Alice Cooper - The Last Temptation [Holland Import]

Alice Cooper delivered one of his most ambitious late-career statements with The Last Temptation, a 1994 concept album about a young boy lured by a sinister showman, here as a Holland import.

The story follows Steven, a character Alice fans first met on Welcome to My Nightmare, as he wanders into a strange sideshow that promises to reveal every dark temptation of the adult world. Comics legend Neil Gaiman turned the tale into an accompanying comic series, and the album plays like a gothic morality play set to arena-sized hard rock.

Lost in America is a gleefully sarcastic jab at going nowhere fast, all crunchy riffs and a sneering, shout-along chorus. Chris Cornell co-wrote two songs, including the brooding Stolen Prayer, which brings a darker, heavier weight to the middle of the record, while It's Me shows the softer, surprisingly tender side of Alice's songwriting.

Arriving after the glossy hair-metal era of Trash and Hey Stoopid, it found Alice leaner, smarter and more theatrical again, putting the storytelling back at the centre of the show where it belongs. It remains a favourite among fans who prize his gift for turning horror, humour and heart into one big, wicked rock opera, and it sounds right at home on a turntable.