The Alice Cooper Thread

[Susan Foreman]

Alice makes an appearance in the 2nd episode of the Fox cartoon 'Duncanville'

[Susan Foreman]

Alice, with Lizzy Hale from Halestorm, performing 'School's Out' at the Jiffy Lube Live Auditorium in Bristow, Virginia on August 13th, 2019

[Susan Foreman]

Alice Cooper – 10 Songs That Changed My Life | Classic Rock

"“A great record can shape the way you think – and these ten records all shaped me,” says Alice Cooper. “When people come up to me and they go, ‘Oh man, your whole catalogue of music changed my life’, I sit there and I go, ‘Yeah, I feel the same way about The Beatles, the Stones and The Who’.

"I’ve got a whole list of songs right here. I’ve done my homework. This is really the soundtrack to my life…”

The Skyliners – Since I Don’t Have You

“When I was very young and living in Detroit, my whole family loved ’50s rock‘n’roll radio. I was probably eight when I first heard Since I Don’t Have You, and it’s one of the great doo-wop records of all time, I think. The vocals are beyond belief.

My parents loved it too. They were very musically oriented and they were ’40s jitterbug champions, so they’d dig that music. I’ve always said that you cannot stop a good song. There’s certain songs that stick with you all your life, and to this day, if that comes on, it gets turned up to ten.”

The Four Seasons – Dawn (Go Away)

“When that song came out, I was living in Los Angeles. I owned Dawn on vinyl. When you got your allowance, you’d buy it as a 45. Not only were the vocals so good, but Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons seemed to take doo-wop to a whole new modern era.

They were sorta like the Beatles of doo-wop. It was in the writing of the songs. Y’know, Sherry, Walk Like A Man, Rag Doll, Candy Girl, everything they wrote, it was like, ‘Are you kidding me?’ All of those records were just spectacular – and they still hold up today.”

The Beach Boys – I Get Around

“When the Beach Boys came along, I was living in Arizona. I was just at that age when everything they said in that song was what I wanted to do. Y’know, I wanted to hang out with my buddies, show off your car, try to pick up girls. Of course, you’re never gonna do any of that stuff until you’re, like, 17 or 18.

But when you’re 14 years old, that sounds like the greatest time in the world. The Beach Boys had such a fresh sound. And every teenager totally got it. A lot of their records were very Chuck Berry-oriented. Y’know, you take Chuck Berry on the bottom and put the Beach Boys’ vocals on the top – and wow.”

The Beatles – She Loves You

“I was painting the side of a house and I had the radio on. All of a sudden, She Loves You comes on. And I stopped and went: ‘What was that? What’s going on? Who are these guys?’ I had never heard anything like it before. It was just such a new sound. I was right there, in Beatlemania.

I was probably 15, so I was the prime target, and to this day, there’s never been anything more exciting. That’s when I put The Earwigs together and we started playing at parties and doing Beatles songs. You couldn’t believe a band could come up with that much great material. It was almost supernatural. The Beatles will always be the Salvador Dali of music, just unapproachable.”

The Kinks – You Really Got Me

“So by now, we were a band. And we were driving to rehearsal one day when all of a sudden, the radio goes, ‘Dah-dah-dah-dah-dah!’ So we stopped the car and we just went, ‘What the hell was that?’ And it was The Kinks. We didn’t know who they were. But we had a TV show called Hullabaloo and that’s when you saw what the bands looked like.

We just could not believe the length of their hair, which made it even cooler. I remember reading an article saying that when the record company heard that song, they said, ‘The guitar sounds like a dog barking’. And the kids were going, ‘Yeah, cool’.”

The Who – My Generation

“I think My Generation was maybe the first anthem – and that was the birth of the power chord, right there. And then you saw The Who performing it, and you saw [Pete Townshend] smashing into his amps, and you started going, ‘Is there any end to this British Invasion? I mean, who else is going to come up?’

Keith Moon and I were really good friends, and the Hollywood Vampires still do that song. When we perform, we always perform songs for all of our dead drunk friends. And these are all the guys that we drank with.”

The Yardbirds – Happenings Ten Years Time Ago

“We knew who Jeff Beck was, and we knew The Yardbirds – but then we heard this record and it went beyond anything. And then you realised it was Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page on guitar.

They were the best British guitar duo. In America, the best guitar duo would have been Bloomfield and Bishop in the Paul Butterfield Blues Band: those were the two guys in America. To this day, this song is still futuristic, compared to what’s on the radio right now. You listen to it now and you go, ‘Wow, that’s still really beyond anybody’.”

The Rolling Stones – Brown Sugar

“That was the best Stones single of all time. As much as I liked The Last Time and 19th Nervous Breakdown and all their early stuff, Brown Sugar was the cream of the crop. When we’re playing a Vampires show and somebody yells out for Brown Sugar, we go, ‘Oh yeah’.

I mean, you can’t get away from that riff, it’s too good. In all honesty, I have no idea what he’s talking about. I’ve sung the song so many times and I keep thinking, ‘What am I talking about here? Are we talking about slavery?’ But whatever it is, it works.”

The Doors – Light My Fire

“It was just at that time when FM radio was coming in, and so AM radio would only play the short version of Light My Fire, but FM radio would play the full version, and that’s when you really understood how good the band was. We’d sit there and we were just mesmerised. The vocals were unique. The keyboard was out there. And the guitar player didn’t play like anybody I’d ever heard.

We actually ended up opening for The Doors and got to be good friends. Jim was very reckless when it came to his own body. I would say self-destructive. But when he got onstage, he knew exactly what he was doing. He was sorta James Dean up there.”

Laura Nyro – Stoned Soul Picnic

“You can’t be a songwriter without listening to Laura Nyro. You have to check out Stoned Soul Picnic, from Eli And The Thirteenth Confession. She was right off the streets of New York City, and it sounded like the soundtrack to a Broadway play, but it was so heartfelt, and the lyrics were beyond belief.

Any time I meet a girl singer that’s coming up, I go, ‘Do me a favour, go and listen to Laura Nyro, it’ll change your life’. If you get a chance, listen to it. You’ll be floored. You’ll be addicted. I’ve worn that album out six times.”"

[Susan Foreman]

Elvis Cooper backdrop that was used by Nirvana in their club days!

[Susan Foreman]

Originally Posted by Susan Foreman

Dates have been announced for the 'Rock Meets Classics' tour in Germany in 2020

Joining Alice and guitarist Tommy Henriksen will be Joyce "Baby Jean" Kennedy of Mother's Finest and both Danny Bowes and Luke Morley from Thunder. A further two acts will also be added to the line-up

March 3rd - Dreilanderhalle, Passau
March 5th - BigBOX Allgau, Kempten
March 6th - Hallenstadion, Zurich
March 7th - Arena Nurnberger, Nurnberg
March 8th - Olympiahalle, Munich
March 10th - Tempodrom, Berlin
March 11th - Brose Arena, Bamberg
March 13th - S. Oliver Arena, Wurzburg
March 14th - Jahrhunderhalle, Frankfurt
March 15th - Donau-Arena, Regensburg
March 17h - Ratiopharm Arena, Neu-Ulm
March 19th - MHPArena, Ludwigsburg
March 20th - Messe Halle 1, Dresden

The Rock Meets Classic show in Zurich has been postponed due to the government deciding to cancel all bigger event because of the Corona virus. At time of writing, all other shows are still going ahead as scheduled, but this could change

[Susan Foreman]

Alice has just started the 'Rock Meets Classic' tour in Germany

His setlist is:

• Hello Hooray (instrumental intro performed by The RMC Orchestra without Alice)
• No More Mr. Nice Guy
• Under My Wheels
• Bed of Nails
• He's Back (The Man Behind the Mask)
• Only Women Bleed
• Poison
• School's Out

Also appearing at the shows are:

Cheap Trick vocalist Robin Zander

• Hello There
• Dream Police
• Surrender
• The Flame
• I Want You to Want Me

Mothers Finest vocalist Joyce Kennedy

• My Badd
• Baby Love

Manfred Mann's Earth Band vocalist Robert Hart

• Bad Company
• Davy's on the Road Again
• For You
• Quinn the Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn)

Thunder vocalist Danny Bowes and guitarist Luke Morley

• Gimme Some Lovin'
• Low Life In High Places
• Love Walked In
• Dirty Love

[Susan Foreman]

The original Vampires in 1974

John Lennon, Harry Nilsson, Alice and Micky Dolenz with an unknown female

[Susan Foreman]

March 11th, 1975 - 'Welcome To My Nightmare' is released

Alice's first solo album highlights both his love of the macabre and musical theatre. Designed as the soundtrack to both the TV special and the accompanying tour, the album moves between rocky ['Black Widow'] and jazzy ['Some Folks'] effortlessly

For many people, it is Alice Cooper's greatest album, and while fans moan about the absence of the original group, the music is strong enough to carry the record

If you do not already have a copy, it is an essential purchase

[Susan Foreman]

Coming Soon to DVD and Blu-ray from Kino Lorber - 'DIARY OF A MAD HOUSEWIFE' (1970)

The film features the Alice Cooper Group's first appearance on the big screen during a party scene. They perform a Mars Bonfire composition entitled 'Ride With Me', taken from Steppenwolf's 1971 album 'For Ladies Only'. This degenerates into chaos when the band tear open a pillow and cover the crowd with feathers while letting of fire extinguishers - a stunt taken from their stage shows

The band are only on screen for a couple of minutes, and generally they are in the background although there are some clear shots of them performing

This footage is notable for being probably the only footage of Charlie Carnel operating his homemade lighting controller beside the band

[Susan Foreman]

Alice Cooper: Every Album Ranked From Worst To Best | Kerrang

"In honor of Welcome To My Nightmare’s 45th anniversary, here’s all 27 of Alice Cooper’s studio albums ranked."

27. Special Forces (1981)
26. Welcome 2 My Nightmare (2011)
25. Easy Action (1970)
24. Flush The Fashion (1980)
23. Zipper Catches Skin (1982)
22. Dirty Diamonds (2005)
21. DaDa (1983)
20. Along Came a Spider (2008)
19. Pretties For You (1969)
18. Alice Cooper Goes to Hell (1976)
17. The Last Temptation (1994)
16. Dragontown (2001)
15. Muscle Of Love (1973)
14. Lace And Whiskey (1977)
13. From The Inside (1978)
12. The Eyes Of Alice Cooper (2003)
11. Raise Your Fist And Yell (1987)
10. Paranormal (2017)
9. School's Out (1972)
8. Constrictor (1986)
7. Love It to Death (1971)
6. Trash (1989)
5. Brutal Planet (2000)
4. Killer (1971)
3. Hey Stoopid (1991)
2. Welcome To My Nightmare (1975)
1. Billion Dollar Babies (1973)

As a comparison, here is my list of BEST to WORST from 2016

Originally Posted by Susan Foreman

1 - From The Inside (1978) - Essential 10/10. A controversial choice to be sure, but 'From The Inside' just edges it as my favourite album. It has everything from fast rockers ('Serious') to tender ballads ('How You Gonna See Me Now') to songs that chill the listener ('The Quiet Room'). It's chocka with catchy songs and the trademark black humour we all know and love from the man - the sleazy 'Nurse Rozetta', the hilarious 'Millie And Billie' and the bad taste of 'Inmates (We're All Crazy)'. When I was younger, this is the album I always used to put on when I was glamming myself up for a night on the town.

2 - Billion Dollar Babies (1973) - Essential 9.5/10. The best album from the original band. Again, it contains wall to wall classics, including 'Elected', 'Billion Dollar Babies', 'No More Mr. Nice Guy' and 'I Love The Dead'. It was the only Alice album that made the #1 spot on both the US and British album charts. It's hugely enjoyable album through and through! I don't want to refund a single second of the time I invested in listening to this. In fact, I'm going to listen to it many more times in the future

3 - Welcome To My Nightmare (1975) - Essential 9.5/10. I love musical theatre, and this album is a celebration of that. It's fully deserving of its status as one of rocks most celebrated albums. The foremost reason is that the songs are very well-written, and the arrangements are inspired. Furthermore, the campy horror movie theme is a complete blast, and that's a quality that manages to make this work stand out as among the finest and most unique albums in rock 'n' roll.

4 - Killer (1971) Essential 9/10. For many people, this album would be top of the list, and rightly so. From the opening twin salvo of 'Under My Wheels' and ''Be My Lover' to the closing majesty of the title song, there is nothing shoddy about this release.

5. Love It To Death (1971) - Essential 8.5/10. Another 'must own' album, although (for me) the song 'Black Juju' drags at over nine minutes and the inclusion of the Rolf Harris cover 'Sun Arise' was a mistake. But there are enough classics to make up for these songs - 'Caught In A Dream', '18', 'Long Way To Go', 'Is It My Body' and 'The Ballad Of Dwight Frye'.

6. Welcome 2 My Nightmare (2011) - Very Good 8/10. Easily Alice's best album since the 70's, it's let down by too many different musical styles and a confusing storyline.

7. Dirty Diamonds (2005) - Good 7/10. While this is not one of his most satisfying albums ever released, there are plenty of moments I like. Some songs are very catchy, but we are starting to get to the kind of songs that a generic pub band would play

8. Along Came A Spider (2008) - Good 7/10. A mixed bag of the good and the not so good! When it's dark and brooding, it's a classic Alice album, but sadly a lot of it is lightweight

9. Raise Your Fist And Yell (1987) - Above Average 6.8/10. Heavy metal! Standard heavy metal at that! The opening song ('Freedom') suggests this is going to be a great album, but the rest of the songs on side 1 disprove this. However, the serial killer trilogy at the end of the second side save this record

10. Constrictor (1986) - Above average 6.5/10. The first of the 'hair metal' albums. I probably liked it a lot more when I was 20, but now I listen to it and there is nothing to distinguish it from every other hair band of the time. Sadly, for every great song ('Teenage Frankenstein', 'The World Needs Guts') there is a poor song ('Thrill My Gorilla', 'The Great American Success Story')

11. The Last Temptation (1994) - Average 6/10. A good album

12. Schools Out (1972) - Average 5/10. The title track means that this album is always going to be popular, but other than that and 'Gutter Cats Vs. The Jets', as far as I am concerned there is very little here. Average at best

13. Goes To Hell (1976) - Average 5/10. One or two good songs, but nothing special

14. Special Forces (1981) - Average 4.8/10. One of Alice's least loved albums, 'Special Forces' still has something to offer to anyone willing to take a chance. There is only one real classic here ('Who Do You Think We Are') and the cover of Love's 'Seven and Seven Is' is a good one. Other than that tho...

15. Hey Stoopid (1991) - Average 4.5/10. Entertaining, but sounding oh, so dated.

16. Easy Action (1970) - Average 4.5/10. The bands second album is not the place for a newcomer to start with, but it shouldn't be ignored. It contains the signs of greatness to come

17. Brutal Planet (2000) - Below average 4/10. It could so easily have been a better album, but I am not a fan of the industrial metal genre. The songs on the album are very good, but they sound much better when played live. Here, they are just noise

18. Dragontown (2002) - Below Average 4/10. More industrial metal. See my comments for 'Brutal Planet'

19. The Eyes Of Alice Cooper (2003) Below Average 3.5/10. The opposite of the above two albums. This is much too poppy for my liking

20. Trash (1989) - Below Average 3.3/10. It's not an Alice Cooper album. It's a Desmond Child and Friends album. Yes, it contains 'Poison', but it also contains 'House Of Fire', 'Bed Of Nails' and 'I'm Your Gun' - songs with cringe-worthy lyrics and tunes that wouldn't be out of place on a Bon Jovi album

21. Flush The Fashion (1980) - Below Average 3/10. New wave Alice

22. Muscle Of Love (1974) - Below Average 3/10. Middle-Of The Road Alice. The last album recorded by the original Alice Cooper Group sadly doesn't hit the heights of its' predecessors

23. Lace And Whiskey (1977) - Below Average 2.5/10. Musically, it's too diverse. Disco, rockabilly, Euro-dance, country-western, church music and ballads sit uncomfortably next to each other

24. Zipper Catches Skin (1982) - Below Average 2/10. It's not an Alice Cooper album!

25. DaDa (1983) - Below Average 1/10. The album Alice made before cleaning himself up for good. None of the songs from this album have ever been played live. Maybe it should never have been recorded!

26. Pretties For You (1969) Below Average 1/10. A real psychedelic oddity!