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Last Temptation Album Review

The Last Temptation
Alice Cooper

Alice Cooper's glory days as the king of early-'70s shock rock may be long gone, but he still commands respect in fairly hip circles, as evidenced by the participation here of alternative whippersnappers Don Fleming (leader of power pop act Gumball) and Chris Cornell of Soundgarden. The latter cowrote and sings on "Stolen Prayer," the album's best track, while Fleming produced a number of the rockers, whipping up a cheesy metal souffle that is notwithout charm. Some advice: You will enjoy this a lot more if you skip the ballads (most are dreadful) and forget that this is supposed to be a concept album (an exploration of good and evil, with Alice as a malevolent carnival barker). If such Stephen King0like storylines intrigue you, however, the album comes with a comic-book adaptation - the better to understand the great man's, uh, vision. (Epic)