Alice Cooper – “Killer”
So, last weekend I was able to go see Alice Cooper (singer, not the band) at the same festival that I saw Sex Pistols (Featuring Frank Carter at) – much like the Pistols, I did not have the best vantage point for the show. (See pictures below)
Alice Cooper is a hell of a showman, it is just a shame that his sound quality was fluctuating for most of the set.
Anyways, so I have Alice Cooper’s (the band, not the solo artist) fourth out of seven albums – this one, which was released November 9th 1971, peaking at Number 21 on the Billboard 200, and is the follow up of “Love it to Death” – let’s get to it. As you can tell by the pictures, my sleeve is pretty trashed.
“Under My Wheels” starts the album, and it’s got that powerful rock sound to it that we all know and love Alice Cooper (the band) for, the musicianship on Alice Cooper’s early albums is something to be reveled in. Solid opening to the album. “Be My Lover” comes next, it peaked at 49 on the billboard top 100, and it’s kind of a semi-autobiographical song about being in a rock and roll band with a singer named ‘Alice’ and this definitely sticks to that Glam Rock vibe of Alice Cooper. Solid track. “Halo of Flies” comes next, and I’m not sure what this intro is, that guitar playing is something else, following it up with the bass. I’m definitely big on this sound. This is a very intense track, where the band was trying to prove they were capable of performing progressive-rock suites like King Crimson. It was also only released as a single in the Netherlands. It’s also the longest song on the album. It feels like a showcase of musical talents. The A-Side closes out with “Desperado” and it’s a good way to close out the album, very bassy, spoken word parts by Alice and then it just goes ham inbetween verses.
The B-Side opens with “You Drive Me Nervous” and once more, the sound is solid it’s got that glam garage rock sound that you know that we all love. This album is actually very influential in the punk scene, with John Lydon of Sex Pistols and Public Image Ltd., citing it as one of the greatest rock albums of all time, with other musicians such as Jello Biafra and Melvins, Mojo Nixon and Skid Roper, Guns N’ Roses and the Manic Street Preachers all covering songs from this album. “Yeah, Yeah, Yeah” almost kind of melts off of “You Drive Me Nervous” which is something that Alice Cooper (the band) had done on their earlier album, “Love It to Death” – the guitar and harmonica is great. “Dead Babies” continues the album, and with the dark title, the sound is kind of dark too. The chorus has a good beat and rhythm to. But it’s ultimately not one of my favorite songs on this album. It does end with a crowd cheering. Lastly, the album closes out with the title track, “Killer” and boy, is that bassline nice. The experimental sound of this song is quite appealing to me. Alice comes in with his vocals and doesn’t really give that same sound that we’re used to with his vocals, but the rest of the band delivers on their instruments before Alice starts singing with his usual sound. The album also received high praise from Rolling Stone Magazine’s Lester Bangs, so that should say it all.
Catalog Number:
BS 2567
Credits:
None listed on what remains of my gatefold
Released:
1971
Find it on Discogs
