''Dragontown'' is the fifteenth solo album by American rock musician

Alice Cooper Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guillot ...

. It was released in 2001 on

Spitfire Records Spitfire Records was a subsidiary of Eagle Rock Entertainment located in New York City, United States. In September 1998, Paul Bibeau founded, launched and rapidly developed Spitfire Records Inc. from a two-man operation located in his home bed ...

. Like ''

Brutal Planet ''Brutal Planet'' is the fourteenth solo studio album by American rock musician Alice Cooper, released in 2000. Musically, this finds Alice tackling a much darker and heavier approach than on previous albums, with many songs approaching a somew ...

'', the album displays a heavier metal style than many of his previous releases. It peaked on Billboard's "Top Independent Albums" Chart at #12, and the ''Billboard'' 200 at #197, his lowest album chart performance since 1983’s ''

DaDa Dada () or Dadaism was an art movement of the European avant-garde in the early 20th century, with early centres in Zürich, Switzerland, at the Cabaret Voltaire (in 1916). New York Dada began c. 1915, and after 1920 Dada flourished in Pari ...

'', which did not chart at all. This is the first Alice Cooper studio album to contain no singles. Although Cooper toured the album with his ''Descent into Dragontown'' tour in 2001 and 2002, only four ''Dragontown'' songs – “Sex, Death and Money”, “Fantasy Man”, “Every Woman Has a Name”, and “Triggerman” – were performed at all during this supporting tour, with only “Sex, Death and Money” and “Fantasy Man” remaining in the setlist to the end. With the exception of five performances of “Disgraceland” in July 2003 during the ''Bare Bones Tour'', nothing from ''Dragontown'' has ever been performed live subsequent to the end of the album’s supporting tour.

Story and themes

Doug Van Pelt, editor of the Christian music oriented '' HM Magazine'', likened Cooper to

C.S. Lewis CS, C-S, C.S., Cs, cs, or cs. may refer to: Job titles * Chief Secretary (Hong Kong) * Chief superintendent, a rank in the British and several other police forces * Company secretary, a senior position in a private sector company or public se ...

, stating that he "grabs the devil's microphone and attempts to spill his guts and reveal his wicked schemes." Van Pelt further states that "It's Much Too Late" exposes "unrestrained truth" in stating that "The road to hell is littered with nice guys and good intentions..." and likens "Sex, Death and Money" to Proverbs 5 and isn't really about 'Sex, Death, and Money, but talks against it, as the Bible states. "Somewhere in the Jungle" addresses the issue of

genocide Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the Lat ...

and tribal warfare in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. The track ''Disgraceland'' sees Cooper deliver verses while impersonating

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

. The song relates to Presley's final years and subsequent death and of the track, Cooper has said: "I'm sort of doing a commentary on the absurdity of it, the fact that the greatest rock 'n' roll hero of all time died on a toilet."Flying the coup
''Las Vegas Sun''. 1 August 2003. Retrieved 15 January 2021.

Track listing

A special edition was released on September 24, 2002, limited to 7,500 units. It includes the original album and a bonus disc with four additional tracks.

Personnel

- Vocals *

Ryan Roxie Ryan Roxie (born Ryan Rosowicz, December 1, 1965) is an American guitarist, singer/songwriter best known as a solo artist and for playing guitar with Alice Cooper, Casablanca, Gilby Clarke, and Slash's Snakepit. Roxie is the primary founder o ...

- Guitar * Greg Smith - Bass

Session musicians

Tim Pierce Tim Pierce (born 1959 in Albuquerque) is an American session guitarist. He has worked for artists such as Joe Cocker, Crowded House, Goo Goo Dolls, Michael Jackson, Beth Hart, Roger Waters, Alice Cooper, Johnny Hallyday, Phil Collins, and the ...

- Guitar * Wayne Swinny - Guitar *

Bob Marlette Robert Roy Marlette (born December 7, 1955) is an American record producer, recording engineer, mixer, and songwriter. His production, writing and mixing credits include David Lee Roth, Ozzy Osbourne, Alice Cooper, Rob Zombie, Sebastian Bach, R ...

- Rhythm Guitar, Bass, Keyboards and programming, String arrangement *Sid Riggs - Keyboards and programming *

Teddy Andreadis Teddy 'Zig Zag' Andreadis is an American piano/ harmonica player who has worked with many popular musicians, including Carole King, Guns N’ Roses, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Alice Cooper, Bruce Willis, and the Boxing Gandhis. In 1999 he was voted ...

- Backing vocals *

Eric Dover Eric Dover (born January 19, 1967) is an American guitarist and singer, most notably with Jellyfish, Slash's Snakepit, Imperial Drag, and Alice Cooper. Biography Dover began playing guitar when he was 11 years old. He started playing around t ...

- Backing vocals *

Calico Cooper Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guillot ...

- Backing vocals *Gionvanna Morana - Backing vocals *

Kenny Aronoff Kenny Aronoff (born March 7, 1953) is an American session drummer. Early life Aronoff grew up in Stockbridge, Massachusetts He developed an interest in music at an early age and gravitated to the drums as "drumming was one hundred percent ener ...

- Drums

References

External links

Alice Cooper Dragontown Tour Program
{{Authority control Alice Cooper albums 2001 albums Concept albums Albums produced by Bob Marlette Spitfire Records albums