Alice Cooper
hadn't had a hugely successful album in over a decade when, in 1989, he teamed up with
Bon Jovi
producer
Desmond Child
for
Trash
-- a highly slick and commercial yet edgy
pop-metal
effort that temporarily restored him to the charts in a big way. Fueled by the irresistible hit single
"Poison,"
the album temporarily gave back to
Cooper
the type of visibility he deserved. There's nothing shocking here, and
's ability to generate controversy had long since faded. But while the escapist
-- which was clearly aimed at the
Moetley Cruee
/
Guns N' Roses
crowd -- may not be the most challenging album of
's career, and isn't in a class with
School's Out
or
Billion Dollar Babies
, it's fun and quite enjoyable. And it was great to see the long-neglected
on
MTV
next to so many of the '80s rockers he had influenced. ~ Alex Henderson