Alice had been talking about 'Detroit Stories' for nearly two years before it was released, and indeed it seems the basic recording was completed before March 2020 (most likely in 2019). Part of the delay was likely due to the Covid 19 pandemic in 2020, as all through the lockdown Alice refered to it "done". The 2020 single 'Don't Give Up' was originally part of the album, but released with changed lyrics when all touring etc was stopped by the pandemic.
Original release: February 26th 2021
Track listing
- Rock'n'Roll - Velvet Underground song (Reed)(4:43/5:45*)
- Go Man Go (album version)(Cooper, Ezrin, Henriksen, Wayne Kramer)(2:40)
- Our Love Will Change The World (Cooper, Ezrin, Matthew Smith)(3:39)
- Social Debris (Cooper, Smith, Ezrin)(3:05)
- $1000 High Heel Shoes (Cooper, Ezrin, Kramer)(3:29)
- Hail Mary (Cooper, Ezrin, Henriksen)(3:14)
- Detroit City 2021 (Album Version) (Cooper, Ezrin, Garric, Roxie, Henriksen)(3:19)
- Drunk And In Love (Cooper, Ezrin, Dunaway)(3:52)
- Independence Dave (Cooper, Ezrin, Kramer)(2:56)
- I Hate You (Cooper, Ezrin, Dunaway)(2:34)
- Wonderful World (Cooper, Ezrin, Denander, Henriksen) (3:20)
- Sister Anne (Album Version) (Fred Smith)(MC5 cover)(4:47)
- Hanging On By A Thread (Don't Give Up) (Cooper, Ezrin, Henriksen)(3:36)
- Shut Up An Rock (Cooper, Ezrin, Denander, Henriksen)(2:09)
- East Side Story (Album Version) (Bob Seger)(Bob Seger cover)(2:52)
*The vinyl version of 'Rock'n'Roll' is around a minute longer then the CD version, with an extended introduction and longer instrumental section.
Musicians
Vocals: Alice Cooper
Guitar: Garret Bielaniec
Guitar: Joe Bonamassa
Guitar: Steve Hunter
Drums, backing vocals: Johnny "Bee" Badanjek
Bass, backing vocals: Paul Randolph
Organ: James Shelton
Backing Vocals: Calico Cooper
Backing Vocals: Sheryl Cooper
Backing Vocals: Wayne Kramer
Organ, Backing vocals, cowbell: Bob Ezrin
Vocals: Alice Cooper
Guitar: Garret Bielaniec
Guitar: Mark Farner
Guitar: Wayne Kramer
Guitar, backing vocals: Tommy Henriksen
Drums: Johnny "Bee" Badanjek
Bass: Paul Randolph
Percussion, backing vocals: Bob Ezrin
Vocals: Alice Cooper
Guitar: Garret Bielaniec
Guitar: Wayne Kramer
Guitar, percussion, backing vocals: Tommy Henriksen
Drums: Johnny "Bee" Badanjek
Bass: Paul Randolph
Backing Vocals: Calico Cooper
Backing Vocals: Sheryl Cooper
Piano, backing vocals: Bob Ezrin
Vocals: Alice Cooper
Guitar: Michael Bruce
Guitar: Rick Tedesco
Lead Guitar Steven Crayn
Bass: Dennis Dunaway
Drums: Neal Smith
Guitar, percussion, backing vocals: Tommy Henriksen
Vocals: Alice Cooper
Guitar: Garret Bielaniec
Guitar: Wayne Kramer
Drums: Johnny "Bee" Badanjek
Bass: Paul Randolph
Organ: James Shelton
Backing Vocals: Carla Camarillo
Backing Vocals: Sister Sledge (Debra Sledge, Camille Sledge, Tanya Thillet)
The Motor City Horns:
Saxophones: Keith Kaminski
Trombone: John Rutherford
Trumpet: Walter White
Vocals: Alice Cooper
Guitar: Garret Bielaniec
Guitar: Wayne Kramer
Guitar: Mark Farner
Guitar, backing vocals: Tommy Henriksen
Drums: Johnny "Bee" Badanjek
Bass: Paul Randolph
Percussion, backing vocals: Bob Ezrin
Vocals: Alice Cooper
Guitar: Garret Bielaniec
Guitar: Mark Farner
Guitar: Wayne Kramer
Guitar, Backing Vocals: Tommy Henriksen
Drums: Johnny "Bee" Badanjek
Bass: Paul Randolph
Backing vocals: Bob Ezrin
Vocals, Harp: Alice Cooper
Guitar: Garret Bielaniec
Guitar: Joe Bonamassa
Drums: Johnny "Bee" Badanjek
Bass: Paul Randolph
Vocals: Alice Cooper
Guitar: Garret Bielaniec
Guitar, Backing Vocals: Tommy Henriksen
Guitar: Wayne Kramer
Drums: Johnny "Bee" Badanjek
Bass: Paul Randolph
Backing Vocals: Carla Camarillo
Vocals: Alice Cooper
Guitar, vocals: Michael Bruce
Guitar: Rick Tedesco
Bass, guitar, vocals: Dennis Dunaway
Drums, vocals: Neal Smith
Vocals: Alice Cooper
Guitar: Garret Bielaniec
Guitar, Keyboards: Tommy Denander
Guitar: Wayne Kramer
Drums: Johnny "Bee" Badanjek
Bass: Paul Randolph
Guitar, percussion, programming, backing vocals: Tommy Henriksen
Backing Vocals, Programming: Bob Ezrin
Vocals, Harp: Alice Cooper
Guitar: Garret Bielaniec
Guitar, Backing Vocals: Mark Farner
Guitar, backing vocals: Wayne Kramer
Lead Guitar: Steve Hunter
Drums: Johnny "Bee" Badanjek
Bass, backing vocals: Paul Randolph
Vocals: Alice Cooper
Lead guitar: Steve Hunter
Guitar: Garret Bielaniec
Guitar: Wayne Kramer
Guitar: Matthew Smith
Guitar, programming, backing vocals: Tommy Henriksen
Keyboards: Tommy Denander
Drums: Johnny "Bee" Badanjek
Bass: Paul Randolph
Keyboards. programming, backing vocals: Bob Ezrin
Vocals: Alice Cooper
Guitar: Garret Bielaniec
Guitar: Tommy Denander
Guitar, Backing Vocals: Tommy Henriksen
Drums: Larry Mullens Jr
Bass: Jimmy Lee Sloas
Backing Vocals: Bob Ezrin
Vocals: Alice Cooper
Guitar: Garret Bielaniec
Guitar: Wayne Kramer
Drums: Johnny "Bee" Badanjek
Bass: Paul Randolph
Guitar, percussion, backing vocals: Tommy Henriksen
Backing Vocals: Calico Cooper
Backing Vocals: Sheryl Cooper
Organ, Backing vocals: Bob Ezrin
Sleeve Notes
Produced by Bob Ezrin.
Additional production:
Paul Randolph ("$1000 High Heel Shoes")
Tommy Henriksen and Tommy Denander ("Wonderful World").
Recorded at Rust Belt Studios, Royal Oak, Michigan.
Additional recording at
Saltmine Studios, Mesa, Arizona;
Solid Rock Studio, Phoenix, Arizona;
Anarchy Studios, Nashville, Tennessee, Nassau Bahamas & Zurich Switzerland;
Loud Mouse Studios, Toronto, Canada;
Twangmeister Studio, North, East Lincolnshire, UK.
Album Notes - (Detailed release information)
So far there seem to be the following 'Detroit Stories' formats:
- Double vinyl album on red vinyl
- Double album on black vinyl
- Double album on purple vinyl (Townsend exclusive limited edition)
- Double album on blue vinyl (JPC exclusive limited edition)
- Double album on clear vinyl (500 copies)
- Double album on splatter vinyl with free print (Good Records Astroturf exclusive - 1000 copies)
- Double album on splatter vinyl (same vinyl/labels as above but without the print - EMP Europe exclusive)
- Double album on white vinyl (a German store exlusive)
- 1xCD edition
- 1xCD+1xDVD edition adding the previously unreleased film from 'A Paranormal Night At The Olympia, Paris'
- 1xCD+1xBlu-ray+t-shirt, face mask, torch light and 3 stickers edition adding the previously unreleased film from 'A Paranormal Night At The Olympia, Paris'
- 1xCD+1xDVD Exclusive Media Markt German edition which includes two bonus tracks - Devil with A Blue Dress On/Chains Of Love and Your Mama Won't Like Me from 'Breadcrumbs.
Interestingly the live Paris DVD/Blu-Ray is NOT actually the complete show. The brief segment of Pink Floyd's 'Another Brick in the Wall' regularly played before the band introductions has been cut from 'School's Out'. What makes this particularaly odd is that when an hour long version of the show was screened on German TV a month earlier it WAS included!
Cover art (and a release date) unexpectedly appeared on Amazon.com on November 1st 2020. The image appears to be based on the 'David Stott Building, at 1152 Griswold St in Detroit, and local photographs seem to back this up as the other nearby buildings are also very similar in design to the ones on the cover. Above the buildings searchlights, like the 'Bat Signal' in Batman comics, which pick out the 'spider eye' Alice Cooper eyes.
On November 7th the official Alice Cooper facebook page posted a cryptic 15 second video showing a cloudy sky, and followed it up the following day with the same video, but with the buildings added. This continued until revealing the full cover with moving searchlights.
The first (digital only) single was 'Rock'n'Roll', a Velvet Underground cover, which was released on November 12th 2020. This was followed on December 11th by 'Our Love Will Change The World', another cover song this time originally written and recorded by Outrageous Cherry. Finally on February 4th (Alice's birthday) 'Social Debris' appeared on the official Alice Cooper YouTube channel.
"Interesting observation regarding the song 'Go Man Go' and the line “stole me a Hellcat” - A Hellcat is a 717/797 horsepower version of a Dodge Challenger or Charger. One of the high impact colour options for these cars is called “go mango” (orange). I know Alice has had or has Challengers and suspect this influenced him in writing this song."
(Thanks Larry Hampton)