Alice Cooper

Recorded live on July 19th, 2000, at LaBatt's Apollo in Hammersmith, England, the double-disc Brutally Live features both a live CD with 20 songs, and a DVD featuring those 20 plus five additional titles: "Ballad of Dwight Frye," "Pick Up the Bones," "Dead Babies," "I Love the Dead," and "Black Widow." The DVD also includes an alternate camera angle and bonus video of "Gimme." This is actually a monumental achievement and has to be put in the context of other live releases from Alice Cooper. His rendition of "I'm Eighteen" taped for the In Concert TV show back in the 1980s was one of the great moments of rock on television and is still hard to top. It made its way onto a bootleg and is a defining moment that would be hard for anyone to capture again, let alone decades after the fact. What this document does is prove that 30 years later Cooper still has the power and the glory long after many other artists from his era passed their prime. The band is great, probably his best outfit since Alice utilized remnants of Lou Reed's "Rock 'n' Roll Animal" group on The Alice Cooper Show live disc. The energy level is up a notch here, and with ex-Kiss drummer Eric Singer there is added glam rock integrity. Alice gives a slap to Marilyn Manson on "It's the Little Things" while moving away from the controlled chaos on a very subtle yet powerful "Only Women Bleed." The voice is in pretty decent shape, though shows signs of wear on "I'm Eighteen," but that's where the performance picks it up. The DVD version is captivating with excellent color schemes, terrific camera work, and a compelling and professional performance from A.C.. Always a showman, there were years in the 1980s when the band was out of control and the singer appeared to be going through the motions. Not so here; the 2000 tour was exquisite and worth capturing for all time in these formats. A great album track from the Bob Ezrin days like "You Drive Me Nervous" has grown up with the showman and still invigorates. While others are content to re-release their greatest hits in a video format, Cooper also has his performance art to go along with the familiar material. It's a fantastic combination and this release captures it all in a most satisfying way. ~ Joe Viglione, All Music Guide