720. Alice Cooper / Along Came a Spider. 2008. 3/5

Given his amazing ability to constantly produce albums with regularity, and the enormous amount stashed in his back catalogue, and the influence he has had throughout his career, it is not only difficult not to get carried away with another Alice Cooper album, but also difficult not to judge too swiftly or harshly as a result.
Perhaps it is old age. Perhaps it is that I don't/can't spend days/weeks listening to the same album over and over again as I did in my youth. Perhaps my tastes have changed lightly. perhaps (surely not) Alice just doesn't quite do albums as well as he used to. Or, as is possible, not every Alice Cooper album is an out and out classic. And this is true anyway, as there are some albums in his vast array of releases that never dd anything for me.

Along Came a Spider is another of Alice's concept album pieces, which is all and fine, though by being so it ties the whole album to that storyline, which can make it difficult as the listener if you don't find it enthralling. In the long run, you need to be able to find two or three songs in the mix that really grab you, because that will drag you into and through the rest of the album. And while I can put this on in the background and let it play away without a second though, if I really sit down and listen to it, I can't find much that really excites me. The opening stanza of "Vengeance Is Mine", "Wake the Dead" and "Catch Me If You Can" is probably my favourite part of the album, but most of the rest I can take or leave. "Salvation" is a case in point. The finale of the album and story, yet contains a barrage of choruses that just nag at you rather than encourage you to sing along, because it turns out that it is more annoying than anthemic.

Don't get me wrong, this isn't a bad album. It just isn't a great album. Dirty Diamonds was a much better album all round. That was classic Alice. This is okay, but not on the top shelf.