Alice Cooper - Dirty Diamonds (CD 2005)

Definitely not Alice's best, but more removed from the grungy 'BRUTAL PLANET' and 'DRAGONTOWN' albums of a few years previously. 'Woman of Mass Distraction', 'Dirty Diamonds' and 'Sunset Babies' have all featured heavily in the current tour, and 'Perfect' is a good one for radio-play. However, I find 'The Saga of Jesse Jane' just a little too odd, even for Alice, with it's jokey punch-line of making someone "a helluva wife" not as funny as perhaps Alice thinks! 'Steal That Car' moves along well, but by the time we get to 'Stand' - the UK 'bonus' track - the wheels are well and truly off the wagon. This last track is a rap duet with Xzibit, and as far as I am concerned, would have been better left off the album.

Now I'm a **HUGE** Alice fan, but, after some cracking releases over the last 35 years, I'm beginning to think that he'd be better off concentrating on gigging; I much prefer his earlier stuff, but as a completist felt compelled to buy this one. Perhaps you will too!