''The Last Temptation' sees a more mature, back to roots approach for 'Alice', rather than the more commercial Pop Metal of his previous releases. It all comes together pretty well as most songs retain the catchy nature of his earlier albums while featuring 'Alice's' superb old school penmanship. A strong concept, which in it's simplest form is good against evil, runs throughout and adds significance to the songs to make this one of 'Cooper's' best albums to date.

The show opens with 'Sideshow' a lightweight, carefree number that while excellently played and written comes across too tame and light for an opening track, overlooking this it's a decent effort though. Better still is the dark plodder 'Nothing's Free', which flows superbly with great rhythm, more cracking lyrics and 'Alice' on splendid form. The soundtrack for most teenagers takes the shape of 'Lost in America', a riff driven 'Cooper' classic, whose angst ridden lyrics are simplistic but ultimately brilliant. 'Bad Place Alone' is next and sees the darker material reinstated as an ominous plodder is created that features sharp guitaring and a tasty chorus for another strong cut. The class material continues with the grooving sleaze fest 'You're my Temptation' a slick, sinuous track, oozing quality layered vocals and a refined melody. The pace drops for the superbly executed 'Stolen Prayer' featuring vocal contributions from 'Soundgarden's'' Chris Cornell' and a children's choir, both are put to very good use to add depth to this passionately performed ballad. Less impressive is the rowdy rocker 'Unholy War' a pretty tedious affair with a blatantly poor chorus that just doesn't work and combines with a disjointed melody for the poorest cut present. Improvements are made with the comical yet at times awkward sounding 'Lullaby', the highlight for me is the excellent mid track guitar solo from 'Stef Burns'. The ballad 'It's Me' follows strongly with 'Alice' delivering the splendid vocals with commitment and passion, while the refined melody is just divine. Last up is 'Cleansed by Fire' a mid tempo affair, that while a little disjointed and bizarre for my liking, showcases some fine musicianship and song writing.

Definitely one of 'Alice's' better releases and those who enjoy the more in-depth earlier material, oppose to the more commercial Pop Metal albums will enjoy this well crafted jewel.