Alice Cooper (2) – Trash

Alice Cooper's most lascivious and entertaining offering to date, "Trash" was the comeback album of the decade, endowing the shock-rock legend with another platinum record after several years in the wilderness. During the 1980s, Cooper sobered up and collaborated with Kip Winger and Kane Roberts on new material, but this initial return to the music industry was met with a muted response and his popularity remained in considerable decline. Cooper sought the assistance of Desmond Child, responsible for such rock radio staples as "I Was Made For Lovin' You" and "Livin' On A Prayer", furnishing him with a pop-savvy outside influence and glossy, glittering dissemination for his snarky brand of harmonious yet harsh heavy metal. One such cut from these halcyon sessions with Child effected Cooper's first top ten hit since 1977, the supremely sonorous "Poison"; accompanied by an MTV-pandering music video, further increasing its exposure and in turn, advancing record sales, the monster hit acted as the album's promotional tool. Enriched by an intense, characteristically gravelly, raspy howl, this irresistible pop metal confection is primed for classic status from its opening chords to the never to be forgotten chorus. Endeavouring to retain his newfound mainstream appeal, Cooper refrained from the notorious antics of his 1970s heyday, preferring to let the music do the talking rather than the showmanship aspect of his profile. With nary a controversial lyric to be had apart from the barely discerned edginess of "Poison", "Spark In The Dark" and "Bed of Nails", the darker, heavier unorthodoxy pervading throughout "Billion Dollar Babies" is absent here, replaced by something altogether more current and radio-friendly. Similarly to Ozzy Osbourne and Robert Plant, whose progression as musicians saw them utilize hip young shredders, Svengali songwriters and fresh new sounds on their respective eighties output, Cooper veered away from bratty machismo and macabre imagery, instead expanding on his villainous persona in a pop context to revitalize his ailing reputation as a rock icon.

"Trash" was Cooper's eighteenth album, therefore some dilution, genre-crossing and diversification was necessary to gain publicity and build another fanbase; his horror-themed theatrical aesthetic no longer held such allure, nor did it possess the same shock value due to the desensitizing effect of slasher movies. Cooper's last hurrah was his most accessible and commercially successful effort, resulting in a year-long world tour. Without a doubt, "Trash" is aimed at a younger demographic, the Sunset Strip sleaze rock fans and "false metal" market, and its escapist pleasures are part of its inherent charm. Restoring Cooper's prominence and spearheaded by its massive hit, "Trash" dispenses with the twisted, shocking spectacle of his previous albums and finds the vicious Alice of old replaced with a decidedly more marketable version for the MTV generation. Consequently, the product of this reinvention introduces gloriously campy sex and death preoccupations into the homogeny of the hair metal movement. Without sacrificing snarly vocals or crunchy guitars in its bid for chart glory, "Trash" is the complete opposite of its title.

Rating: 5/5