Alice Cooper
Let's clear one thing up right away. Alice Cooper is the name of the group's lead singer. He was born with the unlikely name of Vincent Furnier back in '48 (February 4th). To add to the confusion the group was also named Alice Cooper and consisted of lead guitarist Glen Buxton (who passed away 10/19/97), rhythm guitarist Mike Bruce, bassist Dennis Dunaway and drummer Neal Smith. OK?
One might ponder how a band of Phoenix, AZ high school buddies, with a minister's son as lead singer and a knack for cranking out third rate covers of the Rolling Stones, The Who and Yardbirds could, rather quickly, evolve into the founders of Shock Rock. First as the Earwigs, then the Spiders and finally the Nazz, the roots of Alice Cooper (the band) began to take hold. Finding there was another band recording under the moniker the Nazz (with Todd Rundgren) forced a change. Off an ouija board came the name Alice Cooper. Or so the legend goes.
The band relocated to LA and signed with Frank Zappa's label. In that environment, every bit of weirdness was encouraged. Alice Cooper (the lead singer) even managed to become an occasional drinking buddy of the Doors' Jim Morrison. But after two albums nothing seemed to jell so the group left glitter town. They moved to the heartland, Coop's hometown - Detroit. Playing long and hard, and heavily influenced by the MC5 and Iggy Pop and the Stooges, Alice Cooper was ready.
You'd think a bunch of guys who called themselves Alice Cooper would be some drag outfit. If gender bending was their intent they could have done a lot better job with the make-up (see David Bowie). Nope. A.C.'s contribution was merging gothic theater and Rock. Taking the whole idea, to what was then, the extreme. Growing up, Vinnie (the future "Alice" or "Coop") loved old horror movies and slapstick comedy. The vision was to put the two together in a sick, twisted sort of way.
Coop always went for the showbiz jugular. Over the top or forget it. Give 'em what they came for: Rock, violence, death and sex - in that order. Alice Cooper bonded with their audience, expressed their frustrations and prayed on their desire to be on top, or at the very least get even. Driving, riff-laden guitar Rock propelled teen or anti-social (usually the same thing) anthems. Even though the band's high school days were nearly a decade behind them, they knew how it felt to be unpopular, left out and constantly put down by the "in-crowd." And they never forgot.
Alice Cooper (the singer) had a snarling voice and wild, out of control demeanor. The stage show grew with the band's success and excess. First, it was throwing chickens into the audience. Rumor had it that Cooper bit the head off a live chicken during a show. Cooper always denied it, blaming the chicken's demise on an over zealous audience. Still, the ASPCA ordered them not to bite the heads off any more chickens. Nearly a decade later, Ozzy Osbourne had the same problem, only with bats.
The Cooper stage show also included a gallows and Cooper's "execution." However, an Atlanta court ruled that Cooper couldn't use feathers, an electric chair or gallows during their show in that fair city. Why bother? Then there was the boa constrictor. She was wrapped around Cooper in something just short of the death grip. The snake was an indispensable part of the act. And that was what it was. An act. It was a '50s horror movie with a hard Rock beat. Nostalgic yet contemporary, shocking but often performed with a wry sense of humor. A startling, compelling combination. You had to watch. By being the anti-role model, Alice became THE role model.
Ironically, another thing that made Alice Cooper was timeliness. As eighteen year-old boys were registering for the draft and the possibility of being sent to fight in Vietnam, Alice Cooper released the empathetic "I'm Eighteen." As summer approached "School's Out" vaulted up the charts. When the '72 election loomed Alice Cooper threw his hat into the ring with "Elected."
With the arrival of the "Killer" album Alice Cooper found themselves on the cover of Rolling Stone. The accompanying article was entitled "Gold Diggers of 1984." The title had extra punch since that magic year was still a ways off. The article also mentioned that Alice Cooper drank a case of beer a day. Shortly thereafter, there were numerous reports of teenage boys getting seriously ill or being taken to the hospital after trying to down twenty-four beers in one sitting. Even if they made it through one day they couldn't sustain it. You have to pace yourself. Also, on a more tragic note, there was a report of a death when a guy tried to hang himself as he'd seen Cooper do. Cooper's gallows was a prop with safety devices. Those devices failed during one show and nearly sent Cooper to the great beyond. Definitely, not something to try at home.
 Alice Cooper |
Not too far into the '70s the Alice Cooper (the group) was having trouble functioning for all the usual reasons. Alice Cooper (the singer) dumped the band and went solo taking the name with him. The band re-surfaced momentarily as Billion Dollar Babies. After spending a considerable portion of the decade in a haze, Cooper checked into the Betty Ford clinic. He even managed to cash in on the misery with the "From The Inside" album and found commercial success with a couple of tepid ballads (the last resort of a fading Rocker).
So much of what Alice Cooper started has shown up repeatedly. Marilyn Manson and Rob Zombie are two of Cooper's more obvious music/showman offspring. That attention has fueled various comebacks including a hilarious '04 Staples (the paper products outfit) back-to-school commercial, playing on the "School's Out" theme, and the '05 release "Dirty Diamonds."
Taking a concept that might have worked better in the '70s - a wayward tour inside the mind of a serial killer - Cooper, with contributions from ex-Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash and Ozzy Osbourne, issued "Along Came A Spider" in '08. While the theme was most certainly in bad taste it was just the sort of subject that Cooper's blend of twisted humor and horror had at least a shot at pulling off.
There are three great Alice Cooper records: "Killer," "School's Out" and "Billion Dollar Babies." "Killer" has the potent "Under My Wheels." From the opening guitar to the fierce horn-driven chorus, not to mention Cooper's in-your-face vocals, this is everything a Rock song should be. The album also contains one of the few Hard Rock westerns in "Desperado." "School's Out" has the title track, Alice Cooper's biggest hit, but there is so much more. "My Stars" and "Public Animal #9" are excellent with lyrics promoting Cooper's emerging seditious persona. They even took the "Jets Theme" from "West Side Story" and gave it some real venom. "Billion Dollar Babies" has the most hits ("Elected" and "No More Mr. Nice Guy") including the ballad "Hello, Hurray," another show tune.
Gotta Haves:
Killer 1971
After a couple false starts Alice Cooper got a producer worthy of them. Bob Ezrin not only delivers the group's vision, he expands it. The album opens with "Under My Wheels" a ferocious Rocker. There's no looking back. The songs range from tongue in cheek put-downs ("Be My Lover") to horror movie reality ("Halo of Flies") but all are energized Rockers, with a trace of the Yardbirds. Then there's the dramatic "leather and lace" western "Desperado" which casts Alice Cooper (the singer) as a gunslinger who mourns for himself rather than his latest victim. The victim is dead, at peace, while Cooper is still on the run. Great theater, and if you're fourteen or fifteen, it's irresistible.
School's Out 1971
This album made Alice Cooper a household name while social conservatives fretted over what the group's popularity meant. Was this the final decline of western civilization as we know it? In reality, Alice Cooper was about as threatening as a Frankenstein movie and used many of the same elements. The title track deals with a kid's hatred of school but "Alma Mater" touches on the uncertainty that awaits everyone after graduation (school is safe, life is not - of course schools aren't safe anymore but these were simpler times). They also add prison songs "My Stars" and "Public Animal #9." Alice Cooper pulls off these guises masterfully.
If the Rolling Stones can spend '05 selling out huge venues around the U.S. why shouldn't Alice Cooper still be at it? Keith, and even Mick, are showing their age (and prior over-indulgences) but Alice Cooper, a good five to six years younger, never looked good. And never intended to. Unlike the Stones though, getting older has just made Cooper appear more menacing.
After floundering and rehashing his way through the '90s and early '00s (though "Brutal Planet" at least has some punch), Cooper's back with "Dirty Diamonds." He's still working familiar themes but with more muscle than he has in years. The humorous, yet revved up, "Woman Of Mass Distraction" kicks off the CD. That song, the title track and "Sunset Babies (All Got Rabies)" should convince anyone that Cooper can still approximate his glory days. "Steal That Car" is a dose of Cooper's patented theatrical outlaw Rock. It's an irresistible "I-know-it's-wrong-but-I'm-going-to-do-it-anyway" song.
There are other good, if not brilliant, performances but there are also plenty of curves. "You Make Me Wanna" sounds like a David Bowie track that just missed making the "Ziggy Stardust" album. Only now it's Cooper doing the vocals. "Perfect" ("You're perfect 'til the lights go on") could pass for a Badfinger cut. The song references J Lo (Jennifer Lopez) which is a bit disorienting given Cooper is such a '70s icon and seemingly distant from contemporary fads. Going back even further, there's a relatively faithful cover of Left Banke's "Pretty Ballerina." The tongue-firmly-in-cheek ballad "The Saga Of Jesse Jane" has a devilish acoustic twang. Interesting as these songs are, Cooper (and his audience) need to Rock. It's too late in his career to try to be David Lee Roth.
Blame the Republican Party for the flaw in "Along Came A Spider." In the old days, Cooper's unabashed reckless approach had undeniable teen appeal. Act, don't think. No reflection, contemplation, consideration or, God help us, self-actualization. Destruction (of propriety, a school or the electoral process) was OK as long as it looked cool going down in flames. But near the end of the "Along Came A Spider" there's "Salvation," where Cooper's serial killer ('Spider') claims he only did "what the voices told me to do." Cooper, now a long-standing member of the Arizona Republican Party and recovering drug user knows that everyone has a chance for redemption. Sure that may be true but it's lousy Rock N' Roll theater.
Think about "Desperado" (from "Killer"). As the title indicates the track revolves around a gunslinger (a kindred spirit of 'Spider') who contemplates life and death - his own. And the only time he shows envy is of those he's killed - because they are resting in peace while he is tormented. It's this amoral perspective that made Cooper a star. "Salvation," a regrettable song of regret, comes off mawkish.
Cooper's voice is still sinister but not nearly as edgy. The legendary wit does surface on "(In Touch With) You're Feminine Side" (the title says it all). Though lifting the "Smells Like Teen Spirit" rhythm for "I Know Where You Live" or injecting some AC/DC guitar on "Wrapped In Silk" are good ideas, the album is rather sterile. "Vengeance Is Mine" should be a defining moment but seems forced. When Cooper backs off a bit on "Wake The Dead" and "The One That Got Away" he is more convincing. Still, you rarely get the feeling a murderer lurks - even one with a killer sense of humor. Cooper does connect on the baiting "Catch Me If You Can" and the acoustic guitar ballad "Killed By Love" could replace "Alma Mater" on the "School's Out" album.
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