Well if you were expecting another journey into the dark and murky world of 'Brutal Planet' or 'Dragontown' you are in for a rude awakening, as 'The Eyes of...' is near a complete return to the classic 'Alice Cooper' sound of the 70's and 80's. I for one am pleased, 'Brutal Planet' was a pleasant shock but 'Dragontown' wasn't the follow up I was looking for, this is worlds apart with a very traditional 'Alice' sound. The band has also undergone a few changes too, guitarist 'Eric Dover' is added alongside stalwart 'Ryan Roxie', former 'Kiss' man 'Eric Singer' returns to the fold, while 'Bob Marlette's' services aren't retained. 'The Eyes of…' is a refreshing and enjoyable album which should please old school fans, but in all honesty it lacks enough impressive tracks to make it a memorable release.

'What do you want from Me?' opens in lively fashion, a pretty simply track with strong guitars, sharp 'Alice' vocals and energetic rhythm, overall sounds like his late 80's material- a decent opener. More in the traditional 70's 'Cooper' style is 'Between High School & Old School', a Punky number with brisk sections contrasting more conventional choruses, which are especially strong and catchy. 'Man of the Year' follows and although the comical lyrics are enjoyable, the rhythm is typical of so called Nu Guitar Rock bands and puts me completely off, despite this it's worth checking out just for 'Alice's' unusual vocals. Improvements are made with 'Novocaine' a song which typifies the usual strong penmanship, musically it's a tad bland with a repetitive basic riff but still a decent effort. Next up is 'Bye Bye, Baby' a song which owes more than a nod to 'The Stones' especially with the intro and sax work, as with the last track a respectable cut but nothing landmark. The pace drops for the balladsy 'Be with you a While' a track supposedly about 'John Lennon', all in all a fairly plain affair. Better is the up tempo 'Detroit City' another song well in the old school tradition, the lively rhythm is strong with some cracking closing instrumentation for another album highlight. Superior still is the nasty rocker 'Spirits Rebellious' a pulsating number with more than a similarity of work from 'Brutal Planet', a very respectable hard hitter with a great rhythm. Not too sure what to make of 'This House is Haunted' it's more of a short story than a song, not really a highlight for me despite the short burst of 'Sabbath' style riffs. Less impressive is 'Love should Never Feel like This' which in parts is a blatant rip-off of 'Love Potion No.9', lyrically it's not 'Alice' at his best and musically it comes off disjointed. 'The Song that didn't Rhyme' isn't an improvement either with it's listless approach and tame melody. Back on track is the hard hitter 'I'm so Angry' a brisk rocker, which balances old with new, the guitaring is strong throughout and in places reminds of the 'Wildhearts'. The last track 'Backyard Brawler' continues in similar fashion but with 'Bon Scott' era AC/DC undertones, doesn't quite hit the mark though, too repetitive and awkward at times.

There's some decent cuts here, but there are some less focused efforts that for me do bring the album down, overall better than the last two experimental releases, but not quite up there with classic 'Alice Cooper'.