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Alice Cooper—Love It To Death

(Straight 1883)

Frank Zappa, a few years back, discovered the Alice Cooper group at Lenny Bruce's birthday party. The act was really obnoxious—2000 people walked out and by the end only 100 people were left and Zappa was standing there applauding.

Zappa took Cooper home, contracted them to his Straight record label, and told them to record an album, with total freedom to do what they wanted. The result was Pretties For You, a complex strange/beautiful album, although marred by poor production.

They are one of Zappa's only groups who still get along with him.

After Pretties For You they released Easy Action easily one of the best albums ever released. It was never monotonous and always very exciting.

The bizarre Cooper image was born at a concert where they backed Blue Cheer and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. Their stage act includes crushed watermelons, fire extinguishers, wrapping people in recording tape, pies in the face, dressing like women and unimaginable theatrics to keep the audience entertained. People often call Alice Cooper a "fag" which is not at all true. They often dress like women for the mere sake of entertaining. "When people are repelled by the stage act," said Cooper, "they don't like it because they see a mirror image of themselves." He believes, as a Phoenix hypnotist lady told him, that all people are one-third male (strength), one-third female (wisdom), and one-third child (faith). They try to bring out all three on stage.

The group worked at a car wash during their sophomore year in high school, and played straight rock for two years. With the image change to bizarre their music became an intricate web of amazing sound.

Alice Cooper, who are all television freaks and dig detective and science fiction shows (Star Trek), want to have a kiddie show call Uncle Alice and feature celebrities like the G.T.O.s and Wild Man Fischer. They have appeared on several TV shows, including "Midsummer Rock" and "The Great American Dream Machine." They also star in a new motion picture, Diary of a Mad Housewife and Excedrine commercial number 27.

A rarity indeed, Alice Cooper formed six years ago and still has the same personel. They have never broken up, proving they are one of the tightest groups in existance.

Love It To Death, Alice Cooper's third album ("recorded live in the studio") is a partial return to the simplicity of their early rock. It may well be, as far as I'm concerned, the best rock and roll album ever recorded. Concerning the return to simple rock songs, Alice said, "They started flowing right out after three years." People who were really into their super-intricate Easy Action style may be disappointed with Love It To Death. However, the return to simple rock has not been complete, and much of their latter complexity is present.

Lyrically, Alice Cooper is nothing less than perfect. Listen to words like, "Searching for death/But bodies need rest/Bodies/Under the soil/Now waiting for worms/All that I feel is all that I've learned." There is no way to convey the impact of the vocals on the homosapien brain by printed word alone.

"Caught in A Dream" opens the album with a Beatles "Mersy Beat" guitar riff, fading into a "desires of the middle class" dream tune.

"I'm Eighteen," already well on its way to Top 40 radio may be the first single by any of Zappa's groups ever to hit the charts. "I'm a boy and I'm a man... Don't always know what I'm talkin' about/I get confused everyday... Lines form on my face and my hands."

"Long Way to Go" is a fast mover which, hopefully fortells Alice Cooper's future.

"Black Juju" is a long song with many changes and climaxes. In it can be found the rest-death-worm lyrics. The organ in this one is reminicent of the "Titanic Overture" on Pretties For You.

"Is It My Body" is a why do you love me strange sounding heave.

"Hallowed By My Name" and "Second Coming" reflect Alice's strict religious upbringing.

"Ballad of Dwight Fry" is a strange tale of an insane man who steals children's toys. It's very progressive and emotional. "See my lonely mind explode."

Finally "Sun Arise" fades in to roll out the album on one of those eternal song phases (ie. Hey Jude). It makes a beautiful closing.

If you're sick of hearing the monotonous rock and roll which has been released lately, give the disc a whirl. You might be surprised. I love it to death.