Album Review — Hollywood Vampires

Hollywood Vampires — Rise

Talk about a Super Group. There aren’t many bigger names than Alice Cooper, Joe Perry and Johnny Depp. Hollywood Vampires were originally born out of wanting to pay tribute to fellow rockers who died far too young. The first record was mostly cover tunes and while there are three cover songs on “Rise”, the rest are original tunes written by different members of the band.

It’s been one of those weeks around here, so I’ll be reviewing the record on my first listen.

“I Want My Now” kicks things off. It’s a seven minute rocker with Cooper on vocals. It has a G&R “Use Your Illusion” kind of feel to it. Off to a good start.

“Good People Are Hard To Find” is really just a one minute intro to the next track. Don’t really see the point of this one.

“Who’s Laughing Now” is another Cooper-fronted song with some Depp vocals thrown in. This one has more of a 70s rock feel to it with Cooper sounding more familiar here.

“How the Glass Fell” is another short transition to the next song. Moving on.

“The Boogieman Surprise” has a cool riff to start with Cooper on vocals again. I like this one. Cooper isn’t my favorite vocalist, but he really fits well here.

Honky-tonk “Welcome to Bushwackers” features Jeff Beck and John Waters. I don’t really understand the addition of Waters here, but it’s cool to hear Jeff Beck on slide guitar. Definitely a change of pace here that could have been a minute or two shorter.

Another transitional track with “The Wrong Bandage”. It’s a 30 second mostly piano piece.

We get our first cover with Johnny Thunder’s “You Can’t Put Your Arms Around A Memory” with Perry on lead vocals. It’s a good version of a cool old song. If you haven’t heard the original, think old school Springsteen.

“Git From Round Me” is up next with what I believe is Cooper on lead vocals. Not sure how to describe this one. It’s upbeat and a little dark and almost punk. Interesting song and I really like Cooper’s vocals on this one.

David Bowie’s “Heroes” is up next with Depp taking lead vocals. I’m not a huge Bowie fan but it’s hard not to like this song. Depp does his best Bowie and it works, although it’s a little hard not to think of Captain Jack Sparrow singing.

Another transitional track with “A Pitiful Beauty”. I appreciate these types of tracks when they set a mood or transition a song, but I’m not really seeing the purpose of these overall.

“New Threat” is up next and Cooper is back on lead vocals. I like this one as well as Cooper’s voice works well here. Cool guitar solo here as well. For the most part, the album sounds like a mix of 70s Aerosmith and Alice Cooper which makes sense and works.

Six minute “Mr. Spider” is up next and has that spooky Alice Cooper sound to it that is sure to make long time Alice fans happy. It’s strange to say this, but these songs sound like they were written in the 70s which isn’t easy to do.

“We Gotta Rise” starts with Johnny Depp introducing President Alice Cooper. It’s the highlight of an otherwise forgettable song. I appreciate the political tone with this one but I’d rather not hear this one again.

“People Who Died” is another strange song. There are some good songs on this record, but there are also some headshakers and this is another one of those.

“Congratulations” closes out the record with a spoken word piece over an acoustic guitar. I recognize Cooper, Perry and Depp as they each take the lead. Cooper, Perry and someone else each take a stanza while Depp takes quite a bit more. It’s an interesting way to end the record.

I’m only one listen in so it’s hard to make any final judgements, but I’m both surprised and disappointed at the same time. There are songs here that are much better than I expected and others that I hope I never have to listen to again. But there’s enough good here that I think it’s worth a listen, especially if you like Alice and that 70s classic rock sound.

80 out of 100

Track Listing

1. I Want My Now *
2. Good People Are Hard to Find
3. Who’s Laughing Now *
4. How the Glass Fell
5. The Boogieman Surprise *
6. Welcome to Bushwackers (feat. Jeff Beck + John Waters)
7. The Wrong Bandage
8. You Can’t Put Your Arms Around a Memory *
9. Git From Round Me
10. Heroes *
11. A Pitiful Beauty
12. New Threat
13. Mr. Spider
14. We Gotta Rise
15. People Who Died
16. Congratulations

*Best Songs