The Last Temptation(Alice Cooper album)
| The Last Temptation | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio albumby | ||||
| Released | July 12, 1994 | |||
| Recorded | 1993–1994 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 50:48 | |||
| Label | Epic | |||
| Producer | Don Fleming,Duane Baron,John Purdell,Andy Wallace | |||
| Alice Cooperchronology | ||||
| ||||
| SinglesfromThe Last Temptation | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B[2] |
| Q | [3] |
| Rolling Stone | [4] |
The Last Temptationis the thirteenth solo studio album by American rock singerAlice Cooper,released on July 12, 1994, byEpic Records.It centers on a boy named Steven (also the protagonist of Cooper's earlier work,Welcome to My Nightmare), and a mysterious showman. The showman, with apparent supernatural abilities, attempts with the use of twisted versions ofmorality playsto persuade Steven to join his traveling show, "The Theater of the Real - The Grand-estGuignol!",where he would" never grow up ".
The album once again features collaborations with some high-profile guests:Chris CornellofSoundgardenco-wrote and sings on two songs, Dan Wexler of Phoenix metallersIconco-wrote four songs including the single "Lost in America" where he also plays guitar, andDerek SherinianofDream Theaterplays keyboards.
Comic
[edit]The full storyline of the album was depicted in a three-part comic book written byNeil Gaiman,[5][6]the first part of which accompanied the recording. In the comic, the Showman (depicted as Cooper himself) attempts to entice the boy Steven to join his supernatural show. Pages from the comic are seen in theLost in Americamusic video.
It was originally published byMarvel Comicsand later reprinted byDark Horse Comics,collected astrade paperback.[7]
Video
[edit]Music videos were made for "Lost in America" and "It's Me". Both music videos are available for download from Sony/BMG.
Reception
[edit]Barry Weber of allmusic wrote, "By the timeThe Last Temptationwas released in 1994, the hair band fad that had fueled Cooper's return was dead, and Cooper was obviously aware of its downfall – the album sounds almost nothing like its two predecessors (1989'sTrashand 1991'sHey Stoopid). Far surpassing anything Cooper recorded in almost 20 years,The Last Temptationis unquestionably some of his best work. "
Live performances
[edit]Although Epic did not finance a tour and Cooper consequently did not tourThe Last Temptation,four of the album's songs – "It's Me", "Lost in America", "Cleansed by Fire" and "Sideshow" – were incorporated into Cooper's setlist from the time of his first appearance on theMonsters of Rockcircuit in September 1995. Although "It's Me" was dropped after four performances, the other three songs remained a regular part of setlists until the end of theLife and Crimes of Alice Coopertour in 1999, and were joined by "Nothing's Free" on the "School's Out for Summer '97" tour. However, with the exception of "Lost in America", which has remained a frequent part of setlists excluding the first three quarters of the 2012 to 2015 "Raise the Dead" tour, nothing fromThe Last Temptationhas been performed live from 2000 onwards.
Track listing
[edit]| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Sideshow" | Alice Cooper,Brian Smith, Michael Brooks, Jon Norwood, Dan Wexler, Bud Saylor | 6:39 |
| 2. | "Nothing's Free" | Cooper, Wexler, Saylor, Bob Pfeifer | 5:01 |
| 3. | "Lost in America" | Cooper, Wexler, Pfeifer | 3:54 |
| 4. | "Bad Place Alone" | Cooper, Wexler, Pfeifer | 5:04 |
| 5. | "You're My Temptation" | Cooper,Jack Blades,Tommy Shaw | 5:09 |
| 6. | "Stolen Prayer" | Chris Cornell,Cooper | 5:37 |
| 7. | "Unholy War" | Cornell | 4:10 |
| 8. | "Lullaby" | Cooper,Jim Vallance | 4:28 |
| 9. | "It's Me" | Cooper, Blades, Shaw | 4:39 |
| 10. | "Cleansed by Fire" | Cooper,Mark Hudson,Steve Dudas, Pfeifer | 6:12 |
Personnel
[edit]- Alice Cooper– lead vocals
- Stef Burns – guitars, backing vocals
- Greg Smith– bass, backing vocals
- Derek Sherinian– keyboards, backing vocals
- David Uosikkinen– drums
- Additional personnel
- Chris Cornell– vocals on "Stolen Prayer" and "Unholy War"
- Dan Wexler– guitars on "Lost In America"
- John Purdell– keyboards on "You're My Temptation", "Lullaby" and "It's Me"
- Lou Merlino – backing vocals
- Mark Hudson– backing vocals
- Craig Copeland – backing vocals
- Brett Hudson– backing vocals
Charts
[edit]| Chart (1994) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA)[8] | 15 |
| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[9] | 24 |
| Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[10] | 70 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[11] | 73 |
| Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[12] | 7 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[13] | 18 |
| Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[14] | 32 |
| Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[15] | 20 |
| Scottish Albums(OCC)[16] | 37 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[17] | 19 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[18] | 13 |
| UK Albums(OCC)[19] | 6 |
| USBillboard200[20] | 68 |
References
[edit]- ^https:// allmusic /album/r204078
- ^Sandow, Greg(June 10, 1994)."The Last Temptation".Entertainment Weekly.Time.RetrievedJanuary 26,2014.
- ^Maconie, Stuart."Review:Alice Cooper, The Last Temptation".Q(Q95, August 1994).EMAP Metro Ltd:100.
- ^Eddy, Chuck (July 14, 1994)."Review:Alice Cooper - The Last Temptation".Rolling Stone.Archived fromthe originalon November 12, 2007.Retrieved13 August2009.
- ^Gaiman's page on the comic
- ^Addicted to Comics #12 - Alice in Marvel-land[usurped]
- ^Gaiman, Neil;Michael Zulli,andAlice Cooper(1994).The Last Temptation.New York:Dark Horse Comics.ISBN1-56971-455-X.
{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^"Australiancharts – Alice Cooper – The Last Temptation".Hung Medien. Retrieved May 25, 2024.
- ^"Austriancharts.at – Alice Cooper – The Last Temptation"(in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 25, 2024.
- ^"Top RPM Albums: Issue 2528".RPM.Library and Archives Canada.Retrieved May 25, 2024.
- ^"Dutchcharts.nl – Alice Cooper – The Last Temptation"(in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 25, 2024.
- ^Pennanen, Timo (2021). "Alice Cooper".Sisältää hitin - 2. laitos Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla 1.1.1960–30.6.2021(PDF)(in Finnish). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 52.
- ^"Offiziellecharts.de – Alice Cooper – The Last Temptation"(in German).GfK Entertainment Charts.Retrieved May 25, 2024.
- ^"Album Top 40 slágerlista – 1994. 30. hét"(in Hungarian).MAHASZ.Retrieved May 25, 2024.
- ^"Norwegiancharts – Alice Cooper – The Last Temptation".Hung Medien. Retrieved April 30, 2021.
- ^"Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100".Official Charts Company.Retrieved May 25, 2024.
- ^"Swedishcharts – Alice Cooper – The Last Temptation".Hung Medien. Retrieved May 25, 2024.
- ^"Swisscharts – Alice Cooper – The Last Temptation".Hung Medien. Retrieved May 25, 2024.
- ^"Official Albums Chart Top 100".Official Charts Company.Retrieved May 25, 2024.
- ^"Alice Cooper Chart History (Billboard200) ".Billboard.Retrieved May 25, 2024.
