𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐑𝐘𝐏𝐓𝐒 - 𝐂𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐁𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐏𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐀𝐋𝐁𝐔𝐌 𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄𝐒 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐑𝐎𝐂𝐊 & 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐕𝐘𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐀𝐋…
18 years ago this week, Alice Cooper gave us some “Dirty Diamonds”!
On July 4, 2005, Alice Cooper released his seventeenth full-length solo studio album, “Dirty Diamonds” internationally via New West, (and August 2 in the US via Spitfire Records).
Background:
A continuation of the songwriting approach adopted on “The Eyes of Alice Cooper” was again adopted by Cooper for his 24th studio album “Dirty Diamonds”, which became Cooper's highest-charting album since 1994's “The Last Temptation” at the time.
The “Dirty Diamonds” tour launched in America in August 2005 after several European concerts, including a performance at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland on July 12th.
Cooper and his band, including KISS drummer Eric Singer (who did not actually appear on the album, but appears in photos inside the albums sleave), were filmed for a DVD released as “Alice Cooper: Live at Montreux 2005”.
One critic, in a review of the Montreux release, commented that Cooper was to be applauded for "still mining pretty much the same territory of teenage angst and rebellion" as he had done more than 30 years previously.
Critical Reception and Album Performance:
Writing for Ultimate Classic Rock, Eduardo Rivadavia stated;
“In sum, “Dirty Diamonds” offered quite a varied set that rarely strayed from its stated mission statement of accomplishing more with less, When a legend like Alice Cooper is involved, what else does one need but the familiar, charismatic original article itself?”
In his review for Sleaze Roxx, Lance Lumley wrote;
“…this era of Alice Cooper has some of my favorite work on it. The lyrics and great musicianship throughout the CD by Ryan Roxie, Chuck Garric, Damon Johnson, and drummer Tommy Clufetos (and some many other added musicians to help) makes the album vastly underrated (for some odd reason, Eric Singer is featured in the photos, yet doesn’t play on the album). The solid rock style of “Dirty Diamonds” shows that Alice Cooper was not just all theatrics, and produces some quality, enjoyable music that some fans may be aware of, which is a shame because there are some gems on here.”
The album peaked on Billboard's "Top Independent Albums" chart at #17, and the Billboard 200 album chart at #169 - and, as previously noted, at that time it was Cooper's highest charting album since “The Last Temptation”, 11 years prior.
Links to Artists, Albums, and Music Videos:
Click this link to listen to “Dirty Diamonds” via Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/dirty-diamonds/1436921887
Click this link to listen to “Dirty Diamonds” via Spotify: Dirty Diamonds https://open.spotify.com/album/7e0OElGhFB51NnjeBv43mp
No promo videos were shot for “Dirty Diamonds”. Click this link to watch the live clip of “Dirty Diamonds - Live at Montreux 2005”: https://youtu.be/Fo0283y4NYw
Click this link to follow Alice Cooper on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AliceCooper
Note: The reviews shared here are for historical reference. The views and opinions expressed within are not always supported (in full or in part) by Into the Wells. — E.N. Wells
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