Alice Cooper The Breadcrumbs

It’s no secret Alice Cooper has entered the twilight years of his career, but he’s not riding into the sunset quietly – and that’s a great thing for his fans. The original master of shock rock (as well as clever lyrics, golfing, reinventing himself numerous times, we could go on…) has been incredibly prolific this decade. He has released two albums with Hollywood Vampires (with rumors of a live album on the horizon,) as well as two studio albums and two live albums as Alice Cooper, with possibly more to come soon, and of course there was Coop’s recent Record Store Day exclusive release of his reunion with the original Alice Cooper Group, and right now we find ourselves treated to a fun little trinket called Breadcrumbs…

“Breadcrumbs” a tribute to some of the Garage Rock Heroes from his hometown Detroit. Inspired by the city’s punk scene in the late 60’s and early 70s, Detroit born Alice Cooper returns to his roots and the raw garage sound his fans love. Produced by Bob Ezrin, the EP consists of 6 brand new recordings, features cult Detroit musicians, including Johnny “Bee” Badanjek from the Detroit Wheels, Grand Funk’s Mark Farner and MC5’s Wayne Kramer, and was recorded at Rust Belt Studios, Detroit. The opener “Detroit City 2020”, an updated rewrite of “Detroit City” from 2003’s “The Eyes Of Alice Cooper”, sets the tone for the EP. Along with Alice’s own take on Detroit punk classics such as Suzi Quatro’s “Your Mama Won’t Like Me”, Bob Seger’s “East Side Story”, the MC5’s “Sister Anne” and Shorty Long’s “Devil With A Blue Dress On” as well as The Dirtbombs’ “Chains Of Love”, the EP also features the brand-new Alice Cooper original “Go Man Go”.

The man (and the band) who first brought shock rock to the masses, Alice Cooper became one of the most successful and influential acts of the '70s with their gritty but anthemic hard rock and a live show that delivered a rock & roll chamber of horrors, thrilling fans and cultivating outrage from authority figures (which made fans love them all the more). The name Alice Cooper originally referred to both the band and its lead singer (born Vincent Furnier).

Named for the city that launched the original Alice Cooper group, Detroit Stories follows last year’s Breadcrumbs EP as a modern-day homage to the toughest and craziest Rock n Roll scene there ever was. Alice Cooper and Bob Ezrin gathered some legendary Detroit musicians (Wayne Kramer, Johnny “Bee” Badanjek, Paul Randolph and many more) in a Detroit studio to record Detroit Stories, Alice Cooper’s new album that celebrates that spirit for a new era. Finally, it would not be a proper collection of Detroit tales if it didn’t include a few songs featuring the Original Band members, Mike Bruce, Dennis Dunaway and Neal Smith. Joe Bonamassa also makes an appearance on the intro track Rock ‘n’ Roll. If 2019’s Breadcrumbs EP laid down the trail to the city, Detroit Stories drives like a muscle car right down Woodward Ave. Discover Detroit Stories as they were meant to be told.

On his 2019 EP Breadcrumbs, shock rock pioneer Alice Cooper paid tribute to his hometown of Detroit, working in a Detroit studio with a host of musicians from the city recording a smattering of covers of Bob Seger, the MC5, Suzy Quatro, the Dirtbombs, and other Motor City favorites. Full-length album Detroit Stories expands on the theme begun with Breadcrumbs, presenting many of the EP's tracks again and fleshing out the record with new originals and covers. Showing up a second time are high-spirited covers of the MC5's "Sister Anne," Seger's "East Side Story," and original tunes "Go Man Go" and "Detroit City 2021" (updated from its title "Detroit City 2020" on the EP).