Maps of Music

Detroit Stories (2021)

Where the lyrics of Detroit Stories take you, and where it was really made.

Cooper's Detroit nostalgia record topped Billboard's Top Album Sales chart, yet reached only No. 47 on the all-genre Billboard 200.

Key places

Recorded at L'Olympia, Paris (2021)

Recording site Olympia (Paris) — The credits list L'Olympia as a recording location. The marker uses the venue's coordinates. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recorded at Anarchy Studios, Nashville (2021)

Recording site Nashville — The credits list Anarchy Studios as a recording location in Nashville. The marker sits at the city center. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recorded at Loud Mouse Studios, Toronto (2021)

Recording site Phase One Audio Group — The credits list Loud Mouse Studios as a recording location in Toronto. The marker sits at the city center. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recorded at Rust Belt Studios, Royal Oak (2021)

Recording site Rust Belt Studios — The main recording studio was Rust Belt Studios in Royal Oak, Michigan. The marker sits at the city center. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recorded at Solid Rock Studio, Phoenix (2021)

Recording site Chaton Studios — The credits list Solid Rock Studio in Phoenix as a recording location. The marker sits at the city center. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recorded at The Saltmine Studio Oasis, Mesa (2021)

Recording site The Saltmine Studio Oasis — The credits list The Saltmine Studio Oasis as a recording location in Mesa, Arizona. The marker sits at the city center. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recorded at Twangmeister Studios, England (2021)

Recording site Twangmeister Studios — The credits list Twangmeister Studios as a recording location in North East Lincolnshire, England. The marker sits at the city center. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Detroit Stories: 21st solo and 28th overall studio album by Alice Cooper
• Released February 26, 2021 by Earmusic
• Produced by Bob Ezrin, who also added various instruments
• Many guest musicians contribute on a range of instruments
• Themes match Cooper's earlier work: grandeur and exaggerated shock-rock narratives
• Strong nostalgia for the Detroit hard rock where Cooper's early style took shape

Background

• Written about Cooper's origins in music and the history of hard rock in Detroit
• Cooper's family moved to Arizona when he was ten; the band later built its reputation in Detroit
• Released in a period when hard rock no longer topped the popular charts
• Cooper tried to put something that "tasted like Detroit" into every aspect of the album
• Covers Outrageous Cherry's "Our Love Will Change the World" and reworks the Velvet Underground's "Rock & Roll"
• The song "Hanging On by a Thread (Don't Give Up)" was first released as "Don't Give Up" on May 15, 2020, to help fans through COVID-19

Recording

• Recorded mainly at Rustbelt Studios in Royal Oak, a suburb of Detroit
• Guests include Wayne Kramer, former MC5 guitarist
• Backing vocals by Sheryl and Calico Cooper, Cooper's wife and eldest daughter

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · fr.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Alice Cooper originated in Phoenix, Arizona in 1964 as a band formed by Vincent Damon Furnier, Glen Buxton, Michael Bruce, Dennis Dunaway and Neal Smith.
• The group first performed as the Earwigs and later renamed themselves the Spiders and then Nazz.
• In 1968 the band adopted the name Alice Cooper, which was later also the new legal name of Furnier.

Members

• The classic lineup consisted of Furnier (lead vocals), Buxton (lead guitar), Bruce (rhythm guitar), Dunaway (bass) and Smith (drums).
• Furnier legally changed his name to Alice Cooper after the band disbanded in 1975.

Career

• The band released seven studio albums from 1969 to 1973, including Love It to Death, Killer, School's Out and Billion Dollar Babies.
• The band is known as a pioneer of shock rock, using theatrical stage shows with props and illusions.
• As a solo artist he released Welcome to My Nightmare in 1975 and has released 30 studio albums in total.
• The original band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2011.
• Cooper is considered by music journalists and peers to be 'The Godfather of Shock Rock'.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Metacritic: average score 72 from 10 reviews; user score 7.3 out of 10
• Scores of 80 from Under the Radar, Classic Rock Magazine, musicOMH.com, The Independent and Mojo
• Scores of 70 from Punknews.org, Rolling Stone and American Songwriter; 60 from Uncut; 50 from AllMusic
• Wall of Sound: Gareth Williams gave a perfect 10/10, saying diehard fans will embrace the album
• AllMusic: Fred Thomas said it is stuck between a Detroit tribute and campy radio-geared hard rock, feeling like solid covers with extras thrown in
• Louder Than War: Gus Ironside gave four out of five, calling it a boisterous celebration of sixties and seventies hard rock
• Rolling Stone: Kory Grow found it funny and entertaining when Cooper hits his stride, but said some humor falls flat

Reappraisal

• Critical appraisal centers on nostalgia for Cooper's early Detroit-era music
• Positive reception praises the shocking, heavy content and the dark, tongue-in-cheek humor
• Negative responses cite fatigue with the style of his early Detroit work

Records

• Billboard Top Album Sales: No. 1 (dated March 3, 2021), Cooper's first chart-topper in the chart's 29-year history
• Tastemaker Albums: No. 1
• Billboard 200: No. 47; Hard Rock Albums: No. 2; Top Rock Albums: No. 5; Independent Albums: No. 7; Vinyl Albums: No. 18
• First week (ending March 4): 13,000 copies, of which 9,500 CD, 2,000 vinyl and 1,500 digital
• 38% of first-week sales came from independent and small chain shops

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · pt.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The first single, "Rock & Roll", came out on November 13, 2020, as a cover of a Velvet Underground song
• Go Man Go includes a guitar part written by MC5 guitarist Wayne Kramer
• The second single, "Our Love Will Change the World", was released December 11, 2020 as a cover of Outrageous Cherry's 2005 song
• The third single, "Social Debris", came out on Alice's 73rd birthday, February 4, 2021, as a free download for a limited time
• Sheryl and Calico Cooper, Cooper's wife and eldest daughter, sang backing vocals

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · fr.wikipedia.org

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