Alice Cooper Releases Cover of Velvet Underground’s ‘Rock & Roll’
Alice Cooper has offered up a new preview to his upcoming studio album, Detroit Stories, with a cover of the classic Velvet Underground song “Rock & Roll.”
Due out February 26, 2021, Detroit Stories is a continuation of Cooper's 2019 EP Breadcrumbs, which paid tribute to some of the most iconic acts from the Motor City including the MC5, Suzi Quatro and Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels.
While Velvet Underground is not a Detroit band, the choice to cover the New York band’s “Rock & Roll” was “not a casual choice,” as explained in the cover’s description on YouTube. The description adds, “It’s a song of joy and celebration of that magical moment when we all first turned on Rock and Roll radio …and it saved our lives. Have a listen: Maybe it will save yours too!” You can hear Cooper’s cover of the track below.
As for the album honoring his hometown, Cooper said in a statement, “Los Angeles had its sound with The Doors, Love and Buffalo Springfield. San Francisco had the Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane. New York had The Rascals and The Velvet Underground. But Detroit was the birthplace of angry hard rock. After not fitting in anywhere in the US (musically or image-wise) Detroit was the only place that recognized the Alice Cooper guitar-driven, hard rock sound and our crazy stage show. Detroit was a haven for the outcasts. And when they found out I was born in East Detroit… we were home.”
Detroit Stories is currently available for pre-save on digital platforms here. Physical copies, including special purple colored vinyl editions of the album, are available for pre-order at AliceCooper.com. A full tracklisting is below.
Alice Cooper – Detroit Stories – Tracklisting
1. Rock & Roll
2. Go Man Go (Album Version)
3. Our Love Will Change The World
4. Social Debris
5. $1000 High Heel Shoes
6. Hail Mary
7. Detroit City 2021 (Album Version)
8. Drunk And In Love
9. Independence Dave
10. I Hate You
11. Wonderful World
12. Sister Anne (Album Version)
13. Hanging On By A Thread (Don’t Give Up)
14. Shut Up And Rock
15. East Side Story (Album Version)
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