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.

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.

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.

AFTER LISTENING TO 2003'S THE EYES OF ALICE COOPER, I COULD ONLY HOPE THAT IF ALICE WERE TO END HIS CAREER, IT WOULD BE ON AN ALBUM AS SOLID AS THAT. THANK "GOD" HE DIDN'T.

SINCE I AM ONE OF THE MOST HARDCORE ALICE FANS GOING, COLLECTING ALL OF HIS CD'S FROM "PRETTIES FOR YOU" THRU HIS LATEST MASTERPIECE "DIRTY DIAMONDS", I AM A BIT BIASED, BUT THIS LATEST ALBUM EVEN BETTERS "EYES".

THE VOCALS ARE CRISPER, THE ARRANGEMENTS TIGHTER, AND HOW CAN YOU NOT LOVE A TWISTED BALLAD LIKE "THE SAGA OF JESSE JANE"!

MY ONLY COMPLAINT WOULD BE THE INCLUSION OF "STAND" FROM THE 2004 ATHENS OLYMPIC RECORDINGS. I'VE NEVER BEEN MUCH FOR THE RAP ROCK SCHTICK. ASIDE FROM THAT, THIS ALBUM KICKS A**

IF THIS IS JUST A TASTE OF WHAT'S TO COME, LET'S HOPE THE GRAND MASTER OF SHOCK ROCK KEEPS JAMMIN' WELL INTO HIS 80'S.

Since the 70's Alice has always, in a certain fashion, produced music to fall into the times. "Dirty Diamonds" is no exception. The strange thing is that modern music has fallen into Alice's old style only with a little more shine 'n bleach. This new release is peppered with raw riffs, classic Cooper vocals, and a refreshing spray of dark humor. The agrued track "The Saga of Jesse Jane" in my opinion is one of the best tracks on this album. It appears "Mary Ann" has been reincarnated. It is also so wonderful to hear Alice throw a harmonica back into the mix on "Zombie Dance". They couldn't have chosen a better opening track than "Woman of Mass Distraction" beautifully followed by "Perfect". Both sosked in a vat of pure Cooper-fied Rock n' Roll.

Nobody would dare compare "Dirty Diamonds" to "Love it to Death", "Billion Dollar Babies",or "Killer" but in 2005 this is Alice Cooper performing his best work in almost two decades.

Do yourself a favor, buy this album, rock out, and enjoy a few laughs.