I have a confession to make. I (Shock! Horror!) had abandoned Alice for many years after the Welcome To My Nightmare days, seeking out more "rrrrefined" music. When I returned, it was out of curiousity to find out what the Dragontown-Brutal Planet-Last Temptation trilogy stuff was all about. I loved every note and lyric. This CD is great too, but it sounds very different. It seems as though there are two or three "characters" singing on the CD, which should be right up Alice's spookey alley, given his penchant for theatrical performances onstage. The hee-haw delivery of the sad tale of Jesse Jane is hilarious, if politically incorrect (somebody badly needs to request that one on Dr. Demento). "Woman of Mass Destraction" and "Sunset Babies" are good old fashioned rockers, the latter with the Cooper trademark freakshow brand. "Run Down the Devil"'s lyrics remind me of some of the old country gospel songs---"Drive on down to lonely street/He's always waiting there for me/Run down the devil/Run the devil down/Run down the devil/ Run him down down down."

What sounds totally un-Cooper to me...and maybe that's because of my long, inexcusable absence from Cooper fan-dom...is his cover of the Left Banke's "Pretty Ballerina." What a beautiful voice! I do think it is perfect though. And I do have to smile when I think of former Joffrey ballerina, now dance company owner Cheryl Cooper, as well as ballet student Sonora Rose Cooper. I'm sure the decision to record this had nothing to do with them though. Ohhh no.

Alice Cooper is just amazing. Think for a minute about all of the musical styles the Coop has gone through, whether it's the 70's guitar rock of the original band, disco with "Goes to Hell", new age with "Special Forces", hair metal with "Trash", nu-metal with "Brutal Planet", Alice Cooper's catalog is just amazing. And "Dirty Diamonds" incorporates all of those styles and more. There are tunes on "Diamonds" that you would swear Cooper wrote 30 years ago, the title song "Dirty Diamonds" could easily find a place on "Muscle of Love". "Perfect" sounds like a stripped down song from his "Zipper Catches Skin" era, while "Run Down the Devil" sounds as though it could have come from the "Dragontown" songwriting sessions. I really like the path Cooper started going down with "The Eyes" album, and continues following with "Diamonds". That's not to say that this is Cooper's best album, there are a few clunkers sprinkled here and there, "The Ballad of Jesse Jane" and "Steal that Car", but overall the album is everything you could want from Alice and company. And just a quick note; speaking of versatility, Ryan Roxie's guitar work on here is amazing. At times cranking it up to a blistering pace, while on tracks like "Zombie Dance" he just plays some great blues riffs, and tones everything down nicely on "Pretty Ballerina". I have seen Cooper live on a couple occasions and Roxie's work is just as impressive live. I have listened to this album several times now and keep going back, it really is addictive.

True ALICE fans know. This feels like OLD ALICE, man!! Take my word for it. I've been a fan since 1973. Or, don't take my word. Sample it for yourself. ALICE COOPER hasn't made music this good since his days with the ALICE COOPER BAND. At the start of the new millennium(how I hate that term), ALICE COOPER turned out 2 hot and wicked metal albums!! BRUTAL PLANET and DRAGONTOWN. Then he goes way back and makes THE EYES OF ALICE COOPER. What a great album!! COOPER continues to discover his roots one more time with DIRTY DIAMONDS. I swear it's like he's been REBORN with these records. Even though these songs are completely new, I swear I hear strains from the KILLER and the LOVE IT TO DEATH lp's. The song YOU MAKE ME WANNA feels like YEAH, YEAH, YEAH from KILLER, for sure. And listen to THE BALLAD OF JESSE JANE(hilarious). It's the DWIGHT FRY melody!! Wow!! One of the best new songs is the blues ballad SIX HOURS. Incredible!! His voice just gets better with age. Read the rave reviews and sample the album. Make sure you sample all the albums I mention in this review. Those of you, like me, who have been away from The COOP for a while, here's your chance to discover his music again. You won't be sorry. ALICE IS GREAT AGAIN!!

WELCOME BACK, COOP!!

Alice Cooper's album of 2003, "The Eyes of Alice Cooper" saw the Godfather of Shock Rock returning to his original roots and returning to the sound that made him famous in the 1970s. Alice Cooper has delivered another album in the same vein as 2003's release, and picks up right where the last album left off, this time even better. This new album is a more polished version of "The Eyes...". Returning for this album is are musicians from the last album with Ryan Roxie on Lead Guitar and Chuck Garric on Bass. Sadly Eric Singer is absent from the drums on this album. The album is geared with a stinging furry of face-melting guitar solos, gut-busting beats, out-of-this-world lyrics and Alice's creepy voice, the albums is everything Alice's promised he would deliver. On a whole, the album, the album is another very strong solid effort from the Godfather.

Here are the main highlights that you gotta hear:

"Woman of Mass Destruction" - Fantastic song. The build-up to the chorus is very much the same as "School's Out" with the same drum beat and the way the lyrics are sung. Outstanding guitar solo by Roxie as always and fantastic lyrics. The opening line is another humorous bit from Alice, "I'm a Shock Rock Romeo."

"You Make Me Wanna" - My favorite off of the album. Great mix of acoustic and electric guitars on this piece. Outstanding a very catchy lyrics and chorus line. Definitely one of Alice's best in the last few albums.

"The Saga of Jesse Jane" - This song is very much similar to 1977's, "King of the Silver Screen." Sung in very much the same manner with Alice Cooper doing his Johnny Cash impersonation. The song is about a tranvestite locked up in the slammer. A little humorous and weird too, but nothing unusual from Alice Cooper.

"Run Down The Devil" - One of the best tracks off of this album with a hardcore edge and a fist-pounding chorus line that makes you wanna sing. The song sounds like a left-over from Brutal Planet/Dragontown with the same sound as those two albums. Definitely a gem, here.

"Steal That Car" - A short, catchy song that sounds very much like The Alice Cooper Band's "Killer/Love It To Death" era.

Those are the main highlights off of the album. The title track I don't particularly care for though. The rest of the songs are moderately decent. The sound of the album ranges from everything dating as far back as 1971-1980s. Alice Cooper did an excellent job of once again recreating the sound of the music that put him where he is today. Keep on Rockin, Godfather of Shock Rock!

So I'm driving to work, turn on the radio, hear a song and think, this is good. It's from Alice Cooper's Dirty Diamonds. Another day, same scenario, different song. So far I like two songs I've only heard for the first time, and they're from the same album. I've been an Alice Cooper fan since Billion Dollar Babies and I'm impressed.

Usually I'm lucky to get 2 good songs out of an album. Every song on this album is good!! Every one! Maybe none of them are brilliant, but it's a solid piece of work with a surprising variety of genres. Even the odd one's like Pretty Ballerina are growing on me.

This is a genuine musical bargain. To be able to listen to a CD and not be tempted to skip over any tracks is really getting your money's worth.