I was listening the other day to what I consider one of Alice Cooper's underrated albums, The Last Temptation. And I also admit, it took me awhile to warm up to this album. Aside from Alice's trademark satire on "Lost in America" this album wasn't what we'd come to expect from Alice. It was a diversion musically and lyrically. (This album also began a series of albums from Alice with a theme or concept to them. Temptation followed by Brutal Planet and Dragontown.) Alice tells a story through the eyes of a jaded young man and his views on life and his descent into darkness. Those aren't new ideas for Alice, however it's different here because Alice isn't the character telling the story. The opening track "Sideshow" seems to bring shades of the classic "Desperado", but also injects a new direction of music for Alice, not the dive bar style guitar we've all come to love. We do get that on "Lost in America", however.
The one track which really stands out to me from this album is "Stolen Prayer", a song co-written by Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell. Cornell also provided backing vocals on the track. Chris's style and influence on the lyrics and music is obvious and it is by far the album's best track. Cornell also wrote another track on the album, "Unholy War".
I know this album received lukewarm reception from Cooper fans and rock critics. And honestly, I can understand why. It was not the Alice we saw on he previous two outings, Trash and Hey Stoopid. This album didn't have a "Poison" or "Feed My Frankenstein". Alice's trademark twisted sexuality was missing from The Last Temptation. The track "You're My Temptation" just didn't live up to those standards. It seemed more like having a crush on a stripper than unchained lust. Even Alice's love ballad on Temptation, "It's Me", didn't bring the same sense of sorrow we felt on "I Never Cry" or "How You Gonna See Me Now". In a way, "It's Me" had a sense of hope to it.
The album does have it's dark moments with "Nothing's Free", a song about selling your soul to the devil (and another strange musical diversion) and "Lullaby", a track about fighting one's own fears and demons. But as I said earlier, as a whole this album is a new and unexpected turn for Alice Cooper. I'm sure that is why it took me awhile to warm up to it. If you are an Alice Cooper fan and this is one of those albums you ignored or tried to forget, I ask you to give it another chance. You may just find your own appreciation for it upon a new listening.
