Lace and Whiskey

Alice Cooper’s 10th studio album doesn’t play with the flowing continuity of a normal Alice Cooper album. In 1977 a many rock records were drowning in overproduction and *Lace & Whiskey* was no exception. And to further befuddle the fans who love Alice Cooper for his teenage delinquent anthems and onstage guillotine antics, *Lace & Whiskey* was somewhat of a conceptual album about Maurice Escargot — a film noir styled private eye. But amidst all that went wrong, there are still some bona-fide gems to be mined from the darker corners here. “It’s Hot Tonight” starts off the album on the right foot (or platform boot) with some of that dirty, greasy-haired, riff-rock and fiery imagery in the lyrics. The title track lets cinematic narrative and out-of-place elements (like castanets and generic backing vocals) overshadow the song, but the menacing “Road Rats” sounds like the hard rocking Alice Cooper that everyone knows and loves. “(No More) Love At Your Convenience” dangerously flirts with disco which was ultra-taboo during the “Disco Sucks” era. But “You And Me” makes up for it with winsome balladry.

As the rock & roll that made him famous began to grow stale, Alice Cooper found himself desperately trying to revive that fad with Lace and Whiskey.