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Still, that doesn't stop Alice Cooper fans mouthing along
to the lyrics they probably knew by heart and loved in the
mid-1970s.
And how many of us were there? Squillions, absolutely squillions
of devotees of the shock-rock master whose press was always
worse than reality.
Alice Cooper bites heads off chickens. Alice Cooper kills
babies on stage. Alice Cooper is a sick individual. On and
on they went and the guy loved it.
His unique brand of power rock and theatrical shows were
stunning and when he started touring for the astounding album
Welcome To My Nightmare all hell broke loose.
Giant spiders, beheadings, blood, gore, scary stuff and a
show that you could not forget. Now, Vince Furnier (or Alice
to his mates) is back to entertain us with a DVD version of
a Brutally Live Tour concert filmed in London in 2000.
I reckon the bloke has got to be hitting 60 but, with pounds
of make-up on - same old Alice - and that scrawny body - same
old Alice - he doesn't look like he's changed a bit. And,
most importantly, the guy can still sing.
We're not talking about a peaceful serenade here, but a voice
that sent chills down the spine in the 70s and still can do
so today.
I Love the Dead, Poison, School's Out,
Eighteen, Billion Dollar Babies, Elected
and No More Mr Nice Guy get belted out like a 20-year-old
and then when he settles in for the ballads - yes, old Alice
does marvellous ballads - you could almost cry. Only Women
Bleed is almost his anthem and this version is utterly
marvellous.
The songs mix old and not quite so old and cover a wide range
of Alice Cooper's albums giving a pretty good look at a catalogue
of songs from a very long career.
If there is a moan to be had about Brutally Live,
it's that with the nurse character on stage so much, Alice
should have included Nurse Rosetta in the songs. It
still is one of the big faves with this uniform-struck chap.
The transfer is very nicely done with the imagery of the
show being captured in excellent style with a really sharp,
almost-blemish free picture that handles the contrasty stage
lighting with ease.
Six of the tracks allow for multiple angle viewing - although
you do have to put up with a fairly noticeable Alice Cooper
head on screen. That's a little irritating.
There are three soundtracks to choose from, with the only
disappointing one being the Dolby Digital 5.0, which sounds
like the Moral Majority has infiltrated the studio and tried
to lessen the impact of the concert by trying to erase "the
hip-grinding bass of the devil".
Alice Cooper Brutally Live is a testament to a brilliant
showman, but parents should know that it is a tad gory and
if you're going to watch it make sure the kiddies are off
playing hopscotch or else you'll have to answer questions
like: "Daddy, why did that man have his head chopped off?"
and "Daddy, what is all that red stuff?" and "Daddy, why is
that man sticking swords into babies."
Conclusion: Rating: 85%
Continued:
DVD details at a glance >
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