all too aware of his graying elder kid status out on the playground. On the funny "Man of the Year," for example, he brags, "My prostate is a jewel." Then on a blues-y ballad "Be With You A While" he sings, "And when I'm old and gray/My jokes still make you smile." Perhaps the best news of all is that Alice Coopers' jokes -- which always add a little extra life to his already colorful rock music -- still make us smile big time here.

You better be prepared to laugh while listening, because Cooper's self-deprecating jokes come fast and furious on this effort. Cooper sings, "Took you to Target for a birthday meal/Got you an autographed Buns Of Steel" on "What Do You Want From Me." And during "The Song That Didn't Rhyme," he sings dryly, "The band couldn't wing it/The singer couldn't sing it/The drummer's always out of time." Then later, "Billboard called it a crime." Yet unlike the god-awful song in question, the melody of this Cooper song-story doesn't blow, and, in fact, its lyrics flow quite nicely.

If you're looking for the spooky Alice Cooper of old, "The Eyes" don't have too much of that. Only "This House Is Haunted" even hints at such gore old days. It features an eerie melody and Cooper's ghostly spoken-sung vocalizing. Instead of offering fright, Cooper - who aptly titles one song "Between High School & Old School" - is mostly semi-autobiographical here. Many times, he sings about aging gracefully, which is usually a very hard thing to do in the youth-oriented rock business. Cooper also reveals a keen eye for other folks' struggles. At one point -- on "Novocaine" -- he sings about a guy who has become numbed to his very own feelings, and elsewhere he portrays angry males with both "I'm So Angry" and "Backyard Brawl."

It's been said that the eyes are the windows to the soul, and after gazing into Alice Cooper's eyes here; it sure looks like this legend's vision is still in ship-shape.

9.0