And Alice? When has he ever sounded like he wasnвЂ™t having fun? Joe Perry sounds like heвЂ™s having fun playing rock and roll away from Aerosmith. Bad press aside, Johnny Depp is charismatic on record. It has moments less than stellar, where fat could have been cut, but the weirder escapades could warrant many returns. ItвЂ™s hard to fathom where Rise will sit in six months time or a year. What youвЂ™d think would be a boring slog turns out to be an album highlight. Tommy Henriksen gets a spoken word portion too, using his more like a beat poet. It works because Alice, Johnny and Joe have rich speaking voices. Rise concludes with an interesting spoken word track called вЂњCongratulationsвЂќ. A rockabilly punk rocker, вЂњPeople Who DiedвЂќ is catchy as the flu, but better for you. DeppвЂ™s next lead vocal, the Jim Carroll cover вЂњPeople Who DiedвЂќ is just about its equal. Regardless, вЂњWe Gotta RiseвЂќ is the best original song on the album. Maybe thatвЂ™s reading too much into it, but it sure does sound like a call to arms. We gotta rise, letвЂ™s rise above the lies.вЂќ We gotta rise, letвЂ™s rise above the lies, Alice isnвЂ™t political, but itвЂ™s hard to read these lyrics as anything but:

ItвЂ™s вЂњElectedвЂќ all over again with a Billion Dollar Babies mold, starring вЂњPresidentвЂќ Alice Cooper. Also sounding like classic Alice, but a different kind, is вЂњWe Gotta RiseвЂќ. SpiderвЂќ has a classic Cooper atmosphere, brimming with drama and horror. It is not up to the better material, sounding a bit like a stock riff & rhythm. The song it precedes, вЂњNew ThreatвЂќ, is OK. The best of the brief instrumentals is by second bassist Chris Wyse, called вЂњA Pityful BeautyвЂќ. Perhaps thatвЂ™s what gives вЂњHeroesвЂќ its weight, though itвЂ™s not a heavy song. According to Cooper, Johnny Depp (who is currently fighting an acrimonious divorce battle with two-way accusations of domestic violence) had a lot of emotion to put into Rise. Depp takes one by himself on the Bowie cover вЂњHeroesвЂќ, a surprisingly outstanding version. вЂњGit From Round MeвЂќ is a pulsing, hypnotic charge through the gates with Johnny Depp sharing vocal duties with Alice and Tommy. The highlight, obviously, is Jeff Beck.Д¬ourse is corrected on Joe PerryвЂ™s lead vocal, a surprising вЂњYou CanвЂ™t Put Your Arm Around A MemoryвЂќ, the Johnny Thunders song previously covered by Duff McKagan. A farcicle вЂњWelcome to BushwackersвЂќ, featuring Jeff Beck, is a token hillbilly country tune that doesnвЂ™t live up to its promise. Unfortunately all this lead-up ends at the slow and stodgy вЂњThe Boogieman SurpriseвЂќ, probably the weakest tune. ItвЂ™s also bookended by two weird instrumentals that appear to be Depp creations. ItвЂ™s a really good tune accented by 8-string bass (by Tommy Henriksen) and Joe PerryвЂ™s unmistakable guitar expertise. вЂњWhoвЂ™s Laughing NowвЂќ is psychedelic Alice, which could be the Depp influence. His guitar work has the looseness that Aerosmith shed years ago. In other words, PerryвЂ™s riffs are in good hands and the guy deserves to have a lilвЂ™ fun. You can hear what it would have been like with Joey Kramer on drums, Tom Hamilton on bass and Steven Tyler shrieking up front, but instead itвЂ™s Alice, who has had a much more consistent output of late than Aerosmith. Interestingly some of the best songs are the ones that sound like Aerosmith riffs, done up far better than Aerosmith would have lately.ДЄt the outset, the Aerosmith flavour dominates the stew that is вЂњI Want My NowвЂќ.

Alice Cooper, Joe Perry, Johnny Depp and pals obviously set out to have fun, which is audible, but thereвЂ™s also a weird bent that runs through. The second is an originals album with a few covers! ItвЂ™s a little strange and kind of sounds exactly how you think it would. The first Hollywood Vampires was a covers album with a few originals. HOLLYWOOD VAMPIRES вЂ“ Rise (2019 Edel Japanese edition) вЂ“ Disc 1

Aerosmith draw the line rar