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I need to up my game a bit, because we are potentially moving in less than three weeks time, and I am not sure if our new place will have internet access, and there is still a lot to be done with the Alice discography So...onto side two of the 'Killer' Album Track #5 is entitles 'You Drive Me Nervous ', and it is a solid rocker. Alice Cooper - Vocals and Harmonica Neal Smith - Drums and Vocals Dennis Dunaway - Bass and Vocals Glen Buxton - Lead Guitar Michael Bruce - Rhythm Guitar, Vocals, Piano and Organ Bob Ezrin - Keyboards, Mini-Moog 03/08 - You Drive Me Nervous (Cooper, Bruce, Ezrin) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sWvNYsD3N8 "Yeah, you seem so civilized Your mama's tryin' to run your life Your daddy's tryin' to pick your wife Oh no Yeah, you run around with all that hair They just don't like those rags you wear You say I'm gonna pack up my stuff I'm gonna run away And then you say You drive me nervous, nervous And then I said You drive me nervous, nervous, nervous, oh Nervous, nervous, nervous, nervous, whoa-oh-oh Aaah You're out of state, you're thrown in jail You ain't got the bread to pay the bail Your mom and papa come up and said "Honey, where did we fail?" And then you scream You drive me nervous, nervous And then I screamed You drive me nervous, nervous, nervous, oh Nervous, nervous, nervous, nervous, whoa-oh-oh You drive me ne-ne-ne-nervous Ne-ne-ne-nervous You drive me nervous Whoa" Following that is 'Yeah Yeah Yeah', which for me is the weakest song on the album. Don't get me wrong - it's good, but not up to the standard of the others songs here Alice Cooper - Vocals and Harmonica Neal Smith - Drums and Vocals Dennis Dunaway - Bass and Vocals Glen Buxton - Lead Guitar Michael Bruce - Rhythm Guitar, Vocals, Piano and Organ Bob Ezrin - Keyboards, Mini-Moog 06/08 - Yeah Yeah Yeah (Cooper, Bruce) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdsZ_CCBsgE "You can be my slave and I'll be a stranger We could be in passion, we could be in danger Take you off the streets, put you under my wings, yeah, You could pull my leg or anything Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah Oh yeah You could be the devil, you could be the saviour Well I really can't tell by the way that your behavior I'll take you off the boat put you under my wing Yeah, you could pull my leg or anything Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah Oh yeah I don't know what you're playin' Don't even know what you're sayin' You gotta leave me alone I'm gonna go on home Aaoh, the things are gettin' tougher Yeah, the things are gettin' rougher This is Alice speakin' (Suffer!) Yeah Yeah, yeah, yeah You could be the devil, you could be the saviour Well I really can't tell by the way that your behavior Take you off the streets, put you under my wings, yeah Yyou could pull my leg or anything Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah" |
1 Attachment(s) The final two songs from 'Killer', and we have some good ones Track # 7 is 'Dead Babies', which starts like a ballad. The tone created, is possibly the most ominous and creepy thing that you'll ever want to hear. Then, we hear a sound effect of a baby crying... The song was quite controversial when first released, because it was perceived as making light of child abuse, while actually it is an anti-child abuse song Pictures of Alice holding a doll on a sword are almost certainly from this song. Alice is quoted as saying "Just because I cut the heads off dolls, they say I must hate babies. But it's not true. I just hate dolls." Alice Cooper - Vocals Neal Smith - Drums and Vocals Dennis Dunaway - Bass and Vocals Glen Buxton - Lead Guitar Michael Bruce - Rhythm Guitar, Vocals, Piano and Organ 07/08/ Dead Babies (Cooper, Smith, Buxton, Bruce, Dunaway) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySWKyBzz2Fo "Little Betty ate a pound of aspirin She got them from the shelf upon the wall Betty's mommy wasn't there to save her She didn't even hear her baby call (Waaah!) Dead babies can take care of themselves Dead babies can't take things off the shelf Well we didn't want you anyway Lalala-la, lalala-la, la la la Daddy is an agrophile in Texas Mommy's on the bar most every night Little Betty's sleeping in the graveyard Living there in burgundy and white Dead babies can take care of themselves Dead babies can't take things off the shelf Well we didn't love you anyway Lalala-la, lalala-la, la la la Goodbye, Little Betty Goodbye, Little Betty So long, Little Betty So long, Little Betty Betty, so long Dead babies can take care of themselves Dead babies can't take things off the shelf Well we didn't need you anyway Lalala-la, lalala-la, la la la Goodbye, Little Betty" Sadly, as with 'Second Coming'/'The Ballad Of Dwight Frye' on 'Love It To Death', 'Dead Babies' ends quite abruptly here because it goes directly into the next song, 'Killer' Alice Cooper - Vocals Neal Smith - Drums and Vocals Dennis Dunaway - Bass and Vocals Glen Buxton - Lead Guitar Michael Bruce - Rhythm Guitar, Vocals, Piano and Organ 08/08/ Killer (Bruce, Dunaway) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYshm-_hH6A "What did I do to deserve such a fate I didn't really want to get involved in this thing Someone handed me this gun and I I gave it everything Yeah, I gave it everything I came into this life Looked all around I saw just what I liked and took what I found Nothing came easy Nothing came free Nothing came all until they came after me Yeah, yeah Aaahhhhhhhh, aaahhhhhhhhhhhhh ( What did I do to deserve such a fate I didn't really want to get involved in this thing Someone handed me this gun and I I gave it everything I gave it everything - sigh)" The killer tour finished at Wembley Empire Pool on June 30th, 1972, with support from Roxy Music. Tickets were £1:00! This was the first tour where Alice used the 'clown' make-up instead of the 'spider eyes' The gallows used were built by Warner bros. Prop department The live show changed as it went along. The follow up album, 'School's Out', was being recorded during the tour, and the title track was added to the encore, first as a jammed idea during 'Long Way To Go' but later as a song in it`s own right. Killer (original show) 1971
Killer (after School's Out was recorded) 1972
There is a live recording taken from the 'Killer' tour, recorded on December 17th, 1971 at St. Louis included in the 'Old School' box set release |
1 Attachment(s) Again, I have to ask "How do you follow up the release of an essential album? Easy - you release an equally essential album! In 1972, the Alice Cooper Group were on top of the world, but while they could have recorded a collection of short hit single material, they continued to do it their way with another true classic mixing the hits with more complex material. This album went by the title 'Schools Out' The album ran into problems due to the inclusion of a pair of paper panties (in pink, white or blue) which were included in initial copies of the LP in place of the usual inner sleeve as apparently they failed to comply with Trade Commission standards The title, 'School's Out', came from an old Bowery Boys movie. entitled 'Angels In Disguise' (1948), while the song itself came when Alice was asked the question "What's the greatest three minutes of your life?". He replied: "There's two times during the year. One is Christmas morning, when you're just getting ready to open the presents. The greed factor is right there. The next one is the last three minutes of the last day of school when you're sitting there and it's like a slow fuse burning. I thought, 'If we can catch that three minutes in a song, it's going to be so big.'". It was! Alice Cooper - Vocals and Harmonica Neal Smith - Drums and Vocals Dennis Dunaway - Bass and Vocals Glen Buxton - Lead Guitar Michael Bruce - Rhythm Guitar, Vocals, Piano and Organ Bob Ezrin - Keyboards, Mini-Moog Producer - Bob Ezrin The opening song is 'School's Out', and I'm sure I don;t need to tell anyone about it! alongside The Who's @My Generation', it is the ultimate teen anthem The single reached #1 in the UK charts in August 1872, staying there for 3 weeks Of course it is still part of the stage show, usually being played as the final song of the evening, accompanied by Alice throwing huge balloons into the audience! I'm not going to bother giving a list of all the films and television shows which have used it as part of their soundtrack! The idea of having children sing on the song came from producer Bob Ezrin - a trick he used again when he produced the Pink Floyd album 'The Wall', containing the song 'Another Brick In The Wall (Part 2)'. As another strange connection here, Alice regularly performs 'Schools Out' as a medley, containing sections from 'ABITW(P2)' 01/09 - School's Out (Cooper, Bruce, Buxton, Dunaway, Smith) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eh2j7nUX1y4 "Well we got no choice All the girls and boys Makin all that noise 'Cause they found new toys Well we can't salute ya, can't find a flag If that don't suit ya that's a drag School's out for summer School's out forever School's been blown to pieces No more pencils No more books No more teacher's dirty looks Well we got no class And we got no principles And we got no innocence We can't even think of a word that rhymes School's out for summer School's out forever My school's been blown to pieces No more pencils No more books No more teacher's dirty looks Out for summer Out 'till fall We might not go back at all School's out forever School's out for summer School's out with fever School's out completely" The second song on the album is 'Luney Tune ', which features additional guitar from 'Rocking Reggie Vincent' 02/08 - Luney Tune (Dunaway, Cooper) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-mgjpU-ETw "I slipped into my jeans Lead-hard and feelin' mean I took a spit at the moon It's all in this luney tune Just a little insane A couple shots, I can't feel no pain Hey, where have I been? And who are these scary men? Is this all real? Is this all necessary? Or it this a joke? Man, ya know I don't regret at all They locked me up for good Pinned me against the wall I can't find the exit I quit lookin for doors I stole a razor from the commissary I just couldn't take it no more I'm swimmin' in blood Like a rat on a sewer floor No longer insane Just part of this crazy dream" |
Bit of a new thing here, people, because you are going to get three songs from 'Schools Out' Tracks #3 & 4, 'Gutter Cats Vs. The Jets' and 'Street Fight' are connected. As you probably know by now, Alice loves 'The West Side Story'. He has already quoted from it on the album Easy Action. This song recreates a different rumble. Apparently, the Jets have other rivals - the Gutter Cats. This track begins quite softly with some guitar noodling. But then he starts to play a bit of a riff, and other instruments come in and join in the fun. What ensues is highly spirited and captures that bad attitude in a showtune way. In the middle, it begins quoting some lines from The West Side Story. This is a gas. For the 'Street Fight', there are some sound bytes that recreates that confusion that resulted after the post-rumble in The West Side Story. People are running away, and you hear police sirens. An electric guitar loop and some excited drumming keep the spirit... This isn't even a minute long. Alice even quotes from 'A Clockwork Orange' at the beginning of the song! This is my favourite song on the album You have probably noticed that this is the first time I have included a live clip as opposed to the usual album cut. This is because I couldn't find the audio of GCVsTJ AND Street Fight on YouTube. This version is taken from the DVD release 'Alice Cooper Trashes The World', released in 1990, and recorded at the Birmingham NEC in 1989. The touring band at this time consisted of: Alice Cooper - vocals Al Pitrelli - guitar Pete Friesen - guitar Derek Sherinian - keyboards Tommy Caradonna - bass Jonathan Mover - drums while the album version was recorded by the usual line-up of Alice Cooper - Vocals and Harmonica Neal Smith - Drums and Vocals Dennis Dunaway - Bass and Vocals Glen Buxton - Lead Guitar Michael Bruce - Rhythm Guitar, Vocals, Piano and Organ Bob Ezrin - Keyboards, Mini-Moog 03/09 - Gutter Cats Vs. The Jets (Buxton, Dunaway, Bernstein, Sondheim) / 04/09 - Street fight (Cooper, Bruce, Buxton, Dunaway, Smith) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qM9IvInEsPg "I went out cating, pussyfootin' around 'Till the break of dawn found me knocked out flat on my head Some feline Kitty waved her tail my way I just had to stay, I couldn't get the blood off my hands She made my eyes bug out Her tail stand up And I ain't even in heat for a month (Meow) House cat You really got it made Sleepin' all night A purrfect delight of day Some feline beauty Waved her tail my way And I just had to stay I couldn't get the blood off my bed She made my eyes bug out Her tail stand up And I ain't even in heat for a month (Meow...mrreow...meow! Meow! Meow!) Some bad cats from 4th Street come down to our alley Well we say that's cool, but just stay away from me and my boys Eyes clash and claws slash and green-eyed fur goes flyin' Midnight, Catfight, Neckbite, Die When you're a Jet You're a Jet all the way From your first cigarette Till your last dyin' day When you're a Jet Let 'em do what they can Little boy, you got friends You're a family man The Jets are in gear They're always well-respected You're never alone When company's expected You're well-protected Here come the Jets Like a bat out of hell Somone gets in our way Someone don't look so well When you're a Jet You - Stay - A - Jet (Pow!)" Following that is 'Blue Turk' which is a catchy piece of jazz. When asked about this song in 2007, bass guitarist Dennis Dunnaway said : "Occasionally the band warmed up for rehearsals with our own brand of beatnik type Jazz. I can't say that Brubeck was an influence, or that I was aware that Ezrin was a fan, but in those days, he was one of the only Jazz players to get airplay on mainstream radio, and his Jazz was the cool kind, which is what we aimed ours to emulate. Glen was on the same wavelength with the session horn players that Ezrin had called in. They were the genuine deal and Glen loved their ability to play by sheer feel, which they all did together when they laid down the solo tracks". Alice Cooper - Vocals and Harmonica Neal Smith - Drums and Vocals Dennis Dunaway - Bass and Vocals Glen Buxton - Lead Guitar Michael Bruce - Rhythm Guitar, Vocals, Piano and Organ Bob Ezrin - Keyboards, Mini-Moog 05/09 - Blue Turk (Bruce, Cooper) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_iPHmjHnbuE "(Hot) I'm lazy, you know it I'm ready for the second show Amazin' thing growin' Just waitin' for the juice to flow But you're so very picturesque You're so very cold Tastes like roses on your breath But graveyards on your soul I'm hurtin', I'm wantin' I'm achin' for another go You're squirmin' wet, baby Nothin' bad comin' very slow And it's burnin' holes in me You're so very picturesque You're so very cold It tastes like roses on your breath But graveyards on your soul (Whoa-ooh) (Mm!) One spastic explosion Two pressure-cookers go insane It makes me act crazy I shiver but I love this game You're so very ordinary You're so very lame Tastes like whiskey on your lips And earthworms rule your brain" |
Two more songs from 'Schools Out' We are now on side two, the first track is 'My Stars' This version comes from the 'Good To See You Again, Alice Cooper' live DVD The studio version ends with the phrase 'Klaatu Barada Nikto' from the film 'The Day The Earth Stood Still' Alice Cooper - Vocals and Harmonica Neal Smith - Drums and Vocals Dennis Dunaway - Bass and Vocals Glen Buxton - Lead Guitar Michael Bruce - Rhythm Guitar, Vocals, Piano and Organ 06/09 - My Stars (Cooper, Ezrin) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kbl9sLqbUDc "My stars, so far No one's callin' me home Space brain vagabond Living on my own Come on ye faithful You know all you people should come to me I'll make you arms work And I'll make your legs work I'll make you see Ladada dadada dadada dadada da da da Whoa, yeah Well I swear by the air I'll be made to breathe You'll pay very dear for this vanishing deed The power alone stored in my little hand Could melt the Eiffel Tower Turn the Sphinx into sand (Whoa) (Whoooooa) Oh no Thar she blows Spreadin' crazy news All night Cannonball Loves to light the fuse And everyone blows up And nobody grows up To fill Dad's shoes But that doesn't matter 'Cause no little boys really wanted to Ladada dadada dadada dadada da da dum Whoa bodobo bo bo I stare at the score line I stare at the fault line I see a funnel back there I think I see a crack there Landscapes alive And it's movin' my feet All I need's a Holocaust To make my day complete Ooooooooooh, oh [Voice-over from the film "The Day The Earth Stood Still."] (Klaatu Barada Nikto) (Klaatu Barada Nikto)" Next up is 'Public Animal #9', in which the band play Motown! 07/0 - Public Animal #9 (Bruce, Cooper) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ur-qYvpCGw "(Hey hey hey, yeah) (Hey hey hey) Me and G.B. We ain't never gonna confess We cheated at the math test We carved some dirty words on our desk Well now it's time for recess Old man waitin' by the monkey bars Tradin' all his ball cards And they promised him a gold star And they told him he could go far Hey Mr. Bluelegs Where are you takin' me? I'm like a lifer In the state penitentiary If I keep my nose clean I won't get my eye shined But I'm proud to be Public Animal Number Nine License plates are, are runnin' out of my ears I'd give a month of cigarettes for just a couple of lousy beers Or even a bottle of real cheap wine But that's the price you pay to be Public Animal Number Nine, Number Nine (Ooooh!) Hey Mrs. Cranston Where are you takin' me? Feel like a lifer In the state penitentiary She wanted an Einstein But she got a Frankenstein Yeah, I'm proud to be Public Animal Number Nine (Aaow!) Public Animal Number Nine Public Animal Number Nine Public Animal Number Nine Nine Public Animal Number Nine Number Nine Number Nine Number Nine Number Nine , Number Nine Animal Number Nine Public Animal Number Nine Nine Public Animal Number Nine Public Animal Number Nine Errrrrrrrrrrrgh Public Animal Number Nine Public Animal Number Nine Public Animal Number Number Nine Nine Public Animal Naaaaaaaagh" |
And now we come to the end of 'Schools Out' The penultimate track is entitled 'Alma Mater' and it is the perfect end to the school theme of the album Once again there is a nod of the head to a previous song, with the "I wanna get out of here" line from "The Ballad Of Dwight Frye" The song mentions both Camelback and Cortez high school`s. This is because everyone in the band went to Cortez, apart from Neal Smith, who attended Camelback Alice Cooper - Vocals and Harmonica Neal Smith - Drums and Vocals Dennis Dunaway - Bass and Vocals Glen Buxton - Lead Guitar Michael Bruce - Rhythm Guitar, Vocals, Piano and Organ 08/09 - Alma Mater (Smith) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjIEcvm4QlE "Rain is falling down my cheek Searching for the sea Tomorrow, like the rain I'll be back home again I watch the bus As it pulls out of view Someday like that bus I will be leavin' too But you know It breaks my heart To leave you Camelback My high school And now, alone Cryin' in my beer 'Cause old friends said "Goodbye" I guess I'll be leavin too But you know It breaks my heart To leave you Cortez I'll miss you Yes I will Yes I will You know I will Yes I will Yes I will You know I will Well so long (so long) Everybody (everybody) I hope that I would see you again (again) Goodbye (goodbye) Everybody (everybody) I finally grew up They finally let me out of school Hey, remember the time - 'member the time We took that snake and we, we put it down little Betsy's dress? Now I don't think Miss Axelrod was much impressed Now I don't think Miss Axelrod was much impressed Well I don't think Miss Axelrod was much impressed Oh, goodbye (goodbye) Everybody (everybody) I hope that I would see you again (again) So long (so long) Everybody (everybody) How do you like that They finally let me out of school Goodbye (goodbye) Ah, I wanna get out of here (So long) They let me out of school ( I finally got out of school) How 'bout that, uh? Goodbye Hey, goodbye, guys Maybe I'll see - Maybe I'll see you around some time, uh? 'Ey, don't make a stranger of yourself, uh? Remember the Coop, uh? May - I ho - I hope - you don't - forget me or nothin' Goodbye" The final song on the album is 'Grande Finale'', which is an instrumental. To celebrate the release and success of the album, the band held a press party at Chessington Zoo, south of London. However, apparently the stripper they had hired for the party wasn't very good, so Stacia, the exotic dancer for 'Hawkwind', was happy to takeover! 09/09- Grande Finale (David, Bernstein, Ezrin, Cooper, Smith, Dunaway, Buxton, Bruce)) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMwBny-ibpY "Pow" The UK tour to promote 'Schools Out' consisted of a date at the Scotland Green's Playhouse, Glasgow on Nov 10th, 1972...and that was it! Review This was to be the last time that the Alice Cooper Group appeared live in the UK. As a solo artiste, Alice would return three years later in 1975 for the 'Welcome To My Nightmare' tour, but more of that later A sample setlist for the 'School's Out' tour consisted of:
*Note - in revisiting this album, I think I might have been a bit hasty in describing it as being essential. Yes, there are some very good songs on it, but on the whole, I was disappointed. One to buy, absolutely, but there are other albums which are consistently better by the band |
'Billion Dollar Babies', released in 1973, was the most successful album recorded by The Alice Cooper Group. It reached #1 in both the UK and US charts It is an absolute classic from start to finish, and contains many songs which are still part of the live set It was also the first album by the band I got! Alice Cooper - Vocals and Harmonica Neal Smith - Drums and Vocals Dennis Dunaway - Bass and Vocals Glen Buxton - Lead Guitar ('possibly only on Generation Landslide' but he did the orgasmic vocals on 'I Love The Dead') Michael Bruce - Rhythm Guitar, Vocals, Piano and Organ Bob Ezrin - Keyboards Mick Mashbir - Guitar Producer - Bob Ezrin The opening song is 'Hello, Horray', which is a cover, originally recorded as a folk song by Judy Collins 01/10 - Hello Horray (Kempf)) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpgD_tecTGg "Hello! Hooray! Let the show begin, I've been ready. Hello! Hooray! Let the lights grow dim, I've been ready. Ready as this audience that's coming here to dream. Loving every second, every moment, every scream, I've been waiting so long to sing my song And I've been waiting so long for this thing to come. Yeah. I've been thinking so long I was the only one. Roll out, Roll out With your American dream and its recruits, I've been ready. Roll out, Roll out With your circus freaks and hula hoops, I've been ready. Ready as this audience that's coming here to dream. Loving every second, every moment, every scream, I've been waiting so long to sing my song And I've been waiting so long for this thing to come. Yeah - I've been thinking so long I was the only one. I can stand here strong and thin. I can laugh when this thing begins. God, I feel so strong. I feel so strong. I'm so strong. I feel so strong. So strong. God, I feel so strong, I am so strong. (repeat adlib to fade)" This is followed by Raped and Freezin' (Bruce, Cooper), which is more traditional Alice Cooper 02/10 - Raped And Freezin (Bruce, Cooper) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaVRYHaHC_A "Finally got a ride, this old broad down from Santa Fe. She was a real go-getter. She drawled so sweetly, "I think, child, that things'll get better." We pulled off the highway, night black as a widow. "Yeah, I read the Bible," she said, "I wanna know of you." Hey, I think I got a live one Hey, I think I found a live one Hey, Hey, I think I got a live one Yeah, Yeah, I think I got a live one. Oh, Ok boys, Felt like I was hit by a diesel or a greyhound bus. She was no baby-sitter. "Eee, now sugar, never thought you'd be a quitter." I opened the back door, she was greedy. I ran through the desert, she was chasin'. No time to get dressed so I was naked, stranded in Chihuahua. Hey, I think I got a live one Hey, yeah I got a live one Hey, hey, hey, I think I got a live one Hey, oh, I got a live one Hey, I think I got a live one Hey, yeah I got a live one Hey, hey, hey, I think I got a live one Hey, oh, I got a live one Alone, raped and freezin' Alone cold and sneezin' Alone down in Mexico Alone. |
Good stuff Suzi. Nice and informative. |
Good stuff Suzi. Nice and informative. Quite an undertaking as well. |
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