Road (Alice Cooper album)
2023 studio album by Alice Cooper
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Road is the twenty-second solo and overall twenty-ninth studio album by American rock musician Alice Cooper, released through Earmusic on August 25, 2023. It was recorded live in the studio by Cooper and his touring bandâguitarists Nita Strauss, Ryan Roxie and Tommy Henriksen, bassist Chuck Garric and drummer Glen Sobel. The album was announced on June 14, 2023, alongside the release of the lead single "I'm Alice" which was followed by the album's second single, "White Line Frankenstein" (featuring Tom Morello), on July 19, 2023, and the album's third single, "Welcome to the Show" on August 8, 2023.[1] Cooper promoted the album with a tour of US stadium shows supporting Mötley Crüe and Def Leppard in August, followed by a co-headlining tour with Rob Zombie into September.[2]
| Road | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | August 25, 2023 | |||
| Studio | 2022 | |||
| Genre | Hard rock, heavy metal | |||
| Length | 47:43 | |||
| Label | earMusic | |||
| Producer | Bob Ezrin | |||
| Alice Cooper chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Road | ||||
| ||||
Background and recording
For the album, Cooper wanted to showcase his live band and for them to be "involved in the foundation of all the songs". He insisted on no overdubs as the "whole idea of this album is showing off how good this band is live".[2] Prior to announcing Road, Cooper spoke of it being a "concept album" about "things that happen on the road. There's a lot of humor in it. There's a couple of heartbreakers, but it's very guitar-driven because that's what I look for in an album."[3]
Critical reception
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 76/100[4] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [5] |
| American Songwriter | [6] |
| Classic Rock | [7] |
| Mojo | [8] |
| Uncut | 7/10[9] |
Road received a score of 76 out of 100 on review aggregator Metacritic based on seven critics' reviews, indicating "generally favorable" reception.[4] Uncut remarked that it is "all great fun and played by a road-hardened band full of vigour",[9] while Mojo described it as "a hugely enjoyable hoot".[8] Classic Rock called it a "cohesively themed album lathered in multi-tiered guitars, anthemic choruses and high-density power riffage, tempered by road-honed dynamism and built for the stage".[7] Hal Horowitz of American Songwriter felt that "while Road is no five-star masterpiece like the recently reissued and expanded Killer or School's Out collections", it is "perhaps unexpectedly, worthy of being mentioned in the same breath as his best".[6] AllMusic's Fred Thomas summarized it as "primarily killer and only a little bit of filler, with Alice tapping into the power he harnessed in his younger days to create a surprisingly inspired collection of new material".[5]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "I'm Alice" |
| 3:55 |
| 2. | "Welcome to the Show" |
| 3:36 |
| 3. | "All Over the World" |
| 3:52 |
| 4. | "Dead Don't Dance" (featuring Kane Roberts) |
| 3:30 |
| 5. | "Go Away" |
| 4:20 |
| 6. | "White Line Frankenstein" (featuring Tom Morello) |
| 3:40 |
| 7. | "Big Boots" |
| 3:14 |
| 8. | "Rules of the Road" |
| 3:48 |
| 9. | "The Big Goodbye" |
| 3:32 |
| 10. | "Road Rats Forever" |
| 4:04 |
| 11. | "Baby Please Don't Go" |
| 3:29 |
| 12. | "100 More Miles" |
| 3:04 |
| 13. | "Magic Bus" | Pete Townshend | 3:39 |
| Total length: | 47:43 | ||
Personnel
- Alice Cooper â lead vocals (all tracks), backing vocals (tracks 5â10, 11, 13)
- Ryan Roxie â guitars (all tracks), acoustic guitar (tracks 11, 13), backing vocals (track 13)
- Nita Strauss â guitars (all tracks), acoustic guitar (track 11), backing vocals (track 13)
- Tommy Henriksen â guitars (all tracks), acoustic guitar (tracks 11, 13), keyboards (tracks 1â3, 5, 6, 8, 11, 12), piano (track 7), additional bass (tracks 7, 11), percussion (tracks 1â3, 5â13), backing vocals (tracks 1â3, 6â13), "Party Animal" (track 8)
- Chuck Garric â bass (all tracks except track 11), backing vocals (track 13)
- Glen Sobel â drums (all tracks)
- Bob Ezrin â backing vocals (tracks 1â8, 10, 11), acoustic guitar (track 11), horn synth (track 12)
- Kane Roberts â guitar (track 4)
- Tom Morello â guitar (track 6), backing vocals (track 6)
- Burleigh Johnson â piano (track 10)
- Keith Miller â acoustic guitar (track 11)
- Roger Glover â bass (track 11)
- Sheryl Cooper â backing vocals (track 8)
Charts
| Chart (2023) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA)[10] | 19 |
| Austrian Albums (Ã3 Austria)[11] | 3 |
| Czech Albums (ÄNS IFPI)[12] | 78 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[13] | 49 |
| Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[14] | 17 |
| French Albums (SNEP)[15] | 16 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[16] | 2 |
| Hungarian Physical Albums (MAHASZ)[17] | 34 |
| Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[18] | 39 |
| Polish Albums (ZPAV)[19] | 51 |
| Scottish Albums (OCC)[20] | 2 |
| Spanish Albums (Promusicae)[21] | 43 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[22] | 24 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[23] | 6 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[24] | 8 |
| UK Independent Albums (OCC)[25] | 2 |
| UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[26] | 1 |
| US Billboard 200[27] | 160 |
| US Independent Albums (Billboard)[28] | 25 |
| US Top Hard Rock Albums (Billboard)[29] | 7 |
| US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[30] | 25 |