Review: Hollywood Vampires – At Montreux Jazz Festival
Eight years after Hollywood Vampires performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival, the complete concert has been released as At Montreux Jazz Festival.
Hollywood Vampires – At Montreux Jazz Festival
Format: 2CD Digisleeve / 3LP Gatefold / Digital
Label: earMUSIC
Release date: August 14, 2026
Text: Martien Koolen
Fifty-three years ago – at the age of fourteen -I bought my first Alice Cooper album called ‘Billion Dollar Babies’ and since then I have been a die-hard AC-fan indeed.
I first saw/heard Hollywood Vampires at the notorious Pinkpop Festival in 2023 and I was impressed, as these guys played their asses off for 100%. Now, three years later Hollywood Vampires, being: Alice Cooper (vocals), Johnny Depp (guitar), Joe Perry (guitar), Tommy Henriksen (guitar), Glen Sobel (drums), Chris Wyse (bass guitar) and Buck Johnson (keyboard), release a double live CD recorded live in Montreux in 2018; so, this show is already eight years old…
This is strange and it is also “weird” that this gig was at the Montreux Jazz Festival as Hollywood Vampires is definitely not a jazz band, of course….
However, as a listener you are treated to no less than nineteen tracks, of which a lot are covers, which you will probably know if you are a Vampires fan. The sound of this recording is excellent, and the band is in top notch form, especially Perry’s guitar work and Alice’s vocals are second to none actually.
The show kicks off with I Want My Now from the second Vampires album called Rise, followed by the spectacular Raise The Dead from the Vampires debut album, which was released in 2015.
Other highlights are covers like: The Jack (AC/DC), Ace Of Spades (Motorhead) and The Who’s Baba O’Riley. But Hollywood Vampires’ originals like The Boogieman Surprise or Welcome To Bushwackers also set the stage and the show on fire indeed.
The Vampires save the best for last, with a thunderous version of Train Kept A Rollin and the AC-classic School’s Out, with of course snippets from Floyd’s Another Brick In The Wall.
Overall, Hollywood Vampires at Montreux is a great live album, a must for AC and Vampires fans; I only wonder why the band releases an album with recordings that are already eight years old….
Tracks:
01. I Want My Now
02. Raise the Dead
03. I Got a Line on You
04. 7 and 7 Is
05. My Dead Drunk Friends
06. Five to One / Break on Through
07. The Jack
08. Ace of Spades
09. Baba O’Riley
10. As Bad as I Am
11. The Boogieman Surprise
12. I’m Eighteen
13. Combination
14. People Who Died
15. Sweet Emotion
16. Welcome to Bushwackers
17. Heroes
18. Train Kept A-Rollin’
19. School’s Out / Another Brick in the Wall
Website: https://www.hollywoodvampires.com/
Read Also:
Want to discover more from Hollywood Vampires and related artists? Click on the titles below to read earlier articles on Bluestown Music.
Hollywood Vampires – Live in Rio
Another live recording featuring the band’s combination of original material and classic rock tributes.
Alice Cooper – Live from The Astroturf
A live album built around the theatrical hard rock associated with Alice Cooper.
Joe Perry – Sweetzerland Manifesto Mk II
A solo release by the Aerosmith guitarist, produced with contributions from Johnny Depp.