Alice Cooper’s ‘Along Came A Spider’ Available For Streaming Free Online

No, I’m not talking about “LimeWire” or “eDonkey” or any other file-sharing network or any music-sharing website. I’m talking about Alice Cooper’s official MySpace page and he has generously made his new album, Along Came A Spider, available to listen to in its entirety.

That’s a pretty cool thing to do for his fans, but also makes me wonder if it will hurt the sales of the album. As I checked out the album on Cooper’s MySpace page, I did notice that there was a “Download” link for each one of them, but clicking them just presented me with a message that read: “Artist has not enabled downloads for this song.”

Admittedly, I am not much of an Alice Cooper fan myself, and really didn’t have any interest in downloading any of those tracks, but I did want to see if he had taken his generosity to that level.

It appears that the intent is to simply let fans listen to the tracks from the new album by “streaming” them in real time from his MySpace page. However, there are always ways around such things and some clever person has probably already written a “ripper” to pull music from MySpace and download them to their own computer. Let’s face it, if you can hear it, there is a way to capture it.

For all I know, Cooper and everyone else involved in the production of the new album are already aware of this, and they know that once fans get their hands on the CDs, some of them will be uploading them to file-sharing networks anyway. In that respect, I guess there’s really no harm done to those who are in line to profit from the new album.

Even for the multitude of fans who lack the technical expertise to download the tracks from MySpace, isn’t there a chance that some fans might spend so much time listening to the streaming versions that they get their fill of it and decide not to spend the money for the CD? Maybe I’m off my rocker here, and just don’t know enough about the level of dedication Alice Cooper fans have for the legendary rocker.

Anyway, I still think it was pretty cool for Cooper and the others involved in the decision-making process regarding this move, and I’m sure there are many fans out there who appreciate it. Check it out at Alice Cooper’s official MySpace page.

The official release for Along Came A Spider is set for July 29.

Tags: Album, Alice Cooper, Along Came A Spider, Free, MySpace, Streaming

New Track From Alice Cooper’s “Along Came A Spider” Available Online

Recently I have noted that some artists are posting tracks from their new albums online before the album’s actual release date. I recall hearing new tracks from Ann Wilson’s solo album as well as Kim Mitchell’s latest. In both cases, the new tracks were posted on their MySpace accounts, and the same holds true for this new track from Alice Cooper.

I’ll have to admit that I’ve never been much of an Alice Cooper fan, but  I did head over to his MySpace account to check out the new track. It’s actually not too bad, but I guess what impressed me most was the engineering. The mix and sound quality was very good and the musicianship was not too shabby either.

I recently received and e-mail from an Alice Cooper fan who said he would like to see some more information about Cooper’s new album on this site, so I decided to oblige him and talk a bit more about it. Clearly, there are some dedicated Alice Cooper fans out there.

Cooper’s new album, Along Came A Spider, is scheduled for release on July 29 by SPV Records. This is Cooper’s 25th studio album and has been described as “‘A dark and menacing album for dark and menacing times.”

Lending a hand on Cooper’s latest creation are his longtime drummer Eric Singer, bass player Chuck Garric, and guitarists Keri Kelli and Jason Hook. Also joining in the effort  to bring the new album to life are  Saber, Hampton, and backing vocalist Bernard Fowler. Slash also contributes some guitar work to the track “Vengeance Is Mine.”

Track Listing For Along Came A Spider

1. Prologue/I Know Where You Live
2. Vengeance Is Mine
3. Wake The Dead
4. Catch Me If You Can
5. (In Touch With) Your Feminine Side
6. Wrapped In Silk
7. Killed By Love
8. I’m Hungry
9. The One That Got Away
10. Salvation
11. I Am The Spider/Epilogue

Check out the new track on Alice Cooper’s MySpace account, “Vengeance Is Mine,” as well as a bunch more info and videos.

Tags: Alice Cooper, Along Came A Spider, New Album

Alice Cooper Signs With Steamhammer/SPV

Alice Cooper is in the news again with word that he has signed with German record label Steamhammer/SPV.

Cooper is currently working on his new album, “Along Came A Spider,” which is scheduled for release sometime in the fall. Currently, Cooper is taking a break from the recording studio to perform in Australia, New Zealand and Japan.

Later on this year the venerable shock rocker will embark on another tour which will take him to various locations in the U.S., Canada and Europe.

There’s little doubt that Alice Cooper is a busy man. His classic rock radio program, “Nights With Alice Cooper” continues to air on 90 stations in North America on weeknights, as well as other stations in various other locations such as Australia and the United Kingdom.

Cooper is also planning a book release on the subject of golf. Alice Cooper, Golf Monster: A Rock ‘N’ Roller’s 12 Steps To Becoming A Golf Addict is planned for release in May. The book is not just about golf, however, and it also covers issues such as his battle with alcoholism, which nearly derailed his career in the 1970’s.

Thanks to Blabbermouth for this story.

Tags: Alice Cooper, Along Came A Spider, Book, SPV, Steamhammer