Detroit Stories is the 28th 'Alice Cooper' studio album and was released in 2021. The album is Alice's personal tribute to his birth city and features nine new tracks, two re-recordings (i.e. Detroit City 2021 and Hanging By A Thread) and four cover songs (i.e. Rock & Roll, Our Love Will Change The World, Sister Anne and East Side Story).

Although looking initially strong at 15 tracks, a slight initial disappointment is that near-identical versions of three of them (i.e. Detroit City 2021, Sister Anne and East Side Story) had already appeared on the 2019 EP The Breadcrumbs. Furthermore, the anti-suicide track Hanging By A Thread is an alternative version of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic single Don't Give Up (the album version was actually recorded first, but the single preceded it).

Despite that issue, the rest of the album is full of strong new content with especial highlights being the continued involvement of the surviving Alice Cooper Group members, who all appear vocally in the hilarious slanging match that is I Hate You (where even Glen Buxton is flamed). Dennis Dunaway and Neal Smith's influence can also be found on Drunk And In Love and Social Debris, the latter of which features an excellent Glen Buxton style guitar solo by UK-based Alice Cooper fanatic Steven Crayn.

Elsewhere, other stand-out content includes the Outrageous Cherry cover Our Love Will Change The World, Wonderful World and Shut Up And Rock.

The album features somewhat underwhelming artwork, with night-time images of the Detroit skyline superimposed with Batman-style searchlights featuring Alice's eyes complete with spider make-up. It's by no means dreadful but you can't help think that, for the second album running, perhaps the budget was not as high as it should have been. That said, the album was nicely advertised upon its launch, with cool images of Alice popping up in Berlin and London (see images below).

A notable anomoly is that all the vinyl editions feature an alternative version of Rock & Roll. In total, the track is about a minute longer than the CD and digital version, with an added instrumental introduction and extended mid-song instrumental as well. Whether this was intentional or not is unknown (it wasn't promoted), but it definitely enchances the song in my opinion.

An additional social media based marketing campaign saw computer-generated searchlights appear in more cities. This helped make the record impact the charts, with it hitting high chart positions in many countries.

Detroit Stories 12" Vinyl Album

2021, Ear Music, 0215400EMU

This European 12" vinyl version of Detroit Stories features a gatefold sleeve design and includes a hype sticker on the front proudly proclaiming that the album was 'MADE IN DETROIT IN 2021'. The inside of the sleeve features a moody-looking panorama of the GM Renaissance Centre (in downtown Detroit) with 'Alice Cooper' searchlights protecting in all directions. On the back of the sleeve is a close-up image of one side of Alice's face complete with top hat and snake-eye make-up.

Inside the sleeve are two glossy black 180 gram discs, with custom Ear Music labels, which are housed in inner sleeves that include further themed artwork and relevant track listings, lyrics and credits.

Discogs Link: Click Here

Detroit Stories 12" Vinyl Album

2021, Ear Music, 0215400EMU

This further European 12" vinyl version of Detroit Stories was exclusively sold for a limited period at the official Detroit Stories website. It is exactly the same as the black vinyl version (above) only that it features opaque purple 180 gram discs, has no hype sticker on the front of the sleeve and includes a different barcode on the back (that is stuck over the orginal one).

Discogs Link: Click Here

Detroit Stories 12" Vinyl Album

2021, Ear Music, 0215400EMU

This further European 12" vinyl version of Detroit Stories is limited to 500 copies and was exclusively sold by the German retailer Nuclear Blast. It is exactly the same as the black vinyl version (above) only that it features clear 180 gram discs, has no hype sticker on the front of the sleeve and includes a different barcode on the back (that is stuck over the orginal one).

Discogs Link: Click Here

Detroit Stories 12" Vinyl Album

2021, Ear Music, 0215400EMU

This further European 12" vinyl version of Detroit Stories is limited to 500 copies and was exclusively sold by the German retailer JPC. It is exactly the same as the black vinyl version (above) only that it features translucent blue 180 gram discs, has no hype sticker on the front of the sleeve and includes a different barcode on the back (that is stuck over the orginal one).

Discogs Link: Click Here

Detroit Stories 12" Vinyl Album

2021, Ear Music, 0215400EMU

This further 'Limited Edition' European 12" vinyl version of Detroit Stories was exclusively sold by the German retailer Der Rockschuppen. It is exactly the same as the black vinyl version (above) only that it features opaque white 180 gram discs, an alternative hype sticker on the front of the sleeve and includes a different barcode on the back (that is stuck over the orginal one).

Discogs Link: Click Here

Detroit Stories 12" Vinyl Album

2021, Ear Music, 0215400EMU

This further European 12" vinyl version of Detroit Stories is limited to 1,000 copies and was sold by German retailers including Edel and Nuclear Blast. It is exactly the same as the black vinyl version (above) only that it features stunning custom black and white spider-eye splatter 180 gram discs, an alternative hype sticker on the front of the sleeve and includes a different barcode on the back (that is stuck over the orginal one).

Discogs Link: Click Here

Detroit Stories 12" Vinyl Album

2021, Ear Music, 0215400EMU

This USA 12" vinyl 'Astroturf Edition' version of Detroit Stories is limited to 1,000 copies and was sold by Good Records in Dallas (the masterminds behind the iconic Live From The Astroturf, Alice Cooper releases). It is exactly the same as the European splatter edition (above) but with the following exclusive goodies included:

> Previously unseen 12" x 12" silkscreened art print of the Alice Cooper Group (taken during the 1971 Killer album promotional photo shoot) from the private collection of bassist Dennis Dunaway;

> 1 of 2 deluxe custom Alice Cooper trading cards (I was lucky enough to be provided with both, however); and

> An opportunity to enter a competition to win a print of the above artwork personally signed by Dennis Dunaway.

All copies were provided with pink stickers that were stamped with a unique number (mine being #00131) on both the sleeve and the rear of artwork. For information, the '#5' referenced on the stickers identifies that this was, at the time, the fifth Astroturf Edition produced by Good Records (the others being non-Alice Cooper releases by Will Johnson, Grandaddy, Steve Earle & The Dukes and Beachwood Sparks).

There was initially some confusion over how many splatter versions were produced. Although widely promoted as being limited to 1,000 copies it transpired that, there were actually 1,000 copies of the European version and 1,000 copies of the Astroturf Edition, making a total of 2,000 copies. As you will see though, the additional goodies of the Astroturf Edition made it vastly superior to all other versions so if you're only going to buy one then this is definitely the best to have!

Discogs Link: Click Here

Detroit Stories 12" Vinyl Album

2021, Ear Music, 0215400EMU

This further 'Limited Edition' USA 12" vinyl version of Detroit Stories was exclusively sold by independant record stores. It is exactly the same as the black vinyl version (above) only that it features opaque red 180 gram discs, an alternative hype sticker on the front of the sleeve and includes a different barcode on the back (that is stuck over the orginal one).

Although widely promoted as being limited to 500 copies it transpired that, similar to the splatter versions (above), there were actually 500 copies in Europe and 500 copies in the USA, making a total of 1,000 copies. Unlike the splatter versions though, the releases were exactly the same so there was no point at all in buying both.  

Discogs Link: Click Here

Detroit Stories CD Album

2021, Ear Music, 0213944EMU

This European CD version of Detroit Stories comes in a 'Digipak' case featuring similar artwork to the vinyl version (above), a hype sticker on the front and CD complete with an Alice eye in spider make-up. Also provided is a 16-page booklet containing track listings, lyrics and credits. Further credits are provided on the inside of the case. 

Discogs Link: Click Here

Detroit Stories CD and DVD Set

2021, Ear Music, 0215653EMU

This European CD and DVD set comes in a 'Digipak' case featuring similar artwork to the vinyl version (above), a hype sticker on the front and CD and DVD each complete with Alice eyes in spider make-up. The DVD contains the full, previously unreleased, video of the A Paranormal Evening With Alice Cooper 2017 concert at Paris Olympia, France, which was released on vinyl and CD audio format in 2018.   

Also provided is a 24-page booklet, which is a reconfigured version of that contained in the standard CD version (above) and includes six additional pages that relate to the DVD content of the package.

Discogs Link: Click Here

Detroit Stories CD and DVD Set

2021, Ear Music, 0215685EMU

This further 'Limited Edition' European CD and DVD set is understood to be limited to 3,000 copies and was sold by the German online retailer Media Markt. It is exactly the same as the above version only that it has an alternative hype sticker (in German) on the front, features the bonus tracks Devil With A Blue Dress On / Chains Of Love and Your Mama Won't Like Me (which were the only ones from The Breadcrumbs that weren't selected for the full album) and includes a large Detroit Stories-themed patch. 

The 24-page booklet is again the same as the above version only that one of the pages is now populated with additional information relating to the added bonus tracks.

Discogs Link: Click Here

Detroit Stories CD and Blu-Ray Box Set

2021, Ear Music, 0215686EMU

This excellent Limited Edition European CD and Blu-Ray box set comes in a sturdy card box and includes the following contents:

> The standard CD version of Detroit Stories minus hype sticker (above);

> A Blu-Ray copy of the A Paranormal Evening With Alice Cooper concert;

> A Detroit Stories themed T-Shirt (in XL size only);

> A Detorit Stories themed face mask;

> Three Detroit Stories themed stickers; and

> A cool Detroit Stories themed torch light, which projects Alice eyes!

This was an essential set to purchase, as the Blu-Ray concert film was eclusive to this set, and quickly sold out. The only negative is that, as with a similar set released for the Paranormal album, a choice of T-shirts sizes would definitely have helped!

Discogs Link: Click Here

Don't Give Up was released during the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 and, in Alice's words, "is a song about what we've all been going through right now, about keeping our heads up and fighting back together". Originally released as a download and music video in May that year, fans had to wait 3 months for this European 'Limited Edition' 7" picture disc by Ear Music to arrive.

The song is a modified version of the track Hanging On By A Thread (Don't Give Up), which was originally recorded for the subsequently released Detroit Stories album and was written around the theme of depression. 

This release features a simple card sleeve that does not include any notable artwork on either the front or back. A hype sticker is provided on the front though, which includes the above words from Alice, and on the back are credits. This disc, however, is quite impressive as it features images from the music video (which features selected fans holding up signs that relate to the song's lyrics) on Side A, whereas Side B features an image of a hand-written note by Alice, which states:

"Sometimes you just have to punch the bully in the nose! We're all tired of feeling like a victim of some micro-scopic mini monster. So I wrote these lyrics to a frightened world and to this godless creature. The only way to kill this beast is to starve it. Our greatest weapon? Common sense. Don't give up - fight back. Beat it... Defeat it."

Only Don't Give Up is provided on Side A, with Side B completely blank.

Discogs Link: Click Here

For Compilations Click Here.