tater1977 wrote:Voting % so far:
The Cars, 'Move Like This' 6.53%
Alice Cooper, 'Welcome 2 My Nightmare' 26.7%
Journey, 'Eclipse' 17.9%
Yes, 'Fly From Here' 9.38%
Stevie Nicks, 'In Your Dreams' 5.68%
Chickenfoot, 'III' 33.81%
No surprise to see Chicken Foot ranked so high. Their stuff is super polished and fresh. The four of them really seem to be on the same page creatively and it's evident in the music whether you hear is via the studio cuts or see them performing it live. Although each of them are associated with a different style of Rock music, all of them bring loads of talent as well as decades of experience to the table which they have drawn on to create a sort of new blend of Rock that has just as much edge but less grunge than what has been dotting the mainstream Rock landscape the past several years. I wasn't completely sure I was going to like them at first and thought, "Another group of veteran rockers past their prime throwing together a bunch of obscure cuts and drawing on their celebrity to sell a few albums." But, after setting aside that mindset and giving it a fair shake, I was really impressed with it.
Stevie Nicks - meh, The old gray mare aint what she used to be. You can tell the album's content is deeply personal to her and while it's well written, there isn't a single song on it that manages to produce a hook. I'm not against soliloquies by any means. They're just risky and require musical accompaniment that's equally as good as the song's lyrics.
Eclipse (aka The Neal Schon Vanity Project) - This one has been hashed and rehashed to death here so no need to discuss its pros and cons. Surprising to see it even ranked.

I wasn't aware anyone outside this forum was even aware of its existence.
Yes - Umm... No.
The Cars - Haven't heard more than a couple of tracks from it. If their objective was to release something instantly recognizable... mission accomplished. However, that was also the problem I had with the new music; it wasn't anything new. It sounded like it could have been "previously unreleased" material from 1980.
Alice Cooper - OUTSTANDING! There are few people with as much clout, respect, experience and staying power in the music business, let alone someone who is still releasing new material as Alice - material that just keeps getting better in my opinion. He has worked with and developed relationships with everyone imaginable in the business and even more importantly, has managed to maintain those relationships without pissing anyone off or burning any important bridges along the way. As usual Alice has drawn on the expertise and talent of some of the the best in the biz to create, record, produce and market his latest offering which, as he put it, "took about 18 months to put the album together but actually took the last 35 years or so to write."
When it comes to Alice, I'm admittedly somewhat biased. That's not to say I love everything he's ever done. I don't. However, the instantly recognizable, world famous, iconic Rock music deity that is Alice Cooper is a different person when he's not in front of the mic or a camera. Here in Phoenix where he's lived since high school, he's also just a regular local guy who does a lot for the community, owns a kickass sports bar called Cooperstown (yes, the name is intentional - it's also a baseball hall of fame/museum sorta thing) and makes himself approachable and available to his fans. The lack of ego and entourage accompanying him has helped to make him a hometown favorite which translates to tons of airplay, Alice Cooper-related announcements et al, unit sales, etc. I've met and talked with him many times - but then again, who here in the Phoenix area hasn't.
The album just rocks plain and simple. I knew it would do well locally but I'm kind of surprised it hasn't gotten more attention nationally and globally. It's not everyday an album of this caliber is released and those who haven't given it a listen are truly missing out on some outstanding material.