By Steve Newton Remember how you'd set the needle down on the opening track of a new rock album and the first tune would just blow you the funk away? Me too. "(Ain't Nothin' But a) House Party" (Bloodshot, J. Geils Band, 1973) "All the Way From Memphis" (Mott, Mott the Hoople, 1973) "Already Gone" … Continue reading The 70 greatest opening tracks of the ’70s
Tag: Alice Cooper
Album reviews: Alice Cooper, Dragontown (2001)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, NOV. 15, 2001 By Steve Newton Alice Cooper used to be the king. In the early ’70s he released four successive LPs—Love It to Death, Killer, School’s Out, and Billion Dollar Babies—that continue to rank among the top 100 guitar-rock records of all time. Back then Cooper and … Continue reading Album reviews: Alice Cooper, Dragontown (2001)
Album review: Alice Cooper, A Fistful of Alice (1997)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, AUG. 21, 1997 By Steve Newton Strolling around the Mexican resort town of Cabo San Lucas last year, I stumbled across a bar called the Cabo Wabo Cantina, which had a sign in the parking lot proclaiming “Reserved for Sammy Hagar”. Realizing that this must be the watering hole … Continue reading Album review: Alice Cooper, A Fistful of Alice (1997)
Album review: Alice Cooper, Hey Stoopid (1991)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, NOV. 28, 1991 By Steve Newton “Hey, hey, hey, hey...hey stoopid!” Why do I keep singing that line to myself when people are within hearing distance? Shouldn’t a 30-something guy like myself have grown out of such juvenile practices? No friggin’ way. Alice Cooper is still my hero, even … Continue reading Album review: Alice Cooper, Hey Stoopid (1991)
Alice Cooper fan offers eye-witness account of the Coop’s famous rib-busting wipeout in Vancouver
By Steve Newton Yesterday I posted my first-ever interview with shock-rock king Alice Cooper, which I'd conducted 30 years ago, after Cooper had released his Constrictor album. During our conversation the Coop mentioned the infamous onstage wipeout that occured during the opening song on his Welcome to My Nightmare Tour at Vancouver's Pacific Coliseum on June 23, … Continue reading Alice Cooper fan offers eye-witness account of the Coop’s famous rib-busting wipeout in Vancouver
Spider dreams and the new American Horror Story Season 6 poster
By Steve Newton I've got an intense fear of spiders. Not small ones--or even bigger ones as long as they're of the "daddylonglegs" variety. No, it's the dark, hairy, menacing ones, the ones we used to call "wolf spiders", that would hang out in our Chilliwack basement when I was a kid. "They're a lot … Continue reading Spider dreams and the new American Horror Story Season 6 poster
Mötley Crüe’s Mick Mars in 1985: “Without groupies, I probably wouldn’t have been a musician.”
mila geran photo ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON NOV. 29, 1985 By Steve Newton Outside the hotel a huge tour bus sits, the dust on its sides inscribed with messages like "The Crue Rules", "I Love You Vince", and, strangely enough, "KISS". Inside the lobby, a gaggle of pubescent females are trying to weasel information out of … Continue reading Mötley Crüe’s Mick Mars in 1985: “Without groupies, I probably wouldn’t have been a musician.”
Alice Cooper tours with Trash, talks songwriting, horror, and ’70s rock
kevin statham photo ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JAN. 5, 1990 By Steve Newton When it comes to combining the finer elements of horror and hard rock, Alice Cooper rules. For more than 20 years the King of Nasty Rock has been sating his lust for the macabre and love of heavy music while wreaking havoc on … Continue reading Alice Cooper tours with Trash, talks songwriting, horror, and ’70s rock
Alice Cooper’s sheer awesomeness steals Mötley Crüe’s thunder in Vancouver
By Steve Newton Mötley Crüe performed its final show in Vancouver last night (November 21). Or so the story goes. Before embarking on its current tour the L.A. sleaze-rock kings got some lawyers to write up a contract wherein they declared that they would never go on the road again after this. That allowed them to charge … Continue reading Alice Cooper’s sheer awesomeness steals Mötley Crüe’s thunder in Vancouver
Will Alice Cööper show Motley Crue how it’s done in Vancouver?
There's no denying that the vast majority of rock 'n' roll animals heading to the sold-out Rogers Arena this Friday night will be huge fans of Mötley Crüe, which is performing on its heavily publicized "Final Tour". But I doubt I'll be the only one going there to revel in the killer tunes and theatrical shock-rock shenanigans … Continue reading Will Alice Cööper show Motley Crue how it’s done in Vancouver?
The Art of McCartney boasts ’70s rockers Heart, Steve Miller, Sammy Hagar, and the Coop
By Steve Newton Groundworks Marketing announced today that a new Paul McCartney tribute album will be released on November 17, and that it will feature some of my fave artists from the seventies, including Alice Cooper, Steve Miller, Heart, Bad Company's Paul Rodgers, Montrose's Sammy Hagar, the Who's Roger Daltrey, and Cheap Trick's Robin Zander and … Continue reading The Art of McCartney boasts ’70s rockers Heart, Steve Miller, Sammy Hagar, and the Coop
Alice Cooper proves himself the undisputed King of Nasty Rock in Vancouver
kevin statham photo ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON SEPT. 16, 1999 By Steve Newton In my recent interview with Alice Cooper he claimed that the set list for his current tour “includes all of the hits”, but time constraints rarely allow a performer—especially one who’s been around for nearly 30 years—to live up to that claim. Still, even … Continue reading Alice Cooper proves himself the undisputed King of Nasty Rock in Vancouver
Alice Cooper on KISS, Marilyn Manson, Johnny Rotten, and the Peter Pan syndrome
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, SEPT. 9, 1999 By Steve Newton Last month, a feature-length movie about four rabid KISS fans, Detroit Rock City, was released across North America. It was basically a Gene Simmons–bankrolled homage to his own band, which took glam metal to the extreme in the ’70s and won over legions … Continue reading Alice Cooper on KISS, Marilyn Manson, Johnny Rotten, and the Peter Pan syndrome