Search - Alice Cooper :: Dragontown (Special Edition)

Wow...even after all these years

KB | Woodbridge, VA. United States | 09/30/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Alice Cooper is simply amazing...and his latest effort prooves it. I bought Dragontown when it first came out, and I didn't like it as much as his under-appreciated Brutal Planet, but I still liked it. Today I went to Best Buy and saw this Limited Edition CD in a white slip case with mirrorized red lettering and had to have it. Not only is Dragontown an awesome record, but the bonus disc just adds to its' brilliance. Four songs-3 live and one remix and 2 videos. "Clowns will eat me" I think is on the Brutal Planet deluxe edition, and the song is great. The 2 live tracks are ultimate classics (in my view), "Go to Hell" & probably my favorite Alice song, "Ballad of Dwight Fry." His vocals sound amazing...even on hitting the high notes in "Ballad of Dwight Fry." The remix could sound more haunting, more Alice. It sounds as if "Brutal Planet" was being played at a dance club (but not as poppy or cheesy). I think if Rob Zombie remixed it the song would be better. All in all, Dragontown Limited Edition is amazing and it's a must have for any Alice Cooper fan."

Best since The Last Temptation

Jonathan Church | Naselle, WA | 10/17/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

""Dragontown" is Alice's best album since 1994's "The Last Temptation". This edition comes with (Can't Sleep) "Clowns Will Eat Me" which was only previously available on the Japanese import of the "Brutal Planet" album. The song "Brutal Planet" is remixed on the bonus CD and it is not all that interesting of a remix and probably should not haven been done. It also features two live tracks "Got to Hell" and "Ballad of Dwight Fry" which isn't all that thrilling either since live versions of these tracks were previously available on various imports. A common complaint about Alice Cooper concerts is that you know what songs you are going to hear because he adds very little recent material in his set lists (material from "Constrictor" to "Dragontown"). If he added a couple live tracks of recent material that haven't been available before, I would've given it five stars "Dragontown" rocks, but the bonus CD is only worth buying for "Clowns" and if you have the Japanese import of "Brutal Planet", don't bother picking this CD up. My four star rating is based on the "Dragontown" album itself, not this bonus CD."

Dance dance dance dance

Shade | Oklahoma City, OK | 09/25/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

""Sound alarm
It's Armageddon R.S.V.P.
Sound alarm
Babylon's burning sea to sea."
--A&M recording artist Michael Anderson, 1988Alice Cooper releases "Dragontown" again, and the original disc is still the same old gloomy thing it was a year ago, not that I didn't dig it.We will focus on the bonus disc here, leading off with "Clowns Will Eat Me," available since the original release of "Brutal Planet" in 2000, Japanese release only.I always liked "Clowns," when it was on my hard-drive a long time ago. It's finally nice to have it on regular CD... I guess. I can't deny feeling like Jimmy Fallon, insincere and with my hair sticking up ...It is a really good song, but has very little to do with the Brutal/Dragontown theme, so far as I can see.We have live versions of "Go to Hell" and "Ballad of Dwight Fry," both from the "Brutally Live" DVD soundtrack.They are both stellar performances.The gem here is the "Brutal Planet" re-mix. When I first heard the original, alcohol logged and through tinny speakers reaching my tinny ears (in May, 2000), I thought, "That siren's got to go!"I have since come to love the siren, or the guitars which I think sound like a siren. It's appropriate for a Brutal Planet headed toward Armageddon.However, I missed my fun-loving Alice, but only a little because of songs like "It's the Little Things" (featured on computer-playable video here, Quicktime preferred). Most of the CD was very dark, and "Dragontown" was even way, way darker."Brutal Planet" re-mix features an outright danceable version. I'm reminded of the guy who used to dance by himself in the middle of the Amarillo Civic Center in the early '80s during intermissions of rock shows. I will never forget him swaying to Black Sabbath's "Heaven and Hell," all by himself.This re-mix is for him! I do love it, but I'm old enough to be a parent, really (even though I'm not) of the younger ones who love the harder edge of the original.So I guess I can just take Alice's cue from "Flush the Fashion" in 1980, from the kid's perspective:I get a kiss good-bye
I get all numb and high
From all the smoke left on their breath
I smile and wish them well
Then I pray like hell
They go and dance themselves to death Come on momma
Come on daddy
Come on skinny
Come on fatty
Shake it Martha
Shake it Larry
Shake it Mr. Coronary
You gotta dance dance
Come on and dance dance
Dance til you're outta breath If it's all the same to you, I WILL be dancing to it. I love the re-mix!(Also featured is the video for "Gimme.")"