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Alice Cooper has unveiled full details of his upcoming studio album, Detroit Stories, a tribute to the hard-edged music of his former hometown that will be released on February 26.
The shock rocker recorded the album in the Motor City area with longtime producer Bob Ezrin, and contributions from various local musicians, including MC5 guitarist Wayne Kramer and Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels drummer Johnny “Bee” Badanjek.
Detroit Stories follows Alice’s similarly themed 2019 EP Breadcrumbs, and features versions of four songs that appeared on the EP: covers of the early Bob Seger tune “East Side Story” and The MC5’s “Sister Anne,” an updated take on the 2003 Cooper song “Detroit City,” and the new “Go Man Go.”
The original Alice Cooper band enjoyed its first success after relocating from Los Angeles to the Detroit area in 1970.
“After not fitting in anywhere in the U.S. (musically or image wise) Detroit was the only place that recognized the Alice Cooper guitar-driven, hard rock sound and our crazy stage show,” Cooper notes. “Detroit was a haven for the outcasts. And when they found out I was born in East Detroit…we were home.”
In advance of the album, a cover of the Lou Reed-penned Velvet Underground classic “Rock ‘n’ Roll” will be released this Friday as a digital single. The new version features Badanjek and guest guitar work from frequent Cooper collaborator Steve Hunter and acclaimed bluesman Joe Bonamassa.
Detroit Stories can be pre-ordered now, and is available as a CD, a CD/DVD “digipak,” a two-LP set, and a box set featuring a CD, Blu-ray, T-shirt, face mask, and other memorabilia. The DVD and Blu-ray both include video of a 2017 Cooper concert in Paris.
Here’s the full Detroit Stories track list:
“Rock ‘n’ Roll”
“Go Man Go”*
“Our Love Will Change the World”
“Social Debris”
“$1000 High Heel Shoes”
“Hail Mary”
“Detroit City 2021″*
“Drunk and In Love”
“Independence Dave”
“I Hate You”
“Wonderful World”
“Sister Anne”*
“Hanging On by a Thread (Don’t Give Up)”
“Shut Up and Rock”
“East Side Story”*
* = album version.
By Matt Friedlander
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