Dirty Diamonds

Alice Cooper has endured a long, slow slide from vibrant, theatrical, shock-rock pioneer to graying, Republican, Pro-Am golfer/nostalgia act. It’s probably too late to arrest this skid, but Dirty Diamonds at least serves as a potent reminder of the musical force he once was, despite getting off to a slow start. “Woman Of Mass Distraction” is typical of recent vintage Cooper: It’s a decent classic rocker tethered to a bad pun that’s almost certainly the song’s entire reason for existing. But things pick up. “Perfect” is crisp, Beatlesque pop, “The Saga Of Jesse Jane” sets the tragic tale of a transvestite trucker to a loping, country rhythm, and the scorching “You Make Me Wanna” is proof that there’s never anything wrong with plagiarizing the chord progression from “All Along The Watchtower.” The Xzibit collaboration, “Stand,” that finishes this album out is a jumble of clichés that doesn’t even work as a novelty, but it’s still nice to hear Alice trying to shake off his traditionalist shackles and join the 21st century. Or at least the late 20th century.