New LP “Detroit Stories” features hard rock, punk, and metal, soul horns, a twist on hippie grooves and an obscure Bob Seger cover.
In the late ’60s, Los Angeles produced some weird and wild rock bands, from the Doors to the Mothers of Invention. But even L.A. didn’t know what to do with the Alice Cooper band. “L.A. just didn’t get us at all,” Cooper told the Herald. “Frank Zappa didn’t even get us. He went, ‘I don’t even know what you are doing, that’s why I’m signing you (to my label).’ That’s a pretty big compliment when Frank Zappa says to you, ‘I don’t get it.’” “In 1968 and ’69, everyone is dropping acid and listening to the Doors and Buffalo Springfield and it’s all love and isn’t everything groovy,” he added. “And here comes Alice Cooper. We are this violent, androgynous monster and we’re loud and just ripping the place apart, even if there was a lot of comedy in the show. People were literally running from us. They were leaving our concerts because, I guess, we had such a bad vibe.” So the band went looking for a scene that appreciated its art (note: Alice Cooper was a band before the singer took the name for his solo career).
